Batman "The Worst Is Yet To Come": Rewatching Batman '66

[Mel O'Drama]

The gayest moment so far happens in the first Joker episode when Bruce tells Dick that learning music is ver important.

Kinda like Ted Dinard teaching Steven Carrington how to be an educated and sophisticated gay man, but with an underlying "Village People" sensibility.

Ooh. What a great parallel.

without even a whiff of suspense

While the outcome is certainly never in any doubt, the series does at least have some outrageously fun cliffhangers. It was originally shown twice a week, and was probably similarly paced whenever I first watched it on TV, and there was at least a little anticipation about the next episode.

It is very funny and I feel this should be my cup of tea, and yet, I'm never laughing. I can't say it disappoints because I had no idea what kind of show it was going to be but at the same time it's hard to ignore my mind-numbing feeling when I watch the episodes.

All in all, I still struggle to get into it and the fabulous production makes that even more frustrating. I really really want to like this - perhaps what I need is A TRICK! to make that happen.

I can relate. I had a couple of false starts with my last rewatch, and I think I ended up properly watching it almost three years after first attempting it and getting a third of the way through the first season. It's difficult to explain why, other than it felt a bit aimless after a while and I felt overwhelmed at the thought of committing to it. I'm not sure what shifted for me enough for me to dive in and watch the entire thing, but I did find myself enjoying enough of it to have made it worth the investment. I could watch Adam West deadpanning all day long.

For what it's worth, you will see some very familiar faces along the way. I'm not sure how much you know, so I'll say no more.

 

[Angela Channing]

While the show is not the definitive Batman, or consistent with Batman's origins, development, it is an enjoyable version of
hero type satire in the pop 60's, with colorful adversaries.
For me, Adam West is still the voice of Batman.
Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin would all have been capable of
playing the characters more seriously.
Julie Newmar was cast perfectly.
So many other memorable actors and actresses.
The cameos were fun

An actor I would also add to your list was Victor Bueno who played King Tut. I always thought his performance was one of the stand out ones of the series, along with those you mentioned.

 

[Willie Oleson]

While the outcome is certainly never in any doubt, the series does at least have some outrageously fun cliffhangers

Oh yes, and I like the interactive, pop culture feel of it.

I can relate. I had a couple of false starts with my last rewatch

I have seen and appreciated lots of Batman elements before, but packed into one show is definitely a completely new experience to me.

I'm not sure what shifted for me enough for me to dive in and watch the entire thing, but I did find myself enjoying enough of it to have made it worth the investment

Perhaps the show is so over-indulgent in its non-stop exposure that it needs to be watched at least twice to fully appreciate all of it.

It's a comic book coming to life on screen, but reading and watching are completely different experiences.
I could find the same faux-suspense in a comic book and still get invested in the story (well, maybe not anymore but it's certainly how I enjoyed comic books as a child) but motion picture takes a lot of the imagination out of it. And then the only thing that's left, at least with this show, is exposure.

Nonetheless, what is being exposed in this series is nothing short of brilliant. Every character has its own quirkiness, including the news reader who keeps talking about his son, Harold, just 8 years old.

The villain's henchmen whom (I think!) are always played by the same actors.

(it's the hot zone in Mr. Freeze's residence of cold-blooded crime that causes them to look like Oompa Loompas).

I finally got my laugh-out-loud moment

There it is, the INTERdigital batsorter anti-crime computer, but the "kling-tring!" sound is similar to the cashiers of the Grace Brothers department store.

The way I experience Batman now, for the first time, is more like a child being overwhelmed by all the goodness in Disneyworld, and therefore not really being able to enjoy it.
BATMAN has the comic book style and the parody and the quirkiness and the so-lame-it's-funny storylines and the mouth-watering production values and the energetic performances, and I feel that nothing really gets the chance to shine out. Kinda like putting sugar and candy and ice cream cones on top of a cake.
With so many enjoyable flavours in one mix the taste gets lost, I guess that's what I meant with the mind-numbing feeling.

Not that I have any intention to stop watching. Not because I paid for the box set, that's not relevant anymore, but because despite its formulaic style* they still have to come up with new TRICKS! and TWISTS! and HOLY Somethings!
And even if all that fails, there's still the mansion scenes with Bruce, Dick, Alfred and Aunt Harriet to please my soap-loving heart.

*which, of course, is ALSO part of its tongue in cheek approach.

 

[Willie Oleson]

because despite its formulaic style

Funny that I discovered a different kind of dynamic in the next episodes.
Unlike the first three villains Mr. Freeze has a more relatable agenda, and Zelda the Great commits crimes because she really isn't that Great. Typical that the story with the first female villain also has the first female victim: Aunt Harriet, of all people.

 

[Willie Oleson]

With so many enjoyable flavours in one mix the taste gets lost

But wait!
Perhaps I've inadvertently and unsuspectingly created my own riddle.
How does one properly enjoy something that has too many enjoyable aspects?
A: Be greedier!

And with an extensive soap opera collection of which the main ingredients thrive on greed I'm afraid I'll have to conclude that that clue has been sitting under my very nose all along.
But hey, even Batman doesn't get it exactly right in the first part of the episode, hence the terrifying cliff hangers.

Almost every frame is worth of a screen shot, but the throwaway attitude (or at least the feel of it) of the impeccable production design makes it even better.
Zelda's prison outfit with the cute prison hat and high heels was another fabulous surprise.
Actually I wondered how they would tackle this since orange had already been her colour theme throughout the episode. Holy stripes, we've been outsmarted again!

Batman suggest to Robin to use the phonebook instead of wasting a special device on it. That's what I call grooming!
Alfred is seen polishing the Bat poles, now I ask you.
So many great details that can be easily overlooked especially by a very young audience.
Like I said, I really need to become much greedier otherwise I'll get everything I want without even wanting it (a brand new problem, but a problem nonetheless).

Frank Gorshin is even more brilliant in the second Riddler episode. The laughter, the spider-like movements (watch and learn, Spiderman) he's so creepy it's almost sexy.
I also love the Penguin, I think he was my favourite villain in the Tim Burton movies.

Batman fans may disagree with me but I think that the DUKES' Boss Hogg and sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane resembled some Batman villainy too.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

But wait!
Perhaps I've inadvertently and unsuspectingly created my own riddle.
How does one properly enjoy something that has too many enjoyable aspects?
A: Be greedier!

Oh wow. You've had your own epiphany with the series. A moment so glorious I can almost see the exclamation jazzily leaping off the screen.

And, what's this?! A Gordon/O'Hara avatar!!? Could Willie have officially joined the Batfans?!

Alfred is seen polishing the Bat poles, now I ask you.

And he even does that with phlegmatic Britishness.

Frank Gorshin is even more brilliant in the second Riddler episode. The laughter, the spider-like movements (watch and learn, Spiderman) he's so creepy it's almost sexy.

Agreed on all counts.

I also love the Penguin, I think he was my favourite villain in the Tim Burton movies.

Burgess Meredith is just great in the role with his little quacks and waddles.

Batman fans may disagree with me but I think that the DUKES' Boss Hogg and sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane resembled some Batman villainy too.

Yes, I can completely see that.






By my count you've got The Thirteenth Hat next. I have to confess it was only on my last watch I realised where I knew the actor playing the Special Guest Villain from. It took me an episode to realise who it was, and another episode to try and believe it was the same actor.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Could Willie have officially joined the Batfans?!

I'm afraid it's much, much worse than that. The City is currently being plagued by fiendishly trickery that lures unsuspecting viewers into loyal Batfanship.
And since this is a crime we haven't faced before I think I can speak for all of us that there's only one person who can tackle this abhorrent development.

The Mad Hatter with his hat factory of horrors is fabulous, and the mesmerizing eyes in his hat reminds me of the Cheshire Cat.
The plot is delightfully bollocks and doesn't always make sense but David Wayne plays him with such campy vigour that it doesn't matter.
His disguise as Monsieur Marbot (a too obviously phonetic play on "marble") is the highlight of this episode.

Then there's hat-check girl Babette, who sounds as if she's having a serious cold - or maybe it was meant to be understood that she had been crying.

It's just that she doesn't come across as particularly distressed but more like a wide-eyed nitwit.

The bombastic and convoluted old-fashioned speech continues to be a delight. I wonder if it helps them to deliver those lines in that typcial deadpan fashion because there's little room for mistakes or improvisation.

Voici Le Boy Wondeur, helplessly strapped to a marble horse. Shades of homoerotic Pierre et Gilles art (from a retroactive point anyway).

I think he's perfectly cast, with that ever-barely-contained body language of pure excitement and the way he semi-shouts all his lines. Always running and jumping even when it's not necessary or when the location severely limits such actions.
Apart from being the Dynamic Duo they are also very much a Wholesome Duo.
Even the slightest whiff of Dick's youthful disinterest is immediately nipped in the bud because he takes everything his guardian says as the absolute gospel.

As I mentioned in my first post the Kitsch & Ham fest seems intentional which kinda disqualifies as "camp" but at the same time I'm not sure if I can watch it as a comedy.
It's too good and too smart to be a comedy.
You also need to pay attention because if you miss one of Batman's single-sentence explanations how he anticipated and therefore prevented a certain trap then their escape or victory doesn't make sense anymore.
In many ways it looks like a faux-children's show for adults. It should be noted that characters can actually die, like the assassins in the Gnome Bookstore.

But with the hilarious detail of the sarcophaguses falling down.

In The Joker Goes To School, the guest star villain is almost upstaged by cheerleader Susie, the first henchgirl who knows why's she doing what she's doing.
Like most (maybe all?) female characters she's redeemed at the end of the episode but I guess Batman and Robin are supposed to be irresistible to the female citizens of Gotham City hence why they accept their defeat more gracefully.

I hope you know this is a girl writing.

Officially, perhaps.

Incidentally, Batman and Robin escaped their gruesome fate due to good luck rather than yet another clever Bat Trick and the only thing that makes this somewhat acceptable is that Mr. Vandergilt mentioned the recurring power failures at the beginning of Part I. Another example of details that cannot be missed.

This is probably the most nonsensical device.

They write some X's on it and to me it all looks very random but to them it always reveals something significant.
Oh well, at least it looks very cool.

 

[Willie Oleson]

The next guest villain is the nefarious master of disguise, False Face, cheekily credited as "?".

In those first moments I didn't realize that his face was supposed to be a mask - especially since the beard proved to be the disguise - and I wondered if he'd had a similar accident to Jack Nicholson's Joker in the 1989 movie. And could this not be too disturbing for younger audiences?
But even though it's a false face, it's not a unrecognisable face to the police and our fearless Caped Crusaders. How's a trademark disguise still a disguise?
This all proves too much of a mindf*ck to me so let's see what else is happening.
Well, the typical stuff except that the henchgirl redeems herself long before the end of the episode. And after the rehabilitation programme funded by the Wayne Foundation she decides to join her brother, a shepherd, in New Zealand. The wholesomeness is so on the nose it's laughable.

Nature In The Raw? I think I have that on DVD. Oops, too much information.

Despite the ridiculous idea that False Face can instantly create a mask of the person he wants to impostor - and then put it on his own mask on his own face - there's something about it that really would have spooked me as a child.

These moments of reveal also have an almost Agatha Christie-esque feel to it.

If FALSE FACE is all about mystery then CATWOMAN is all about mystique. Her introduction almost looks like a sequence of DYNASTY title cards.

Maybe it's the BATMAN equivalent of the mysterious high-heeled vamp stepping out of a limousine, although Zelda also dramatically appeared in the Gnome Bookstore in a big puff of orange smoke, Cruella De Vil style.

Since Catwoman is beautiful and sexy, and because she'd obviously would not take part in the iconic BIF!POW!ZONK! fights I had expected to see a rascally character rather than a no-holds-barred adversary.
And while it's true that the destruction of the Dynamic Duo seems a little less significant as in the previous episodes, she's certainly not less murderous.

I had two Willy Wonka moments in this episode.
Of course people look smaller on TV but I immediately thought of boy Mike Teevee who was shrunk and teleported into a TV set.

The next trap reminded me of Augustus Loop who fell into the chocolate river, got stuck in the pipe and was then launched due to pressure of the chocolate.

This picture doesn't describe anything, but it's so perfectly comic book style.

This series may be very satirical but the famous crime fighters are so much beloved and admired by all the other characters that it takes a lot (if not all) of the ridicule out of it. In this wacky world there's nothing stupid about them.

Catwoman is not redeemed, and yet...

Just the idea that she can't let go of her treasure, that she refuses to accept that her evil masterplan was all in vain....I'm not sure but somehow it feels different from the other villains whose crimes only serve as a plot against Batman or to create havoc just because they can. Yes, they're also after the riches but to me it usually looks like a byproduct of their villainous shenanigans.
Hanging onto her treasure, even willing to die for it, creates the idea that in her mind she's justified. No matter how dastardly her mission was, it was something that had to be done.
Like Veruca Salt had to have her Golden Goose, come hell or high water.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Even in this third story it already starts to feel increasingly formulaic

I don't understand that comment anymore. BATMAN is about Batman fighting criminals, how could it not be formulaic? And it's certainly not more formulaic than thousands of other TV series about characters doing what they have to do.
But even so, they still need to come up with variations on the same theme, new gimmicks and gadgets for the heroes and the villains etc. (I think the smoke bomb to confuse either the villain or the dynamic duo and the faint-spray/powder are the most recurring plot devices).

Still, the next episode "The Penguin Goes Straight" turns out to be a surprisingly intriguing story about a different kind of deceit that turns everything upside down, sometimes literally.

So simple, and yet so incredibly funny. And it's the first time I've seen the "pulling the rug" expression being live-actioned.

It is very funny and I feel this should be my cup of tea, and yet, I'm never laughing.

True, I'm not laughing a lot when I watch the episodes, but then some time later when I'm doing something else, these scenes spontaneously pop into my head and then I start to cackle.
Is it just me or do other tellytalkers recognize this situation?

It's also the episode with my favourite cliff hanger (so far).

It reminds me of those mistaken identity murders in which the hero unknowingly kills his wife instead of the villain (I think it happened to Joan Collins' character in Fear In The Night )
The very idea that our beloved commissioner could murder Batman and Robin feels particularly nasty.

and the intentional embarrassingly badly staged shenanigans

Actually, the fight scenes are pretty good.
And now I'm not sure if they ever were badly staged in the earliest episodes, but it appears that was my first impression and maybe I just stuck with that opinion.
Perhaps it was a symptom of my initial feelings of being underwhelmed which, ironically, turned out to be the sum of the various reasons why I was feeling overwhelmed.
I missed my calling as a shrink specialized in TV series traumas.

It appears they also kept the comic books speech bubbles to describe everything that's happening but of course it's completely useless in motion picture.

Ha!
Same goes for characters stating the obvious i.e. saying what's happening when the other characters can see for themselves what's happening.
But it's different in the printed comic book medium.
Those images don't always capture the whole scene, the character informs the reader what's going on and even if that isn't necessary then the reader needs to understand that the character understands what's going on. And that can only be done by means of speech bubble expressions.

Hurrah, another RIDDLER episode.
I could watch this special guest villain without any plot whatsoever, and he's rapidly becoming one of my all-time favourite TV characters.
"So creepy it's almost sexy" I think that's what I said, but there's another slightly erotic aspect about him: his unabashedly narcissism.

I felt there was something bitchy going between Batman and Robin.
It started with Batman being a little annoyed that Robin, who's studying French, didn't immediately linked S.U.N. with soleil (as in: Madame Soleil).
Then there was the issue about solving one of the riddles.
They finally figured it out but then Robin points out a very reasonable flaw. Batman often praises Robin for his smart thinking but this time he blatantly overrules Robin's logic.

And yes, Batman was right, but not necessarily because it makes sense. The riddles are very specific and tells them what the Riddler thinks, not what the Riddler doesn't want them to think.
(Incidentally, the water shortage was also mentioned by Mr. Vandergilt as being one of Gotham City's current problems).

The wax theme is pleasantly used throughout the entire episode, including the henchgirl's name Moth.

I hereby officially declare that BATMAN is the best TV show ever made, and it's not possible to disagree with that. Any online attempt to do so shall immediately be forwarded to commissioner Gordon's office.
And you know what THAT means!

 

[Mel O'Drama]

True, I'm not laughing a lot when I watch the episodes, but then some time later when I'm doing something else, these scenes spontaneously pop into my head and then I start to cackle.
Is it just me or do other tellytalkers recognize this situation?

Oh yes. I do. I'm smiling whenever you watch a new episode because I'm reminded of funny little moments and I can hear that dialogue in my head even though it's been some time.

It reminds me of those mistaken identity murders in which the hero unknowingly kills his wife instead of the villain (I think it happened to Joan Collins' character in Fear In The Night )

I think even Columbo used a similar premise for one of its über-clever murders.

I felt there was something bitchy going between Batman and Robin.

Oh - more subtext. I love it.

I hereby officially declare that BATMAN is the best TV show ever made, and it's not possible to disagree with that.

Your newfound love for this series is giving me so much vicarious pleasure.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Oh yes. I do. I'm smiling whenever you watch a new episode because I'm reminded of funny little moments and I can hear that dialogue in my head even though it's been some time.




I think even Columbo used a similar premise for one of its über-clever murders.





Oh - more subtext. I love it.





Your newfound love for this series is giving me so much vicarious pleasure.

Such incredible memories from my childhood watching Batman. I can now watch with a different view, and it still entertains me?
While later movies/Animated Series, etc give us a much more serious Batman, and I am a fan of those,
Adam West will always be my Bruce Wayne/Batman.

 

[Willie Oleson]

While later movies/Animated Series, etc give us a much more serious Batman, and I am a fan of those,

I've watched (well, tried to watch) The Dark Knight and I didn't find it entertaining at all. I'm not familiar with the very original version of Batman and maybe this movie captured it better than the previous versions but to me it looked like any other blockbuster spectacle that just happened to have a Batman in it.
The only funny part was that Batman's voice sounds scarier than the Joker's. (the actor was doing that modern, cool, whispering kind of thing but somehow it came out the wrong way).

 

[Crimson]

All in all, I still struggle to get into it and the fabulous production makes that even more frustrating. I really really want to like this - perhaps what I need is A TRICK! to make that happen.

Just casually scrolling through the discussion and perhaps your opinion on the series changes later, but I agree with you here. The 60s BATMAN has never worked for me. There's a lot to love about the series. The production looks great and the actors who play the villains really understood the assignment: they're florid and maniacal and perfectly fit into the kinkiness of mid-60s genre TV.

All of that is completely counterbalanced by the lead actors, Burt Ward and Adam West. They're awful. Their performances are more ridiculous than the actors playing the villains. With no contrast, the whole thing feels like a spoof of a parody. The 70s WONDER WOMAN is a far less stylish and creative series, but it's grounded by Lynda Carter's earnestness; there's not a whiff of camp in her portrayal.

Lyle Waggoner & Peter Deyell did a screen test as Batman & Robin, and I think the series would have been so much better if they had played the parts in that straight edged manner.

 

[Seaviewer]

Such incredible memories from my childhood watching Batman. I can now watch with a different view, and it still entertains me?

Amazing that after all this time there are still new things ti discover. Thanks, @Willie Oleson .

the lead actors, Burt Ward and Adam West. They're awful.

That's what my father always said, As a kid I loved the heroics. As an adult I see the humour. My father never seemed to see either.

 

[Willie Oleson]

All of that is completely counterbalanced by the lead actors, Burt Ward and Adam West. They're awful. Their performances are more ridiculous than the actors playing the villains.

Yes, initially it felt like too much of everything, but the plots and villains are so OTT wacky that a more grounded or straight Batman and Robin would always feel out of place, like Alice in Wonderland.
They counterbalance as extreme goody two-shoes heroes and from a satirical point of view it borders on 20th century governmental indoctrination on how to behave like a good citizen and especially a good child. The police, your teachers and your parents always know best - as demonstrated by Dick's energetic adoration for his guardian.
It would have been so easy to put intentional sitcom jokes in it, but they never do that. Everything is dead-and-dead-serious and all the humour comes from the characters themselves.
That said, Lyle "shades of Rock Hudson" Waggoner would have made for a handsome alternative.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I've watched (well, tried to watch) The Dark Knight and I didn't find it entertaining at all. I'm not familiar with the very original version of Batman and maybe this movie captured it better than the previous versions but to me it looked like any other blockbuster spectacle that just happened to have a Batman in it.
The only funny part was that Batman's voice sounds scarier than the Joker's. (the actor was doing that modern, cool, whispering kind of thing but somehow it came out the wrong way).

Well, your observation is certainly valid for yourself. I see it differently.

For me, "The Dark Knight" was the most accurate live action portrayal of Batman and the Joker that I have seen, insomuch as it is closest to both of their origins
back in 1939, as well as the return to those roots circa late 80's
I liked Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker, in that he delivered his lines in a more "normal" (comparative to other portrayals) voice, and had a kind of
diabolical logic to his actions, and didn't let loose that maniacal laugh until late in the movie. I think that makes him a much more formidable adversary. Aaron Eckert's portrayal of Harvey Dent was much more accurate than TLJ in Batman Forever. Christopher Nolan understood these characters far more than his predecessors.
If I have one issue, it is that Christian Bale wasn't quite utilized as fully as I would have liked. He is a good actor who was somewhat underutilzed.

Not saying your view is wrong, just offering a different perspective

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Just casually scrolling through the discussion and perhaps your opinion on the series changes later, but I agree with you here. The 60s BATMAN has never worked for me. There's a lot to love about the series. The production looks great and the actors who play the villains really understood the assignment: they're florid and maniacal and perfectly fit into the kinkiness of mid-60s genre TV.

All of that is completely counterbalanced by the lead actors, Burt Ward and Adam West. They're awful. Their performances are more ridiculous than the actors playing the villains. With no contrast, the whole thing feels like a spoof of a parody. The 70s WONDER WOMAN is a far less stylish and creative series, but it's grounded by Lynda Carter's earnestness; there's not a whiff of camp in her portrayal.

Lyle Waggoner & Peter Deyell did a screen test as Batman & Robin, and I think the series would have been so much better if they had played the parts in that straight edged manner.

I remember (somewhat) Adam West saying that he would have preferred a more serious approach (which is somewhat present in the First Riddler episode,
when he talks about his parents). I think that the network and the showrunners wanted that style of humor and AW had to follow instructions.

 

[Willie Oleson]

For me, "The Dark Knight" was the most accurate live action portrayal of Batman and the Joker that I have seen, insomuch as it is closest to both of their origins
back in 1939, as well as the return to those roots circa late 80's

Well, like I said

I'm not familiar with the very original version of Batman and maybe this movie captured it better than the previous versions

I guess that means I'm not a real Batman fan and that's fine with me.

Come to think of it, I have read one Batman comic but I don't know when it was published. It was about the Joker's daughter (she showed up unexpectedly, how soapy of them).

 

[Mel O'Drama]

They counterbalance as extreme goody two-shoes heroes and from a satirical point of view it borders on 20th century governmental indoctrination on how to behave like a good citizen and especially a good child. The police, your teachers and your parents always know best - as demonstrated by Dick's energetic adoration for his guardian.
It would have been so easy to put intentional sitcom jokes in it, but they never do that. Everything is dead-and-dead-serious and all the humour comes from the characters themselves.

As a kid I loved the heroics. As an adult I see the humour.

All of the above sums up their appeal for me.

I can appreciate their styles may not be everyone's cup of tea, and I don't think there's much danger of Ward in particular winning any prizes for subtlety. But what a revelation it was to watch as an adult and realise that the actors were in on the joke - particularly Adam West with his deadpanning.

It was around this time that Adam made it onto my mental list of fantasy dinner party guests. Bizarrely, I can even remember when and where that happened. It would have been 1994 (perhaps 1993). I was commuting across the Severn Bridge and listening to the radio when Adam appeared on a show to discuss the series' appeal*. He was so enthusiastic and charming, and he summarised the approach he took with his portrayal. He also did a perfect replication of his Batman at the go-go joint earnestly saying "I'll stand at the bar. I shouldn't wish to attract attention" (which remains one of my favourite lines from the series).


* Historical UK broadcast note. While Batman had been repeated on UK TV since ending, it became more of a hit than ever in late 1987 when technicians from breakfast TV series TV-am went on strike with almost no notice. With nothing to air, several older TV series were shown instead. The Batman episode hurriedly thrown on pulled in more viewers than TV-am itself achieved and I think ended up with a regular slot thereafter, with actors from the series also appearing as guests to discuss its appeal. For me, that's always been the moment when the series became a true cult.

I have read one Batman comic but I don't know when it was published. It was about the Joker's daughter (she showed up unexpectedly, how soapy of them).

It's no coincidence that in my younger days I greedily devoured both soaps and comics. The latter are just full of soapy twists, entanglements and cliffhangers.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Well, like I said

I guess that means I'm not a real Batman fan and that's fine with me.

Come to think of it, I have read one Batman comic but I don't know when it was published. It was about the Joker's daughter (she showed up unexpectedly, how soapy of them)

Your opinion is fine. I was just offering another perspective.
Be well. All opinions can expand our understanding of these shows and characters