In the spirit of "Surviving Gilligan's Island" and "Growing Up Brady," CBS's "Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt" is an entertaining, nostalgic romp regardless of the movie's bad acting, writing and, in a rare instance, taste.
The TV movie's appeal will be limited to fans of the campy '60s "Batman" series, who, by their interest in the original, will naturally forgive this movie's shortcomings.
In this so-called "comedy adventure," Adam West and Burt Ward play themselves, or at least versions of themselves envisioned by fans who inextricably link an actor and character.
West played Batman/Bruce Wayne and Ward played Robin/Dick Grayson in "Batman," which aired on ABC from 1966-1968.
As "Return to the Batcave" begins, West is in his home, calling for his butler.
"I'm not Alfred, Mr. West, it's Jerry," the butler complains after West gets it wrong. "Alfred was the guy on the TV show."
West, bumbling more than The Tick, then slides down the Bat-pole in his closet to get to his garage and head out to a fund-raiser. "Charity doesn't punch a clock, my friend."
At the event, he's reunited with portly "old chum" Ward and the Batmobile, which is promptly stolen from under their noses. They spend the rest of the film trying to get it back while flashing back to their days making the TV show in which younger actors play the dynamic duo.
Young Adam (Jack Brewster, who looks and sounds like Peter Krause from "Six Feet Under") is a divorced dad with more acting experience than young Burt (Jason Marsden), who was hired for his martial arts and tumbling skills.
Burt injures himself continuously when production on "Batman" begins, and then the Catholic Legion of Decency worries about how his tight tights highlight, um, part of his nether regions.
The pair get into a few spats - Burt accuses Adam of talking slowly to gain more screen time; they insist on arriving on the set at the exact same moment - and Burt's new fame leads to a divorce (Amy Acker, Fred on The WB's "Angel," plays his wife).
At a press conference in January in Hollywood, West said he resisted prior
attempts to take a Bat-trip down Bat-memory lane.
"I've never wanted to be perceived as a member of the over-the-hill gang,"
West said. "I've always been very lucky in that I've been able to keep
working, whether it's voice-overs, animation, whatever. But ['Batman' has]
been good to us, really. If you could make an agreement with a signature role
and not become embittered or feel that you're painted into a corner, it could
be a wonderful thing."
MORE still photos from the film
Ward, who had just turned 20 when he began work on the series, said the show's cliff-hanger endings made it a hit.
"The fact that you got your audience there to watch and you don't end it and you purposefully leave everybody hanging to suffer a little bit for a couple of days until it's answered," Ward said. "It was a tremendous marketing ploy."
Back in the movie's fictitious present, West and Ward encounter some of their old co-stars - Julie Newmar and Lee Merriwether (both played Cat Woman), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler) - and get into a barroom brawl complete with Boof! Whap! Biff! and Ka-Pow! on-screen graphics.
Fans of the "Batman" series will appreciate director Paul A. Kaufman's adherence to the show's production design. From sets to camera angles to the opening titles, the makers of this film clearly have a love and appreciation for the original series.
And that's really what "Return to the Batcave" is all about: wallowing in nostalgia and getting just a whiff of the essence of the original show.
If only Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt
had taken the sordid, gossipy approach, it might have been TiVo material.
Instead, the CBS TV movie looks at the old Batman series, one of the
all-time camp classics, with a wink and a nod. It tries to tie in fun factoids
(Burt Ward lost the role Dustin Hoffman eventually got in The Graduate
because he couldn't get out of his contract) with more salacious fare (Ward's
tights were a little, uh, tight, and he took medication to reduce his, well,
talent).
It's all harmless enough. It would, of course, be a mistake to take seriously
a TV movie about a TV show that never took itself seriously. But there's a
difference between not taking yourself seriously and not trying very hard.
Return to the Batcave follows the bizarre format of a previous CBS
movie, Surviving Gilligan's Island: The Incredibly True Story of the
Longest Three-Hour Tour in History. It takes original actors playing
themselves - in this case, Adam West and Ward - and builds a silly little
story around them. They reminisce about the show; younger actors play West,
Ward and assorted co-stars in the flashbacks.
Forget the framing device, in which someone steals the Batmobile. We don't
really need to see an ancient West and a scarily large Ward "fight" bad guys
in a bar (though it's a hoot to see West re-enact the Batusi dance). What we
want, all these years later, is some inside scoop.
We get a little. Jack Brewer, who looks a little and sounds a lot like Peter
Krause of Six Feet Under, plays the young West in the tradition of
full-of-themselves sorts such as William Shatner and Robert Reed, who seemed
to think they were performing Shakespeare but kept being handed these wretched
TV scripts instead.
Jason Marsden plays Robin as a naïve imp who quickly realizes - following
West's lead - that starring in a network show offers certain benefits they
don't tell you about when you sign the contract. His marriage slows him only
temporarily.
Jack Brewster and Jason
Mardsen do a good job of playing the younger West and Ward in their Bat-days,
although Brewster is a little too animated in his performance.
Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether and Lyle Waggoner (whose screen
test as Batman is shown) appear in cameos, so scratch them off the
are-they-still-around list.
The best way to enjoy Batman, of course, is to catch reruns of the
original show on TV Land. Return to the Batcave lets you in on a little
of what went on behind the scenes - and leaves you wanting more.
West says he originally didn't want to do a reunion show. But from the
start of the making of "Return to the Batcave," producers were open to ideas
and suggestions. Unlike the recent darker movie versions of Batman, the new
television movie incorporates some comedy along with the adventure — creating
a campy style reminiscent to the original series.
West and Ward play fictionalized versions of themselves. While trying to find
the Batmobile, West and Ward flashback to the times of their '60s television
series to reveal a bizarre behind-the-scenes story of the creation of the
television series.
For the movie, West and Ward re-teams with Frank Gorshin (the original Riddler)
and Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar (two women who played Cat woman). Absent
was Yvonne Craig "Batgirl" who I REALLY would have liked to see again.
I email her and her sister responded HERE
Comic book enthusiasts may know creator Bob Kane originally created "Batman"
in 1939. Batman and his teenaged charge, Robin, worked to help keep Gotham
City safe for all of its citizens. The television series brought Bruce Wayne
and his alter ego Batman to a larger audience in 1966. The show ran through
1968. Although it was a short run, the show touched thousands of kids that saw
it in syndication years later.
"Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt" aired on CBS
March 9, 2003 9:00 PM, ET.
Some Facts About Adam West
Some Fact About Burt Ward
Burt Ward is best known for his role as Dick Grayson/Robin, the Boy wonder in the classic television series Batman. Ward's other television credits include guest appearances in:
PHOTO ALBUM from the 1966 TV Shows
Stills from the movie Return to the Batcave
MOVIE CLIPS
Only REAL men wear TIGHTS!
LAST UPDATED 02/09/2007 01:19:35 PM