The Batman/Superman Hour facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Batman/Superman Hour |
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Title card
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| Genre | Superhero action adventure |
| Based on | |
| Written by | Oscar Bensol Dennis Marks Bob Kane Jerry Robinson Joe Shuster Jerry Siegel |
| Directed by | Hal Sutherland |
| Voices of | Olan Soule Casey Kasem Jane Webb Ted Knight Larry Storch Bud Collyer Bob Hastings Jackson Beck Jack Grimes Joan Alexander |
| Narrated by | Ted Knight |
| Theme music composer | John Gart |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 34 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Allen Ducovny |
| Producer(s) | Norm Prescott Lou Scheimer |
| Running time | 60/30 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Filmation National Periodical Publications |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Audio format | mono |
| Original release | September 14, 1968 – January 4, 1969 |
The Batman/Superman Hour was an exciting Filmation animated TV show. It aired on CBS from 1968 to 1969. This 60-minute program brought new adventures of famous DC Comics superheroes. You could watch Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. The show also included shorter cartoons from The New Adventures of Superman and The Adventures of Superboy. It first aired on September 14, 1968.
Contents
About the Show
This series was the first time Batman and his friends appeared in animated form. It also featured many of their classic enemies. These included the Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, and Mr. Freeze. Some new villains were created just for the show.
How the Show Started
The TV show The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure was very popular in 1967. This success encouraged Filmation, the animation company, to create more superhero shows. Around this time, CBS got the rights to make Batman cartoons. This happened because the live-action Batman TV series on ABC was a big hit.
To make The Batman/Superman Hour ready for the 1968 TV season, Filmation needed many animators. They brought in extra artists from other projects to help create the show quickly.
Voice Actors and Their Roles
This series was special because Olan Soule first voiced Batman. Casey Kasem also started voicing Robin. Later, in 1977, Adam West and Burt Ward took over these roles for The New Adventures of Batman. They had played Batman and Robin in the live-action TV show.
Soule and Kasem returned to voice their characters many times. They appeared in shows like The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972) and Super Friends (1973). They also voiced the characters in other Super Friends series until 1983. Kasem continued to voice Robin with Adam West in 1984 and 1985.
Later Versions of the Show
In 1969, The Batman/Superman Hour was changed. The Superman parts were removed, and the show became 30 minutes long. It was renamed Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder.
Later, parts of the show aired on different TV channels. These included the USA Network, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang. Some episodes were also released on VHS tapes in 1985 and 1996.
Episode Guide
The show was divided into different parts. The Superman section included new 6½-minute cartoons. These came from Filmation's The New Adventures of Superman and The Adventures of Superboy.
The Batman part of the show also had new cartoons. Each Batman story was either split into two 6½-minute segments or told in one 6½-minute segment. In total, 34 new Batman stories were made for the series.
Meet the Voice Cast
- Olan Soule - Batman, Alfred Pennyworth
- Casey Kasem - Dick Grayson, Chief O'Hara, Mayor of Gotham City, Additional Voices
- Jane Webb - Barbara Gordon, Catwoman
- Ted Knight - Narrator (Batman and Superboy segments), James Gordon, Penguin, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Mad Hatter, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Simon the Pieman, Dollman, Judge
- Larry Storch - Joker
- Bud Collyer - Superman
- Bob Hastings - Superboy / Young Clark Kent
- Jackson Beck - Lex Luthor, Narrator (Superman segments)
- Jack Grimes - Jimmy Olsen
- Joan Alexander, Julie Bennett - Lois Lane
