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The Hullabaloo Dancers - Batman

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Pilsner Panther

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Love it or hate it, this is part of American pop culture history. The male host is George Hamilton, but I don't recognize the woman. If you're expecting the Rockettes here, forget it... precision is not this dance troupe's strong point. As to just what their strong point might be, who knows?

I didn't even know that there was a full-length version of the Batman theme, complete with a bridge. An interesting discovery, but not exactly on the same level as finding a lost Bach or Beethoven manuscript.

 ::)

[youtube=425,350]kZk1jhyptAg[/youtube]


Offline shemps#1

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Wow, given how old Hamilton is and how old that clip is he hasn't changed all that much looks wise. I'm going to guess that's Lainie Kazan sitting alongside him, since this is probably from the second time he hosted Hullabaloo. I might be wrong though.

The Batman TV show is by far one of, if not the worst comic book related tv show/movie ever created, and I'll tell you why. I am a fan of the Batman character, quite possibly the best comic book character ever created. What made Batman work when compared to the likes Superman, Spider-Man etc. was that he was dark, brooding, and a much harder edge than his contemporaries. The Adam West Batman helped turn Batman into a bonified pussy overall; the reverberations of the TV show were felt through the comic books long after the show was cancelled. It wasn't until the mid 80's when Frank Miller penned the Dark Knight series of comics that Batman went back to Bob Kane's original creation.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish." - Unknown


Pilsner Panther

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The thing I always found most interesting about the original DC Comics Batman is that unlike his compadres like Superman, The Flash, and the others, he has no super powers. He's got his utility belt with all the gadgets on it, but other than that, he's just a regular human being. This sets him apart and makes him more of a believable character, because bullets won't bounce off his chest and he can't outrun them either— so when he's in danger, he's taking a lot more risks.

As to the TV show, I guess you just have to take it for what it is, a prime example of 60's "camp," the idea that a show (or a painting, or music, or whatever) could be "so bad it's good." Andy Warhol seems to have started this trend, with his "paintings" that are nothing more than silkscreened photographs with a few daubs of color added. Warhol couldn't have been serious, and he had the last laugh, since those things now sell at auction for six and seven figures!

This little clip is an example of the only kind of "camp" that works, because it's unintentionally bad. The set looks like they spent about $100 on it (if that), for the big canvas backdrop of the Batman logo, and the dancers must have had no more than two rehearsals.

As for costumes, "Hey Fred, run over to Woolworth's and pick up a dozen white sweaters and a dozen white pairs of pants!"

I'm no expert on dance, having been to the ballet exactly twice in my life, and it didn't do anything for me... and it wasn't my idea to go, either time. Still, even if you don't know a thing about coreography, it's impossible not to see how uncoordinated these people are. Watch closely, and you'll see that a couple of times they almost crash into each other, and in the middle part with the girl in the center and two guys on either side, she's off her mark and is way closer to the guy on the right than she should be.

It was the dancing that almost had me on the floor, and was what made me think that the clip was woth posting here.

 ;D


Offline shemps#1

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I could enjoy it for 60's camp if the campiness were exclusive to the TV show. Granted the TV show was not the sole reason for the decline in quality of Batman and comics in general. After the infamous Seduction of the Innocent and the subsequent advent of the Comics Code Authority just about every superhero comic was neutered and many genres were destroyed (such as crime and horror comics). Of course this almost destroyed comics, but when Marvel came out with the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk etc. there was a major rebound.

The influence of the Batman television show made its way directly into the comics, which became even more neutered and campy in an attempt to glom of the show's popularity. This made for some shitty Batman comics, and Batman as a character wouldn't rebound until the Dark Knight series as I said above.

I mean...The Joker began as a psychotic killer, and that's the way he works best: a psychotic killer playing off of people's fear of clowns. However many people (especially Boomers who grew up with this show) will always think of Cesar Romero's goofy ass chuckling with paint over his mustache. The Joker is the single greatest villian in comics history, and Romero's bastardization of the character turns my stomach.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish." - Unknown


Offline shemps#1

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By the way, Seduction of the Innocent is a book written by Fredrick Wertham in which he blames comic books for juvenile crime. The book led to Senate hearings and of course the censorship in comics that I aluded to in my previous post.

http://www.pennydreadfull.net/soti.html
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish." - Unknown


Offline JazzBill

I was around when Batman first aired and I read the comic books too.(I wish I would of kept them) I have to disagree with you Jim. Those were different times, we only had 3 network stations, a PBS station and a local station. Not much of a selection. When Batman came out it was different and  rather refreshing. It was never taken seriously. It was a joke , but everybody was in on it. Big actors of the time were standing in line to get a guest shot on that show.I never had a problem separating the show from the comic book.
I always thought that Jack Nicholson played the Joker the way he should be played.
"When in Chicago call Stockyards 1234, Ask for Ruby".


Pilsner Panther

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By the way, Seduction of the Innocent is a book written by Fredrick Wertham in which he blames comic books for juvenile crime. The book led to Senate hearings and of course the censorship in comics that I aluded to in my previous post.

http://www.pennydreadfull.net/soti.html

Thanks for posting this, Jim. I've heard of "Seduction of the Innocent," but I've never come across the book itself. It's long enough that it'll take me a while to get through it, but I'm sure I'll have something to say when I'm done.

What I'll say right now, as a general comment, is that it's fascinating how periods of repression (Prohibition, the McCarthy 50's, the Nixon era) seem to produce a lot of rebellious creativity in response to all the fear and goose-stepping conformity. There's definitely an action-reaction thing going on there.

 [fencing]


Offline Dunrobin

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Actually, that looks like it was at least the third time that Hamilton hosted the show judging by imdb.com:

Season 1, Episode 3: Episode #1.3
26 January 1965

Season 1, Episode 16: Episode #1.16
27 April 1965

Season 2, Episode 24: Episode #2.24
28 February 1966 (Lainie Kazan co-hosted)