Michael Scott
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The Adventures of Batman: The Complete Series
Movie:
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Extras:
Final Score:
Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:
The 1966 Batman show was probably one of the most iconic in history. It influenced cinema at the time, has made us countless memes over the years, and was a huge change of pace from the traditionally dark and brooding Dark Knight that we had known in the pulp comics and TV shows of yesteryear. It was such a hit that right after the series ended Warner Brothers decided to make up The Adventures of Batman, a 30 minute comedy/action cartoon that was the first half of an animated hour called The Batman/Superman Hour. Basically 30 minutes of Batman mixed with various shorts, skits and other DC comic book shows getting a few minutes here and there (and also heavily involved Batgirl, something that wasn’t as common in the cartoons of that era). The show was not a massive hit, though, never fully realizing the success and humor that the live action Adam West show was able to achieve. Now some 55 years later Warner Brothers has pulled it out of the vault and spiffed up the short lived show for a Blu-ray release.
34 adventures are included in the disc, with non of the shorts and extras that make up the rest of the Batman/Superman Hour. I’m not sure what exactly was the problem in bringing the entire hour to disc, as it seems sort of strange to only bring the Batman side of the show into the mix. It would seem to my ignorant self that it would have been easier to just do the whole thing at once, but there might simply be rights or music issues that keep the rest at bay. Either way, it’s a sadly boring affair, as The Adventures of Batman was never a smash hit in the late 60s, and hasn’t garnered any more positive cult reactions over the decades.
Rating:
Not Rated by the MPAA
Video:
Audio:
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Extras:
Final Score:
The Adventures of Batman is a curious relic from the late 1960s. It never managed to capture the magic and charm of the 1960s Adam West Batman show, nor even the cultural heritage of Superman/Batman era work either. I personally would have rather had the entirety of the Batman/Superman Hour in one set vs. just half of it, but it IS kind of nice to see it pulled from the vault and spruced up a tad. Hardcore Batman aficionados very well may want to give this another spin, but for the majority of Animated DC comic lovers, this is one of the weakest show that the Dark Knight has been privy to be on, and may be a skip.
Technical Specifications:
Starring: Bud Collyer, Bob Hastings, Jackson Beck, Casey Kasem
Created by: Bob Kane, Bill Finger
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, French
Rated: NR
Runtime: 378 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: February 28th, 2023
Recommendation: Curious Relic
