Batman (1966) Episode 65&66

Episodes 65 & 66
The Puzzles are Coming/The Duo is Slumming

 

Plot:The Puzzler plans a jewel heist at the christening of a jet

Guest Stars:Maurice Evans as The Puzzler. I liked him better on Bewitched

 

Trivia:This was supposed to be a Riddler episode but was revised when Frank Gorshin refused to come back due to contract negotiations. Gorshin would be back once more in Season 3 and we will get a Riddler episode this season. And we’ll get into that disaster soon.

 

Niitpick:Why does Puzzler shoot an arrow into Gordon’s office in the start? Other than to get the plot going.

 

Bat Silliness:Batman finds an emergency pay phone in the middle of nowhere. Uh huh

 

Window Cameo:Santa Claus (I don’t know….To be fair this is as close to a Christmas as you’re gonna get)

 

Bat Gadget:Bat Stethoscope

 

Bat Trap:Batman and Robin rapidly descending in a hot air balloon. I always love it when the pointless thing we see Dick doing in the teaser comes back to help them escape the trap of the week.

 

Final Thoughts:There are always a few episodes I dread doing because I know they’ll suck. Does it? Yeah. They call it puzzles but they’re really riddles just done backwards to make them seem different. Trickster may have been a better name, but that’s a Flash villain. He has gas that freezes people, don’t ask how that works. A theme in this episode is that the more Batman and Robin try to pin Puzzler down for a crime the less they succeed. But it doesn’t really work. He uses balloons..for reasons. The theme makes no sense and the balloons make less sense than they did in “It”. There’s also a Shakespeare theme in the episode with Puzzler randomly quoting him which also doesn’t really add up to anything. It would have been nice if the episode focused on one of these and developed it. Puzzler has a plane motif apparently since the episode has to tell us that’s a thing. Though why is a mystery to me. No question this was supposed to be a Riddler episode. The script is weak and needed a big personality like Gorshin to make it fun. and of course Evans can’t match that. Though I will say he is trying a little more than some others I could name from season 2.

 

Grade:C-A plot a plot! My Kingdom for a plot!!

 

A nasty team up tomorrow same bat time same bat channel