The Adventures of Batman

The Adventures of Batman is an animated television series produced by Lou Scheimer's Filmation studios. It showcased the 12-minute Batman segments from The Batman/Superman Hour, sometimes broken up by and surrounding another cartoon from Filmation's fast-growing stream of superhero stars. A re-branded 30-minute version premiered on CBS on September 14, 1968, as Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder. This version was repackaged without the Superman and Superboy segments.[1]

See also: The Batman/Superman Hour
The Adventures of Batman
Title card
Also known asBatman with Robin the Boy Wonder
Based on
Directed byHal Sutherland
Voices ofOlan Soule
Casey Kasem
Ted Knight
Jane Webb
Narrated byTed Knight
Theme music composerJohn Marion Gart
(credited as
"John Marion")
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes17
Production
Executive producerAllen Ducovny
ProducerNorm Prescott
Lou Scheimer
Production companiesFilmation
Ducovny Productions
National Periodical Publications
DistributorWarner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 14, 1968 (1968-09-14) –
January 4, 1969 (1969-01-04)
Chronology
Followed byThe New Adventures of Batman
Related showsThe Batman/Superman Hour
The New Scooby-Doo Movies

Olan Soule was the voice of Batman and is most likely best remembered for his work on that show, and many others in the Filmation stable. Casey Kasem, notable for his voiceover and radio work, was the voice of Robin.

Batman and Robin would next appear in two The New Scooby-Doo Movies crossovers, various versions of Super Friends (featuring Soule and Kasem reprising their Batman and Robin roles, respectively) and The New Adventures of Batman in 1977.[2]

Episodes

The Batman segment of The Batman/Superman Hour consisted of one story presented in two ​6 1⁄2-minute segments and one story in a single ​6 1⁄2-minute segment. 34 stories were produced (two-segment stories are listed first in each pairing):

No. in
series		 Title Original air date
1"My Crime Is Your Crime / A Bird Out of Hand"September 14, 1968 (1968-09-14)

  • My Crime Is Your Crime: Batman and Robin are thrown for a loop when they arrest Joker and Penguin for crimes they did not commit.
  • A Bird Out of Hand: Penguin unexpectedly goes straight.
2"The Cool, Cruel Mr. Freeze / The Joke's on Robin"September 21, 1968 (1968-09-21)

  • The Cool, Cruel Mr. Freeze: Mr. Freeze causes havoc in his quest to ransom $1 billion from the city and he uses a captured whale for his caper.
  • The Joke's on Robin: Robin seems to lose his skills after he rescues a man from drowning thanks to Joker. Features Batgirl.
3"How Many Herring in a Wheelbarrow? / In Again, Out Again Penguin"September 28, 1968 (1968-09-28)

  • How Many Herring in a Wheelbarrow?: Joker raids technology firms to build a powerful solar mirror he can use as a laser weapon.
  • In Again, Out Again Penguin: Penguin commits crimes and frames them on Batman and Robin even though he is supposedly incarcerated.
4"The Nine Lives of Batman / Long John Joker"October 5, 1968 (1968-10-05)

  • The Nine Lives of Batman: Catwoman traps Batman and exposes him to a radioactive gas that will allow her to identify him in his secret identity.
  • Long John Joker: Joker makes a movie about pirates — cover to find the haul from a long-forgotten armored car theft. Features Batgirl.

This episode features edited dialogue — in the show's syndicated run, as Catwoman and her henchmen pillage a jewelry exchange, it includes a line of narration, "The feline felon and her terrible tabbies indulge in an orgy of theft." This was changed in subsequent prints to "a spree of stealing."

5"Bubi, Bubi, Who's Got the Ruby? / 1001 Faces of the Riddler"October 12, 1968 (1968-10-12)

  • Bubi, Bubi, Who's Got the Ruby?: Bruce Wayne is captured by Penguin in the robbery of a valuable ruby. Unfortunately for Penguin, Catwoman is also after the ruby. Features Batgirl.
  • 1001 Faces of the Riddler: Riddler becomes an expert at disguises.
6"The Big Birthday Caper / Two Penguins Too Many"October 19, 1968 (1968-10-19)

  • The Big Birthday Caper: Riddler and Penguin try to expose Batman by staging a mammoth birthday party for him and wealthy businessman Bruce Wayne.
  • Two Penguins Too Many: Real penguins wind up helping Penguin and Joker.
7"Partners in Peril / The Underworld Underground Caper"October 26, 1968 (1968-10-26)

  • Partners in Peril: A deadly contest is staged by Joker, Penguin, and Riddler to one-up each other and gain control of Gotham City's criminal empire. Soon, Catwoman gets involved. Features Batgirl.
  • The Underworld Underground Caper: Riddler and Catwoman use an underground drill to commit robberies.
8"Hizzoner the Joker / Freeze's Frozen Vikings"November 2, 1968 (1968-11-02)

  • Hizzoner the Joker: Joker runs for Gotham City mayor and is able to win.
  • Freeze's Frozen Vikings: Mr. Freeze uses a Viking hoax to commit robberies.
9"The Crime Computer / The Great Scarecrow Scare"November 9, 1968 (1968-11-09)

  • The Crime Computer: Penguin seizes a mammoth computer to use to outwit Batman and Robin.
  • The Great Scarecrow Scare: Scarecrow steals a painting and captures Batgirl as part of his plot to dispose of the Dynamic Duo.
10"A Game of Cat and Mouse / Beware of Living Dolls"November 16, 1968 (1968-11-16)

  • A Game of Cat and Mouse: Catwoman steals the Crown Jewels, which Joker is also after.
  • Beware of Living Dolls: Dollman uses his dolls to pull off a crime spree.
11"Will the Real Robin Please Stand Up? / He Who Swipes the Ice, Goes to the Cooler"November 23, 1968 (1968-11-23)

  • Will the Real Robin Please Stand Up?: A youth who bears a stunning resemblance to Robin is used by Catwoman when he ends up with amnesia.
  • He Who Swipes the Ice, Goes to the Cooler: Mr. Freeze's diamond heist goes wrong.
12"Simon the Pieman / A Mad, Mad Tea Party"November 30, 1968 (1968-11-30)

  • Simon the Pieman: A flamboyant criminal pastry chef named Simon the Pieman and his gang steal valuables under the cover of the fairgrounds after they had gotten Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, and Mr. Freeze out of the way. Features Batgirl.
  • A Mad, Mad Tea Party: Mad Hatter starts an Alice in Wonderland-based gang in a plot to steal a priceless antique teapot to use as part of his mad tea party.
13"From Catwoman with Love / Perilous Playthings"December 7, 1968 (1968-12-07)

  • From Catwoman with Love: Catwoman sends Batman a cat for Valentine's Day, a cat with a collar that gives off radio waves. Features Batgirl.
  • Perilous Playthings: Catwoman and her henchmen crash the production of Tom Thumb in Toyland and use toy-based plots to defeat the Dynamic Duo.
14"A Perfidious Pieman Is Simon / Cool, Cruel Christmas Caper"December 14, 1968 (1968-12-14)

  • A Perfidious Pieman Is Simon: Simon the Pieman steals four million Turkish coins and is pursued to an electrical plant. Features Batgirl.
  • Cool, Cruel Christmas Caper: Mr. Freeze disguises himself as Santa Claus.
15"The Fiendishly Frigid Fraud / Enter the Judge"December 21, 1968 (1968-12-21)

  • The Fiendishly Frigid Fraud: A freak bombardment of meteors made of pure ice allows Mr. Freeze to stage a mammoth hoax.
  • Enter the Judge: An international criminal who is incarcerated on the island prison Satan Island ends up escaping disguised as a judge when his pardon is denied. Now he is going around crashing criminal trials, gaining the Cosgrove gang and other low-level crooks as his jury henchmen in a plot to eliminate all crimefighters.
16"The Jigsaw Jeopardy / Wrath of the Riddler"December 28, 1968 (1968-12-28)

  • The Jigsaw Jeopardy: Riddler plans to blow up Gotham City's art gallery and winds up trapping The Caped Crusaders as well. Features Batgirl.
  • Wrath of the Riddler: Riddler uses a construction site as his hideout. Features Batgirl.
17"It Takes Two to Make a Team / Opera Buffa"January 4, 1969 (1969-01-04)

  • It Takes Two to Make a Team: Joker, Penguin, and Riddler are after an Inca treasure map. They plan to break up the Dynamic Duo by making Robin jealous of Batgirl.
  • Opera Buffa: Joker seemingly traps Batman and Robin, but is haunted by their apparent ghosts when he tries to steal a valuable tiara at an opera.

The original villain Simon the Pieman makes a cameo appearance alongside Sweet Tooth in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "A Bat Divided".

Home media

In 1985, Warner Home Video released five selected episodes of the series on VHS in the "Super Powers" video collection along with Aquaman, Superboy and Superman.

In 1993, in Australia only, Warner Home Video released a four-volume VHS collection with four stories per volume.

In 2008, episodes were released as digital downloads on iTunes,[3] and streaming on Amazon Video.[4]

On June 3, 2014, Warner Home Video (via DC Entertainment) released all 34 original, uncut broadcast episodes on DVD in Region 1 in a 2-disc set entitled The Adventures of Batman.[5]

References
  1. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 114–122. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  2. "A History of Batman on TV". IGN. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
  3. The Adventures of Batman on iTunes
  4. The Adventures of Batman on Amazon Video
  5. All 34 Cartoons from Filmation's 1968 Series are Coming to DVD Archived 2014-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
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