Batman (1966)

Batman (1966)
Premiere	January 12, 1966
Finale	March 14, 1968
Airs	Saturdays at 10:30 PM on MeTV
Creator	William Dozier
Based upon	the characters created by Bob Kane appearing in Batman and Detective Comics magazines published by National Periodical Publications, Inc.
Network/Provider	ABC
Style	30 minute crime comedy
Company	Greenway Productions, 20th Century Fox Television
Distributor	20th Century Fox Television (until 1989) 20th Television (1989–2020) Disney-ABC Domestic Television (2020– )
Seasons	3
Episodes	120 + film
Origin	USA

Batman is a satirical superhero comedy that aired on ABC based on the Bob Kane superheroes Batman and Robin.

The series basically entailed Batman and Robin's battle against Gotham City's rogue's gallery of villains in a campy, broad fashion, eschewing the origins (Bruce Wayne losing his parents to a thug, Robin's in a circus accident). The first part of a two-part story aired Wednesday nights on ABC, with the conclusion airing Thursday nights. It became appointment TV for a year, spawning a "Batmania" across the country.

The wide myth is that Bob Kane created Batman. It has since been discussed that Kane merely devised the designs of Batman while the character himself was created by Bill Finger. Kane himself created two other animated shows, Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse and Cool McCool.

Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Main Cast		1	2	3
Adam West	Bruce Wayne / Batman	*	*	*
Burt Ward	Dick Grayson / Robin	*	*	*
Alan Napier	Alfred Pennyworth	*	*	*
Neil Hamilton	Commissioner James W. Gordon	*	*	*
Stafford Repp	Chief O'Hara	*	*	*
Madge Blake	Aunt Harriet Cooper	*	*	o
Yvonne Craig	Barbara Gordon / Batgirl			*
Orange/Red/o indicates a recurring or guest role during that season. Dark Green indicates top billing during that season.
Supporting/Recurring Cast		1	2	3
William Dozier	The Narrator	*	*	*
Byron Keith	Mayor Linseed	*	*	*
David Lewis	Warden Crichton	*	*	*
James O'Hara	Sergeant O'Leary	*	*
The Villains		1	2	3
Victor Buono	King Tut	*	*	*
Burgess Meredith	The Penguin	*	*	*
Cesar Romero	The Joker	*	*	*
Julie Newmar	Catwoman	*	*
Eartha Kitt				*
Frank Gorshin	The Riddler	*		*
John Astin			*
David Wayne	The Mad Hatter	*	*
George Sanders	Mr. Freeze	*
Otto Preminger			*
Eli Wallach			*
Vincent Price	Egghead		*	*

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
ABC
Season One	January 12, 1966	May 5, 1966				34
Season Two	September 7, 1966	March 30, 1967				60
Season Three	September 14, 1967	March 14, 1968				26

Films

Title			Release Date
Live-action
Batman			July 30, 1966
Animated
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders			October 6, 2016
Batman vs. Two-Face			October 10, 2017

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series

Related Programs

• The New Adventures of Batman (1977) - An animated series featuring West and Ward voicing Batman and Robin.
• Legends of the Superheroes (1979) - A pair of live-action specials featuring West and Ward reprising their roles as Batman and Robin. The first special also features Frank Gorshin reprising his role of the Riddler.
• Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003) - A TV movie featuring West and Ward as themselves searching for the stolen Batmobile. Also features cameos from other Batman cast memembers.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases

DVD

Title			Release			Discs
Complete Series  (Region 1)
The Complete Series			November 11, 2014	purchase		18
Season Sets  (Region 1)
The Complete First Season			November 11, 2014	purchase		5
The Second Season, Part One			February 10, 2015	purchase		4
The Second Season, Part Two			July 14, 2015	purchase		4
The Complete Third Season			November 3, 2016	purchase		5

Blu-ray

Title			Release			Discs
Complete Series  (Region A)
The Complete Television Series: Limited Edition			November 11, 2014	purchase		13
The Complete Television Series			December 16, 2014	purchase		13
Feature Film  (Region A)
Batman: The Movie			July 1, 2008	purchase		1
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders			November 1, 2016	purchase		1
Batman vs. Two-Face			October 17, 2017			1

External Links

• Batman on IMDb

• opening creditson YouTube