What with all of the awesome Batman talk going around since Loot Crate’s February theme is BUILD, I decided to ask one of the best experts around about his incredibly fun toys. Check out what Ralph Garman had to say about the cult hit Batman show from 1966 and just what made his Bat-Gear so cool!
Candice Shane: Batman ’66 was absolutely rife with silly and somewhat useful gadgets. What older gadgets from Batman ’66 do you think could POSSIBLY have application today? Even if just for fun?
Ralph Garman: I loved the “Heel and Toe Bat-Rockets” from the John Astin/Riddler episode! I could fly over the Los Angeles traffic!
(20th Television/Warner Bros)
CS: Do you think an actual working Utility Belt is possible? What would you put in one?
RG: Sure! Although, I don’t think you could fit a 4-foot “Bat-Shield” in a pocket the way Adam West did. I would definitely have a Bat-Flask with a little booze in it for me.
CS: Say you were to cast a Batman ’66 reboot, which of the villains would you like to see in it? Joker is WAY too obvious and besides, I doubt anyone could handle Cesar Romero’s mirth.
RG: I always think that the 60’s Batman missed out on having Poison Ivy in an episode or movie. She first appeared in the comics the same year as the series! I always imagined Ann-Margret in the role. She was the ultimate sexy redhead in 1966!
(Columbia Pictures)
CS: Did you ever see the original serials with Batman & Robin? They were abysmal! The Wizard was a terrible villain. Someone who pretended to be wheelchair bound but would sneak off to another room to don a cape? It was a wreck. Why do you think they waited so long to bring Batman back to television in the sixties?
RG: Actually, those serials were so awful, that they were hilarious! Before the TV series, they were re-released so folks good laugh at how unintentionally funny they were! In the 60’s, TV and movie audiences were starting to get hip and appreciate irony. So, the timing was right to produce a TV Batman that worked on several levels. Action and adventure for the kids, and humor for that adults. It was a very “hip” idea that’s time had come.
(Columbia Pictures)
CS: What do you think of the new CW dramas with DC Heroes? Do you think the zany comedy hi-jinks from ’66 should make a return in something along those lines?
RG: I don’t think any of the major DC Super-heroes will ever be played purely for laughs again, but, I think the right “lower-profile” comic book character could definitely star in a TV comedy. Plastic Man? Booster Gold? Mister Miracle? Zatanna? Metamorpho? Doom Patrol? They could all work as a comedy, if they were done right!
