I loved it. In fact, I think younger generations would really enjoy it too as long as they can ignore the fact that it’s not the same kind of Batman that they know.
It feels a lot like the Austin Powers movies to me. It’s not really a parody of superheroes or comic books but more like a parody of the James Bond movies of the time.
Some of the jokes don’t quite land anymore but most of them do. I love whenever Batman and Robin are trying to piece together clues and they use logic that makes no sense but it all ends up being right anyway.(Robin: “It happened at sea. ‘Sea’? Catwoman starts with a ‘C’!”)
Speaking of Austin “Danger” Powers, Batman '66 meets Austin Powers is a groovy idea for a comic. WB owns DC and Austin Powers, so there’s no reason it can’t happen.
Batman 66 is silly good fun. I’m not too sure if younger generations would get it though. My cousins ages 10 and 8 can’t believe that the Batman 66 clip from the Lego Batman Movie is from an actual show.
I think people are less familiar with the camp genre. But, if you can just ride it like a wave (pun intended) it can really be a blast. I think a good starter for folks who “don’t get” ‘66 is Brave & the Bold. It has some camp elements. A good gateway into the genre.
@Misfit I used to have the surfing attire Batman and Joker figures, but I sold them a few years ago.
Conversely, I also used to have the McFarlane Toys (future producer of collector focused DC toys starting next year BTW) Austin Powers figures, but I sold those roughly 15 years ago.
Interesting how these assorted threads with Batman and Mr. Powers have intertwined. Let’s ask Austin what it’s all about. knocks on his door, hears a vigorous bicycle-pump-esque pumping sound Nah, let’s not.
When I first watched the 66 show I was 5 or 6 years old. At that age, It’s not campy…It’s Batman! Back then There was a Saturday Morning cartoon featuring West and Ward as the voices as well as the Legends of the Super Heroes Specials. As a result of all this, it’s no wonder I thought Batman was a current series rather than a short lived series from before I was born!
Many years later Batman came back with a Vengeance! Robin was killed in A Death in the Family and I picked up reading the comics right after that. A few months later the Batman movie hit theaters and I was on line all day at the movie theater attached to the Mall waiting for the Midnight opening.
It was around that time that I got the Batman official Bat-Book episode Guide and recalled all of the shows I hadn’t seen in years. A few years later FX started airing Batman and the Green Hornet and I was a kid again. True, my adult mind appreciated the stuff that went over my head when I was 5…but for the most part I was really able to jump back in without any of the prejudices that “serious” Batman fans had against the series. (On the other hand I thought it was a total blundering back step to have the later movies in the franchise take the same direction as the old TV show)
Now, whenever the TV show was on, I would be more than happy to watch it but I really wanted to own it. I think just about every other TV show I ever watched got a home video/DVD release before Batman finally came out!
