My Review of DC TV's Crossover: "Crisis On Infinite Earths: Hours 1-3" (Supergirl/Batwoman/TheFlash)

It's time for the biggest crossover event that the Arrow universe could come up with and while in years past, I would've reviewed the whole thing together, this time around, it's an event that has five episodes, spanning two months, so here's a review of the first three hours of Crisis On Infinite Earths.

Written by Robert Rovner & Marc Guggenheim & Derek Simon & Jay Faerber & Don Whitehead & Holly Henderson & Lauren Certo & Sterling Gates & Eric Wallace
Directed by Jesse Warn & Laura Belsey & David McWhirter

Anti-Monitor: "It is time to end the age of heroes and everything you hold close."

In last year's crossover event, Elseworlds, we knew this moment was coming and it's certainly been prepared for with the latest seasons of two of the shows in question. As we kick things off in the Supergirl side of things, worlds are being destroyed and Kara herself can do nothing to save her mother, Alura (Erica Durance) as Argo City is one of the first worlds to perish but the use of Lyla/Harbinger (Audrey Marie Anderson) does however mean that most of our players are not perishing as Kara is soon reunited with Superman, Lois Lane, Green Arrow, Mia Smoak, Sara Lance, Batwoman, The Flash and The Atom and in this first part, there's a mixture of recon with some of the group, getting Jonathan Kent back from Earth 16 in 20148 where Sara briefly reunited with an older Oliver while in the present day, our Oliver ended up a casualty.

Now this early in the game seemed a little too quick to have Oliver killed off and needless to say once we move into the Batwoman segment of things, this was something that wasn't going to stick. I did like Sara voicing concerns about bringing Oliver back from the dead even Mia wasn't so keen on listening to then. Then again, the second part did give us an interesting team up of Sara, Mia, Barry and Constantine as they managed to bring Oliver back from the dead but it took striking a deal with a certain someone in The Flash side of things and Diggle reaching out to his "brother" in order to get Oliver back on side. Of course the biggest highlight in the second part of this installment was Iris, Lois and Clark trying to stop Lex Luthor's (Jon Cryer) one man mission to kill as many versions of Superman as he could by setting the Earth 96 version of the character (Brandon Routh) onto our Clark before Iris and Lois managed to get one over on Lex. Having Routh get to play a role he played over a decade ago was great for the second and third parts of this crossover event. It's like he never left the role to begin with.

However while I was happy to see another Superman in the mix, the only Batman we got was in Earth 99 and had become a homicidal maniac that died a rather anticlimactic death to boot. On the plus side, he was played by Kevin Conroy who made the most of his limited screentime and aside from Ruby Rose, at least Cadmus Johnson was the only other member of Batwoman to appear in this episode, albeit as a more nihilistic and somewhat off putting version of Luke Fox. I did like the scenes that Kate had in these episodes with both Bruce and Kara and the fact that the she was getting her head around the bigger universal threats beyond Gotham.

An ongoing theme in the episodes was the fact that they are seven Paragons out there that are able to stop the Anti-Monitor (LaMonica Garrett) and throughout the episodes we learned that Supergirl represented hope, Batwoman courage, Sara destiny, Earth 96 Superman truth, Martian Manhunter honor, The Flash love while newly added into the mix, pre second Atom Ryan Choi (Osiric Chau) of course would represent humanity. Of course as a new father/husband, Ryan was somewhat reluctant to embrace his destiny until Iris was able to reach out to him and Ryan jumped onto the Waverider along with everyone else as the Anti-Monitor and Pariah (Tom Cavanagh) brought things to a rather interesting standstill.

By the end of this episode, it seemed that Oliver was about to become the new Spectre after the previous one, Jim Corrigan (Stephen Lobo) while Earth 90 Flash (JohnWesley Shipp) made a noble sacrifice to help save this Earth, along the arrival of Black Lightning in the third hour also helped matters to boot. It might have taken three seasons but it seems that Jefferson is now a part of this universe, even if he has lost his wife and daughters in the mix. I do get the feeling though that in the next two hours, both Jefferson and Kara are going to find their Earths merged in with Earth 1, assuming that all the deaths on the Waverider are of course reversed and can we talk about Lex Luthor replacing Earth 96 Superman so he could be a Paragon? Damn, that fella will do anything for attention.

- Okay cameos and there were a lot of them in these three hours, so let's break them down.
- Earth 9: Titans with both Curran Walters and Alan Ritchson appearing as Robin II and Hawk, then Earth 66 had Burt Ward as himself while Earth 89 had Robert Wuhl as a Gotham City citizen.
- Earth X saw a brief appearance of The Ray while Earth 75 showed us Lois grieving over a dead Superman.
- Earth 76 only gave us Mick but also a voice cameo from Wentworth Miller as the Waverider's Leo Snart.
- Earth 167 gave us Tom Welling as a retired/non powered Clark Kent and Erica Durance's Lois Lane as they both have daughters, live on the farm and Lex was not impressed with Clark being normal now.
- Earth 203 briefly gave Huntress (Ashley Scott) with a voice cameo from Dina Meyer's Oracle while Earth 666 also gave us Lucifer (Tom Ellis), who flirted with Constantine and Earth 18 also gave us a more sleazier version of Jonah Hex (Johnathon Schaech). We also got an appearance from Wil Wheaton on Earth 38 and Griffin Newman on Earth 1. I think that covers everything.
- Basically shows/movies such as Batman (1989), Smallville, Birds Of Prey, Lucifer, Superman Returns and Titans are now sort of a part of this universe.

Crisis On Infinite Earths has gotten off to a flying start and while this is the most ambitious and fan service driven event yet, there's definitely a sense of things being set up for the future (Mia's spin-off for a start) and the end of an era for other things. I loved so many moments, it's impossible to highlight them all and I certainly gasped at certain parts too. It's going to be a long wait for the remaining two parts of this event but I don't doubt it will be worth it though.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Batman 66 - Episodes 117-120 Reviews

Well, it's the final blog for this particular side of the Batman universe (or is it?) and the moment has kind of been prepared for. Without further ado, my thoughts on the final four episodes of Batman 66.

3x23: I'll Be A Mummy's Uncle

Remember earlier in the season when it appeared that King Tut learned who the Dynamic Duo were? Well, let's revisit that thread again but before I do, I should point out that originally this episode along with The Unkindest Tut Of All were actually meant to be a two parter before they were separated as episodes. Here though, King Tut actually managed to get into the Batcave, worked out that Bruce and Dick were Batman and Robin and even came close to revealing all before a ceiling somewhat collapsed in on him and set him back to his more harmless alter ego. Oh well, Tut, you came closer than others did. 8/10

3x24: The Joker's Flying Saucer

If any Batman show could do something with aliens, it would be this one but alas, it's a hoax or more of a convoluted scheme on the Joker's part in his last main story for the series. It's not his greatest of schemes and there's a bit where Alfred is unconvincingly undercover as a mad scientist while Batgirl winds up being taken hostage by the Clown Prince of Crime. Cesar Romero does put in a good final performance but it's a disappointing story compared to his earlier efforts in the third season. 6/10

3x25: The Entrancing Dr. Cassandra

With two episodes left to go, I admire the show for deciding to give us three more original villains. In this one, we've got enchantress Cassandra Spellman (Ida Lupino) and her less focused on husband/right hand man, Cabala (Howard Duff) cooking up an interesting scheme involving invisibility pills and the use of six of the biggest baddies from the show - Catwoman, Penguin, Joker, Riddler, King Tut and Egghead. The only catch is that none of the actors behind these roles actually reprise them but instead it's body doubles at the ready while the Terrific Trio briefly experience a moment as cardboard cutouts before being restored by Alfred. It's also noteworthy for this episode being the first Batgirl got to appear in the Batcave while Robin showed signs of attraction towards her as well. Cassandra is a decent baddie too and while I would've preferred the original back, it was nice to get another glimpse of the six most popular foes in the series. 8/10

3x26: Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires

Last episode and while I like, it really doesn't feel like a finale. I mean, it's pretty enjoyable but overall, it's a bit mundane. There's a nice guest appearance from Zsa Zsa Gabor as final baddie/spa owner, Minerva who is stealing from millionaires by using one of her devices to read their minds and of course we nearly get the Dynamic Duo steamed to death while Batgirl and Alfred also play their role in Minerva's eventual downfall. There's also a brief team up with Freddy the Fence (he really does liking working with female baddies). For a final episode, it's nothing special but decent enough I guess. 6/10

I'll probably review Return To The Batcave: The Misadventures Of Adam And Burt at a later date. This series review was a lot of fun to do though.

Batman 66 - Episodes 113-116 Reviews

In a batch of stories, we've got the arrival of the police commissioner who wants to make the city a man free zone, a little bit of counterfeit cash from a fraudulent bird and a train robbery to boot. Mixed bag people.

3x19: Nora Clavicle And The Ladies' Crime Club

If there's one thing this show has been good with, it's been creating their own villains and with Nora Clavicle (Barbara Rush), you've got another entertainingly over the top female antagonist, albeit one with a little bit of straw man feminism probably going against. For most of this episode, she successfully replaced both Commissioner Gordon and O'Hara with her own female police force before restraining the Terrific Trio in one of the most dangerous bondage scenarios they've ever been in. Then a bunch of wind up exploding mice kind of put paid to her overall scheme and things went back to normal. Still though, while probably one of the least PC episodes the show has ever done, it's also a rather amusing one too. 7/10

3x20: Penguin's Clean Sweep

This season alone, the Penguin has tried a shotgun wedding with Barbara Gordon and even got up to some dodgy horse racing schemes with Lola Lasagna but here, he's resorting to a daft scheme with counterfeit money while also trying to use a bit of Lygerian Sleeping Sickness in order to deal with Batman, Batgirl and Robin as well at one point in the episode. There's also a scene where Bruce and Barbara are enjoying a bit of coffee as well, only for that to be interrupted by the return of another baddie too. This is technically the last time we see Burgess Meredith as the character, although not exactly the last time we see the Penguin. 6/10

3x21: The Great Escape

Yeah, I have to admit to not being the greatest fan of Shame as a character, so another two parter with him and his newly formed gang (including a rather posh speaking Mexican guy who seems to be disdainful of Shame) wasn't exactly on my list of things I would have wanted to have seen in this final season. The oddest bit happens towards the end of the episode where Shame employs fear gas in order to terrify the Terrific Trio and take Batgirl as hostage. That begs the question - if the show could use fear gas for an episode back in 1968, why couldn't this have been a Scarecrow two parter instead? I'd like to think had this show been fortunate enough to have bagged a fourth season, we would've seen Jonathan Crane in the show. It slightly annoys me that Shame was allowed to do that. 5/10

3x22: The Great Train Robbery

Some of this episode was spent with Batgirl being a helpless damsel in distress for Shame and the gang and then there was the trade off with her and Shame's future mother in law. The rest of the episode then had a botched robbery and Shame becoming a victim of his own fear gas with even Batman calling him a sissy at one point. Like the Nora Clavicle episode before it, there are some pretty awful stereotypes and as a two parter, it just didn't engage me enough to really care about anything. On the other hand, at least the end scene set up a welcome return of someone else. 5/10

My last series blog will take in I'll Be A Mummy's Uncle, The Joker's Flying Saucer, The Enchanting Dr Cassandra and Minerva, Mayhem And Millionaires.

Batman 66 - Episodes 109-112 Reviews

In this selection of episodes, we've got another two parter, more male/female villain pairings and the return of a certain flower powered baddie.

3x15: The Ogg Couple

Following their fun pairing earlier in the season, it seemed only right that Egghead and Olga would be back for a second course. The time around, Olga is preoccupied with getting herself a certain scimitar while Egghead and Batgirl are given some rather delightful dialogue as they both attempt to double cross the other. Egghead's wimpiness is played up a lot in this episode as Batgirl herself nearly ended up becoming caviar until the Dynamic Duo stepped into to save the day. The biggest highlight of this episode however was the reveal of two certain characters working together, leading into the events of the next two episodes. 7/10

3x16: The Funny Feline Felonies

While this isn't the first time the Joker and Catwoman (Eartha Kitt) have worked together, this is a rather interesting two parter with the former convincing everyone that he's a reformed character while being "kidnapped" by the latter as the two of them seem to be treasure/gun power hunting. This team up also sees the two of them breaking into the home of a music mogul and stunting his voice while both Batman and Robin wind up being paralysed. There's also an amusing plot where Batgirl initially tried to conceal some information from the Dynamic Duo, in spite of Batman being aware of what she was doing and the more said about Catwoman's vehicle this episode, the better. It's certainly a big highlight for this episode. 8/10

3x17: The Joke's On Catwoman

I'll admit the second part of this story isn't quite as strong as the first part was but there's still a lot to enjoy. Batgirl gets herself briefly trapped when she interacts with Joker and Catwoman and then there's the trial scenes with the dastardly duo trying to get off with a rather corrupt lawyer to boot. Of course, this does become their own undoing. For a team up though, I did enjoy Joker and Catwoman's scenes together and while Eartha's previous story was better, this was still a great second story for this version of Catwoman. 7/10

3x18: Louie's Lethal Lilac Time

Keeping with the returns, as we head into the end of the season, we got another episode for Louie as this time around, he's kidnapped both Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, meaning that Batgirl was the one who had to do the crime fighting this week as she head to head with Louie. It's a strong enough second run for Louie, if not strictly one for Bruce and Dick but I did like to see Batgirl being more of the main hero this week. Then there was the last bit where Commissioner Gordon was going to be receiving an award, setting up the arrival of another new female villain.  7/10

Next blog I'll delve into Nora Clavicle and the Ladies' Crime Club, Penguin's Clean Sweep, The Great Escape/The Great Train Robbery.

Batman 66 - Episodes 105-108 Reviews

This time around we've got a three parter that takes place out of Gotham while Catwoman returns to slay the competition.

3x11: The Londinium Larcenies

It's rare for the show to take the action out of the city and for the second time in the show's three season run, we're in three part territory with a story that I'm going to be candid here, I'm not keen on. Aside from the fact that this story doesn't engage me enough to take over three episodes, I just don't greatly care for the villains of the piece - brother and sister act, Lord Marmaduke Ffogg (Rudy Vallée) and Lady Penelope Peasoup (Glynis Johns), who when they're not running a finishing school for lady thieves headed by their niece Prudence, are also out to steal the crown jewels as well. There's also the likes of Chuckingham Palace, Ireland Yard, Tower of Londinium etc to get one's head around as the Dynamic Duo, Barbara/Batgirl, Alfred and Commissioner Gordon all find themselves in unfamiliar surroundings. I also can't unsee that homage to Ringo courtesy of Dick at the beginning of this one too. 6/10

3x12: The Foggiest Notion

The middle part of this not so thrilling three part saga and it's a bit of a lacklustre affair. Batman gets himself tied up by a group of thugs at an East End so that Ffogg can briefly wipe away his memory while Robin and Batgirl find themselves at the mercy of both Prudence and Penelope at different points in the story. Robin even gets a moment where both him and Batman are nearly about to be stretched with a little help from the Londinium bridge as part of the cliffhanger for this particular episode. 5/10

3x13: The Bloody Tower

The ending to this disappointing three parter has a brief appearance from Aunt Harriet (who due to ill health in real life was only a guest star this season), Batgirl chained up for most of the episode as well as Robin getting mauled by Prudence's finishing school ladies when he wasn't near death's door over a beesting while Ffogg and Penelope's overall scheme to steal the crown jewels was undone by the end of this episode. While it was nice to experiment and take the action out of Gotham, this at best would've worked a single part story. I don't think it was engaging enough to have had three episodes dedicated to it and I just didn't find the main villains that fun compared to others. 6/10

3x14: Catwoman's Dressed To Kill

After a rather dull three parter, this was a welcomed return to form. If Gotham can give us three versions of Poison Ivy, this show did two better with three versions of Mr Freeze and now, Catwoman. Following Julie Newmar and briefly Lee Meriwether, it was time for a new Princess of Plunder and who better than Eartha Kitt to assume the role for five episodes this season? Tonally, she's different to her predecessors and while I am disappointed Catwoman's flirtation with Batman is toned down, the antagonism with her and Batgirl is pretty amusing, especially as the latter nearly became a pinafore until Alfred stepped in. Kitt is just superb in this role and I would've loved to have seen more of her, had the show gotten a fourth season. The plot with stealing Queen Bess golden fleece is amusing enough and there's a nice cameo appearance from fashion designer, Rudolf Gernreich in this overall stylish adventure. 8/10

Next blog I'll delve into The Ogg Couple, The Funny Feline Felonies/The Joke's on Catwoman and Louie's Lethal Lilac Time.

Batman 66 - Episodes 101-104 Reviews

Settling into this third and final season, we've got a flower themed villain (but not the one you want), another team up and a surfing competition to behold.

3x07: Louie The Lilac

In 1966, DC comics created a wonderful character named Poison Ivy, who we all know has an affinity and control over plants. In 1967, the third season of this show instead of adopting Ivy into the series (which would've been great) decided to create a similar but male equivalent to Ivy with purple wearing, flower influenced gangster, Louis The Lilac (Milton Berle) who even managed to get the Dynamic Duo nearly eaten by a man eating Lilac while trying to make a deadly name for himself in the perfume industry. Eventually Louie and Poison Ivy would meet in the comics and I do think had this show gotten a fourth season, the latter would've appeared on it. As for this episode, it's pretty nifty with Louie being another strong original villain, not to mention the delightful team up with Alfred and Batgirl to boot. 8/10

3x08: The Ogg And I

In the previous season, this show introduced us to one of their best original character with Egghead (Vincent Price) and knowing that he was a clear success, decided to bring him back for another two part adventure. This time though, he's joined by Russian royalty, Olga - the latter played by Anne Baxter who previously played Zelda in the first season. In this story, they kidnap Commissioner Gordon and our terrific trio work together to try and rescue Gordon, only to come afoul of some rather effective tear gas. The episode also boasted Olga wanting to marry both Batman and Egghead while Robin and Gordon nearly became a pot roast in this enjoyably madcap episode. 8/10

3x09: How To Hatch A Dinosaur

Keeping with the madcap zaniness of the first part of this story, the second part certainly doesn't let things up either. The idea of Egghead and Olga stealing a giant egg with the hope of awakening a Neosaurus is delightfully bonkers and for a scant moment, I actually thought their plan was going to be a resounding success. A little part of me was slightly disappointed to see that it was Batman only pretending to be the extinct dinosaur in order to scare Olga and Egghead into surrendering themselves to O'Hara but it still made for a rather funny scene. Similarly funny was the balancing Alfred had this episode with giving both Batman/Robin and then Batgirl the same information without either group knowing that he was working for the other. 8/10

3x10: Surf's Up! Joker's Under!

Last episode there was the threat of a dinosaur actually popping up, so I thought the zaniness quota for this season was met but apparently not. In this surfing themed episode, the Joker used a device to steal all the surfing abilities out of Barbara's friend, Skip while his minion briefly turned the Dynamic Duo into surfing boards. Then there was the fact that both Batman and Joker took part in a surfing competition, as observed by Buzzy and Duke (aka Gordon/O'Hara undercover rather unconvincingly I might add). Episode wise, this is definitely one of the most memorable episodes for the Joker. His best, I'm not sure but definitely one of his most memorable though. 8/10

Next blog I'll delve into The Londinium Larcenies/The Foggiest Notion/The Bloody Tower and Catwoman's Dressed To Kill.

Batman 66 - Episodes 97-100 Reviews

Settling into the third season, we've got two new female antagonists, more Penguin and two incidents where the Dynamic Duo's identities nearly became known.

3x03: The Wail Of The Siren

Getting Joan Collins for this show must have been a coup at the time and here, she's bloody fantastic as the seductive Siren. The Siren's overall plans in this one are also pretty solid and nearly successful to boot. She managed to get Commissioner Gordon to sneak into the Batmobile and get into the Batcave and she nearly cleaned Bruce Wayne out of his fortune. What didn't go her way was the rather effective team up with Robin and Batgirl who managed to undo her overall great schemes. It's a pity this was the only time we got to see the character, but at least it was a memorable episode for her. 8/10

3x04: The Sport Of Penguins

After appearing in the opening and briefly in the previous one, it kind of feels like we've gotten a bit too much of the Penguin too early in the third season. This time around, he's working with Lola Lasagna (another one off female baddie) in some daft scheme involving horses while also still smarting from being jilted by Barbara Gordon. The team up with Penguin and Lola to one side, it's not the most exciting of episodes but it's the first time in the season we're back to multi part stories though. 6/10

3x05: A Horse Of Another Color

A somewhat better second half to this two parter, only for the fact that we get to see Penguin and Batgirl actually race each other along with an undercover Dick, sporting a dodgy Spanish accent that even Lola doesn't seem too bothered to not find suspicious at any point. Much as I like the Penguin as a character (and found his growing vendetta towards Barbara to be childishly amusing), I do wonder if this story would've been somewhat better had Lola just been the main villain or if she had been paired up with another baddie for example. Still though, at least this segment made it a little more interesting. 7/10

3x06: The Unkindest Tut Of All

Three episodes ago, we had Commissioner Gordon close to exposing the Dynamic Duo's identities and within this episode, we also had King Tut doing the same thing. When he wasn't making prophecies come true, he was also trying (and failing to prove) that Bruce Wayne was Batman while also referencing a few other baddies and getting a meeting of his own with Batgirl. There's also an amusing subplot where Bruce and Barbara are seemingly set up on a date by the latter's father and to be honest, it's as awkward and as forced as any Bruce/Barbara pairing has ever been. Even in the 60's, DC tried (and failed) to make this a thing. 8/10

Next blog I'll delve into Louie the Lilac, The Ogg and I/How to Hatch a Dinosaur and Surf's Up! Joker's Under!

Batman 66 - Episodes 93-96 Reviews

Finishing up the final two parter of the second season sees the return of an icy customer with a new guise along with the first two episodes of the third season debuting another hero and a different format for the show.

2x59: Ice Spy

Like Catwoman by the time we get to the third season of this show and Poison Ivy on Gotham, sometimes you just need at least three actors to play your baddie. For his last appearance on the show, Mt Freeze is now played by Eli Wallach and this time around, he's got a willing female accomplice in ice skating queen Glacia Glaze along with a messenger seal (who is just adorable) in order to hold the city to ransom once again before shoving both Batman and Robin into a vaporizing pipe pump cabinet for the cliffhanger of this story. There's also a brief cameo from the Carpet King, representing the last Bat climb for the season as well. 7/10

2x60: The Duo Defy

After 60 episodes (and I'm genuinely flabbergasted this second season amount to that many episodes), it was time to bring things to an ending. This would be the last time the show would be just the Dynamic Duo and had things been a little different, this could've also been the ending to the series had a certain pitch not persuaded ABC to pick it up for a third run. While Freeze does get a brief chance to make Gotham a little colder, he is easily defeated by his own seal being used against him at one point while the last scene had Bruce, Dick and Alfred playing with cars, courtesy of Harriett. It's a decent enough ending for the second season. 7/10

3x01: Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin

For the show's third season a few noticeable changes were made here. First of all, was the massive reduction in episodes and the use of single part stories, but the latter still had lead ins to the next story as the Riddler made a brief cameo at the end to set up his return in the next episode. The biggest change however was the addition of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl (Yvonne Craig) with the character being added into the revamped opening titles while Barbara found herself the unwilling would be bride of the Penguin and Alfred mistook as the priest slated to marry them. Craig's addition to the show is a stroke of genius with Batgirl feeling like a natural inclusion into proceedings as the Dynamic Duo find themselves grateful for her help as well as a bit curious as to her real identity. The show did need a prominent female presence at this point in it's life span and no better than Batgirl. 8/10

3x02: Ring Around The Riddler

Hinted at in the opening episode, the Riddler finally came back with Frank Gorshin reprising the role for the first time since the first season/1966 Movie and it was like he was never gone from the part. This time around, the Riddler is kidnapping a prize boxer Kid Gulliver and getting him to throw the fight while also taking Batman on in the ring itself with hilarious results. There's also Batgirl popping up a few times, scuppering some of the Riddler's scheming while the Dynamic Duo also enlist Barbara Gordon's help at one point in the episode. The episode also nicely sets up Joan Collins Lorelai Circe/Siren (who vocals have no effect on women), who despite allying herself with the Riddler has her own plans for Commissioner Gordon as the ending for this episode showed. 7/10

Next blog I'll delve into The Wail Of The Siren, The Sport of Penguins/A Horse of Another Color and The Unkindest Tut Of All.

Batman 66 - Episodes 89-92 Reviews

Getting close to the end of the second season, we've got another origin female baddie and a rather artistic turn from a familiar baddie to enjoy here.

2x55: Black Widow Strikes Again

I love this show for it's original baddies and while Black Widow (no, not that one!) isn't one of my favourite, this two parter does have a delightful performance from Tallulah Bankhead as the titular baddie of the piece. Black Widow has a talent for using her cerebral controlling devices to rob from as many banks as she can and soon enough, she attracted the attention of the Dynamic Duo. They also fell into her little web trap with some of the dodgiest spiders to precede a certain Doctor Who serial as well. 7/10

2x56: Caught In The Spider's Den

Well, the oddest moment in this episode is either seeing Black Widow trying and spectacularly failing to pass off as Robin with a glorified corpse as Batman during one of her robberies or having Robin break Batman out of Black Widow's thrall by getting him to sing a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan. They're both strange moments in an episode where the Black Widow ended up becoming a victim of her own device. Two parter wise, it's not my favourite but it has some decent moments. 7/10

2x57: Pop Goes The Joker

With so many stories for the Joker in the series, it's been amusing to see what the show would do with him next and for this one, they decided to go down the route of him being an artist to the elite of Gotham. He even got himself a rather dimwitted sponsor with heiress Lisa, who seemed a bit too quick to declare him a winner of an international competition before holding a few rich people (including Bruce Wayne, who easily antagonises the Clown Prince) hostage and ending the episode with Robin about to become a bloody masterpiece to boot. 8/10

2x58: Flop Goes The Joker

The highlights for the second half of this two parter all stem from Alfred. Whether it's his paintings being used to undo the Joker's latest schemes, actually seeing him dual with the Clown Prince and take pleasure in making the latter suffer a little with the Bat Poles - this is definitely one of Alfred's best episodes. Heck, we even get him managing to get O'Hara to take home one of his paintings at the end. I am surprised however that the Joker didn't suss out that he was about to head down to the Batcave though and Lisa is easily one of the worst female accomplices (unwitting as she was) we've had on the show. Other than that, a great second half though. 8/10

Next blog I'll delve into Ice Spy/The Duo Defy, Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin and Ring Around The Riddler.

Batman 66 - Episodes 85-88 Reviews

It's time for a crossover as our Dynamic Duo meet another team of crime fighters while a certain Pharaoh makes another appearance.

2x51: A Piece Of The Action

Despite an earlier episode actually featuring them on television, it seems that the Green Hornet and his trusted companion, Kato exist in the Dozier Batman universe as well. Van Williams and Bruce Lee take their characters to Gotham City for this two parter and there's an implied rivalry between Bruce Wayne and Britt Reid as well as a rivalry between the Dynamic Duo and Green Hornet/Kato. There's also a rather pink wearing villain in Colonel Gumm (Roger C. Carmel), who has something of a thing for alphabet soup and stamp - the latter being the cliffhanger as one duo gets turned into giant stamps while the second group await the same fate. 8/10

2x52: Batman's Satisfaction

A strong second part to this story. I did like seeing both groups working together in order to take down Colonel Gumm's plot while his former female assistant Pinky and her also pink dog Apricot when they weren't taken being held captive by Gumm seriously, also seemed to be of the belief that Bruce was the Green Hornet and Britt was Batman, much to the amusement of Gordon and O'Hara. For a team up episode this was a lot of fun and while it's nice that another one happened in the Batman 66 comics, it's a pity it didn't happen here again. 8/10

2x53: King Tut's Coup

Ah good, another appearance for King Tut. He started off again as his mild manner professor with two new college jocks wanting to take his class before resuming his King Tut persona and crashing a fabulous party in order to kidnap socialite, Lisa (Lee Meriwether) whom he believes is a reincarnated version of Cleopatra. Needless to say, things don't end well for the Dynamic Duo as Batman finds himself entombed and Robin is powerless to stop himself when Tut isn't calling him a tattle tale, which as a line cracked me up. 8/10

2x54: Batman's Waterloo

Concluding this two parter, Batman managed to get out of his predicament but Robin spent a good deal being captive along with Lisa while both the Caped Crusader and King Tut had an amusing exchange of words courtesy of radio host Jolly Jackson while Lisa's father attempted to come up with a ransom for his daughter. Let's just Tut has something of a potty mouth when provoked while a lady in waiting did her best to save both the Boy Wonder and 'Cleopatra' before Tut's usual downfall came into play. As for Bruce and Lisa - well, we know Adam West and Lee Meriweather have chesmitry as Batman and Catwoman and here, they did as well when Bruce accepted Lisa's invitation for milk and cookies after ten o'clock. Bruce, you cad. 9/10

Next blog I'll delve into Black Widow Strikes Again/Caught in the Spider's Den and Pop Goes the Joker/Flop Goes the Joker.

Batman 66 - Episodes 81-84 Reviews

It's a case of robots and blackmail for one baddie while another finds mischief in college and fencing expensive jewels.

2x47: The Joker's Last Laugh

The Joker's back and this time, along with another female assistant, he's got a slew of robot bank tellers to try and help him seize control of Gotham's banks while Bruce Wayne goes undercover in an attempt to undo the Clown Prince's latest scheme. It does go somewhat wrong for Bruce when Robin ends up getting captured and Bruce is forced to be the one to pull a lever. I do find it amusing how the show sends up Bruce's unconvincing undercover story with the Joker doubting it initially before deciding to go along with it. 7/10

2x48: The Joker's Epitaph

You have to give it to the Joker. When his attempts of blackmailing Bruce Wayne fail, he then gets his female accomplice to force the latter into an engagement and it almost worked, until Batman and Robin managed to get the Joker's teller robots to work against him that. Then there was the subplot of having Bruce almost committed by Gordon and O'Hara along with the absurdity of Alfred in Batman's costume for good measure. 7/10

2x49: Catwoman Goes To College

You'd think with her many crimes, Catwoman would be setting up her own courses in criminology rather than wanting to take one of them but it seems not. Instead, she's attending a lecture by Batman, sipping sodas with him while also getting one of her minions to pose as the Caped Crusader in order to discredit him towards a new police Captain. When none of that works out, she then resorts to putting the Dynamic Duo in a large cup so they can be scalded but again, this is another one that shamelessly plays on the BatCat dynamic. 9/10

2x50: Batman Displays His Knowledge

A fantastic second half to one of the best two parters of the episode. I loved the little meta commentary the Dynamic Duo had as they escaped the boiling coffee pot of doom while finding Catwoman's inability to get rid of some hot diamonds absolutely hysterical, more so when Freddy the Fence told her they were actually fake for good measure. Then there was that particular scene with Batman and Catwoman as the latter tried to bring him over to the dark side and failed yet again. Given that this was the last time Julie Newmar properly played the role again until 2016's Return Of The Caped Crusaders animated movie, this was a superb last outing for her fantastic take on the character. 9/10

Next blog I'll delve into A Piece of the Action/Batman's Satisfaction and King Tut's Coup/Batman's Waterloo.

Batman 66 - Episodes 77-80 Reviews

And with this batch of episodes, we've got the team up making more than movies and a familiar baddie with a different actor in the role.

2x43: Penguin Sets A Trend

Last week we saw the Dynamic Duo, they were being catapulted into the air but with the timing of the Batmobile, that cliff hanger moment is resolved pretty sharpish. I did like that Batman faked a thirst for the spotlight even if the Penguin saw through it rather fast and the episode ended up with both Batman and Robin about to be crushed. There wasn't so much for Marsha or Hilda to really do in this episode other than catch frogs, so it loses points for that I'm afraid. 7/10

2x44: Penguin's Disastrous End

Seeing Marsha performing the Seven Veils on a bunch of security men might have done nothing for me but it certainly pleased. This final part of the trilogy had our main baddies trapped in a vault at one point for three days as Penguin didn't seem pleased with Aunt Hilda cooking more frogs for dinner while at the same getting to wreck a tiny bit of havoc with a golden tank before being stopped by the Dynamic Duo. Overall, this was a stronger trilogy than the previous Penguin one. 7/10

2x45: Batman's Anniversary

This season has been lacking a certain baddie and given that Frank Gorshin was something of a no show, it was up to John Astin to assume the role of the Riddler for one two parter and while I prefer Gorshin in the role, I do think Astin is decent enough, though lacking the former's eccentricity in the part. This episode did centre on an anniversary for the Dynamic Duo, so having them nearly drown in a cake seem rather appropriate. 7/10

2x46: A Riddling Controversy

The second half of the two part story upped the threat with the Riddler wanting to use Professor Charm Demolecularizer to shrink most of the city, though it's mostly seen used on a statue more than anything else. Astin does a decent enough in the second half of this story and we did get to see Riddler putting a dictator into a rather elaborate trap before being stopped by Batman and Robin.  Overall, it's a solid enough only run around for Astin in the role. 7/10

Next blog I'll delve into The Joker's Last Laugh/The Joker's Epitaph and Catwoman Goes To College/Batman Displays His Knowledge.