May 10, 2018
In 1966, after being the writer and script editor who got the '66 series off the ground, Lorenzo Semple Jr. yielded his chair to Charles Hoffman. What would a look at the draft of a season two Semple script reveal about how Hoffman edited Semple?
That was the question Ben Bentley, a moderator of the '66 Batman Message Board (bow like Ewoks, everybody!), wondered, so when Tim was asking for suggestions of which Bat-scripts to scan in Laramie, Ben suggested The Penguin's Nest. In this episode, he joins Tim and Paul to discuss the draft, which reveals several Semple errors (most of which were caught) which reveal that Semple was (gasp) human, not a god walking among us! It also includes a surprising number of pies.
Also discussed: the great Batcave detective-work scenes on display here that are largely missing from season three; the problem of unkillable factual inaccuracies in fan discussion of the show; and Ben's attempts at research into Semple's papers.
PLUS: The Les Hou-Lops version of the theme, and your mail!
"The Penguin's Nest" PDF script
"The Penguin's Nest" thread on the '66 Batman message board
"Louie the Lilac" draft script (entitled "Please Omit Tomatoes") PDF script
"Please Omit Tomatoes" thread on the '66 Batman message board
Cast interviews at the '66 movie premiere