#174 Women in Season 2, pt 1: From the Childish to the Badass

12/09/21 • 91 min

To The Batpoles! Batman 1966

While Batman season one seemed to have a consistent view of women - incapable of being hardened criminals, attracted to luxury items (and Batman), etc. - season two (as is true in many respects) tends to be less consistent. While some molls are ditzy and childish, others not only have agency, but seem more intelligent than the villain. Ma Parker and Marsha appear as the first two truly villainous women (aside from Catwoman) of the series. Even Aunt Harriet shows herself to be smarter and tougher than we'd previously seen. In this episode, we're once again joined by novelist Nancy Northcott to talk about women on Batman, this time in the first half of season two.

PLUS: a MIDI version of the Batman theme, more from Adam West and Burt Ward about the movie and the series, Holy Deja Vu focuses on a particular season two moll, and we read your mail about our episode on Adam West Naked.

Previous Episode

#173 Batman ’65: Developing the Idea

What was the cultural environment in the US in 1965, as Batman was being developed? What were the events that led up to the decision that William Dozier would indeed make a Batman show? If TV in the ‘60s was thinking about what it could do better than movies, what’s the answer to that question, and did it show up on Batman? What were some of the rules that Lorenzo Semple Jr made regarding how Batman and Robin should be written? This time, we look at what was going on in 1965 and the discussions that led up to ABC and Greenway’s agreement to make Batman.

PLUS: Marin Drake’s metal version of the Batman theme, Maxwell Smart encounters a very familiar Frenchman in Holy Deja Vu, more from Adam and Burt about the making of Batman the Movie, and your response to our episode 170 discussion about Batman on 1970s Power Records.

Memo from Dozier to Semple 4/20/1965: The topic of the Madrid meeting (thank you Mr. Glee)

Bruce Lee letters (thank you Ben Bentley)

Bat Message Board thread - episode 170

Contribute to the Dan E. Kool's Visonic Dome Kickstarter page!

Next Episode

"Movin' with Nancy" review SPECIAL

These Batpoles were made for slidin’! This time, we enjoy the holidays and take a break from the Batpoles to present our special look at the 1967 Nancy Sinatra TV special Movin’ With Nancy! It’s a detailed, admiring, but sometimes irreverent look at a program we love.