Bingeworthy: Episode 3 (Batman)

The Bingeworthy series was created in 2026, as an homage to some of my favorite TV shows, ones that I can sit through multiple episodes in one sitting (what the cognoscenti call "binging"). Each entry will cover several episodes that I think make the series worth binging. Sometimes I will vary it by picking one episode per season to highlight and other times I will just select a few outstanding episodes. (This will be especially important if a series went on for many years... I don't think ANYONE wants to see a 10+ episode post of a 10+ seasons series in a highlight post...) 

 

 

 

Note: A lot of the trivia I use in this post was culled from a book I have in my personal library: The Official Batman Batbook by Joel Eisner. My copy is a vintage first edition, but it has been reissued as a "revised" edition.

Bingeworthy: Episode 3: Batman (1966-68):

 

 

The Batman TV series was a cultural icon when it first aired. Although it only lasted a mere 3 seasons, and it's ultimate impact really only gelled in season 2, it hit the airwaves big time during it's brief run. 

After his premiere in Detective Comics #27 Batman got several tries at becoming a film icon. There were two movie serials in the 40's, Batman (1943) and Batman and Robin (1949). Neither of those ventures really pushed the character into  the stratosphere, however. 

When TV came along, however, a new medium offered the chance. In an interview with William Dozier, the producer of the series that eventually became Batman, he talks about the genesis. He says the programming department looked at several options for a superhero genre series. Superman, he says, was out, not because of the earlier George Reeves series, but because, (believe it or not!), there was a Broadway show in production featuring the character. There were a couple of other options, such as Dick Tracy, The Green Hornet and Little Orphan Annie, but eventually the powers that be settled on Batman.

The character went through the usual genesis that occurs in trying to bring the character to TV. One thing, which was probably inevitable, was the creation of a live-in female character, Aunt Harriet. This was apparently just a way to combat the insinuation that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson had some sort of "immoral" relationship. 

It was a match made in Heaven for the series at the start. Eisner's introduction in the book referenced above refers to times when the crew would sometimes go to bars or college dorms and find crowds around the TV watching the newest episode. 

Batman turned out to be unique in more ways than one. For one thing, it was the first series to have ever aired as a two-part episode series. One half of what usually was an hour long episode would air one night and the second half would air on another night. This created a "cliffhanger" feel for the series, hearkening back to those 15 part serials that used to play at the theaters in years past.  

"Tune in tomorrow! Same Bat-time! Same Bat-channel!"  

BTW, that narrator in those episodes was producer William Dozier. They auditioned several voices, with Dozier giving the kind of delivery he wanted for the series. Eventually someone told him that he was the best person to do it, so that's how it ended up with Dozier's voice doing the job. 

The reason for the division into two separate episodes was, apparently, that ABC only had two half-hour time slots open in their schedule for the first season. The decision was made, therefore to cut the series episodes in half, with the fate of Batman and/or Robin left in a precarious position where death seemed eminent at the hands of the villain of the week.

Many critics of the series denounce the camp and humor of the series, since most of those critics are traditionalists, citing the gritty vigilante version of the character in the comic book, and disliking the way the series seemed to turn Batman almost into a buffoon. To be honest I prefer the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan output over the 60's series, but there is something about Adam West's and Burt Ward's "in-all-seriousness banter" (always with such pure straightforward delivery, but it's this aspect that makes it all that much funnier) that appeals to me.

Sample dialogue:

Robin: Self-control is sure tough sometimes, Batman! 

Batman: All virtues are, old chum. Indeed, that's why they're virtues.

 

Robin: I AM a little hungry.

Batman: Of course, Robin. Even crime-fighters must eat. And especially you. You're a growing boy and you need your nutrition.

 

Robin: She looks very pretty when she's asleep.

Batman: I thought you might eventually notice that. That single statement indicates to me the first oncoming thrust of manhood, old chum.

("thrust of manhood"??? How they got that one by the censors is anybody's guess...)   

 

In casting the series, some actors, such as Neil Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon and Alan Napier as the Wayne butler, Alfred, were pretty much shoo-ins from the very start. The producers originally wanted Batman/Bruce Wayne to be played by Ty Hardin, but because he was doing spaghetti westerns in Italy, he was unavailable. They also tried out Lyle Waggoner. Eventually they settled on Adam West. Peter Deyell auditioned with Waggoner for the role of Robin, while Burt Ward auditioned with West. It was determined that West and Ward had the better chemistry for the campy feel the producers wanted for the series.

 

When I did my review of the 1966 movie Batman I referred to the villains in that film, The Joker, The Riddler, The Penguin and Catwoman, as the "Fearsome Foursome" (which I thought was an original moniker, but apparently I am not the only one to refer to them as such). The series only being three seasons, for this entry I decided to pick a favorite episode featuring each one of those four iconic villains. 

 

Now, Cesar Romero and Burgess Meredith were always The Joker and The Penguin. But Catwoman was played by Julie Newmar in only the first two seasons of the series, replaced in the third season by Eartha Kitt.  Also, Frank Gorshin was replaced by John Astin whenever The Riddler was the guest villain during season 2.  As such, I decided to go with just one instance of both. Since I had already focused another blog entry on Newmar's Catwoman, I decided to pick an Eartha Kitt Catwoman to highlight here. It was a bit tougher with The Riddler, since I liked both Gorshin's and Astin's essaying of the character. I ended up picking the one reviewed below because of the silent movie connection, although any of them could have conceivably made the cut.

 

The Riddler (episodes "Death in Slow Motion" and "The Riddler's False Notion" air dates; Apr. 27-28, 1966):

 

 

At a silent film festival hosted by Gotham's famous silent film aficionado, Mr. Van Jones (Francis X. Bushman, in his penultimate screen role and who was a silent film star in his own right...), The Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and his gang (which includes Shirley Jackson as "Pauline") show up to rob the payroll, in the guise of Charlie Chaplin and Keystone Kops look-alikes. The robbery is nothing, really, since the receipts only amount to about $200. The real purpose is that The Riddler has some devious plan involving filming his own version of a silent film.

The plot twists as The Riddler robs the Mother Gotham Bakery of it's payroll, once again filming the operation as part of his silent film. As well, he leads the Dynamic Duo to a local branch of the library, and more filming occurs. It also ends up with Robin being captured and apparently doomed to die by an ever threatening buzz saw. And, as our narrator intones:

After many gassers, here's the buzzer!

Is Robin going to wind up as his own double?

Incredible but true... Batman will not arrive in time!

Will we see the Boy Wonder sawed in two?

Tune in tomorrow! Same Bat-time! Same Bat-channel!

 

 

In part two we get more of the insidious plan of The Riddler. It turns out that Van Jones hired the Riddler to make a new silent film featuring Batman and Robin. But, as usual, The Riddler has taken the job to extremes that his benefactor had not intended. His plan, of course, all along, was to rob Van Jones blind. And it's up to Batman and Robin to foil his dastardly plot.

 

One of my favorite parts of Batman was the frequent use of Robin's catchphrase: "Holy (insert relational aspect to the scene here)". In these two episodes we got:

 

Robin: "Holy triple feature!"

 

We also get what is possibly my favorite instance of that aforementioned "in-all-seriousness banter", when Batman throws a Bat-a-rang to Robin to save him from falling and Robin catches it with his teeth:

 

Robin: "Holy molars! Am I ever glad I take good care of my teeth!"

Batman: "True. You owe your life to dental hygiene."

 

 

 

 

The Penguin (episodes "The Penguin Goes Straight" and "Not Yet, He Ain't" air dates Mar. 23-24, 1966):

 

 

TV and film are replete with instances of good guys going bad. Annakin Skywalker transforming into Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga, and Michael Corleone, who was initially a good guy becoming the ruthless gang lord in The Godfather are two that come to mind immediately. Also, in the first Tim Burton Batman Harvey Dent is a nice guy, but eventually becomes "Two-Face", a thorn in the side of Batman in Batman Forever.

 

So what happens when a "bad guy" goes "good"? That is what we are initially led to believe has happened when The Penguin suddenly becomes a crime fighter. He foils a robbery at a theater, saving the precious jewels of debutante Sophia Starr (Kathleen Crowley). He also prevents the kidnapping of wealthy Reggie Rich (William Beckley). For all intents and purposes it indeed looks like The Penguin has turned over a new leaf.

 

But Batman and Robin are suspicious. Especially since the Penguin has gone as far as to create a "Penguin Protection Agency" in which he purportedly will guard the jewels of Sophia Starr.  But what to do? It appears the cause is hopeless. Hitting on an idea, Batman suggests making some fake jewels of Miss Starr's collection. They plan to break in to her apartment and switch them. But they are caught by the Penguin and become criminals themselves.

 

The cliffhanger comes as a result of the Dynamic Duo going to a carnival, where they are captured by the Penguin and set up to be targets in a shooting gallery, with ace marksmen the Commissioner and Chief O'Hara to unwittingly do the dirty work of shooting them. The situation seems dire. As our narrator says:

 

"Batman and Robin... a swinging pair of dead ducks!

What on Earth can save them?

Don't shoot, commissioner! Don't shoot!

Good grief! Good night!

Double funeral tomorrow? Same Bat-time, same bat-channel!

Can you see any way out?" 

 

 

The Dynamic Duo. of course, escape. But they are still on the run from the law for their attempted burglary. What with the Penguin still posing as a law-abiding citizen and demanding the apprehension of his foes, it seems there might still be some hitch in their plan to catch the villain in whatever dastardly deed he has planned.

 

It turns out that the Penguin is NOT on the straight and narrow. In fact, he is going to get married to Starr. Or, really, he is getting with Starr in order to score some big time loot from the marriage... he isn't really planning to become a husband... that's just crazy talk.

 

The ubiquitous Robin catchphrase gets overtime in these two episodes:

 

Robin: "Holy nick of time!"

Robin: "Holy knockout drops!"

Robin: "Holy jackpot!"

Robin: "Holy leopard! What a change of spots!"

Robin: "Holy bat-trap!"

Robin: "Holy hot foot!"

Robin: "Holy nightmare!"

Robin: "Holy mush!"

Robin: "Holy Romeo and Juliet!"

  

And there's even a bonus one, courtesy of the Narrator:

 

Narrator: "Holy backfire!" 

 

 

 

Catwoman & The Joker (episodes "Funny Feline Felonies " and "The Joke's on Catwoman" air dates Dec. 28, 1967 & Jan. 4, 1968):

 

Every once in a while on Batman you got "double the pleasure, double the fun", so to speak, with not just one but two villains (not including the henchmen and hench-women of the starring villain, I mean...) Sandman (Michael Rennie) and Catwoman (Newmar) paired up in season 2, and so did The Joker and The Penguin. Liberace managed to pull that dual villain role all by himself playing Chandell and twin brother, Harry in an episode.

 

In this episode The Joker has just gotten paroled, through the efforts of Bruce Wayne and the warden of the prison. Is The Joker really reformed? When he is outside the prison Catwoman (Eartha Kitt) pulls up. But, as prearranged by the pair, The Joker is "kidnapped" by Catwoman.  

 

The two have a plan. Locate a cache of gunpowder that was hidden back in 1700's. So is this cache of gunpowder so rare that it's worth millions? Not in so many words. Instead the pair plan to use it to blow a hole in the Federal Depository (Gotham's version of Fort Knox, I guess...) In order to find this hidden cache they have to steal a nightshirt from the Early American era villain, which is currently in the possession of a high mucky-muck in the recording industry.

 

Batman and Robin arrive and proceed to do battle with the two villains and their henchman, but are incapacitated by Catwoman. She says they will shortly die and the dastardly bad guys leave, but they didn't count on Batgirl (Yvonne Craig) arriving just in the nick of time to save them. The Dynamic Duo rush off to the next point of the crime caper, a collector who has scores of valuable items, but all they make off with is what is to the collector an insignificant trinket. But said trinket is the next clue to finding the historic cache of gunpowder.

 

This is a rare episode in that the cliffhanger doesn't involve the Dynamic Duo left in some kind of life or death predicament. Which detracts somewhat from it's value, but since we have Romero and Kitt playing to their expertise as villains, it's not entirely a waste. Batman and Robin and Batgirl wonder where they could have disappeared to so quickly. It turns out that the villains are hanging out in the bushes waiting for Batman and Robin to leave, as the narrator gives his typical "cliffhanger" spiel:

 

"Closer than you think! Just outside waiting to ambush you. Will Joker and Catwoman make good their perfidious plan to steal millions? For the answer to these and other cataclysmic questions watch the next episode!" 

 

Meh.

 

Note: any one of two scenes in this episode would have served better for the ubiquitous cliffhanger: Either the one where the Duo are lying on the verge of death, or a scene in the second half where Batgirl is in danger (see below). But somewhere there MUST have been a cliffhanger that was worthy, as such, because at one point when the trio arrive where the villains are The Joker says something like "But you're supposed to be dead!!!", indicating that the villains had at some point left the Dynamic Duo in some life threatening situation... Anyway...

 

The second part of the episode is tied up primarily with a trial. But before we get to the trial there are some good scenes. In one Batgirl is enmeshed in some twine that Catwoman calls "cat whiskers", which when in contact with human sweat will contract thus squeezing the life out of our heroine. As usual, she escapes, and at the next place the villains are captured. Leading to a trial. With Batman acting as prosecutor he proves his case. But he doesn't count on the possibility of the jury being tampered with... 

 

Robin's catchphrase doesn't get much on this outing. Just one:

 

Robin: "Holy special delivery!" 

 

I noticed at this point, rather belatedly, that there was no representative episode from season two in this entry. So, since I picked an episode that paired Catwoman and The Joker together in one entry, I felt free to add one more villain. And I absolutely love Vincent Price. Price could do evil and funny with equal panache, and his appearance as Egghead during the run of the series proves he could pull off both in the same character.

 

Egghead (episodes "An Egg Grows in Gotham" and "The Yegg Foes in Gotham" air dates Oct. 13 & 19, 1966): 

 

 

 

The smartest man in the world (or, make that the second smartest, as Robin would have us believe) has made yet another appearance in Gotham proper. Egghead (Vincent Price) has a diabolical plan; to take over Gotham... legally.

 

A word of warning to the uninitiated: If you thought you had heard it all by the time you reach this episode let me disabuse you. The "groan muscle" in your gut concerning the "pun factor" is going to be working over time. After all, our villain is named Egghead, but it's not just because he is the smartest (or second smartest) man in Gotham. It's also because he is obsessed with eggs. The egg puns may overwhelm you (almost all of them courtesy of our villain).  In the first minute alone we get:

 

"Your EGGspert has much to learn."

"No material can resist my incomparable EGGsplosives."

"And now, let us make our EGGsit!"

 

Egghead steals the Gotham city charter. See, years ago, before America became the United States, three families had struck a lease with the Mohican Indian tribe. Every five years the surviving members of the main families of the Tyler, the Savage and the Wayne family have to pay 3 raccoon pelts each to the surviving member of the Mohican tribe or the lease will become null and void and possession of Gotham will revert to the Mohicans.

 

(Note: Many of you PC readers will probably be offended by the, admittedly, racist jokes that are going to crop up during this episode, not the least of which would be the ridiculous verbiage spouted by the Mohican tribe leader, Chief Screaming Eagle, played by Edward Everett Horton. It can't be avoided, and I don't really think the producers had any nefarious purposes by it. It was just a standard trope back then. That's not a defense, that's just a way of saying don't let your bustle get in a bunch...)  

 

Egghead uses the charter as his own personal insurance to gain control of the city. In order to gain control, he first gets the Chief on his side with promises of increased wealth for the tribe (of which the Chief is the only remaining member, so it's basically all going to him.) Then Egghead plans to kidnap the three surviving members of the city's charter, Bruce Wayne, Pete Savage (Albert Carrier) and Tim Tyler (Steve Dunne).

 

While under his control Egghead also intends to find out who Batman is. He has deduced that one of the three millionaires must be Batman, since only someone with a lot of free time on their hands could possibly have enough free time to devote for crime fighting. He also eliminates Tyler (who is left-handed) and Savage (who has an unmistakable French accent). Therefore Batman must be Bruce Wayne.

 

Egghead hooks Bruce up to a device that will somehow transfer everything Bruce knows into Egghead's brain. And, as the process begins, we get our cliffhanger (with a few more of those "EGG" puns):

 

"How diabolical! How inhuman! How EGGscruciating!

Will the worlds greatest criminal mind EGGstract the identity of Batman?

The EGGsplanation to these and other electric questions tomorrow!

 Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!"

 

 

Bruce and the rest of the millionaires do escape. But unfortunately they are a few minutes too late to prevent the expiration of the lease. Egghead has managed to wangle control of Gotham. And while major crimes like robbery are ignored the police are occupied by writing tickets for speeding, littering and, ye gods!, jaywalking. And Batman and Robin are banished from ever showing their masks in Gotham ever again.

 

But the Dynamic Duo are not down and out. They have a plan to foil Egghead and his dastardly deed, using that ingenious little trick of the small print...

 

So, as far as the Robin catchphrase we are back to more reasonable numbers:

 

Robin: "Holy semantics!"

Robin: "Holy IT&T!"

Robin: "Holy recompense!"

Robin: "Holy banks!" 

 

 

"Holy cancellation!" 

 

ABC cancelled the series at the end of season 3. There were plans to revive the series on NBC, but unfortunately a decision had been made prior to this development to bulldoze the sets of the ABC setting. With a potential cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to rebuild the set for a new production, this plan was thwarted and never occurred. It's too bad. When I think of the potential stars who could have made appearances as "guest villains" it breaks my heart. We could have had the likes of, say, Alan Arkin as The Crimson Knight (and Arkin would have fit the campy villain mold pretty well, if you ask me), or Julie Andrews as Poison Ivy. (These are just a couple of my own ideas, but there could have been others. Feel free to comment on your own ideas...)

 

Batman would be done, as you already know, with great success in more serious roles. But I still love the old 60's series and would love to see a reboot someday.

 

Quiggy

 

 

 

Semiquincentennial Movie Project #36: Invasion of the Space Preachers

 

The Semiquincentennial  Movie Project is an ongoing celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. During the course of this project your humble blogger is choosing a movie a week to represent each of the 50 states in the Union, as well as a movie scheduled for 4th of July weekend that will represent the nation's capitol, Washington D.C. The order of the weekly entries will coincide with the order of each state's entry into the fold (although, not necessarily coinciding with the date of their entry into said fold).

 

 

Week #36: West Virginia -

 

 

 

The state of West Virginia was established on June 20, 1863 

Details about West Virginia:

State bird: cardinal

State flower: rhododendron

State tree: sugar maple

Additional historical trivia:

You probably know; West Virginia came about because a sector of Virginia disagreed with the state seceding from the Union during the Civil War.

On that note: the first significant conflict of the Civil War was the Battle of Philippi, fought in WV. 

Anne Jarvis, a WV native, created the holiday we know as Mother's Day.

Wilt Chamberlin's NBA record 100 points in a game pales by comparison to Danny Heater, who scored a whopping 135 points in one game. And that was in a game that only lasted 32 minutes!

The least modernized county in the U.S., Monroe County, has 0 traffic lights in the entire county. (A website I saw also said there were no fast food places in the county.)

Famous people born in West Virginia: Don Knotts, Peter Marshall (original host of Hollywood Squares), Brad Paisley, Red Sovine (trucker song singer; Teddy Bear, Phantom 309, Giddy-Up Go), Randy Moss, George Brett, Pearl S. Buck and Chuck Yeager, 

 

 

Strangest Dreams: Invasion of the Space Preachers (1990): 

This is a movie, not initially made by the infamous Troma Entertainment, but was released by them, so if you are familiar with their output you know what is coming next... low budget trip with outrageous (and possibly offensive) humor and a satirical bent. Their most well-known output would include The Toxic Avenger, Class of Nuke 'em High and Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.

Note: There are virtually no pics for this film on Google, and I don't know how to do screenshots, so apologies... 

Invasion of the Space Preachers is an absurd film. (You were expecting Citizen Kane from the Troma company?) It stars nobody you ever heard of. (Once again, it's Troma. You're not going to get Anthony Hopkins...) Most of the actors and actresses in this film have less than 6 roles to their credit, and almost all of them for movies directed by the director, Daniel Boyd (W\who himself only has 6 movies to his credit).

The basic plot jumps off by having two fairly clueless guys, Walter (Jim Wolfe) and  Rick (Guy Nelson), out on a get away to a remote cabin in the backwoods hills of West Virginia. Walter is a dentist (and probably not one you'd trust near you with a tooth drill). rick has an exciting life as a secret agent. (Actually he's just an accountant with a predilection for creating fantasy lives for the entertainment of the local kids).

The boys get a little lost and end up in a hick bar where the locals tell them that they should avoid Truman Gator (John Marshall) like a hangover. Except Truman is the guy these two ended up renting their getaway cabin from. And true to the warnings, Truman tries to milk these two for every cent he can get out of them.

But before they meet Truman they have an encounter with Reverend Lash (Gary Brown), a preacher who seems to have an unusual control and effect on the locals.  He also has a predilection for using a whip to get his point across (hence the name "Lash"... get it?)

 

Just when you think it couldn't get any weirder, the two find a downed spaceship and an alien who is alive but somewhat incapacitated. They take the alien with them to the cabin. (Wouldn't you?) The cabin turns out to be something less than advertised, it's a shambles. They put the alien in a nearby shed and go to sleep.

When they wake up, they find the alien gone! They also find themselves in trouble with a local survivalist group, led by Vic (Jesse Johnson), who think they might not be all that on the up-and up, and capture them and put them in a chicken cage. Fortunately for them, one of their girlfriends comes along and vouches for them. The "girlfriend" in question is actually the alien they rescued, who identifies herself as Nova (Eliska Hahn). (BTW: Ms. Hahn just passed away last month...)

 

It turns out that Nova comes from the same planet that Reverend Lash came from (as if you wouldn't know Lash was an alien by now...) It seems that back on her home planet Lash, who is known to her as Krytar", killed her brother and she is now seeking revenge.

 

So what is Lash/Krytar doing on Earth? Well, it seems he has some nefarious plan to turn the Earth citizens into mindless zombies (although for what purpose is never exactly explained...) As such, he is spouting some ridiculous drivel about peace, love and harmony (and dedication to the Reverend Lash). 

Vic comes along, now friends with Walter  and Rick, and takes them on a survivalist training mission up in the mountains, but is disappointed to find that the two dweebs  have no more idea what to do with a gun than a vegan does with air fryer.

Meanwhile, this movie also tries to be part musical. There are a couple of scenes with a rockabilly wannabe, Johnny Angel (John Riggs). Johnny also ends up becoming an ally of Walter and Rick, but on the other side, the songs he does make the film a bit more bearable. 

Eventually (...!) we get to the climax, where Lash has acquired the use of a a TV hookup so he can exert his nefarious plan on a wider scale. And the ultimate showdown, made all the more difficult because Lash/Krytar has managed to convert most of the town to zombies. (One might wonder why Lash/Krytar set his initial sights so low by starting with a backwoods hicksburg West Virginia town, instead of, say, San Francisco, like the aliens did in the 1976 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers...)

 

One thing of note for this film.. scan back up and look at the movie poster. Even though the girl, Nova, is pictured in a one-piece swimsuit, at no point during this movie does she ever wear one. That's what I call false advertising.

Invasion of the Space Preachers is pretty ridiculous, even for Troma. It has the feel of "Let's just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks to it". It was a direct-to-video release, so information on it's production is fairly thin. It has a 4 out of 10 IMDb rating, and absolutely nothing on the Tomatometer. Contemporary reviews, as such, are nil.

Entertainment wise, it's not much, but jeez, if you wanted me to pick something like Sweet Dreams or Patch Adams or, God help us!, Rain Man you came to the wrong blog. It's not worth a second watch, I admit, but it is stupid and quirky enough to spend a rainy afternoon with if you don't want to clean house.

See you next time, folks. And if you are channel surfing on your radio, beware of some of those radio preachers... one of them might just not be what he seems to be...

Quiggy

 

Star Trek Turns 60

Note: It's true locally. I imagine it is true in your neck of the woods, too. For 4 days, some theaters are bringing the first four Star Trek movies  back to the big screen in celebration of the 60th anniversary of Star Trek. They are pairing the movies with a classic TV episode, one each night for four nights, and then on Sept. 8, you can make a day of it. On Sept 4 you will get Star Trek: The Motion Picture paired with "The Changeling". On Sept 5 you will get Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan paired with "Space Seed" (which was the original intro to Khan). On Sept 6 you will get Star Trek III: The Search for Spock paired with "Amok Time". On Sept. 7 you will get Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home paired with "The City on the Edge of Forever" (another time travel outing). And, if you want to make a day of it, you can go see all four in succession on the anniversary date of Sept. 8. (Hope your wallet is full. Here, that one day celebration is going to cost $60... It's $15 for each separately).

 

 

Sept. 8, 1966.

Do you know where you were that night? Myself, I had probably already gone to bed. (I was not even 5 years old yet). But plenty of people who were older probably remember this night. It was when the classic TV series Star Trek made it's first showing on NBC.  

So, what did TV viewers have to choose from that night?

It was difficult to find anything online for that night, and unless I wanted to shell out big money for a vintage copy of the Sept. 3-9, 1966 issue to some E  Bay thousandaire, I have only this to rely on: Star Trek ran in the 8:30-9:30 EST time block on Thursday night. Your options during that time would have been Star Trek on NBC, but if you were not inclined to watch a new show (or even a science fiction show), you had the option of The Tammy Grimes Show and Bewitched on ABC or My Three Sons and The CBS Thursday Night Movies (which was apparently a broadcast of the 1961 Jerry Lewis movie The Ladies' Man). 

 

"What's on TV tonight, dear?"

(Personally, based on this schedule, I would have started out my night and watched Batman and F Troop on ABC, then switched to NBC for Star Trek. I never heard of The Hero, but since I couldn't get into That Girl when it was on reruns in my childhood, and the premise of The Hero intrigues me, I probably would have gone that route, and ended my night with Burt Reynolds' crime drama Hawk. (BTW: Just to enlighten you, since you may be as clueless as I was, apparently The Hero was a sitcom with Richard Mulligan, in which he played an actor who had a day job as a gung-ho western TV show hero, but was a nebbish in real life). 

The legend of Star Trek has been rehashed over the years countless times. I don't need to go into a long drawn out detail of the history. In fact, if you really want to go down that rabbit hole there are plenty of books out there that can do it a lot better than I can. I recommend Star Trek FAQ by Mark Clark (who also did the same thing with Star Trek 2.0 FAQ, for the Next Generation series). for some really fascinating history, including a condensed biography of the show's creator, Gene Roddenbury. 

For the purposes of this blog entry I am only going to focus on facts that are necessary to set up the blog review.

Star Trek had two pilot episodes. The first one, titled "The Cage" had an entirely different crew than the one with which we are all familiar. The only actor that transitioned from that first pilot is Leonard Nimoy as Spock. The captain, the ship's doctor and the rest of the crew were replaced. (Interestingly enough, the one character that the brass wanted replaced, Spock, is the only one that made the cut...) The captain of the Enterprise was played by Jeffrey Hunter. (Side note: Hunter passed away before the first season ended it's broadcast, so obviously there would have been a monkey wrench thrown into the gears if this first casting had been picked up...)

Even though the powers,  that be did not like the first pilot they authorized a second pilot. Roddenbury recast the series with all new crew, although like I said, he retained the Vulcan character. Mostly. As you will see Spock went through a couple of changes from the first incarnation.

A laughing Spock??? The horror!

So, with that in mind, here is an overview of the failed pilot as well as the first broadcast episode of the original series. (Note: The first episode ever broadcast of Star Trek on Sept 8, 1966 was NOT the second pilot episode, "Where No Man Has Gone Before". That episode did not appear until the third week of it's broadcast run. The first actual episode that was aired was indeed "The Man Trap", and since this post is celebrating the launch of the series, that is the one I am covering. Some day I may double back and blog about that second pilot, just not today).

 

The original (& not all that impressive) title screen

Star Trek "The Cage" (a.k.a. The "Lost" Pilot): 

To begin with, the original pilot aired without the familiar preamble of "Space. The final frontier...". All you got was a few passes by the Enterprise with the title "Star Trek" and then just "starring Jeffrey Hunter". No other cast members were included, not even Nimoy. You did get a guest starring credit for Susan Oliver, but that was it.

Pike and Vina

 

The episode opens as the crew is discussing a phenomenon, which turns out to be an old-style distress signal from a ship that had disappeared 18 years earlier. Initially Capt. Christopher Pike (Hunter) is of a mind to mark the spot but not investigate, as some time prior to the beginning of the episode the Enterprise had been in a battle and had several dead crew members as well as some injuries, so the plan was to continue on their journey to a space station to get replacement crew members and help for the injured. 

On board the Enterprise

Pike is a somewhat different personality than Kirk. For one thing, early on he is a rather "stick-in-the-mud" type. He broods to the ship's doctor, Dr. Boyce (John Hoyt), over the stress of the job, and is considering resigning and just going home. But his plan is interrupted by the revelation that there are survivors on the planet that that earlier ship crash-landed on years before. So he Pike has to change his plans.

Pike confers with his bartender (errr... doctor)

What he discovers on the planet are the remnants of the scientists, including a young girl, Vina (Susan Oliver), who had been born just after the crash. Except, it turns out that the remnants of the crash are just an illusion created by the residents of the planet, called Talosians. The Talosians have evolved mentally, so that they can use their minds to create things designed to convince the Enterprise that there are things there that aren't really there.

Talosian

 

The ultimate goal of these illusions is to try to entice Pike to stay on and repopulate the barren planet of Talos. To achieve that, the only true survivor of the human crash, Vina, is going to be the female and Pike to be the male participant in this endeavor. The problem is that Pike is not willing to be the male "guinea pig" in this experiment. He is highly resistant to the idea of being a manufacturing plant for slaves for the Talosians.

Pike struggling to cope

 

However, being highly advanced intellectually the Talosians have an ace card up their sleeves. They aren't just going to concede, and they have the ability to basically force Pike to give in to their will. They have manufactured every conceivable inducement, including convincing the human Enterprise officers and crew that their "primitive" weapons are useless. When Pike's second-in-command, Known only as Number 2 (Majel Barrett) and his yeoman (Laurel Goodwin) are captured, they tell Pike that he WILL be their male ingredient in the re-population, but now he can have his choice of three women to be the other counterpart.

 

And what if I choose NOT to "choose"?

But Pike figures out that he has his own ace. The aliens are unfamiliar with the concept of hatred, and Pike realizes that as long as he holds his hatred of the situation at the forefront of his mind he can effectively block the aliens from controlling his mind.  Eventually the aliens will have to concede the gamble and let the Enterprise go, along with Pike and his crew. (You didn't REALLY think the aliens would win, did you?

When Roddenbury presented his conceived pilot, however, it was rejected as being too "cerebral". In other words it was nothing like what Roddenbury had promised; basically a Western in space. Or as he called it in negotiations a "Wagon Train to the stars".  But the powers that be had faith in the original concept, and authorized another pilot. This one, titled "Where No Man Has Gone Before", would convince the producers at the studio that the idea had merit.

"Where No Man Has Gone Before", however, would not actually air until the third episode. What eventually became the starting point for the series was an episode titled "The Man Trap".

Star Trek "The Man Trap" (original air date Sept. 8, 1966):

 

The improved title sequence

Roddenbury recast the entire crew for his series. Gone were Hunter as Pike, to be replaced by William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk. (The reason for Hunter's exit, apparently ,was because he didn't want to be involved anymore, not that he was replaced by a more fitting actor...) Although not in the second pilot, the ship's doctor was replaced by DeForest Kelley as Dr. Leonard McCoy (He doesn't actually show up until the second episode. In this second pilot we had Paul Fix as a Dr. Piper.) The Number 2 character ended up being melded into the Spock character, her pragmatic emotionless character becoming a part of Spock's makeup. (And we would almost never see Spock smile or laugh in this new form. Nimoy as Spock was the sole actor/character that made the transition.

Additionally, the entirely all-male white crew that populated the original would get a more culturally diverse makeup, including a black female, Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and an Asian officer, Sulu (George Takei). However, Uhura doesn't actually show up in the second pilot, and, for some reason, Sulu appears to be an aide to the doctor, judging by his uniform. (Did he graduate from life sciences to helmsman between the "Where No man Has Gone Before" episode and the "Man Trap" episode?)

The only missing character to the cast as we all know it was Walter Koenig as Chekhov. He only came on during the second season. (Which, by the way, leads to an interesting "glitch" in the plot to The Wrath of Khan, since the original "Space Seed" episode occurred during the first season, before Chekhov came on board. So one has to ask why Khan says he remembers Chekov in TWOK...)

So, as to why "Man Trap" got the primo spot as the series opener, it was judged that the other episodes in contention for the honor didn't have enough remote location (other planets) scenes, or as in the case of the first episode, too many of the key crewman not on screen. (no Uhura, only a brief view of Sulu and Scotty, and no Dr. McCoy).   

The setup for this first broadcast episode involves Kirk and company doing a routine stop on a planet to deliver supplies and conduct medical exams on Dr. Crater (Alfred Ryder) and his wife, Nancy (Jeanne Bal). Crater doesn't want to deal with all this rigamarole and just wants the Enterprise to leave a supply of salt tablets and be on their way. 

The SALT talks

 

Prior to landing Kirk has been teasing McCoy because in his earlier life, McCoy and Crater's wife had been romantically involved, until she ended up married to Crater. When they arrive, McCoy is astounded that Nancy hasn't seemed to age one day since they saw each other last.

Young Nancy

 

But something is not quite right... Because Kirk sees Nancy has a still somewhat attractive woman, but definitely showing signs of age. 

Old Nancy

 

And a crewman with them, Darnell (Michael Zaslow) sees her entirely differently than either: as a young attractive blonde (Francine Pyne). 

NOT Nancy

 

Clearly it is not really Nancy, and Crater is hiding something, though he professes to know nothing strange is going on. 

The real Nancy

 

When Darnell disappears (after following Nancy as the blonde for who knows what...) the crew on the planet find his body, dead. (That's what you get for fooling around with another man's wife, you little scrub...) Nancy (in her Nancy "disguise") tells them she tried to stop Darnell from eating a poisonous plant. But back on the ship they scientists determine that although the plant was poisonous it wouldn't have caused the skin mottling that Darnell has suffered.

The potential marriage interloper

 

Ultimately the audience learns that "Nancy" is not really "Nancy" but a creature indigenous to the planet, one that requires salt to survive. It is the last of it's species. It also has the ability (surprise, surprise) to read thoughts and shape change. In this aspect it manages to get itself beamed aboard the Enterprise. Since it can look like anything it wants to look like, it makes it hard to detect which of the crew members may not be who everyone thinks they are.

There are some serious issues that the crew, especially McCoy, has to deal with here. Not only the fact that killing it would mean the extinction of a species, since it is the last of it's kind, but also the fact that the creature is able to play upon McCoy's emotions, since he still has memories and attraction to Nancy and the creature knows it can use that emotion against him.

So, happy 60th birthday, Star Trek. You don't look a day over 59...

Quiggy

 

 

When Dracula Got Hammered (Part II)

 

Note: The first week of September in the United States is recognized National Blood Donation Week. Please donate, if you can. (I promise it won't go to feed Dracula!)

 

Quoted from Dracula FAQ by Bruce Scivally:

"After being lampooned by Abbott and Costello, it seemed the classic monsters were done for good. As the 1950's dawned, American horror movies were no longer being produced by major studios, but by smaller companies like American International Pictures and Lippert, companies that made cheap black-and-white "quickies"  for the entertainment of teenagers at drive-ins. But in England, one company decided to take a chance on reviving the old gothic monsters in lurid, living color."  

                                                                                                      -from Dracula FAQ by Bruce Scivally 

This is part 2 of a series on the Hammer Films Dracula movies from the 1960's and 1970's. Go to When Dracula Got Hammered: Part 1 if you haven't read it yet, or you may be lost...

 

 

 

 

Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966): 

We got back to having Christopher Lee in his customary role as the dental assistant's nightmare in Hammer Films' 1966 entry in the Dracula saga. Having taken a brief hiatus in the second installment (see previous entry), Lee returned with a vengeance. Yep. The bloodsucker was not truly dead, after all... (Surprised?)

Van Helsing must have been on vacation. Or else he was still tracking other minions of Dracula as he had been in The Brides of Dracula, because he is nowhere to be seen in this outing. Instead we get Father Sandor (Andrew Kier) as a vampire hunter. 

 

 

Sandor is an expert on who (and apparently who is not) a vampire. First we have a brief introduction relating the demise of Dracula at the hands of Van Helsing (as seen in Horror of Dracula), with a voiceover telling us the background:

"After a reign of terror spanning more than a century the king of the undead was finally traced to his lair high in the Carpathian Mountains.Though the decades many had sought to destroy him all had failed.Here at last was an adversary armed with sufficient knowledge of the ways of the vampire to bring about the final and absolute destruction. This then was his fate thousands had been enslaved by to obscene cult vampirism now the fountain head himself perished only the memory remained the memory of most evil and terrible creature to have ever set his seal on civilization." 

We come upon a scene where a group of people are attempting to drive a stake through the corpse of a young girl. They are interrupted by Sandor who chastises them as "barbarians", insisting that the girl is not a vampire, telling them that Dracula himself was killed 10 years earlier.  The priest present refuses to perform the burial, but Father Sandor says he will do it instead.

 

At the local pub a couple of married couples are drinking, at least one of them is. Charles Kent (Francis Matthews) is partying like there's no tomorrow, and buying drinks for the entire pub, albeit with the disapproval of his wife, Diana (Suzan Farmer) and sister-in-law, Helen (Barabara Shelly). Charles' brother, Alan (Charles Tingwell) is a bit more accepting of Charles' nature, or at least is resigned to the fact that he is incorrigible. 

 

Enter Father Sandor, whose first response is to disparage the owner from hanging garlic in the inn. He reiterates that 10 years have gone by and Dracula is dead... not just "mostly dead", but really really dead. He meets up with the Kents and discovers that they are on their way to Carlsbad, the former home of Dracula. An amiable sort at the start, if a bit off kilter, Sandor becomes positively adamant that the four should NOT go to Carlsbad, but won't say why.

 

But the vacationers think Sandor doesn't know what he's talking about and head out,regardless of his warnings. But it seems more than just Sandor doesn't want them to go... neither does there driver, who dumps them out of his cart still 2 km from their ultimate destination. Fortunately there is a castle nearby (one that no one seems to want to acknowledge exists, even Sandor). At this point you or I would probably say "Let's just camp over here under this tree..." But not our intrepid (or clueless) vacationers. They go on up to the castle.

 

Or more specifically, are taken there. They find a driverless carriage, and after boarding it with the intention of using it to get to Carlsbad, the horses on their own take the carriage to the castle. Where it seems at every turn they are expected. It's too bad no one listens to Helen, who is very suspicious of the whole situation. They might have avoided what comes next.

 

It turns out that the castle is inhabited by a servant of the former Dracula, Klove (Philip Latham), and he has some air of mystery about him, and a sort of subdued sinister attitude. This is not just a personality thing. He is actually involved in a plan to revive his dead master (who was reduced to dust in the first movie, which we saw replayed in the introduction). 

 

He dispatches Alan and uses his blood to give Dracula newly revived body, and Dracula's first victim, of course, is Helen. See? She was right to be suspicious...

 

Enter Sandor who, along with Charles and Diana, ends up in a struggle with the revived count. (I guess he wasn't entirely convinced by his own insistence that Dracula was entirely out of the picture...) Safety is assured when Sandor takes Charles and Diana to the monastery, because, as a new twist to the legend is added, the vampire cannot cross the threshold of the monastery unless someone invites him. Unfortunately, even in the monastery the vampire has some of his non-vampiric minions, specifically Ludwig (Thorley Walters), who, somewhat like Renfield from the classic novel, is a bit unhinged and lets him  in.

 

Ultimately we get a new twist on another way (besides crucifixes and sunlight) that can defeat the Count; running water. So Dracula is finally defeated... And if you believe that, I have a bridge I'm selling.  

 

This third film was released on a double bill with The Plague of the Zombies. It originally was budget at £100,000 and pulled in almost $2.5 million in ticket sales. Rotten Tomatoes gives it an 82% approval rating. Some of the critics pointed out there wasn't much new about the film, although one of them noted that the "Instant Dracula" part (where Klove uses the blood of Alan mixed with the ashes of the Count to create a new body) was fairly interesting.

This would make the third and final Hammer Dracula film that Terence Fisher would direct. Those three films, in my opinion are the best of the lot, as we will see. It turns out that production delays were the real reason we didn't get a return of Cushing as Van Helsing. By the time filming began he was obligated elsewhere. Kier, in his place, is acceptable, although hardly has the chops to be a great replacement. 

The film was made at the same time as Rasputin - The Mad Monk, which also starred Lee in the title role, as well as Shelley, Farmer and Matthews. Despite a rather contrived way to revive the Count, this has some things going for it. This despite the fact that Lee's lines in the film consist of only a few hisses. (I guess the revival process didn't include the vampire's vocal cords...)

 

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (1968):

You can't keep a bad man down (especially if there is money in the sale of sequels...)

So, if you watched the previous film, you know that Dracula had supposedly once again been dispatched (this time by drowning... or something like that). 

A year after an incident at a local church where a young boy found the body of a woman stashed in the church bell tower, the priest finds no one is willing to come to the church to attend Mass. The superstitious townspeople are afraid of going to church because Dracula's castle stands close by and the shadow of it touches the church. 

 

So a Monsignor (Rupert Davies), with the help of the local priest (Ewan Hooper), journey to the castle to perform an ritual exorcism.

 

Unfortunately the priest gets cold feet the closer he comes to the castle, so the Monsignor has to go on alone. While he is performing his rites on the castle a storm blows in. The priest, who has remained back a ways, is startled and falls, cutting a gash on his head. The blood from his wound drips into the river where Dracula has ended up. And, of course, said blood revives the Count.

 

Dracula is incensed that his castle has been defiled by the priest and has his new slave, the priest, dig up a coffin for him. Meanwhile, back at the village a party is underway, Paul (Barry Andrews), who intends to marry Maria (Veronica Carlson), the niece of the Monsignor, is celebrating with the town for her birthday. A lot of this outing centers on Paul and Maria, with the added third wheel of a girl named Zena (Barbara Ewing). Zena is thrown in almost as an afterthought, however. Zena is not Dracula's primary target.

 

What Dracula wants is revenge against the Monsignor, because he put up a giant cross at the doorway of Dracula's castle and performed his religious rites on the place. But instead of getting revenge on the Monsignor himself, Dracula intends to subvert his niece Maria. Ultimately he stops Dracula in his first attempt, but there is still a need to subdue the monster. And that may be a bit of a problem.

 

Because Paul is an atheist. And his would be partner is the now lapsed priest who has become Dracula's stooge. When push comes to shove, although they stake Dracula, neither has the faith to perform the ritual prayer that would end Dracula's reign of terror.

 

Dracula goes back to Maria and kidnaps her, taking her to his castle, where he wills her to remove the cross and chunk it over the parapet. It lands, conveniently, pointing straight up in the ground. Then, in a final battle with the Count, Paul throws him over the ledge, where the vampire lands (guess where...) And THAT ought to do it, don't you think?

 

 

Then again... maybe not...

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave doesn't measure up to The Brides of Dracula in terms of sheer terror. Most of the time is spent on character development of the subsidiary characters, although at least in this outing Lee as Dracula is granted some dialogue.    

Rotten Tomatoes gives this one an 80% rating, and, as would be expected, the franchise is starting to wear thin per the critics. Variety sums up the overall critical view with "[t]he story's slight, the horror and the bloodcurdling essential to these pix is minimal and even Dracula himself appears bored at being resurrected yet again." 

There were changes, as seem to be typical when dealing with Dracula movies. You will remember from the above movie that it was established that Dracula needed permission to cross the barrier into someone's house, but apparently they dispensed with that for this outing because he enters Maria's room without any preamble. Also is the added need for a prayer to be said over the staked Count. (Why the heck didn't they do that  the first time? It might have been over for Dracula by now...)

The production costs went up slightly for  this time. Much of it may have been to secure the services of Lee, but it had a budget of £175,000. There is no indication of exactly how much profit the film made, but wikipedia notes that it was the highest grossing film of all of Hammer Studio's output. An interesting note: In Dracula FAQ, Bruce Scivally notes that Lee wore a ring in the film that had been given to the actor by the renowned Forrest J. Ackerman.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave was to have been directed, once again, by Terence Fisher, the director of the previous three films, but he had been in an accident earlier, and was unavailable. The services of Freddie Francis were thus acquired for the work. Francis had a decent career as a workmanlike director for Hammer and Amicus, helming such films as The Evil of Frankenstein and They Came from Beyond Space. 

But many of you will know him better as the Academy Award winning cinematographer, which he won for Sons and Lovers in 1960, and Glory in 1989. He was also a BAFTA nominee for cinematography, getting noms for his cinematography on The Elephant Man (which lost to All That Jazz), The French Lieutenant's Woman (which lost to Tess), Glory (which lost to  The Sheltering Sky) and Cape Fear (which lost to The Last of the Mohicans). Clearly he was a great cinematographer, and even though he did not fill that role here, he still had an eye for what he wanted.

Well, tune in for the next installment tomorrow. And get thee to the bloodmobile.

Quiggy