User Reviews

The Riddler steals a pure gold calf that was given to Batman for his birthday, then floods the vault of the National Bank and enters with diving suits to seize the money, later he gets into the pent house of a millionaire South American who steals the cash from his safe. All these thefts are to raise the money to buy a scientist his great invention, a device capable of demolecularizing from the smallest object to an entire building. After his outstanding work in season 1 and the unprecedented success of the series, Frank Gorshing had considerably raised his salary expectations for this second season, the production then decided to replace him with John Astin, famous for his character as Gomez in the series The AdamsFamily. In the second part, the South American soldier who is robbed is clearly the Cuban Fidel Castro.

John Astin as the Riddler really ain't that bad. I remember these episodes when they first came out, and as a kid, I thought he was pretty cool. True, Frank Gorshen will always be identified with the part, but the producers had to put someone in the role and Astin, with all his quirkiness, won out. It's also fun to see the other side of Gomez Addams.

Here, the Riddler is in the market to purchase Professor Charm's demolecularizer which can alter, change, re-arrange the sizes and shapes of anything it targets. Pretty neat stuff. Again, the writers were at their creative best, special thanks to producer William P. D'Angelo, who wrote a few original stories on the side. Charm is played by Martin Kosleck, one of the best screen villains, known for playing Nazi spies.

Original line department; the Riddler wants Commissioner Gordon to "LEGALIZE CRIME!" Replete with some over the top dialogue, as usual. You have to admit, the demolecularizer is the most simple looking (ie: flashlight?) of any villains weapons on the show. Was it the budget or what? The strangest thing is whatever happened to many of these prop weapons once filming was finished? A lot were really cool and should have been preserved.

Beautifully remastered in color. SEASON 2 DVD box set, Parts 1 and 2. Released 2015.

"A Riddling Controversy" finds the Dynamic Duo set to become Caked Crusaders, sinking in quicksand atop their own anniversary cake, until Batman decides that now would be the perfect time to launch via their utility belts their experimental Heel and Toe Bat Rockets! From there, John Astin's Riddler has acquired the right amount of cash to buy the deadly Demolecularizer from Professor Avery Evans Charm (Martin Kosleck), what at first glance appears to be nothing more than a flashlight, which can be easily recharged by plugging it into any wall socket. The Professor demonstrates how it can make any object disappear by focusing its beam on Riddler's hat, then the villain demands that Commissioner Gordon make crime legal in Gotham City or risk the obliteration of police headquarters. As usual, Batman finds the answer to neutralize Riddler's tiny contraption, through both the Batcopter (its third appearance) and Batcycle (its fourth), the Batcopter last seen in "The Penguin Declines," the Batcycle in "Come Back, Shame." Longtime Nazi villain Martin Kosleck made few films since his 40s heyday, but remained a fixture on television until his retirement in 1980. When next The Riddler appears, it would be in the third season's second episode, and Frank Gorshin playing the role for the final time.