One of the good guys, and a genuine icon.
My abiding memory of him is when he came to do a signing session at a Virgin Records store around 1990 in Glasgow on a weekday … and there was a queue all the way up the block, filled with punks, metal heads, kids, … across-the-board appeal.
http://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i449/charlieboy14/batman_zpsmjjgkxxv.jpg
Always the best Batman.
No. What we need is a Batman film which is Three Fucking Hours long, is filmed with no lighting, everyone speaks in a preposterous hoarse whisper and takes itself incredibly seriously despite being a bloody comic book film.
I loved Adam West as Batman when I was a kid. It was FUN.
It was an ancient time when they concentrated on the “hero” part of superhero, as opposed to the “super”.
Batman was never a superhero. He does not possess super powers. He is a normal human being with some amazing kit and zero ability to measure risk. Ironman is similar.
There. I’m glad I got that off my chest.
That amazing kit included a can of shark repellent aerosol. I never leave the house without my can of shark repellent aerosol.
I asked for that at Halfords. They looked at me askance.
Askance.
Originally his “power ” was his skill as a detective. Obviously the ability to reason, evaluate and conclude should be sublimated once Hollywood gets involved.
Aye. Sitting in a car all night on a stakeout eating donuts can ruin your six-pack.
No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no Batmaaaaan 🙁
I didn’t know 2 Unlimited were on Batman.
Or Trevor Peacock
The one where Liberace guested was just fantastic. Liberace was playing a brilliant classical pianist. He was captured by the Pengiun and held hostage. All of Gotham City’s finest were to attend his show that night. Penguin ordered that Liberace must go on with the show – so that at some point he can release some purple gas and kill everyone. A brilliant plan. Liberace, ever the professional, played the show as if nothing was amiss.
Except this. Millionaire Bruce Wayne, who was camping in the woods with his young friend, tuned into the radio performance, introduced as “the fragile intricacies of Mozart”. After a few moments enjoying pleasant tinkly music, Bruce rises to his feet in alarm. The great concert pianist had made a barely-perceptible error (a technical thing that he explains at some length) and that error that must have been intentional. It’s a cry for help! He’s in trouble! To the Bat Cave! Duddul ee duddul ee errr! Dunner dunnner dunner … and so on.
I loved those complex explanations. They don’t do them like that any more. Wasn’t Spock inspired by them?
“Pleasant tinkly music”. The best critique I’ve read of Mozart. 😉
BC stands revealed as the Emperor of Austro-Hungary
My favourite part was:
Robin is trussed up and thrown from a building. Batman throws a batrope which Robin batches with his teeth. Pulled up by Batman to safety,Batman says something on the lines of ‘ Good job you have strong teeth Robin’
Robin replies ‘ Yes if only people would look after their teeth better’
Fighting and oral hygiene in one programme.
You had me at “Robin is trussed up.”
A final *”Biff!” *”Bang!” and *”Pow!” to you, Mr. West.
*Other words of exclamation denoting danger and excitement are available.
In tribute to the mighty West
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXgUVkwgW4o
BLAM!
Pow!
Kerr-chuNNNNGGGGGGG!
A tribute from Serbia: Betmen (great horns, groovy hairstyles but their spelling leaves something to be desired).
And now one from Liverpool: Adrian Henri’s Batpoem.
I though Betmen was the Morningside version.
“You’ll hev herd yur tea, Robin”
RIP Adam West. Best Batman by far.
Once upon a time Frank Miller wrote a comic called Batman Year One. My fantasy film would be Robert Bresson directing a black and white film based on that comic.
An Everyman, in tights, shorts, mask and cape avenging the senseless death of his parents. Is that too much to ask? Cleary so, based on the shit films of the last 20 years.
Forget the 6 pack. How about an understanding of this character? Adam West had the body for it (as Batman year 1 showed) where’s the writer/director who can pull this off?
The best Batman ever
A final “KAPOW”
Have we discussed how the radio series Superman actually undermined the KKK? Probably not for this thread but it’s a great story.
My favourite bit is Batman and Robin about to be catapulted off a skyscraper roof with a flame burning through the rope holding the catapult tort. Batman works out where they will land and by remote control sends the Batmobile to put up a safety net there. Time is crucial but, while on its way, the Batmobile still stops at a pedestrian crossing.
No love for the Batusi?
Or the BOMB?
“Seize him!”
That is one of my favourite scenes in any movie!
(Sadly, not a good time to be quoting it too much though)
Bond, John Noakes and now Batman. Been a horrible couple of weeks for the good guys.
A sabroso latino treat: Batman Boogaloo.
Holy Broken Bones!
Before each episode of Batman, there was a safety film shown urging kids not to try Bat-stunts at home.
According to this blogspot, they were produced uniquely for the UK.
http://superstuff73.blogspot.se/2014/09/holy-broken-bones-batman.html
Like Roger Moore, an actor of somewhat limited range, who nonetheless pitched his performances perfectly, didn’t take himself too seriously, and brought joy to hundreds of millions of people over the years. Good work, Mayor West, RIP.
Intriguing to see some many tributes on comic book sites, as there was a period when they would have fumed about what a travesty that TV show was, and how it set the cause of comics back decades, was an insult to our intelligence etc…..how times change.
Time for this
Sadly I can’t post the B side which is even better