TVSquad

Lorenzo Semple Jr., the pilot writer of the Batman television show of the 1960's (and writer of such movies as Three Days of the Condor), has written an article for Variety sharing his opinion of the Batman movie franchise. In it, he discusses the origins of the Batman TV show.

Semple has a very enjoyable, erudite writing style. Here's an example: "...I am often asked what I think of the string of Batman features which has followed. My answer disappoints. Truth is, I think only rarely about Warner's big-screen charades, for they are related to our antique effort in little beyond the eponymous title."

As one can guess, he doesn't really dig the new franchise. But Bob Kane, Batman's creator, didn't really understand Frank Miller's famous Batman comic book The Dark Knight Returns, so I guess it's a generational thing.

The article is also a good history lesson regarding how the business of television worked at the time. Recommended reading.

ComicBookMovie.com has an interview up with Adam West, who played the lead character in the Batman television series of the 1960s. He is asked his opinion of the current Batman movie franchise. Not surprisingly, West finds it too grim and gritty for his taste.

"It was silly and funny. With the villains, especially, it was almost Shakespearian because of the bizarre costuming and makeup," West recalls. "In those days we didn't rely on special effects as much so everyone was challenged to use their imaginations," he goes on to reflect.

NBC is going classic, with a twist. The network has ordered 13 episodes of a new drama series based on the Daniel Defoe classic Robinson Crusoe. This is far from the first time Defoe's 1719 novel has been filmed. The most recent incarnation was a 1997 Pierce Brosnan feature. In 1964, it was the basis for a French TV series.

This version is going to be a new take on the old story of a man who sets sail from England, his ship is wrecked in a storm and he's thrown overboard winding up alone on a deserted island where he has to fen for himself. In time, he is joined by an escaped slave whom he names Friday. Ben Silverman, NBC's head honcho, described the proposed series in this way: "It's part MacGyver, part contemporary morality tale about race and personal discovery, part comedy and part Castaway meets Survivor." As envisioned, this Robinson Crusoe will need to be clever indeed. It's going to keep the time period 1650's, but when Crusoe finds Friday, he'll presumably be treating him as if it were today with regard to race relations.

(S05E17) As I got into this episode, two things occurred to me. First, since next week is the season finale, when did they decide to cut this season to 18 episodes? More importantly for our purposes here though, this episode felt very familiar. It took a minute, but when Lois and Mayor West got to the debate, I remembered what it was. The main story was very similar to the season two episode, "Running Mates."

Welcome to TV Squad Lists, a feature where each blogger has a chance to list his or her own rundown of things in television that stand out from the rest, both good and bad.

Everywhere I go, young people ask me the same question, "How did you finish that whole sandwich in one sitting?" Then, when we're all done laughing, they ask me how they can become a TV expert like myself. So, as a favor to you aspiring Dukes and Duchesses, here are ten things you need to be a TV Geek.

1. At least one TV over 40 inches
Not all homes are built to accommodate a flat screen or a rear projection TV, if this is the situation in your house ... move.

Have you ever come across a show you used to watch as a kid and realized there was a lot of stuff that went over your head? I'm talking about those shows you enjoyed as a kid, but also enjoyed as an adult because they seemed to work on two different levels. Well, maybe it would help my explanation if I just dove right in and listed five shows I loved as a kid, and then rediscovered as an adult. If this triggers any memories, let it all out in the comments. Onward:

Batman: The old Adam West series was reran when I was younger, and I love it for its comic book / pop art aesthetic, kooky villains, and nutty fight scenes. What I didn't realize until I was older was how clever the show really was, and that it was actually very self-aware and downright hysterical at times. I don't know if I could imagine West playing a "serious" Batman, but I can't imagine anyone else in this role.

Despite the fact it went off the air a full eight years before I was born, I count the original Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward as one of my favorites. When I was in junior high there was a cable channel called The Family Channel which would air back-to-back episodes of Batman late at night. My dad would let me stay up on school nights and watch them, and since the episodes were shown together there was no waiting till next week to see how the cliffhanger played out. The show is fun to watch as a kid, but as an adult it's easier to catch all the subtle jokes and innuendo. Those who have watched the series after reaching adulthood realize it was actually much smarter and funnier than it seemed on the surface.

That becomes more evident when you check out this awesome collection of sound effects from the series. Well, not sound effects exactly, but the cards that would flash on the screen during fights with words like "POW!," "KER-PLOP!" and one of my favorites, "FLRBBBBB!" Not only is every effect listed, but they're also indexed according to which episode they appeared in. More people with a lot of time on their hands need to do things like this in order to provide me with weekend Web entertainment.

 [via Cartoon Brew]