KA-POW!

Get down and do the Batusi... 

There was nothing like the Batman show on television back in the 60's and in syndication during the 70's. I was barely into kindergarten when I owned my first Batman T-shirt. At that early age, I don't think that comic books were a part of my literary selection yet. I was still looking at Curious George and stuff like that. But on the tube, there were enough cartoon and comic heroes to inspire me to tie a blankie around my neck as a cape. Okay, so I couldn't tie a knot yet, but I convinced my mom to do the honours. Then I became the caped crusader for a few hours, foiling neighbourhood  villains and recovering missing cookies for young damsels in distress. 

I still got a kick out of that campy Batman series when I reached about age nine or ten. Good ol' mom even made me my own "real" Batman cape! The envy of all my friends. Or they just thought I was cuckoo. Regardless, I loved that stuff so much it was quite the obsession. I remember making my own Bat-Utility Belt.... not sure how I did that.... I think I used a wide army belt (handed down to me by dear old Grandpa, a WWII vet) and then built and attached pocket-like compartments sort of like those on Batman's belt. I think I even made a few little Bat-gadgets to go into those compartments, including a hand-made, non-functional (phooey!) Batarang (a bat-shaped boomerang, in case you didn't know). 

Burt Ward as Robin (well, just Robin - period, in TV, movies or comics) was always a curiosity in his little green underwear and booties, and short yellow cape. Not terribly cool or tough-looking, eh? But he was a loyal enough sidekick... I will give him that.

Then there was the master... the best Batman ever, Adam West, as Bruce Wayne and of course his crime-fighting alter-ego. The show was just plain fun with all of the colourful characters and wacky punch-outs. As a kid, I doubt I got many, or any, of the subtle "adult" jokes that I now understand. I've been dying to own a bunch (or all) of the episodes for years, and it now looks like we are in for a special Bat-treat later this year when the entire series will be available on home video (which means Blu-Ray for this fan). 

West's deadpan delivery of the silliest of lines is priceless. To youthful ward Dick Grayson/Robin: "When we have more time, I'll acquaint you with the various processes of sculptoring. It's a fascinating art to which I devoted many hours of study." Such a renaissance man.

The notion of a Bat-Suit Pill blew me away as a kid. Just add water and the tiny tablet quickly expanded into the full-sized superhero uniform! Who wouldn't want that? It sure got our Dynamic Duo out of a scrape more than once.

And that secret button inside the sculpted bust of Shakespeare in the Wayne library... which gave access to the Bat-poles and the Bat-Cave. Anything cooler than that? Only that our Dynamic Duo could change into their disguises "on the poles" en route to the cave, that's what! How'd they do that? Who cares... it was awesome.

We can't forget the most famous of all cars in fiction, the Batmobile. I had my own little Mattel diecast toy replica '66 Batmobile as a kid and probably loved that more than any of the other cars I owned.... Matchbox, Corgi, Dinky, whatever.