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 animated series that aired on CBS from February 12 to May 28, 1977, featuring the DC Comics superheroes Batman and Robin, and Batgirl. The series was a Filmation and DC Comics production in association with Warner Bros. Television (whose current parent company is WarnerMedia).
Contents
Plot
In The New Adventures of Batman, the "Dynamic Duo" fights crime in Gotham City, encountering the classic Batman rogues gallery as well as some original villains. Complicating matters is Bat-Mite, a well-meaning imp from another dimension called Ergo, who considers himself Batman's biggest fan. As a result, he wears a variant of Batman’s costume and attempts to help him, only to often create more problems. Missing is Alfred, the faithful butler of Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne; also notable in this series are the inverted colors of the circled "R" on Robin's costume.
Voice cast
- Adam West as Batman / Bruce Wayne
- Burt Ward as Robin / Dick Grayson
- Melendy Britt as Batgirl / Barbara Gordon, Catwoman / Selina Kyle
- Lou Scheimer as Bat-Mite, Batcomputer, Clayface / Matt Hagen (1st and 2nd Times), Lucky's Henchman (in "The Chameleon")
- Lennie Weinrib as Commissioner Gordon, Joker, 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 (3rd 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"), Boyd Baxter (in "Curses! Oiled Again!")
Episodes
| No. | Title | Villain(s) | |
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| 1 | "The Pest" | The Joker | |
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The Joker steals an experimental hydrogen-powered car, disguising himself as the inventor, but without his knowledge of the car's weakness.
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| 2 | "The Moonman" | The Moonman | |
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Bruce Wayne's college friend, the astronaut Scott Rogers, has been infected with space waves that cause him to turn into the super-powered Moonman during the full moon.
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| 3 | "Trouble Identity" | Catwoman | |
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Catwoman steals a machine that changes trash into fine fabrics, and frames Batgirl for the theft.
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| 4 | "A Sweet Joke On Gotham City" | Sweet Tooth | |
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A villain exclusive to the show, Sweet Tooth, executes a plot 4 out of 5 dentists would reject: to turn Gotham City's water supply into chocolate syrup for a $10 million ransom.
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| 5 | "The Bermuda Rectangle" | Professor Bubbles | |
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A villain named Professor Bubbles and his henchman, Flow, capture ships carrying pieces to a weapon he can use to take over the world.
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| 6 | "Bite-Sized" | Electro | |
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The alien villain Electro shrinks Batman and Robin, controlling them with mind control to help him steal government secrets.
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| 7 | "Reading, Writing & Wronging" | The Penguin | |
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The Penguin opens a crime school and steals Batman and Robin's utility belts.
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| 8 | "The Chameleon" | The Chameleon, Dr. Devious | |
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A shapeshifting villain named the Chameleon plans to shut down Gotham City's new lunar/solar collector. The Chameleon actually turns out to be a robot created by an evil professor named Dr. Devious.
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| 9 | "He Who Laughs Last" | The Joker | |
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The Joker escapes from prison, planning to get revenge on Batman and Robin by giving them a series of clues linked to his crimes.
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| 10 | "The Deep Freeze" | Mr. Freeze | |
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After seeing a news bulletin where Gotham City Police has announced the capture of the Joker, the Riddler, and seven of the most wanted criminals by Batman and Robin, Mr. Freeze and his henchman Professor Frost plan to steal the N-1000 (a superfast submarine) to pull off the crime of the century.
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| 11 | "Dead Ringers" | Clayface | |
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Clayface poses as Batman and forces a reformed criminal turned circus acrobat to pose as Robin in order to abduct Arab oil minister Basil Oram.
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| 12 | "Curses! Oiled Again!" | Clayface, Catwoman | |
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During a cold snap, Catwoman and Clayface join forces to steal oil. At the same time, a TV newscaster named Boyd Baxter seeks to show up Batman.
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| 13 | "Birds Of A Feather Fool Around Together" | The Penguin, the Joker | |
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In order to win a criminals' election against the Joker, the Penguin invents the "Crime Slime", which can turn people into criminals. It makes him and Bat-Mite 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, enlisting Batman's enemies to keep the Caped Crusaders 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 and Robin, the villains, and Bat-Mite follow Zarbor back to Ergo, hoping to foil his takeover plans, and recover 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 jail in Ergo and returns to Earth, planning to become its ruler – with help from the Dynamic Duo.
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Legacy
Homage was paid to The New Adventures of Batman in a 1998 episode of Bruce Timm's The New Batman Adventures. In the DVD release audio commentary for the 1998-1999 season, Timm and the rest of the series creators (writer Paul Dini, director Dan Riba, artist Glen Murakami, and storyboarder James Tucker) explain that the first segment of the October 10, 1998, episode "Legends of the Dark Knight" purposely makes use of the same designs The New Adventures of Batman used for the Joker, Batman and Robin, as well as the same color schemes and shading in a nod to both The New Adventures of Batman and to Batman artist Dick Sprang, whose style heavily influenced the visuals of the Filmation cartoon (along with Neal Adams). They further explain that the episode segment also purposely makes use of the trademark silliness and corny tone of the original series (which differs from the darker, serious tone of Timm's series) and also mimics the low frame rate animation style used by Filmation.
