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Aired December 28/December 29, 1966

That European criminal, The Sandman, is in Gotham City with a scheme to rob the millions of heiress J. Pauline Spaghetti. But he needs someone to run interference with Batman and Robin while he lays out his plan.  Who better than the Catwoman?

But is this story as exciting as it sounds?  Is it as well executed as earlier Catwoman stories?  These questions and more will be answered in this podcast review.

Joining John to talk about first of several villain team-ups the series would feature is author Robert Greenberger.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Robert Greenberger (born July 24, 1958) is a writer and editor.

Greenberger was born in Brooklyn in New York City, the son of Edwin L. Greenberger and Joan Greenberger. A lifelong fan of comic books, comic strips, science fiction and Star Trek, he drifted towards writing and editing, encouraged by his father and inspired by Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent.

While at SUNY-Binghamton, Greenberger wrote and edited for the college newspaper, Pipe Dream, moving from general assignment writer to Arts Editor, Managing Editor and ultimately Editor-in-Chief.  He served an internship at Gannett’s Binghamton Sun-Bulletin as a feature writer and reviewer.

Upon graduation, he worked for Starlog Press as Managing Editor of Fangoria.  He was also an Associate Editor for Starlog and while there, created Comics Scene, the first nationally distributed magazine to focus on comic books, comic strips and animation.  The magazine lasted 11 issues before its first cancellation at which time Greenberger went to work on their sports magazines.

In 1984, he joined DC Comics as an Assistant Editor, working with Len Wein and Marv Wolfman on DC’s Golden Anniversary projects Who’s WhoandCrisis on Infinite Earths.  He went on to act as assistant editor to numerous titles for each editor until he was promoted to editor.  During his tenure, his titles included Star Trek, Suicide Squad, Warlord, Doom Patrol, Lois Lane, Action Comics Weekly, Time Masters, Secret Origins, The Hacker Files and others.

By 1990, he had given up editing to become the company’s Editorial Coordinator, helping grow the Editorial Administration department.  When he left the company, he was Manager-Editorial Operations.

In March 2000, he left DC to become a Producer for Gist Communications, television news and listings web site. After ten months there, he learned some new skills and got out before the dotcom bubble burst.

In January 2001, he joined Marvel Comics as Director-Publishing Operations.  During his year with the company, he oversaw editorial schedules, Production, Manufacturing, the Print Library, and other departments.

In January 2002, he left Marvel and rejoined DC in May 2002 as a Senior Editor-Collected Editions.  He helped grow that department, introducing new formats and improving the editions’ editorial content. He also managed DC’s ElfQuest publishing program.

He left DC in January 2006, becoming a freelance writer and editor.  His clients included Weekly World News, Platinum Studios, scifi.com, DC and Marvel. By June, he was offered the post of Managing Editor at Weekly World News where he helped transition the newspaper from being produced jointly in Florida and New York to just NYC.

When the paper folded in August 2007, he resumed his freelance career which continues to this date.  Along the way, he helped revitalize Famous Monsters of Filmland and served as News Editor at ComicMix from August through December 2008.

He is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and theInternational Association of Media Tie-In Writers.  He served on the final Nebula Short Fiction Jury.

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Aired December 21/December 22, 1966

Maurice Evans is the new guest villain, The Puzzler.  Without even knowing the history of this story, one can see that this should have been a Riddler episode and there are many who feel the character is a poor replacement.  But as you'll see in this podcast, there is a lot to recommend Puzzler as a worthy adversary for the dynamic duo and as one of the better villains created solely for the series.

Of course, that's not to say this episode doesn't have its problems, that include determining if this is an established villain in the Batman 66 universe or someone entirely new, the proper definition of monopoly, and a crazed Santa Claus.

Joining John to time out the beats of this story is author, musician, and podcaster Keith R.A. DeCandido.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Keith R.A. DeCandido is a writer, editor, musician, podcaster, curator, voice actor, and probably some other stuff, too, but he can't remember due to lack of sleep. In 2009, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, which means he never needs to achieve anything ever again.

He has written tie-in fiction in prose and comics form for more than twenty different universes ranging from TV shows (Star Trek,Farscape, Supernatural, Leverage, and many more) to movies (Cars, Serenity, Resident Evil, Kung Fu Panda), to games (World of Warcraft, Dungeons & Dragons, StarCraft, Command and Conquer) to comic books (Spider-Man, X-Men, Hulk, Silver Surfer). He is the author of the acclaimed Precinct series of fantasy police procedurals including Dragon Precinct, Unicorn Precinct, and Goblin Precinct, with 2013 seeing the release of Gryphon Precinct and Tales from Dragon Precinct, as well as a comic book and audios of all four novels.

Other recent work includes writing the monthly Farscape comic book with series creator Rockne S. O'Bannon; the SCPD novel The Case of the Claw, a novel about cops in a city filled with superheroes; the Leverage novel The Zoo Job; the comic book miniseries The Fallen; the short-story collection Ragnarok and Roll: Tales of Cassie Zukav, Weirdness Magnet, urban fantasy stories taking place in Key West; and short stories in the anthologies Apocalypse 13, Bad-Ass Faeries: It's Elemental, Defending the Future: Best Laid Plans, Liar Liar, More Tales of Zorro, Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins, and Tales from the House Band Vols. 1 & 2. He has also contributed to several shard worlds: Steven Savile's Viral (the novella -30-), Aaron Rosenberg & David Niall Wilson's The Scattered Earth (the novel Guilt in Innocence), and Jonathan Maberry's V-Wars (the story "The Ballad of Big Charlie").

Keith is also a longtime editor. He was the supervising editor of the Marvel novels published by Penguin Putnam from 1994-2000 and the monthly series of Star Trek eBook originals published by Simon & Schuster from 2000-2008. His anthology credits range from Imaginings and Liar Liar to the Doctor Who: Short Trips anthology The Quality of Leadership to the Star Trek anthologies New Frontier: No Limits, Tales from the Captain's Table, and Tales of the Dominion War. Currently he edits for clients both personal and corporate via KRADitorial.

Keith is a musician, once the percussionist for the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players (musical guests of Dragon*Con in 1998), currently the percussionist of sometime D*C filk guests the Boogie Knights. His work can be heard on the DQYDJP CDs TKB and Blues Spoken Here and the BK CDs Many a Sleepless Knight and Wasted Days, Wasted Knights.

Of late, Keith has become a serious podcaster -- he's part of the staff of The Chronic Rift, a pop-culture podcast, and has his own 'cast, Dead Kitchen Radio. He also provides voices for the audio dramas The Dome, Gypsy Cove, and the Parsec Award-winning HG World.

On top of all this, Keith is a black belt in Kenshikai karate and a devoted fan of the New York Yankees (in fact, he co-edited the 2013 Yankees Annual for Lindy's Magazines). He lives in New York City with a couple of humans and several animals. Find out less as his cheerfully retro web site of DeCandido.net, which provides links to his Facebook page, his Twitter feed, his blog, his podcasts, and many and varied other things that probably sound cooler than they actually are.

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Aired December 14/December 15, 1966

The Catwoman proves she has more than one life when she returns to Gotham City with a new scheme.  But for once, she's not pussyfooting around by having a feline themed scheme.  She plans to ransom the voices of England's premiere musical duo Chad & Jeremy.  Can Batman and Robin stop her before an international incident brews?

Joining John to talk about how the Catwoman character has changed since her premiere last season as well as the impact having Chad & Jeremy on Batman had on the show is Gotham City 14 Miles editor, Jim Beard.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

A native of Toledo, Ohio, Jim Beard was introduced to comic books at an early age by his father, who passed on to him a love for the medium and the pulp characters who preceded it. After decades of reading, collecting and dissecting comics, Jim became a published writer when he sold a story to DC Comics in 2002. Since that time he's written official Star Wars and Ghostbusters comic stories and contributed articles and essays to several volumes of comic book history.

His prose work includes GOTHAM CITY 14 MILES, a book of essays on the 1966 Batman TV series; SGT. JANUS, SPIRIT-BREAKER, a collection of pulp ghost stories featuring an Edwardian occult detective; MONSTER EARTH, a giant monster anthology; and CAPTAIN ACTION: RIDDLE OF THE GLOWING MEN, the first pulp prose novel based on the classic 1960s action figure.

Currently, Jim provides regular content for Marvel.com, the official Marvel Comics website, and is a regular columnist for Toledo Free Press.

Websites

http://www.facebook.com/thebeardjimbeard

http://www.sgtjanus.blogspot.com

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Aired December 7/December 8, 1966

The Penguin has set up shop once again.  This time he's playing the restauranteur, but he has an unusual system of placing an order at his high priced establishment.  What is his game and why is he so eager to get back to prison that makes a lame attempt at lifting Aunt Harriet's bracelet?  Batman and Robin have their hands full with this caper.

Joining John to figure out the Penguin's scheme is Geek Radio Daily's Billy Flynn.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

The Wonderful Billy Flynn brings the funny each week on Geek Radio Daily! His daytime alter ego is mild-mannered (well, that part is a stretch) radio station personality at WLEE in Virginia.   He actually gets paid to sit on his butt and run his mouth! His “edumacation” is from UNC-Wilmington, the Columbia School of Broadcasting, and University of Phoenix. When he is not gracing the podcasting airways with his comedic stylings, you can find Billy Flynn on Xbox Live (flynn71), rockin’ out on Guitar Hero or Rock Band, watching movies, reading comics, working out, or posting on the forums at geekradiodaily.com (ding!).

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Aired November 30/December 1, 1966

Shame is stealing automobiles only to abandon them sans one part to the vehicle.  What is his scheme and what strange ideas do John and Hidden Harbor Mysteries author Jay Smith cook up when they discuss this episode?  How about Batman working with the Nazi to find escaped POWs in Gotham?  How about the Joseph Campbell-esque journey of a young boy from villain to hero?  How about the lack of care and guidance parents had in the 60s?  It's all here and more on a new Batcave Podcast, just in time to send out 2014!

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Jay Smith is the creator and executive producer for the Parsec Award-winning audio drama series HG World.  Since 2009, Jay and his company of players and producers have been telling the story of survivors in the middle of a global zombie uprising.  Now in its third season, this "satellite" production has featured dozens of actors across four continents making it a production truly on a global scale.  Since its debut, episodes of HG World and its spin-off series, the Parsec finalist The Diary of Jill Woodbine and The Googies have been downloaded close to a million times.

Inspired by the golden age of radio, Hidden Harbor Mysteries presents a story inspired by stylish pulp era radio adventures like The Shadow, Sam Spade, The Green Hornet, and I Love a Mystery. Performed by a stellar cast, Hidden Harbor hopes to integrate classic radio storytelling with some modern twists.  Jay draws from the work of Orson Welles, Arch Obelor and looks to modern audio dramatists like Douglas Adams and Dirk Maggs as inspiration to create a rich, realistic world of survival horror laced with dark comedy and compelling human drama.

Jay holds a BA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University and is working on his Master of Fine Arts from Seton Hill University’s innovative Writing Popular Fiction program.  He attends and speaks at various science fiction and literary conventions about podcasting, writing, audio drama, and zombies.  HG World can be heard by subscribing through iTunes or visiting the show web site www.goodmorningsurvivors.com.

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Aired November 23/24, 1966

Marsha, Queen of Diamonds has her sights on one of the largest diamonds in the world, The Bat-Diamond.  But the fabulous jewel is kept in the Batcave and Batman has sworn no stranger will ever set foot there.  (He did?  When did that happen?)  What to do?  Marsha figures it out; she traps Batman into marrying her.  How will the Caped Crusader get out of this most deadly predicament?

Joining John to discuss this completely messed up episode is longtime Batman 66 fan, Robert Long.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Robert Long is a full time grapgic designer and independent filmmaker.  As a first generation Batman syndication kid, he manages the 1966-68 Batman Television Series Group on Facebook.  He has had the pleasure to meet and work with Adam West and Julie Newmar with various projects in the past.  Visit Robert's production company - Smash or Trash Independent Filmmaking to learn more about it.

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Aired November 16/17, 1966

The Joker is back in Gotham City and his latest crime spree involves keys of all types.  But there doesn't seem to be any real pattern to the Joker's scheme, even when he develops a box that allows him to control time.  Can Batman and Robin unlock the mystery of this case or will it be too much even for them?

Joining John to discuss this disjointed episode is Gary Mitchel of The Revcastand DragonCon's American Sci-Fi Classics Track.

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Gary Mitchel is a writer, reviewer, geek blogger, gamer, sf/fantasy fan, comics reader, podcaster and International Man of Mystery (who’s too dangerous for the entire country of Canada) currently living near Seattle. He is co-host with Deanna Toxopeus ofRevolutionSF’s RevCast, the site’s weekly geek and pop culture discussion, which was nominated for a 2012 Parsec Award. It’s a convention panel in your iPod!

He has also appeared on the Shauncastic, Good to be a Geek, Cyborgs: A Bionic Podcast, Earth Station One, and Saturday B Movie Reel podcasts. He can be found on the Facebook and followed on the Twitter as @gary_mitchel (and yes, it’s his real name).

Gary is also a frequent panelist at Dragon*Con in Atlanta, where he is the Co-Director of the American Sci-Fi Classics Track. There, he has discussed Sci-Fi TV, zombies, movies, video games, zombies, cartoons, comics and zombies. Some attendees have stated that he is “hilarious,” and Gary swears that said people are not related to him.

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Aired November 9/10, 1966

Mr. Freeze returns to Gotham City and is looking for love in all the wrong places.  He kidnaps a beauty contestant and promises she will love him by making her as cold as he is.  Of course, he also has to deal with Batman, but he has a plan for the Caped Crusader that will tarnish his image.

Joining John to discuss this episode is Dan Greenfield, creator and author of the 13th Dimension website.

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Dan Greenfieldis theeditor and co-creator of 13thDimension.com, a website devoted primarily to comics and pop culture, past and present. To him, the basic food groups are Batman, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek (the Original Series), James Bond, the Beatles and the Stones. But if he had to he'd be able to subsist on Batman alone. Channel 11 in New York was his favorite syndicated channel as a kid -- you can guess why -- followed closely by Channel 5. Channel 9 didn't really enter into it unless he was home sick and there wasn't much else on. He's married to his remarkably patient wife Wendy and his best sidekick is his son, Sam. They have two cats,Lex and Zod.

Links

13th Dimension Website

Facebook page

Twitter

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John offers his thoughts briefly on the release of the Batman 1966 television series on DVD and Blu-ray.  When it comes to this set, there are three ways of looking at it - the good, the bad, and the dumb.

Take a listen and let John know if you agree with him by writing thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com.

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Aired November 2/3, 1966

It's election season once again and the fair citizens of Gotham City have the opportunity to vote for mayor.  It would appear that Mayor Linseed would easily win as he is a fine, upstanding politician, but then the Penguin throws his top hat into the ring.

As with any political process, something new gets the attention of the public, even that of an arch-criminal running for office.  There can only be one man who can stand up to this political machine - Batman.

Joining John to discuss this unusual episode that has many of the tropes of a Batman episode save for any real crime solving is writer/editor Glenn Greenberg.

Get your hands on the Batman 66 series via our link here on Amazon.  In doing so, you not only have this excellent, remastered set that you can watch and follow along the podcast with, but you support the podcast as well.

Comment on the episode here or write thebatcavepodcast@gmail.com. Take a moment to rate the episode by using our star system at the bottom of this entry.

Glenn Greenberg is an award-winning editor and writer. He worked extensively for Marvel Comics and DC Comics on such properties as Spider-Man, the Hulk, Superman, Star Trek, Star-Lord, the Silver Surfer, Thor, Iron Man, and Dracula, as well as Web-based tie-in projects for the film Superman Returns and the weekly comic-book series 52. His work has also appeared in such publications as TIME Magazine For Kids, Scholastic News, Time Out New York, Back Issue, and Smoke. Glenn has also written several works of proseStar Trek fiction for Simon and Schuster, and is now making the jump to The X-Files for an upcoming fiction anthology that will be published by IDW. He avidly covers all aspects of popular culture on his blog, “Glenn Greenberg’s Grumblings” (http://glenngreenbergsgrumblings.blogspot.com), and welcomes anyone and everyone to check it out.