Batman Humor I Did Not Get as a Child

George Sanders as Mr. Freeze #1

Batman (1966-8) was my favorite TV series when I was a kid. But I thought it was a serious action-adventure thriller. Turns out it was a campy spoof. In rewatching several episodes, I've discovered so many jokes and pop culture references that went over my head.

Instant Freeze/Rats Like Cheese--In the cliffhanger, the Dynamic Duo are frozen solid by the cool, cruel Mr. Freeze (George Sanders, one of the few Oscar winners to play a Special Guest Villain, and the first of three actors to play this role on the series). The second segment starts with Batman and Robin in a "de-icing chamber" where the temperature must be raised slowly to save them. The delicate operation is performed by a doctor referred to by Chief O'Hara as Vince who over-emotes. I now know this was a reference to the highly dramatic Vince Edwards who played the lead on Ben Casey, a popular medical drama which was just finishing a five-season run.

The Bookworm Turns--Jerry Lewis pops out of a window as Batman and Robin are scaling an abandoned factory. What is Jerry Lewis doing living in a factory? 

The Clock King's Crazy Crimes--In yet another window cameo, Sammy Davis, Jr. appears in yet another abandoned factory. But unlike Jerry Lewis, he at least has an explanation for being there--he's rehearsing his act and begins "Birth of the Blues" as he closes his window. A rehearsal studio in a closed-down factory that makes watches? (Clock King's hideout). Also in the episode Batman and Robin go on a wild goose chase seeking a female accomplice of Clock King--Thelma Timepiece--at a drive-in where they munch on Bat-burgers. 

The Dynamic Duo with Samantha's Dad

The Puzzles Are Coming/The Duo Is Slumming--This time the window cameo made a bit more sense. The Dynamic Duo are scaling an apartment building rather than an abandoned factory, so it makes sense someone would pop out of a window to see what weirdoes were climbing up their building. But it's Santa Claus (the episode aired on Dec. 22, 1966) played by an uncredited Andy Devine, veteran comic actor who appeared in everything from John Wayne films like Stagecoach to Jack Benny's radio show. Santa promises to bring the caped crusaders a present if they'll reveal the location of the Batcave. Adam West looks right at the camera and says, "If you can't trust Santa, how can you trust" and then promises to call St. Nick at the North Pole with the secret spot. 

Also in this episode the villain was the Puzzler, played by Maurice Evans, best known at the time for playing Samantha's father on Bewitched. But he was a Shakespearean actor (winning an Emmy for playing Macbeth opposite Dame Judith Anderson) and he constantly quoted the Bard. Now at least I recognize the quotes. This was originally going to be a Riddler episode, but Frank Gorshin was tired of playing the role, so they rewrote his part as the Puzzler. How ironic this great British stage star is remembered for his appearances on American TV sitcoms and as Dr. Zaius on Planet of the Apes.

B'way Update: Slave, Skin, and Sondheim

Tony nominees James Cusati-Moyer and
Ato Blankson-Wood in
Slave Play.
(Credit: Matthew Murphy)

Last night's long-delayed Tony Awards were full of surprises from the Paramount Plus portion of the ceremony ending ten minutes early to an extra four minutes of Big Brother cutting into the opening of the CBS portion of the show to the unexpected shut-out of Jeremy O. Harris' Slave Play. Harris' controversial play about sex, race, and oppression received the most Tony nominations ever for a straight play with 12 and was thought to be a shoe-in to sweep the dramatic categories. But, Slave lost all of its categories. Matthew Lopez's The Inheritance dominated the play portion of the awards including the top prize of Best Play while the new version of A Christmas Carol copped all of the design prizes for plays. Twitter exploded with complaints of racism. Some commenters stated that the Tonys were white-dominated and discriminatory since The Inheritance concerned white gay males (with a few incidental Hispanic and African-American roles) while Slave Play was told from a black perspective. Ironically, the winning playwright Lopez pointed out that he was the first Latinx playwright to win the Best Play Award in Tony history and that his community needed more representation on Broadway. 

Donald E. Trump: Super Genius!

Wile E. Coyote (r.) with
the explosive Tallullah Bankhead-like robot

Our idiot president's declaration that he is a "very stable genius" on Twitter in response to Michael Wolff's book "Fire and Fury," caused innumerable social media wits to compare him to the immortal Warner Brothers character Wile E. Coyote who was constantly bragging about his intellect when pursuing Bugs Bunny. Wile E. is more famous for the series of cartoons he starred in with the Road Runner, which later served as the basis for a Saturday morning series on ABC. (It later expanded to the Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Hour.) The difference between the two series is Wile E. remains mute in his encounters with the RR while he builds more and more elaborate contraptions--usually employing supplies from the Acme Company--to ensnare his feathered prey. In his jousts with Bugs, Wile E. is extremely verbal, bragging about his colossal intellect and that Bugs should give up since he can never win in their battle of wills.