| The New Adventures of Batman | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Based on | |
| Directed by | Don Towsley |
| Voices of | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | |
| Producer | Don Christensen |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | February 12 (1977-02-12) – May 28, 1977 (1977-05-28) |
| Related | |
The New Adventures of Batman is ananimated series that aired onCBS from February 12 to May 28, 1977, featuring theDC ComicssuperheroesBatman,Robin, andBatgirl. The series was aFilmation andDC Comics production in association withWarner Bros. Television (whose current parent company isWarner Bros. Discovery).[1]
InThe New Adventures of Batman, the "Dynamic Duo" fights crime inGotham City, encountering the classicBatman rogues gallery as well as some original villains.[2] Complicating matters isBat-Mite, a well-meaningimp from another dimension called Ergo, who considers himself Batman's biggest fan.[3] As a result, he wears a variant of Batman's costume and attempts to help him, only to often create more problems. Missing isAlfred, the faithful butler of Batman'salter egoBruce Wayne; also notable in this series are the inverted colors of the circled "R" on Robin's costume.[4]
In September 1968, beforeThe New Adventures of Batman, Filmation had created and aired an animated series namedThe Batman/Superman Hour for CBS. This series, the firstSaturday morning cartoon series for Batman, paired up newly made Batman and Robin adventures with Superman and Superboy segments from the existing seriesThe New Adventures of Superman. In 1969, it was repackaged into 30-minute episodes without the Superman segments and renamedBatman with Robin the Boy Wonder.
The New Adventures of Batman was produced concurrently withSuper Friends, which was produced by the competingHanna-Barbera Productions and included Batman and Robin as members, marking a rare occurrence in animation history which saw two studios simultaneously producing series featuring the same characters. The main distinction was that in Filmation's series, Batman and Robin were voiced byAdam West andBurt Ward, the lead actors of the 1960sBatman live-action series, while onSuper Friends they were voiced byOlan Soule andCasey Kasem, who had previously voiced the characters in Filmation'sThe Batman/Superman Hour.
The New Adventures of Batman premiered February 12, 1977, onCBS. The episodes from this series were later aired along with other Filmation shows — such asTarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976, CBS) — as part ofThe Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour (1977–1978, CBS),Tarzan and the Super 7 (1978–1980, CBS), andBatman and the Super 7 (1980–1981,NBC).
As with the prior Filmation produced Batman series, no backstory or alter ego were presented forCatwoman within the four episodes in which she appeared. The yellow and orange costume design used was unique to the series.
Penguin frequently rolls his 'r's and laughs in a manner similar toBurgess Meredith's portrayal, although he has a high-pitched posh accent. He appears in "Reading, Writing and Wronging", "Birds of a Feather Fool Around Together", and "Have an Evil Day, Parts 1 and 2".
Mr. Freeze appears in the episode "The Deep Freeze". Unlike his appearance in the show's opening credits, Mr. Freeze is shown without the helmet that goes with his freeze suit. He and his henchman Professor Frost plot to steal the N-1000 (a superfast submarine) to pull off the "Crime of the Century". When Batman and Robin raid his hideout, Mr. Freeze manages to freeze both of them and takes Robin with him as he escapes. When Freeze and Professor Frost steal the N-1000, they steer it to theNorth Pole. When Batman, Robin andBat-Mite face Mr. Freeze and Professor Frost at the North Pole, Batman and Robin fire a beam that reverses the polarity of Freeze's freeze gun so that it warms up. They then apprehend Freeze and Professor Frost where they are both placed into prison.
The Matt Hagen incarnation ofClayface must apply his special potion daily to maintain his powers as Clayface and often took on the forms of animals. In the episode "Dead Ringers", Hagen forces former criminal-turned-acrobat Kit Martin to help him kidnap Arabian Oil Minister Basil Oram and hold him for a $10 million ransom in exchange for not telling Martin's boss of his criminal record. When Batman attempts to intervene, Clayface stages a car accident to knock him out and stow away in theBatmobile to infiltrate theBatcave, where he learns Batman developed amnesia and uses this to discover Batman's secret identity. Bat-Mite however distracts Clayface long enough for the Bat-Computer to create an antidote for Batman's amnesia. Clayface escapes by water, but Batman pursues him in his Bat-Boat until the former's potion wears off and he nearly drowns due to his inability to swim. Batman saves Hagen and hands him over to the police. In the episode "Curses! Oiled Again", Clayface collaborates with Catwoman to steal a shipment of oil bound forGotham City during a cold snap and steal the country's oil supply, but Batman,Robin,Batgirl, and Bat-Mite intervene and defeat the villains. In the two-part episode "Have an Evil Day", Zarbor enlists Clayface, Catwoman, the Joker, and the Penguin to keep the Dynamic Duo busy while he steals America's nuclear power plants.
The Riddler andThe Scarecrow were off-limits to the show, asHanna-Barbera already had the rights to the characters forChallenge of the Superfriends (though The Riddler does appear in the opening credits of the show in a pink-colored costume, and was mentioned being arrested at the beginning of the episode "The Deep Freeze"). Conversely,The Joker was off-limits toChallenge of the Superfriends and did not appear on the competing show, though he was planned to be aLegion of Doom member.[5]
| No. | Title | Villain(s) | Written by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Pest" | TheJoker | Chuck Menville Len Janson | |
The Joker steals an experimental hydrogen-powered car while disguising himself as the inventor, but without his knowledge of the car's weakness. | ||||
| 2 | "The Moonman" | The Moonman | Chuck Menville Len Janson | |
Bruce Wayne's college friend, the astronaut Scott Rogers, has been infected with space waves that cause him to turn into the super-powered Moonman during the full moon. | ||||
| 3 | "Trouble Identity" | Catwoman | Bill Danch Jim Ryan | |
Catwoman steals a machine that changes trash into fine fabrics, and framesBatgirl for the theft. | ||||
| 4 | "A Sweet Joke on Gotham City" | Sweet Tooth | Mark Fink | |
Sweet Tooth executes a plot 4 out of 5 dentists would reject: to turn Gotham City's water supply into chocolate syrup for a $10 million ransom. | ||||
| 5 | "The Bermuda Rectangle" | Professor Bubbles | Arthur Nadel | |
A villain named Professor Bubbles and his henchman, Flow, capture ships carrying pieces to a weapon he can use to take over the world. | ||||
| 6 | "Bite-Sized" | Electro | Len Janson | |
The alien villain Electro shrinks Batman and Robin and mind controls them to help him steal government secrets. | ||||
| 7 | "Reading, Writing & Wronging" | ThePenguin | Mark Fink | |
The Penguin opens a crime school and steals Batman and Robin's utility belts. | ||||
| 8 | "The Chameleon" | The Chameleon | Chuck Menville | |
A shapeshifting villain named the Chameleon plans to shut down Gotham City's new lunar/solar collector. | ||||
| 9 | "He Who Laughs Last" | The Joker | Arthur Nadel | |
The Joker escapes from prison, planning to get revenge on Batman and Robin by giving them a series of clues linked to his crimes. | ||||
| 10 | "The Deep Freeze" | Mr. Freeze | Mark Fink | |
After seeing a news bulletin where Gotham City Police has announced the capture of the Joker, theRiddler, and seven of the most wanted criminals by Batman and Robin, Mr. Freeze and his henchman Professor Frost plan to steal the N-1000 (a superfast submarine) to pull off the crime of the century. | ||||
| 11 | "Dead Ringers" | Clayface | Len Janson | |
Clayface poses as Batman and forces a reformed criminal turned circus acrobat to pose as Robin in order to abduct Arab oil minister Basil Oram. | ||||
| 12 | "Curses! Oiled Again!" | Clayface, Catwoman | Chuck Menville Len Janson | |
During a cold snap, Catwoman and Clayface join forces to steal oil. At the same time, a TV newscaster named Boyd Baxter seeks to show up Batman. | ||||
| 13 | "Birds of a Feather Fool Around Together" | The Penguin, the Joker | Chuck Menville Len Janson | |
In order to win a criminals' election against the Joker, the Penguin invents the "Crime Slime", which can turn people into criminals. It makes him and Bat-Mite switch bodies and also seems to affect Batman and Robin. | ||||
| 14 | "Have an Evil Day (Part 1)" | Zarbor, the Joker, the Penguin, Clayface, Catwoman | TBA | |
Zarbor, a criminal from Bat-Mite's home dimension of Ergo, comes to Earth, enlisting Batman's enemies to keep the Caped Crusaders busy while he steals America's nuclear power plants. | ||||
| 15 | "Have an Evil Day (Part 2)" | Zarbor, the Joker, the Penguin, Clayface, Catwoman | TBA | |
Batman and Robin, the villains, and Bat-Mite follow Zarbor back to Ergo, hoping to foil his takeover plans, and recover the stolen nuclear power plants. | ||||
| 16 | "This Looks Like a Job for Bat-Mite!" | Zarbor | Chuck Menville Len Janson | |
Zarbor escapes jail in Ergo and returns to Earth, planning to become its ruler – with help from the Dynamic Duo. | ||||
The New Adventures of Batman was released on DVD on June 26, 2007, byWarner Home Video (viaDC Entertainment andWarner Bros. Family Entertainment); all 16 episodes are collected, and are presented in their original, uncut broadcast presentations and in original airdate order. A retrospective detailing the creation of the series titledDark Vs. Light:Filmation and TheBatman featuring Filmation historian Michael Swanigan and Filmation founderLou Scheimer is also included.
The first episode, "The Pest", was released along with an episode ofTarzan, Lord of the Jungle in theSaturday Morning Cartoons: The 1970s Vol. 1 DVD, also released by Warner Home Video.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment released the series onBlu-ray on June 25, 2024.[6]
Homage was paid toThe New Adventures of Batman in a 1998 episode ofBruce Timm'sThe New Batman Adventures. In the DVD release audio commentary for the 1998-1999 season, Timm and the rest of the series creators (writerPaul Dini, director Dan Riba, artistGlen Murakami, and storyboarder James Tucker) explain that the first segment of the October 10, 1998, episode "Legends of the Dark Knight" purposely makes use of the same designsThe New Adventures of Batman used for the Joker, Batman and Robin, as well as the same color schemes and shading in a nod to bothThe New Adventures of Batman and to Batman artistDick Sprang, whose style heavily influenced the visuals of the Filmation cartoon (along with Neal Adams). They further explain that the episode segment also purposely makes use of the trademark silliness and corny tone of the original series (which differs from the darker, serious tone of Timm's series) and also mimics the lowframe rate animation style used by Filmation.[7]
Information stated by the 1990s Batman Animated series Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami, Dan Riba and James Tucker, in the audiocomments.
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