Season One of "Batman," was excellent, especially the terrific first episode with Frank Gorshin as The Riddler and Jill St. John as Molly the Mole.
The Season Two opening episodes are another matter.
Stanley Ralph Ross' script is banal in some places, and just too weird in others. Art Carney, who is normally a fine actor and performing artist, seems distracted in his role as The Archer. No wonder: His marriage was ending around this time, and he was having hard times personally. He does not have a script to work with here that could have done him or Barbara Nichols justice.
Making this episode more offensive is Robert Cornthwaite's performance as Allen A. Dale, one of the Archer's henchmen. His nasally accent is incredibly annoying. It's nice to see Doodles Weaver and Sam Jaffe here, but they cannot save this mess.
The only reason I give this a "1" is because of the performers here. Ironically, Messrs. Carney and Cornthwaite, and Ms. Nichols, all appeared in "The Twilight Zone," and they had much more to work with! Everyone, from the viewers to Adam West, the regulars and guest stars, deserved better.
Much better.
The Season Two opening episodes are another matter.
Stanley Ralph Ross' script is banal in some places, and just too weird in others. Art Carney, who is normally a fine actor and performing artist, seems distracted in his role as The Archer. No wonder: His marriage was ending around this time, and he was having hard times personally. He does not have a script to work with here that could have done him or Barbara Nichols justice.
Making this episode more offensive is Robert Cornthwaite's performance as Allen A. Dale, one of the Archer's henchmen. His nasally accent is incredibly annoying. It's nice to see Doodles Weaver and Sam Jaffe here, but they cannot save this mess.
The only reason I give this a "1" is because of the performers here. Ironically, Messrs. Carney and Cornthwaite, and Ms. Nichols, all appeared in "The Twilight Zone," and they had much more to work with! Everyone, from the viewers to Adam West, the regulars and guest stars, deserved better.
Much better.