garcia60 Reviews

The New Adventures of Batman (1977–1978)

Blame the networks, not the show!

[19 February 2005]

First of all, I'd like to correct another poster who claims most of the original cast of the 1966 TV version of Batman provided the voices for this cartoon version. Only Adam West and Burt Ward came back to do the voices in this cartoon. Secondly, Charles Napier was never in the 1966 version of the show. Now, as far as this Filmation cartoon version of Batman is concerned, while it may not have been the best cartoon representation of Batman, it really gave the networks (at the time) what they wanted, a cartoon show with no violence. We can thank the PTA and similar groups at the time with a massive campaign to curb violence on TV. As a result, most cartoon shows being shown in the late 70s were pretty lame (boring). The networks would not have allowed a typical Batman story to be shown in the late 70s. The original Filmation Batman "The Adventures of Batman" (1969) was a lot better than this version. That version looked basically like a cartoon continuation of the 1966-68 TV series of the same name. While Hollywood continues to make Batman abominations today, the 1966 TV show continues being the most fun version of the character, with Adam West still being the definitive "Batman". Yes, the 1977 cartoon version may have been a bit boring, but we shouldn't blame the production as much as we should the networks. This was the kind of shows they wanted to release to the young public in those days. OK Batmite was annoying, but once again, don't blame the production, the character (as annoying as he is) was actually a character in the comics before he came to TV. As with most Filmation shows of the mid-late 70s, the New Adventures of Batman gave us a special "morals" message at the end of each episode. At least the shows in those days cared enough to instill morals in young people, something today's cartoons don't seem to care at all about. All in all, I would say that while this version of the cartoon Batman may not have been the best, it's certainly far and away better than most of today's cartoons. There's also a big reason this cartoon is worth seeing, it starred the voice of the man who will always be known as the "only" Batman that mattered, Adam West.