The Batcave Podcast

It's the end of the third season and John takes one last look before moving on to the next phase of the podcast.  With the help of his listeners who have commented along the way via email and the Facebook page, John comes to a final conclusion about the third season.  Plus, he reveals the plans for the podcast in 2017.

The Sally Bell returns to dock after having mysteriously disappeared.  There's only one survivor who is now injured thanks to a Hornet's Sting.  With the aid of a doctor, the Hornet tries to protect the man from his comrades who are all trying to discover the secret of the Sally Bell.  John and Jim are back to being at odds over the merits of this particular episode.  They do both agree though that the character of Honey Boy is absolutely useless.

John and Jim are back to being at odds with this episode.  Mike Axford is accused of a murder he didn't commit and the Hornet has to prove his innocence.  John found that the episode was slow to start, but picked up in pace greatly as it moved along.  Plus, it has another challenge for the Black Beauty and Kato gets to use the Hornet's Sting.

Minerva has a plan to rob the richest men in Gotham City while using her spa as a front for her operations.  It seems almost like a plausible story for the third season.  In fact, John went into it dreading it and then found in watching it and then talking about it with guest host, longtime Batman 66 fan, Robert Long, that it wasn't all that bad.  Robert goes so far as to point out that the episode has the beats of a condensed two-part second season story.  

John and Jim find themselves reaching for things to even talk about this episode.  A group of wealthy industrialists gather to hunt the most dangerous game and they've set their sights on the Hornet and Kato.  It sounds like a great plot, but the execution leaves much to be desired.

It's another challenge for The Green Hornet, but for John and Jim, there's not much of a challenge in reviewing this episode.  Both are excited by this story that gives Bruce Lee a chance to stretch a little as the Hornet and Kato investigate a protection racket by a tong in Chinatown.  The thing is, there's more to the tong than simply an extortion racket.  There's a great deal to like about this fan favorite as the two discuss.

It's the penultimate episode of the series and it seems to lack any spark or energy to it despite featuring Ida Lupino and Howard Duff as alchemist Dr. Cassandra and her groovy husband Cabala.  That alone should make it exciting, but then add Batgirl in the Batcave and a prison break featuring six of the villains from Batman's Rogue's Gallery and you should have a classic - and yet, nothing. Joining John to discuss is writer/editor Jim Beard of Gotham City 14 Miles.

John and Jim are excited to be talking about this episode as it's another high concept episode that manages to work in the Hornet's usual angle of getting inside the criminal organization for a "piece of the action".  A group of thieves have stolen a cache of artwork which they wish to ransom.  They have everyone at bay though because they carry with them a powerful laser weapon.  While Britt negotiates for the release, the Hornet goes inside to learn about who is holding the artwork.  

It's the movie 50 years in the making (well, in the waiting).  Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar return to the Batman 66 universe in an all-new animated movie.  Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Catwoman have reunited to take control of Gotham City and the world once again with the theft of a duplicator ray.  But it wouldn't be Batman 66 if there wasn't more to the plot and there certainly is as Batman becomes more aggressive in his pursuit of the villainous quartet.  

The final Joker episode for Batman 66 is not exactly a fan favorite, but there are things of merit in the episode that are worth discussing. There were missed opportunities in a story that went beyond even the insanity of Joker surfing by having Joker build an unidentified flying object to terrorize Gotham City. And who is Verdigris?  Is being a Martian his shtick?  Is he just a bomb expert?  Or is he a bunko artist? Joining John to discuss  is writer/editor Jim Beard of Gotham City 14 Miles. 

This story has a lot of things that make it stand out from the others in the series.  First, it's the first two-part episode for the series.  Second, it's co-written by Lorenzo Temple.  But the real question is - is there enough story here to warrant two parts?  John and Jim discuss this as well as Britt's "type" of woman in the series.

We come to the last King Tut episode of the Batman 66 series. There is much to praise in this stand alone story, but there is also much to note as simply bad.  Tut manages to confirm that Bruce and Batman are one in the same and it's a battle royale in the Batcave to stop him from revealing it to the world. Joining John to discuss the good and the bad of this episode are writers/editors Robert Greenberger and Jim Beard of Gotham City 14 Miles.

Dedicated to the memory of Eric Cone It's the final two-part story for Batman 66.  And it's a shame, really.  (Pun intended)  This episode has almost all the elements that make it feel like a second season episode rather than a third.  The only thing missing is a proper death trap.  So why did it take so long to come up with something like this?   Joining John is podcaster, The Hunnic Outcast.

Our week-long look at the premiere of The Return of the Caped Crusaders concludes with interviews with the producers of the movie.  Dan Greenfield of 13th Dimension joins John to share his Roundtable discussions with writers Michael Jelenic and James Tucker and director Rick Morales.  They discuss how the movie came about and offer their favorite episodes from the 66 series.

 This episode has something for everyone!  There are bootleggers for the Green Hornet and Kato to deal with!  There's a killer helicopter for the Black Beauty to tussle with!  And there's a new episode for John and Jim to review!  But are they in agreement again?