How MAX’s THE PENGUIN Pays Tribute to BURGESS MEREDITH

NO SPOILERS! A tip of the beak to screendom’s original felonious fowl…

Did you watch the first episode of Max’s The Penguin, the spinoff of 2022’s The Batman? I can’t call it excellent yet because we’re only one episode in but the opener was definitely first rate and I recommend it without reservation.

Colin Farrell embodies the role in such a way that you forget there’s a handsome dude underneath all that make up. He is Oswald Cobb (as he’s named on the show — and no, I don’t have a problem with that).

Farrell’s Penguin is different from any other we’ve seen on the screen before — to his and the producers’ credit — but the folks behind the premium streaming show certainly have a lot of respect for the original: Burgess Meredith from the 1966 Batman TV show.

See, it turns out our protagonist — he’s a straight-up sociopath, by the way, not an antihero — lives above a jewelry store in Gotham’s Diamond District. Its name? Burgess Jewelry. Not just that, there’s a sign to the left depicting what looks like a jeweler with a monocle. It’s a loupe but there’s no doubt the sight gag is intentional.

The show is uploaded every Sunday at 9 p.m. If you haven’t, go check out the premiere, which went live Thursday, Sept. 19. I watched it a second time with my wife, who had to go to bed early Thursday, and I didn’t get bored for one second. (She dug it too.)

Very much looking forward to Episode 2.

MORE

— A FOWL RETROSPECTIVE: The Single Greatest PENGUIN Illustration Ever. Click here.

— SUNDAY FUNNIES WITH KERRY CALLEN: How THE PENGUIN Finally Got One Over on BATMAN. Click here.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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7 Comments

  1. The color of Oz’s car is also a nod to Meredith’s Penguin.

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    • Not only that, but he wears a purple suite.

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  2. I love batman 66.. am 44 yrs old and wish I was a child in the 60s watching it. The show is so ahead of its time and watching it as a child & then as a adult is literally 2 different experiences. No disrespect to any other penguin actors , but burgess is the best.. hes so colorful , elegant and evil.. the batman 66 show in my opinion, is the greatest show ever created. I loved being a child n watching it mon-fri from 330-430 on wlvi 56… great memories!

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  3. Really enjoyed the first episode. Looking forward to more.

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  4. I also believe that’s mickeys gym from Rocky that they’re sitting in front of in the last scene of the episode.

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  5. Just watched the first episode and Burgess wasn’t the only former Penguin actor paid homage to: just before Oswald and Victor get on the train to Mom’s house, the camera lingers on “Danny’s Roofing Corp.” Perhaps a nod to Danny Devito?

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