I watched this tv show as a child, and every Halloween from the age of 5 to 8, I wanted to dress in a costume just like Batman's. Of course, my parents didn't have the resources to hire an entire corps of costumers and props masters, so I had to make do with a jumpsuit from Sears that had the Batman symbol printed on it. Such is Life. Still, I always thought Batman was the best of the legion of super-heroes to come around (except for perhaps Spiderman, whom I discovered later on).
Watching the tv show now as an adult, I realize just how campy and ridiculous it was, but where as a child I interpreted the action sequences as dynamic and exciting, now I see these same scenes as well-staged comedy, which is how the original producers intended it to be seen. Who can forget the big cartoon graphics such as "BAM!" and "POW!" and "Crrr-Rash!" which flashed up just before Batman slugged a villain or knocked over a prop? I beat up the sofa cushions with just as much enthusiasm. And don't even get me started on the car (Batmobile), the boat (Batboat), and helicopter (Batcopter) which I absolutely had to have in Corgi miniatures (still have mine in a box in the garage, along with James Bond's Aston Martin and the Monkeemobile). And all the kids knew the Batman song. NaNa NaNa NaNa NaNa Batman!
Looking back at it now, I see that even though Adam West and Burt Ward, two relative unknowns at the time, never really recovered from being typecast, just about all of the supporting actors were accomplished in either films, tv, or the stage, such as Cesar Romero and Victor Buono (check him out in "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane"), and they managed to continue their careers. A few, such as Eartha Kitt, used the "Batman" series as a springboard to other things (I saw Kitt's performance as the Wicked Witch in "Wizard of Oz" on stage and she was fantastic). But whatever their future careers became, they turned in quality performances on the show.
I always had a thing for both Cat Woman (all 3 of them) and Batgirl. The costume designers really knew how to show off a woman's curves in those tight-fitting catsuits with big metallic utility belts and high-heeled shoes, but I suppose that was the fashion back in the late-60's. They probably fit right in with the mini-dresses and go-go boots the other girls were wearing.
Your kids will love the show and will watch it again and again. You'll enjoy it the first two times you see it, but then it'll get stale and boring. But just remember, no matter how grim things get when the Riddler and Joker have Batman and the Boy Wonder hanging over a vat of acid or encased in a gas chamber, the Dynamic Duo always manage to pull out a can of Bat Rope Dissolver or Bat Gas Begone and show up to defeat the villains each week at the same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.
To the Batcave!
