Episode Title: Batman Displays his Knowledge
Original Airdate: February 23, 1967
When we last left Gotham City, Batman and Robin were tied up in a giant coffee cup about to be scalded by sulfuric acid contained in an equally giant coffee pot. All the while, Catwoman and her goons are off to steal some precious jewels. Let’s see how the Dynamic Duo get out of this one in Batman Displays his Knowledge.
With just a few seconds before the acid comes raining down, Batman mentions to Robin how a small trickle of the acid should come first. If he can get that small amount of acid to burn through his ropes, then they have hope of getting free. Of course, he manages to position himself so that the acid burns the rope around his wrists. He then quickly (actually not so quickly) grabs his batarang and uses it to turn off the main power switch of the giant billboard.
As for Catwoman, she succeeds in stealing the collection of Batagonian Cat’s Eye Opals worth upwards of 6 million dollars. She then takes them to a fence known as French Freddy Touche. Not only does he fence stolen goods, but he also has a fencing school. However, he refuses to handle to Opals as they are way too hot and everyone knows that they bring bad luck. A short time later, our heroes visit French Freddy, but he denies knowing anything about the stolen goods.
Meanwhile, Catwoman can’t find anyone to buy the stones. When French Freddy stops by to tell her that Batman came by his place, the two decide that it will be better to have Freddy turn the jewels in for the reward money. However, when he examines them he finds they are fakes. Batman, you see, knew this would be Catwoman’s plot and switched the jewels well in advance of the robbery. So, Catwoman sends a letter to Batman claiming she will turn herself in to him if he comes alone, she will do the same. The two meet and Catwoman tries to seduce Batman. When he refuses, though, her men bust out, as does Robin, and the final fight breaks out. In the end, Catwoman ends up back in Warden Crichton’s prison.
To be honest, the bulk of this episode is a bit flat. Batman and Robin spend a lot of the episode just kind of milling around. Meanwhile, Catwoman is just trying to unload the jewels she stole. There’s just not a lot of forward movement to the story. Eventually, though, we get to the final climactic scene where Batman and Catwoman are to meet…ALONE! Julie Newmar turns up the steam and the scene is just magical. I said last week that this would be Newmar’s final appearance as Catwoman, well she goes out with a bang!
The rest of the episode is saved, somewhat, by a few fun moments. To start with, after escaping from the cliffhanger, our heroes elect not to chase after Catwoman but to stay and remedy another situation. Remember that in our last episode there was a college protest going on while Catwoman was capturing the Dynamic Duo. So, Batman and Robin decide to stay and disperse the “poor misguided students.” The French Freddie subplot is also kind of fun, especially when he challenges Batman to a duel. Of course, Batman separates Freddie (Jacques Bergerac) from his sword in one move. Funniest, though, is when Batman is in the Commissioner’s office at the same time Gordon needs to call Bruce Wayne. Batman gets on the Bat Phone and tells Alfred to use the Bat Syllable Device. Alfred types on a typewriter which somehow spits out Bruce’s voice speaking in a rather stilted manner. It’s enough to fool Gordon. Strangely, though, Alfred seems to use the hunt and peck method of typing. I dare say, I’m pretty sure that Alfred would know proper typing technique.
And so, with that we bid farewell to the gorgeous Julie Newmar. This may not be the best episode, but her performance is worthy of her legacy. Next time, though, we get a new villain…one Colonel Gumm. Playing him is an actor who also played an iconic villain on another famous late 60’s TV series…Star Trek. Roger C. Carmel guest stars in A Piece of the Action. Same bat-time, ,same bat-channel (superhero).
Bat Gadgets Used:
Batarang
Bat Syllable Device
Well Known Criminals File
Bat Nose Plugs
Holys:
Holy Bijou
Holy Zorro
Holy Hypothesis
