Wednesday, January 12, 1966: 'Batman'

-- From Susan Sontag's "Notes on 'Camp'," September 1964: @

-- Dialogue from a first "Batman" episode, from Know It All Joe: @

January 12: Batman, "Hi Diddle Riddle." (Premiere) This show, which is part adventure for the kiddies and part satire-pop humor for the adults, will be shown on Wednesdays and Thursdays in two segment. Adam West stars as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. In this episode, the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) lures our hero into a discotheque were he succumbs to Molly (Jill St. John). Robin is kidnapped and all ends in glorious chaos. -- McClure Newspaper Syndicate: @

January 13: Batman, "Smack in the Middle." More gimmicks, more wild puns and way-out humor in the second installment of the premiere of this new crazy show. The consensus seems to be that you either love the series with a dedicated fervor or it misses you completely. Tonight the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), who is holding Robin (Burt Ward) captive, decides to use him as bait for a horrible trap for Batman (Adam West). -- McClure Newspaper Syndicate: @

Programming note: "Batman" displaced "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (which moved from Wednesdays to Saturdays). "Shindig!", which had been running on Thursdays and Saturdays, was canceled.

* Guide to Season 1 episodes (Comics Alliance): @

* Summary from Museum of Broadcast Communcations: @

* Interviews from Archive of American Television: @

* The Batcave Archives: @

* Bat-Mania: 1966 Batman Online: @

* The 1966 Batman Message Board: @

* To the Batpoles! (blog): @
* "Now, Batman Hits The Tube! Zowie!" (Joan Crosby, Newspaper Enterprise Association, January 16, 1966): @

* "Here Comes the Batman" (Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal, January 16, 1966): @
* Life magazine, March 11, 1966: @ 
* Entry from "The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television" (John Kenneth Muir, 2004): @
* "Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon" (Will Brooker, 2013): @
* "Batman" (Matt Yockey, 2014): @

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