We sat down to watch the first episode of Batman, “Hi Diddle Riddle,” which reran on ABC for the first of two times on this night in 1966. It was a hot, rough day in Massachusetts, so this was a welcome watch.
In less than two months, it will be 55 years since the series began production work. The initial plan was for ABC to run this show beginning in September 1966, since the motion picture that was scheduled for filming that spring was to serve as an introduction.
But that was not to be the case. As fall 1965 unfolded, most of the Alphabet Network’s new shows tanked in the ratings. Two exceptions to that rule were The FBI and The Big Valley.
On 11 October 1965, filming began on the series pilot. During this time, I was a first-grader unaware of who Batman was, and my television consisted of largely CBS programs, though I would also watch other networks as well. ABC would soon test the pilot with audiences, who gave it terrible reviews.
That might have ended it right there.
But it didn’t.
ABC was so desperate for new programming that it decided to launch a “Second Season” for January 1966. It ordered more episodes of Batman, and the series launched on 12 January. By late August, the pilot aired again, though I didn’t know this, since my family and I were likely on vacation, and couldn’t get the series.
Watching it tonight, it’s clear that its age is beginning to show. Smoking is far less prevalent now than it was 55-60 years ago (except in certain towns in Massachusetts!), and technology has changed a lot of things. The comic book industry is totally different now, since it is also geared toward adults, and women are more a part of it now than they were in 1965.
But at least Jill St. John, who turned 80 on the 19th, got billing as a “Special Guest Star,” above villain Frank Gorshin. She had a thriving movie and television career in the 1960s, and that would carry on into the following decades and then eventually fade out.
And that episode, “Hi Diddle Riddle,” would exert an influence that has lasted well into the 21st century. That influence continues on in 2020! More on that and “Smack In The Middle” tomorrow!
—Timothy J. Forbes
