This has to be one of the most imaginative episodes (and villainous teamings) of 'em all. The Joker, in his eccentric glee and glory, teams with the qwacking Penguin to begin a master crime wave across Gotham City based upon the twelve signs of the Zodiac.
A very clever take on the stars, their trajectory and association with art objects and money, money, money! Master writer Stephen Kandel (who passed at the age of 96 in 2023), wrote five episodes for the series, also writing for STAR TREK at the time, and for so many other top tv shows. He burned the midnight oil for this one.
In play are such stars as Aries the Ram, Leo the Lion, Cancer the Crustacean and Virgo the Virgin, which yields a million dollar statue. The Joker and Penguin's meeting is brief, but memorable as is the appearance of the Joker's gal pal, Venus, played by beautiful screen star Terry Moore. Terry would appear in three episodes and at the time was "reportedly" married to billionaire Howard Hughes.
Lots of outrageous gags set into motion here, foremost a gigantic museum meteorite designed to CRUSH Batman. It's also fun to watch how many times Batman and Robin are subjected to being crushed or crunched by villains. You have to give Kandel credit for coming up with some campy ways of eliminating the Caped Crusaders, and I agree with the last reviewer, nothing beats a good, old fashioned fight in the Batcave.
Note the names of the Joker's goofy henchmen, such as Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter, and played by some familiar character actors. By the way, Terry Moore, now in her 90s, is still working as an actress, having appeared in the 2023 movie, THE STORY OF THE LADY IN BLACK, playing the title role. She also has done some film projects slated to be released in 2024.
Episodic, off offbeat fun all the way, and no question producer William Dozier was trying to capitalize --and very quickly -- on the eneormous success of the series, throwing everything into this story and subsequent episodes and stirring it up.
10 STAR episode, extremely well directed and photographed in remastered color. SEASON 2 EPISODE 37 dvd box set.
A very clever take on the stars, their trajectory and association with art objects and money, money, money! Master writer Stephen Kandel (who passed at the age of 96 in 2023), wrote five episodes for the series, also writing for STAR TREK at the time, and for so many other top tv shows. He burned the midnight oil for this one.
In play are such stars as Aries the Ram, Leo the Lion, Cancer the Crustacean and Virgo the Virgin, which yields a million dollar statue. The Joker and Penguin's meeting is brief, but memorable as is the appearance of the Joker's gal pal, Venus, played by beautiful screen star Terry Moore. Terry would appear in three episodes and at the time was "reportedly" married to billionaire Howard Hughes.
Lots of outrageous gags set into motion here, foremost a gigantic museum meteorite designed to CRUSH Batman. It's also fun to watch how many times Batman and Robin are subjected to being crushed or crunched by villains. You have to give Kandel credit for coming up with some campy ways of eliminating the Caped Crusaders, and I agree with the last reviewer, nothing beats a good, old fashioned fight in the Batcave.
Note the names of the Joker's goofy henchmen, such as Mercury, Saturn and Jupiter, and played by some familiar character actors. By the way, Terry Moore, now in her 90s, is still working as an actress, having appeared in the 2023 movie, THE STORY OF THE LADY IN BLACK, playing the title role. She also has done some film projects slated to be released in 2024.
Episodic, off offbeat fun all the way, and no question producer William Dozier was trying to capitalize --and very quickly -- on the eneormous success of the series, throwing everything into this story and subsequent episodes and stirring it up.
10 STAR episode, extremely well directed and photographed in remastered color. SEASON 2 EPISODE 37 dvd box set.