It’s BATMAN ’66 WEEK — and we’ve got the Holy Bat-Grail!
Holy Exceeded Expectations!
The deluxe set arrived today and let me tell you, it is Bat-nificent!
All photos by Sam Greenfield
Let’s just get right to it, citizens! In order to get this review out to you quickly, I’ve only watched Hi Diddle Riddle — the first half of the pilot. But here’s what you have to look forward to when the set is released 11/11 by Warner Home Entertainment:
We’ve grown so accustomed to seeing the show washed out, it’s overwhelming to see hues so vibrant. Given the quality of color TV in 1966, this is absolutely the best we’ve ever seen. The opening stock footage of the World’s Fair is still a little grainy, but that’s to be expected. Once we get into the Moldavian Pavilion, you immediately notice just how great the transfer is. (This still is a photo off my flatscreen, just to give you a taste.)
The details are extremely crisp. You can see the texture of Batman‘s top and the rivets on Robin‘s tunic with true-to-life alacrity. Though clean-shaven, you can see the shadow of Adam West‘s beard. And when Batman and Molly do the Batusi, his cape shimmers while she shimmies in her orange-red minidress. You can even see the sharpness of Jill St. John‘s eyeliner. And unlike the muffled broadcasts on retro TV, the sound quality is first rate.
In short, the show is still indelibly (What a Way to) Go-Go Sixties — but it feels as if it were produced today.
The menus are colorful but basic. However, each half hour is broken into six chapters so you can quickly get to a favorite scene, which is particularly useful.
The set is rewarded with top-notch packaging. The box is sturdy and handsome, with a magnetized closure, The Hot Wheels Batmobile gives it extra panache, especially with its miniature Batcave background. The trading-card reprints are a nice bonus, and you get a sharply designed episode guide and an Adam West mini-scrapbook.
The extras also look good. I checked out the Batgirl pilot and the quality is not the same as the regular episodes but markedly better than what you’ve seen before.
Bottom line: This set is the Living End, Batfans — it’s everything we’ve wanted, and more. So enjoy the rest of these pix!
November 6, 2014
That world’s fair sequence was stock footage, so probably out of their control even back in 1965. Looks great, can’t wait.
November 6, 2014
My point exactly, Lou.
November 8, 2014
do they include all the audition footage????
November 8, 2014
The Batgirl pilot, the Burt Ward/Adam West test and the Peter Deyell/Lyle Waggoner test, are included. There’s also some Burt Ward karate and acrobatics footage but not all of it.
November 6, 2014
The quality of TVs in the 60’s has nothing to do with how the show was filmed. There are tons of shows from the 60s on DVD that look like they were shot yesterday, many of which were not remastered. And some that do not like the Lost in Space DVDs that were transferred from VHS masters. It’s all based on the source but the original prints, minus deterioration, should always look as good as film looks.
November 6, 2014
Of course. The point is that most people never saw it under optimum conditions. The color TVs of the ’60s were never going to pick up the details we see today.
November 7, 2014
They LOST IN SPACE was not transferred from “VHS Masters”, but The 2″ inch uncut broadcast format video masters done in the mid-1980’s. (Which were also used for the edited syndication masters used since then as well)
But Yeh. time that FOX makes new transfers like they did with TIME TUNNEL,VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA and LAND OF THE GIANTS.
November 7, 2014
Buzzy and Duke are on the back of Three. wicked sweet
November 7, 2014
I know! I howled when I saw that.
November 8, 2014
I haven’t received my copy yet, but I do have one question. I’ve heard it mention these episodes are uncut. Was there anything in the pilot episode that stood out as something you hadn’t seen before or seen before, but forgot about it?
November 8, 2014
The pilot seems complete, but there’s no Dozier narration over the World’s Fair stock footage.