The New Adventures of Batman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The New Adventures of Batman |
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Title card
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| Directed by | Don Towsley |
| Voices of | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Don Christensen |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | February 12 – May 28, 1977 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Batman The Adventures of Batman |
The New Adventures of Batman is an exciting animated TV show that aired on CBS in 1977. It features the famous DC Comics superheroes Batman, Robin, and Batgirl. This show was made by Filmation and DC Comics, working with Warner Bros. Television.
Contents
Fighting Crime in Gotham City
In The New Adventures of Batman, the "Dynamic Duo" (Batman and Robin) work to stop crime in Gotham City. They face many classic Batman villains, plus some new ones created just for the show.
A funny character named Bat-Mite also appears. He is a small, well-meaning imp from another dimension called Ergo. Bat-Mite thinks he is Batman's biggest fan. He even wears a costume similar to Batman's! He tries to help Batman, but his efforts often cause more problems instead.
You might notice that Batman's loyal butler, Alfred, is not in this series. Also, the "R" symbol on Robin's costume has different colors than usual.
Meet the Voice Actors
The talented actors who brought these characters to life include:
- Adam West as Batman / Bruce Wayne
- Burt Ward as Robin / Dick Grayson
- Melendy Britt as Batgirl / Barbara Gordon and Catwoman / Selina Kyle
- Lou Scheimer as Bat-Mite, the Batcomputer, Clayface / Matt Hagen (first and second times), and Lucky's Henchman (in "The Chameleon")
- Lennie Weinrib as Commissioner Gordon, the Joker, the Penguin / Oswald Cobblepot, Mr. Freeze / Victor Fries (in "The Deep Freeze"), Electro (in "Bite-Sized"), Chameleon (in "The Chameleon"), Dr. Devious (in "The Chameleon"), Zarbor, Clayface (third time), Moonman / Scott Rogers (in "The Moonman"), Professor Bubbles (in "The Bermuda Rectangle"), Flow (in "The Bermuda Rectangle"), Lucky Luger (in "The Chameleon"), Professor Frost (in "The Deep Freeze"), and Boyd Baxter (in "Curses! Oiled Again!")
Episode Guide
Here is a list of the 16 episodes from The New Adventures of Batman:
| No. | Title | Villain(s) | |
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| 1 | "The Pest" | The Joker | |
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The Joker steals a special hydrogen-powered car. He pretends to be the inventor, but he doesn't know the car's secret weakness.
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| 2 | "The Moonman" | The Moonman | |
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Bruce Wayne's college friend, astronaut Scott Rogers, gets infected by space waves. This turns him into the super-powered Moonman during a full moon.
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| 3 | "Trouble Identity" | Catwoman | |
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Catwoman steals a machine that can turn trash into fancy fabrics. She then tries to blame Batgirl for the theft.
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| 4 | "A Sweet Joke On Gotham City" | Sweet Tooth | |
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A new villain named Sweet Tooth wants to turn Gotham City's water into chocolate syrup. He demands $10 million to stop his plan.
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| 5 | "The Bermuda Rectangle" | Professor Bubbles | |
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Professor Bubbles and his helper, Flow, capture ships. These ships are carrying parts for a powerful weapon he plans to use to take over the world.
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| 6 | "Bite-Sized" | Electro | |
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The alien villain Electro uses his powers to shrink Batman and Robin. He then tries to control their minds to steal government secrets.
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| 7 | "Reading, Writing & Wronging" | The Penguin | |
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The Penguin opens a school to teach people how to commit crimes. He even manages to steal Batman and Robin's utility belts!
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| 8 | "The Chameleon" | The Chameleon, Dr. Devious | |
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A villain who can change his shape, called the Chameleon, plans to shut down Gotham City's new lunar/solar collector. It turns out the Chameleon is a robot made by an evil professor, Dr. Devious.
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| 9 | "He Who Laughs Last" | The Joker | |
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The Joker escapes from prison. He plans to get revenge on Batman and Robin by leaving them clues related to his new crimes.
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| 10 | "The Deep Freeze" | Mr. Freeze | |
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After seeing news that Batman and Robin caught many criminals, Mr. Freeze and Professor Frost plan to steal a super-fast submarine to commit a huge crime.
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| 11 | "Dead Ringers" | Clayface | |
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Clayface pretends to be Batman. He then forces a former criminal, now a circus acrobat, to pretend to be Robin. Their goal is to kidnap an oil minister named Basil Oram.
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| 12 | "Curses! Oiled Again!" | Clayface, Catwoman | |
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During a cold spell, Catwoman and Clayface team up to steal oil. At the same time, a TV newscaster named Boyd Baxter tries to outsmart Batman.
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| 13 | "Birds Of A Feather Fool Around Together" | The Penguin, the Joker | |
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The Penguin creates "Crime Slime" to win a criminal election against the Joker. This slime can turn people into criminals. It causes the Penguin and Bat-Mite to switch bodies and seems to affect Batman and Robin too.
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| 14 | "Have An Evil Day (Part 1)" | Zarbor, the Joker, the Penguin, Clayface, Catwoman | |
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Zarbor, a criminal from Bat-Mite's home dimension of Ergo, comes to Earth. He gets Batman's enemies to keep the heroes busy while he steals America's nuclear power plants.
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| 15 | "Have An Evil Day (Part 2)" | Zarbor, the Joker, the Penguin, Clayface, Catwoman | |
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Batman, Robin, the villains, and Bat-Mite follow Zarbor back to Ergo. They hope to stop his plans and get back the stolen nuclear power plants.
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| 16 | "This Looks Like A Job For Bat-Mite!" | Zarbor | |
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Zarbor escapes from jail in Ergo and returns to Earth. He plans to become its ruler, with some unexpected help from the Dynamic Duo.
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Lasting Impact of the Show
The New Adventures of Batman was honored in a 1998 episode of Bruce Timm's The New Batman Adventures. In the audio commentary for that later show's DVD, the creators explained how they paid tribute.
The first part of the October 10, 1998, episode "Legends of the Dark Knight" used the same character designs for the Joker, Batman, and Robin. It also used similar colors and shading. This was a nod to both The New Adventures of Batman and to Batman artist Dick Sprang. His art style greatly influenced the look of the Filmation cartoon.
The creators also made sure this episode segment had the same silly and cheesy tone as the original series. This was different from the darker, more serious tone of Timm's own show. They even copied the slower animation style that Filmation used.
