The New Adventures of Batman
- TV Series
- 1977–1978
- 30m
Batman, Robin and Batgirl fight crime in Gotham City with the "help" of Batmite.Batman, Robin and Batgirl fight crime in Gotham City with the "help" of Batmite.Batman, Robin and Batgirl fight crime in Gotham City with the "help" of Batmite.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Riddler was shown in the opening credits but never appeared in any of the episodes. This was because Hanna-Barbera held the rights to use The Riddler, Scarecrow, and Solomon Grundy for Super Friends (1973).
- GoofsBat-Mite was a magical imp from the fifth-dimension not the planet Ergo.
- Quotes
Batman: [Intro for every episode, with our heroes breaking the fourth wall] Greetings, Bat-fans! This is Batman...
Dick Grayson: ... And Robin, the Boy Wonder...
Bat-Mite: ... And me, too: Bat-Mite...!
Batman: ... Welcoming you to THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN! Watch us wage our never-ending battle of good versus evil!
Dick Grayson: Ride with us as we chase the greatest array of villains the world has ever seen, proving that *crime does not pay*!
Batman: Get set for thrills and action! Join me, Batman...
Dick Grayson: ... And me, Robin the Boy Wonder...
Batgirl: ... And me, Batgirl...
Bat-Mite: ... And me, too: Bat-Mite...
Dick Grayson: ... In the super-NEW ADVENTURES OF...
Batman: ... BATMAN!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman (2005)
THERE WAS OBVIOUSLY a lot of study done by the production of all of the previous productions; as well as an in depth re-examination of the comics pages, before the NEW ADVENTURES was kicked-off. This was being tailored to the Saturday morning Cartoon crowd and as such, has a decidedly Juvenile bent to it.
THE HANDLING OF the Batman Rogues Gallery was done in such a manner so as to avoid any potential criticism from any crusading parents groups or other arbiters of the public morality and welfare of the children.** So, we saw elements such as: The Joker's having black hair with only a streak of its original green. Joker also was given a pet Laughing Hyena. The Penguin also was affected, as he was not shown with his customary cigarette holder and favourite king-sized brand. (We were wondering, would they be KOOLS? Get it, Schultz? KOOLS had a penguin as their trade mark!)
AS SOMEWHAT OF a concession to the need for comic relief, the production resurrected an impish character from the past. BAT-MITE was an extra-dimensional Batman fan; whose one passion in life was to emulate the works of the Caped Crusader, even to the point of messing up a case. He would magically appear and then just as quickly disappear at story's conclusion..
THE CHARACTER FOUND new life in the cartoon series after having been set aside with many other on-going elements of the BATMAN Comics feature with the coming of the "New Look" in 1964.*** The Batmite character was a sort of carbon-copy knockoff of SUPERMAN'S long standing rivalry with enemy, MR. MXYZPTLK.
AS FOR THE general impression of the series itself, it is favourable. Having recently screened it with Grandsons, Jack and Patrick, we can honestly say that our opinion is one of recent viewing and not only made of bits and pieces of our ever diminishing memory.
WE FOUND THAT the stories presented were fast paced, thoughtful and totally appropriate for the small-fry crowd. The visuals were always bright and interesting. The usually rather brief scenes were linked with a brief snippet of the musical score accompanied with appropriate Bat-visuals.
AT TIME OF the original telecasts, little did we know of the multitude of BATMAN animations that would follow. We're not sure of how many there've been. But we do know that they'd keep a reviewer busy at his keyboard all Winter long!
NOTE: * The two Columbia Serials were quite different. BATMAN (1943) starred Lewis Wilson & Douglas Croft as the Dynamic duo. THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN & ROBIN gave us Robert Lowery & Johnny Duncan I the roles and introduced Commissioner Gordon to the screen in the person of Lyle Talbot.
NOTE: ** As an example, we point to the sudden halting of Hanna-Barbera's highly successful production, THE FANTSASTIC FOUR (1967). This was due to fears that children shouldn't be exposed to the flaming body of Johnny Storm, "The Human Torch." A later FANTASTIC FOUR series replaced The Torch with Herbie, a sort of R2-D2 like robot.
NOTE:*** Slumping sales prompted the change as long time Batman Editor, Jack Schiff, was replaced with Julius Schwartz. We've heard stories around Comics Fandom that Jack had wanted to do more of those great Batman vs the Underworld stories; but the publishers wanted more elements that made up the SUPERMAN Feature. Commonly known as the "Superman Family", it featured the likes of Krypto(Super-dog), Streaky (Supergirl's Super-cat) and all of the Superman supporting cast on the Daily Planet, etc.
With characters such as Batmite, the formula didn't work here. In the end the "New Look" went back to stories where Batman was at war with the criminal element; which was what Editor Schiff argued for in the first place. Go figure!!
- redryan64
- Oct 26, 2015
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color