Forty five years ago this month

Jill St. John and Adam West at work on "Hi Diddle Riddle," October 1965.

The 1966 Batman series began production this month 45 years ago.  The pilot episode, "Hi Diddle Riddle"/"Smack In The Middle," began production on 11 October 1965, and finished on the 25th.  The series was originally slated to begin airing the following September, but ABC was going through a disastrous season that fall.  Not only did several new shows not catch on, but at least one show that was revamped—Burke's Law—failed miserably as well.


Hence, The Second Season was born.  And Batman was its showcase.


As a six-year-old that autumn, I would watch television on a black-and-white set.  It seemed my parents liked their shows on CBS, whereas I was more partial to ABC and, additionally, NBC.  Friday nights were especially cool, as I got to see The Flintstones, Tammy and The Addams Family.  I also liked Gidget, as well as The Patty Duke Show.  I never got to see Honey West or The FBI, both of which debuted that fall, until much later, but they were superb shows as well!!


That fall of 1965 and winter/spring of 1966 was a truly memorable time for me, full of pleasant memories.


And those memories matter!


When Batman aired in 2002 on TV Land, it awakened memories of that wonderful time.  I was going through difficulties during that time.  That led me to join the 1966 Batman Message Board, and then led to Web site work and then to video.


Batman 1969, which is most assuredly in post-production, is a derivative of the 1966 series.  And Carrie's World, the upcoming fan series, uses many elements from the Sixties' show as well; thank Batman: The Brave And The Bold, in part, for that!


But consider this: That Jill St. John, who played Molly, is a MAJOR inspiration for the lead character of the fan series.  And Catwoman will also play an important role.  When I saw Batman again in 2002, that led me to the comics, and I began getting the Catwoman comic.


And to think all this happened because of a television pilot filmed 45 years ago this month! Amazing!!  To paraphrase William Dozier, the best is yet to come!

Jill St. John and Adam West in New York, fall 1966.