Why didn’t anyone tell me this existed? I just picked up a DVD of Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt. It looks like a total blast. Here is the synopsis from DVD cover:
When the original Batmobile is stolen, there’s no time to call the police. This is a job for actors! Thirty-five years after BATMAN went off the air, a fiendish criminal mastermind is forcing Adam West and Burt Ward to relive their legendary pasts as The Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder. What went on when the costumes came off? The Dynamic Duo reveal the entire bizarre-but-true story through classic clips, surprise guest stars and THWAK!-filled flashbacks to the on-and-off camera controversies, scandals and ego battles behind one of the most wildly popular series in TV history!
Still-diabolical Bat-Villains Julie Newmar, Frank Gorshin and Lee Meriwether co-star along with Betty White, Curtis Armstrong and Lyle Waggoner in this reunion movie like no other, from the creators of SURVIVING GILLIGAN’S ISLAND!
I know what I’m watching this weekend.
Hard as it is to believe, I actually watched this!
As a kid, I loved watching reruns of the old Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. It was a popular show in it’s day, with celebrities literally lining up to play villains (Milton Berle, Vincent Price, Roddy McDowell, Joan Collins, Van Johnson, Otto Preminger) or at least make a cameo (I saw one where Bruce Lee, in his Kato guise, pops out through a window as Batman and Robin are scaling a building).
Even still, the show was a bit misunderstood. It was the first comedy show on television that didn’t use a laugh track, so some people took everything that was happening absolutely seriously, and if you do that episode after episode, the show eventually falls flat on it’s face. It really was designed to be a spoof.
I also love the career that Adam West has built up for himself nowadays, basically parodying his past persona (in much the same way William Shatner now does). He’s great.
I’ll have to check this one out.
This made for TV movie is decent from what I remember (I think based in part on Adam West’s book Back to the Batcave), but what I really want is for them to release the TV series on DVD. Seems ridiculous that they can’t work out whatever legal issues exist considering that I think it would sell quite well.