Episodes 74 & 75
That Darn Catwoman/Scat! Darn Catwoman
Plot:Catwoman and her aid Pussycat drugs Robin which turns him evil and against Batman
Guest Stars:Julie Newmar as Catwoman and Leslie Gore as Pussycat
Trivia:Leslie Gore is the niece of series producer Howie Horwitz. You’d never guess seeing how she is integral to the story and gets two whole songs to sing! Which are so jammed in btw. Gore had a big singing career including the way over played (but fun to sing) “It’s My Party” and the song she sings here, “California Nights”, her last top 20 hit.
Niitpick:Ok that anti drug reversal pill is starting to become a huge crutch for the writers, And at the end Catwoman steals the Batmobile. That’s, what, the fifth time a villain has done that?? By the way Catwoman breaks into Wayne Manor too (but she did have Robin helping her).
Bat Silliness:The drug Catwoman uses is called Cataphrenic. Sure.
Bat Gadget:Batmobile can be remote controlled from a distance
Bat Trap:Kinda brilliant. Robin pretends he was playing possum and instead tricks Batman. The trap is literally a mouse trap when Robin cuts the rope which will send the blade onto him.
Final Thoughts:I’ve never been to fond of episodes where the hero is made evil. I get why the actors like them, it gives them something different to do. Sometimes they work, like Star Trek’s “Mirror Mirror” which works because it’s not really our characters at all. Then you have Dukes of Hazard’s “Dr Jekyl and Mr.Duke” where Luke is a bad guy for an episode after drinking something (usually it’s a bump on the head). He acts like a jerk, fights with Bo and is fine in the end. What’s the point? And we get that here when Catwoman drugs Robin to make him evil. Also this is the first time since Jill St John in the pilot the token female is more than that, Pussycat has backstory and an active role in the plot. When I was young I found this one boring and even uncomfortable at times. Now? Well lets run down the story. We open to Robin giving a speech to a graduating class before he’s kidnapped like a dumb ass. Good thing O’Hara was there for no reason so Batman could find out right away. Though a different kind of opening is nice (it’s also cool to see Batman working when there is no emergency going on). Catwoman uses Robin to steal from the Wayne mansion (and fills Alfred in on what she did to him so now Batman will know right away). Catwoman continues to steal and threatens Robin’s life if anyone tried to stop her. And seeing Batman have to fight Robin is kinda cool. Of course Robin wins because Batman can’t bring himself to fight back. It’s honestly a well acted scene, the fact Batman can’t do it is never said out loud or with any flowery narration but the look on his face and his hesitation speaks volumes. Kudos. Batman takes a dose of the drug and of course he had taken a bat antidote so it does nothing, he just pretends. (again I wrote that before it happened). It’s not even subtle here, did they forget we’ve seen that before? Though the scene of Batman pretending to be on Catwoman’s side are pretty hilarious, it kind of drags on. Catwoman joins the illustrious group of people who have seen the Batcave. So how does Robin get back to normal? Batman sends Alfred to police HQ with the antidote. Yeah its off screen, I kinda feel that was a real wasted opportunity. Despite my griping there was a lot more they could have done with that idea aside from a scene or two. We don’t even really see them reunite or anything. Just another day at the office. Oh, how does Batman know the antidote works? Are you really asking? Robin is restored and the duo stop Catwoman’s evil plan. In the end it seems like after more flirting (which always works to be fair) Catwoman has fallen to her death. But don’t worry she has another episode left.
Grade B- :Better than I remember but it could have been such a stronger episode.. Burt Ward isn't so bad evil but in the end the plot device serves no real purpose. In fact he’s hardly even in it! And yes there is padding, not helped by some of the more obvious moments which are so blatant that we’re bored waiting for the “shocking reveal”. However, it’s the Leslie Gore love that really brings this one down. She was awesome but stopping the story to listen to her sing two whole songs is to much. And I’m not even kidding the story literally stops the first time! It isn’t woven in at all. She also vanishes from the story mid way through after being arrested, a waste of a character. It’s to bad because Catwoman is much better here than her last solo outing. No matter how bad the script is Julie Newmar always delivers.
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