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Like many who grew up in the '60s and '70s (and perhaps even '80s and later), Tim and Paul had the course of their lives changed by the 1966 Batman TV show, from the types of play they did growing up to their present-day interests.

In this series, they discuss the show's allure and its failures, the arc of the show from satire to sitcom, its influences (the '40s serials and the comic books themselves) and the things it, in turn, influenced.

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  2. #083 Fitting Batman '66 into "The Caped Crusade"

#083 Fitting Batman '66 into "The Caped Crusade"

Apr 26, 2018

the Bright Knight in the dark

The debut of Batman '66 caused a backlash among Batman nerds, who subsequently demanded Batman comics that reverted to the dark, sullen loner version of the character. But why did the nerds (and Bob Kane himself!) expect a version of Batman who really hadn't been seen since Robin came on the scene in 1940? While Batman as played by Adam West is funny in spite of himself, does this mean the show was saying heroism itself was ridiculous?

In this episode, Tim and Paul examine these questions and more as they review Glen Weldon's "The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture."

ALSO: Tim enlists American Heritage Center proxy researcher Oscar to dig into a couple of pervasive but questionable ideas about the show, and gets a few unrelated interesting facts about William Dozier; the Batman theme as performed by the Hi-Fives (who?!), and your mail!