"The New Adventures of Batman" (1977) TV series 1977-1978

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Writer:

Bob Kane (characters)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

12 February 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Animation | Crime

Plot:

Batman, Robin and Batgirl fight crime in Gotham City with the "help" of Batmite.

Plot Keywords:

Batman | DC Comics | Mask | Tarzan | Based On Comic

Cast

Melendy Britt	...	Batgirl / ... (16 episodes, 1977)
Burt Ward	...	Robin (Dick Grayson) / ... (16 episodes, 1977-1978)
Adam West	...	Batman / ... (16 episodes, 1977)

Also Known As:

The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour (USA) (rerun title)

Runtime:

30 min (16 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Canada:G (TV rating)

Company:

Filmation Associates

Trivia:

The 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 "Challenge of the SuperFriends" (1978).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Batman: Deep Freeze (#3.10)" (1994)

Best animated version of the Silver Age Batman

After seeing nothing but negative reviews so far, I strongly feel this series needs at least one positive review and that's clearly a job for me.

Why a positive review you might ask? Simple. While most fans first exposures to Batman were either through the comic books or the TV series (if you grew up in my time). For me personally, the New Advetures of Batman was my first ever exposure to the Batman universe. While this series is nothing and cannot hold a candle to the likes of Batman: The Animated Series, I feel it's the best quality version of the Silver Age Batman animated for Saturday mornings.

They only made 16 episodes and reran them endlessly from 1977 to 1981 starting off alone and then with Tarzan and the Super 7. I never once tired from watching these shows. The New Adventures of Batman put me on the map and led me to the TV series and then the comic books and finally, the SuperFriends, another top favorite of mine.

The best element this series had was the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward who portrayed Batman and Robin a little more serious or a little less campy than in live action. Commissioner Gordon finally looked like his comic book counterpart and I enjoyed Batgirl, the Joker, Penguin and his quack cackle, the sexy voiced Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Clayface. The best original villain let alone best episode this series had to offer was the Moon Man. Electro was also good. I also loved the full body rotoscoping animation style that was used plus most of the 70's style music for this series.

The worst elements this series had were, the inclusion of BatMite, but if they had to have him, at least he was regarded as a pest and a hindrance than as a friend like other useless cartoon tag alongs were. BatMite replacing Alfred was a bad move and the Riddler's absence from the series, yet his appearance on the intro in a wrongly colored red costume made no sense to me at all. And new villains like Sweet Tooth, Professor Bubbles,the Chameleon, and Zarbor all left a bad stain on this series.

I was glad to see this series again when the WB network aired them for a while in 2001 and if this series is ever released on DVD, it will be my holy grail. To me, Adam West was the best pre Kevin Conroy Batman voice over and the New Adventures of Batman is well worth checking out. I give it two thumbs up for making me the Batman fan that I am today. If you want the worst representation of Batman, I recommend Legends of the Super Heroes or "The Batman" series on WB.