"Hizzoner the Penguin" was Burgess Meredith's first appearance this second season, and easily his best. A series of carefully conceived 'good deeds' have the effect the cagey bird requires, since he has decided to run for mayor and depose Mayor Linseed (Byron Keith, making the fourth of his ten appearances). Crack pollsters Gallus (George Furth), Rooper (Woodrow Parfrey), and Trendek (Murray Roman) predict easy victory for The Penguin, so Batman gets the call as Gotham City's last hope of victory. While Penguin entertains his followers with champagne and music (supplied by Paul Revere and the Raiders, who don't sing), Batman's sincere oratory seemingly puts his crowd to sleep! A request from the Grand Order of Occidental Nighthawks leads to a short Batfight, the Dynamic Duo suspended above a vat of sulfuric acid, getting lower as the ice continues to melt. Citizen Penguin arrives to put a stop to the horror, but unable to scrounge up a dime to phone the police decides to walk over to headquarters, only a matter of hours! Unbilled cameos include Western veteran sidekick Fuzzy Knight as the blind news dealer, and The Three Stooges' Joe Besser as a Penguin supporter.
4 Reviews
Sitcom Roots Are Laughingly Serious
DKosty12314 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is one of the funniest ones and the best Penguin ones in the series. This part one sets up an excellent part 2, but let's focus on part 1. What's so funny? Citizen Penguin for starters. "I should have gone into politics years ago. I can use all my dirty tricks here and it's legal." Not an exact quote but it's a real start.
The Penguin has a new angle this time when he gets out of jail. Try to rig an election, and help himself to take over the powers of Gotham City. He enlists some unique help and some great buffoonery. His campaign speech says it all.
"I am going to run an great campaign. Plenty of music, plenty of girls, lots of champagne. I am not going to talk about the issues. Issues confuse people."
In a cameo star studded episode, even Paul Revere and the Raiders are brought in for the music. "Clean up Gotham, 1,2,3. That's a vote for Pengy."
Meanwhile, Batman and Robin wind up suspended over a vat of acid, after Batman is drafted into the campaign to run against Pengy. Will a bunch of GOONS be the dynamic duos undoing?
The Penguin has a new angle this time when he gets out of jail. Try to rig an election, and help himself to take over the powers of Gotham City. He enlists some unique help and some great buffoonery. His campaign speech says it all.
"I am going to run an great campaign. Plenty of music, plenty of girls, lots of champagne. I am not going to talk about the issues. Issues confuse people."
In a cameo star studded episode, even Paul Revere and the Raiders are brought in for the music. "Clean up Gotham, 1,2,3. That's a vote for Pengy."
Meanwhile, Batman and Robin wind up suspended over a vat of acid, after Batman is drafted into the campaign to run against Pengy. Will a bunch of GOONS be the dynamic duos undoing?
The Penguin Runs for Mayor
ShiraDotnet2 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
In this episode, the Penguin runs for mayor. In an effort to prevent him from beating Mayor Linseed in the election, Batman decides to run against him.
Of course, Batman seeks to have a rational, logical dialog that sticks to the issues while the Penguin is all about flash and sizzle. Only a handful of people attend Batman's campaign rally, while the Penguin's rally features a belly dancer (Little Egypt) performing to the band Paul Revere and the Raiders.
The episode ends with Batman and Robin tied up in a basket which is slowly being lowered into a vat of acid. Things are looking bad for both the Dynamic Duo and Mayor Linseed.
Of course, Batman seeks to have a rational, logical dialog that sticks to the issues while the Penguin is all about flash and sizzle. Only a handful of people attend Batman's campaign rally, while the Penguin's rally features a belly dancer (Little Egypt) performing to the band Paul Revere and the Raiders.
The episode ends with Batman and Robin tied up in a basket which is slowly being lowered into a vat of acid. Things are looking bad for both the Dynamic Duo and Mayor Linseed.
VOTE FOR BATMAN OR THE PENGUIN????
tcchelsey18 November 2023
OMG on steroids.
The Penguin, thanks to some fine print loophole in the election book of roles, can actually run for mayor of Gotham City??? Naturally, to throw a wrench into his plans, current Mayor Linseed (Byron Keith) asks Batman to enter the race. And let the dirty poltics begin!
Burgess Meredith, as the Penguin, is having a blast here. He really gets into his role, and has some of the best lines.
A camp episode, and featuring legendary 60s rock group PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS, changing their name to "The Ruders". Paul Revere at the time had a big hit on the charts, "Kicks" which peaked at No. 4 on the charts, followed by "Hungry."
Popular character actor Woodrow Parfrey plays Rooper. Parfrey was a staple in tv shows, usually turning up as a real shifty guy. Well written by Stanford Sherman, who wrote 18 classic episodes for the series, and this is one of them.
Does not get any better than this, and watch for the colors! Beautifully restored, from SEASON 2 EPISODE 17 remastered dvd box set.
The Penguin, thanks to some fine print loophole in the election book of roles, can actually run for mayor of Gotham City??? Naturally, to throw a wrench into his plans, current Mayor Linseed (Byron Keith) asks Batman to enter the race. And let the dirty poltics begin!
Burgess Meredith, as the Penguin, is having a blast here. He really gets into his role, and has some of the best lines.
A camp episode, and featuring legendary 60s rock group PAUL REVERE AND THE RAIDERS, changing their name to "The Ruders". Paul Revere at the time had a big hit on the charts, "Kicks" which peaked at No. 4 on the charts, followed by "Hungry."
Popular character actor Woodrow Parfrey plays Rooper. Parfrey was a staple in tv shows, usually turning up as a real shifty guy. Well written by Stanford Sherman, who wrote 18 classic episodes for the series, and this is one of them.
Does not get any better than this, and watch for the colors! Beautifully restored, from SEASON 2 EPISODE 17 remastered dvd box set.
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