OK bear with me here, I've nipped at the bottle of the water of life a bit tonite, and I may ramble, but here goes.
So, I (and sometimes much to her chagrin) the Mrs, for the last few weeks have been watching 120 episodes of the '66 Batman show.
Since she has only been familiar with the Ninja-loner asshole-Batman of the last few years , she asks me all kinds of questions about the characters (Were they REALLY like that in the old days? I thought Joker was a psycho killer. Did they REALLY have all that Bat-Stuff? Was Batman "funny" with Robin? etc etc).
And doing my duty as a good husband and Batfan, I answered her questions, and enlightened her in regards to the wild erratic history of the character.
Now........an observation comes out from BOTH of us.
The mega flop Batman and Robin, hailed almost universally as a piece of Shite by fans and non fans alike; The movie that almost killed the franchise; bears an almost uncanny resemblence to the old tv series.
Sure there was a LOT of suckage in that movie. There was a lot of crap that could have easily been left on the cutting room floor.
BUT.................look at it for a moment. There were things in that movie that definitely had it's roots in the tv show.
Mr. Freeze, and his German accent, the campy qualities, the fact that stars played the villains, etc. It is a modern remake of the old show!
Now, old Joel didn't pull it off correctly, not by a damn site, but it came close. We watched some episodes tonite, and then watched the movie (well as much as we could stand), and we found looking at it in that light, it was almost bearable. I said almost, cuz we still couldn;t get all the way thru it.
But just think.......if Schumacher had been able to grasp what made the old show good (the camp, the satire.......hell the truth of what Batman was like in those days), he could have had a hit.
Batfans were not expecting a return to the days of yore tho, and I think that is a major portion of why this movie flopped so bad. (and not to take away the blame from the ones who made it.........there IS a lot of crap in the mix).
Now I am the first to admit, I would have LOVED to see a big budget SERIOUS movie with someone other than Ahnold as the bad guy (still can't shake the image of Patrick Stewart as Mr Freeze), hell the animated series could pull it off, why not a live action movie. BUT after watching the sereis in such major doses, I can definately see the connection.
(and thats not saying I LOVE the movie now, I'm just saying I can see it for what it was. It was still a steaming pile of shite!)

Feel free to discuss, tear my argument apart, or tell me to shut up and sleep it off!

I agree Hugh. I just hate to watch that move sooooooo much! The thing I liked about Batman Begins is that there was a good air of comedy done well, especially between Bruce and Alfred.

But I miss the old TV show. It was Batman for me, and when the time comes, I will bring my son up on it as well for good ol' FUN!!!!

I totally see where you are going with this argument.

Keep in mind that I am not the biggest fan of the old show - I'm much more of a 'Green Hornet' guy

Having said that, yes, B&R had a lot of the trappings of the old show, but none of the spirit. Perhaps that version of Batman was the equivalent of Psycho-Ninja Batman...but in a much more whimsical world.

Okay. West played Batsy very deadpan, very straight, very serious. He seemed much more serious about his work than even the Commish and, whatshisname, O'Brian was it? The Irish cop (the name eludes me at the moment). They were both very earnest, but Batsy was the 'professional' around Gotham. It always struck me that, if the least little bad thing happened in Gotham, Batsy was summoned. It was like the cops couldn't handle anything in that town, not just supervillians.

So. Silly villians, nameless henchpeople, bumbling police, even the occassional beatnik and/or hippie. Whenever Batsy seemed a bit silly, it struck me that it was much more about him trying to 'fit in' with everything going on around him, rather than him actually being that silly.

'You're a sham, Shame' to the contrary

B&R, silliness was replaced with stupidity and flat-out ineptness. You could see what Shumacher was trying to go for, but just couldn't make it. He came much closer in Batman Forever Oh, no, it's boiling acid! but took it way too far in B&R.

...it just wasn't any fun. To me, anyway.

The old show was fun, it just isn't (and never can be) "my Batman", I much prefer crazy ninja.

The "Batman and Robin" is unbearable.

Insightful post, Hugh.
Makes me want to see “Batman and Robin” again.



(Hmmmmm... Anyone else thinking ‘EVIL’?)

Interesting observations. Were I a fan of the 1960s show (and, I admit, I was when I was a kid but I think it hasn't aged well) I would probably tend to agree. But since I didn't care for any of the '89-'97 movies, I have to dissent. All I can think about when I watch any of them (and I have several times apiece, trying to find some diamonds in the rough) is how they don't do Batman any real justice.

BATMAN BEGINS, though. Now you're talking . . .

Me too bro! The team up with B&R was my favorite episode of the B&R tv show and my first introduction to it. Once I saw Green Hornet and Kato, I could bever look at B&R the same on that show. GH&K was so much cooler.

To me, ESPECIALLY because the costumes don't look superheroish or spandexy, a GH&K movie or tv series is a no brainer.

I always thought a TV movie/pilot, with Van Williams (depressed since Kato died), coems alive again by helping his son become the new Green Hornet. Maybe with Bruce Lee's daughter as the new Kato (and add some sexual tension).





Or a big budget film, with unknowns.

I watched them both. I loved the theme to Green Hornet (Flight of the Bumblebee). I haven't watched an episode in years.

There rumors about a new Green Hornet movie or TV series every few years. I don't get my hopes up anymore.

Well, they are filming Welcome Back, Kotter.

Let me guess...
Ice T plays Kotter.

Yes, and Lucy Liu will play Mrs. Kotter.

James Gandolfini will be playing Barbarino

Morgan Freeman will be playing Washington

Antonio Banderas will be playing Epstein

and Sean Connery will be playing Horschack. (this will be his final performance before retiring)

Close. It's Ice Cube. (I'm not joking.)
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11824547/

HAR!

Hollywood is so predictable.

Other than the name, Ice T and Ice Cube are quite different, namely Ice T is on Law & Order: SVU, therefore he is far cooler.

Yet both are people whose initial claim to fame was as rappers.

One is used in a beverage, while the other *is* a beverage.

And that.

Fanta. And Straw. They're cops! This year on FOX!

WELCOME BACK, KOTTER, a show that's been off the air for going on 30 years now, that hardly anyone remembers and that wasn't terribly funny in the first place (from what I recall).

I say, Hollywood, go to town on it.

Oh...

my...

It's not a great show, but it was funny.