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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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Aug 20, 2020

Julie Newmar appeared as Catwoman in six two-parters during the first two seasons of Batman. During that time, the show and her character evolved, and while some might not agree with the direction they took, it’s hard to deny that Julie did both the evil, whip-snapping Catwoman and the Batman-besotted, comic Catwoman-of-a-thousand-disguises very well.

Then in season three, she was gone and Eartha Kitt took her place. Do many of us find ourselves dissatisfied with Kitt’s very satisfactory version of Catwoman, just because Kitt wasn’t the first to play the role? What different characteristics do we see in the two versions - some of them due to the actors’ choices, and others being beyond their control?

Our friend Kyle joins us once again, bringing the power of the “word cloud” to our discussion, discussing our bias toward the first version we see (any who preferrrrr Eartha?), and helping us generally compare and contrast the two takes on the character.

Plus a marching-band take on two different Batman themes, and your response to episode 137’s discussion of Yvonne Craig’s memoir!

Julie as Catwoman word cloud:

Julie Newmar word cloud

 

Eartha as Catwoman word cloud:

Eartha Kitt word cloud

Eartha Kitt talks about playing Catwoman in TV Academy interview

2012 TJHS Marching Band - Batman