Team Café
Adam West, known best for his tongue in cheek portrayal of ‘The Dark
Knight’, Batman, on the classic 1960s TV series Batman, has passed away at the
age of 88.
West once stated of the Batman TV show, “I read the pilot script and
knew after 20 pages that it was the kind of comedy I wanted to do,” signing a
contract on the spot, with the sole proviso that he be given the chance to
approve who would play his sidekick, Robin, the Boy Wonder. He eventually went
on to clear the casting of Burt Ward, who had a brown belt in karate but zero
acting experience, popular for his usage of the expression ‘Holy’ followed by
-insert any of the illustrated examples- ‘Haberdashery’, ‘Bargain Basements’,
‘Ravioli’ and so on. A comprehensive list of 367 such expressions was once
compiled for public reference.
The Batman TV show saw West rise to the pinnacle of pop culture after it
debuted in January 1966. However, in a cruel twist of fate, his popularity also
waned, as a victim of typecasting, after the ABC show was cancelled, in 1968,
after its third season. However, as his family stated at the time of his
passing, “Our dad always saw himself as The Bright Knight and aspired to make a
positive impact on his fans’ lives. He was and always will be our hero.”
He will remain ours too. Rest in peace, Adam, and thank you for the
memories.
Café asks some viewers what made the Adam West version of the popular
superhero, particularly memorable for them:
What made the series so memorable for me was the idea of greatness
achieved by becoming very skilful, and my admiration for Batman’s need to save
his own kind, as it is something against our natural tendency of
self-preservation. Plus there was this idea of a modern world, with gadgets and
secrecy, the cave and so on.
Jason Almeida
It was the first superhero series I saw on screen, which wasn’t a cartoon
or animated. It was humorous and exaggerated, but thoroughly enjoyable. I still
remember this episode where Batman got drugged or something, and did this
ridiculous dance.
Carmo Sardinha
I watched it as a kid; I must have been 8-10 years old. The campiness
and general silly demeanour simply didn’t register, and I liked the informed,
intelligent and avuncularly good-humoured hero who reassured us that crime
didn’t pay, and that adults were just and reasonable. The action was exciting
to my younger self, and the rogues’ gallery and cliff-hangers kept the show
fresh and exciting.
Oscar de Sequeira Nazareth
The storyline, though wacked up, was still fun; I couldn’t take my eyes
off the TV for a second. When Batman and Robin climbed the walls of buildings,
it was fake but at the same time cool; and when they bashed up the bad guys in
comic book style, with the ‘bam’, ‘dishoom’ and all those effects, it was just
hilarious…and how can you leave out the Batmobile, when discussing why the show
was great?
Silroy Fernandes
