The Bat story goes back to his childhood when young Bruce witnessed muggers murdering his parents. The boy vowed vengeance on all criminals forever. These early editions depict Batman as a ruthless vigilante, much darker than his ‘60s renditions. During that time, the TV show and the comics mirrored one another.
But back in 1939, in DC Comics #33, Batman was just revealing his mission: “Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible…a…a…A bat! It’s an omen! I shall become a bat!”
A Delayed Video Release
Batman went off the air in 1968. Forty-six years later, it finally came out on video. Can you imagine waiting 46 years to stream your favorite TV show? Well, Bat-fans had to wait. News of the video release surfaced at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con event.
With Bat merch circulating the convention, comic fans got a taste of Batmania. Finally, at long last, the Batman DVD was released in 2014. Ironically, the only reason a copy of the 120 episodes existed was Mark Hamill. Using his star power, he convinced FOX to videotape a box set for his personal library.
FOX and Warner Hold ‘Batman’ DVD Hostage in a Perfidious Standoff
Holy quagmire! It seems audiences were lucky Batman was even released. Here’s the problem. The 1966 TV show was trapped in a legal snare, a dastardly tug-of-war like no other. ABC owned the television rights, DC Comics owned the characters, FOX owned distribution rights, and Greenway Productions (William Dozier’s company) shared ownership with FOX. Later, Warner-owned DC.
This lead to a fight to the death between FOX and Warner over distribution rights. At one point in the standoff, a Warner Bros. exec said he would never allow FOX to release a Batman home video. His exact words? “Over my dead body.”
William Dozier Voiced the Narrator
William Dozier played a major role in creating and producing Batman, but what many people do not know is that he was also the narrator of the show. The role is uncredited, but the voice is unforgettable. “Tune in tomorrow: Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!”
Dozier stepped out of the box creating the show; he knew it was something special, something avant-garde, something original. One modification from the average sitcom is that it does not have a laugh track. Instead, like cartoons, it has music. At first, when it flopped during screening, he tried adding a laugh track but took it off.
Just Don’t Call It Campy
In general, the first word people use to describe the TV series is “campy.” And there are a few reasons why. The 1960s comic book Batman is also called campy. Yet when Adam West wrote his 1994 memoir "Back to the Batcave," he said he did not think the show should be called campy.
In his behind-the-scenes tell-all, he said the show is more like a farce or a lampoon. And it’s true; there is a bat cave full of lampoons! But since then, other renditions of Batman in TV and film have taken themselves much more seriously - most notably, Christopher Nolan's trilogy, which is a very dark version of the story.