User Reviews

"Penguin Sets a Trend" finds the catapulted Dynamic Duo saved by a preprogrammed Batmobile, driving itself to the right location with safety net attached. Returning to the set of Penguin's movie, both are incapacitated by their magnetized suits of armor, unable to prevent Penguin from using his stolen 15th century chain mail armor on an unannounced visit to Gotham City's Hexagon building. That provides the best scene in this chapter, with Alan Reed, the famed voice of Fred Flintstone, delightfully hamming it up as General MacGruder, conned by a five year contract offer from The Penguin, whose desire to shoot in Room X succeeds after he makes a similar pitch to Major Beasley (Bob Hastings, THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW, McHALE'S NAVY), the resulting disappointment on the General's face alleviated by Penguin's upping his contract to 10 years! Room X is connected to Rooms Y and Z, and it's in Room Z that Penguin's men accompany their boss, protecting him from the army's bullets as they make their getaway (Reed's amusing call to 'charge!' definitely recalls Fred Flintstone). Knocked cold by Penguin gas, the pursuing 'clanking crusaders' are dumped in a trash compactor as scrap metal. The one short time we see Marsha (Carolyn Jones) and Aunt Hilda (Estelle Winwood) is on a jaunt to find old toads!

The dynamic duo can be saved from the catapult where the Penguin had left them and they are ready to resume filming the movie, the villain doubts Batman's true intentions but accepts it only to set a new trap for them and so, then go to the building of the Hexagon to steal the plans of a military tank. This episode is a bit slow, the whole scene of Pinguino with the soldiers in the Hexagon is long, Marsha and her aunt Hilda hardly appear in this chapter.

Qwacking Burgess Meredith steals the show as the Penguin, hard at work and getting everybody (of importance!) in his new fake movie, proving he's the ultimate devious wheeler dealer. You can so tell Meredith is having a blast with his role, much like Ceasar Romero. The producers also offered Meredith a sweet deal behind the scenes, allowing him to work on other film and stage projects during production, at his convenience. Nice work if you can get it.

The wild story finds Batman and Robin, pretending they would love to be movie stars in order to trap the Penguin. As can be expected, Penguin smells a rat and tricks the Caped Crusaders into donning bulky suits of armor for a scene. In the meanwhile, Alan Reed (the voice of Fred Flintstone) plays a not too bright general and versatile Bob Hastings plays a major, also landing jobs in the bogus movie. This is all in exchange for a "visit" to the HEXAGON to steal plans for a new tank. Not over YET.

The grand finale has Batman and Robin chasing the Penguin across the studio lot in their clunking metal suits, only to be "snatched" off the street and sold to a scrap metal company? Destination: THE CRUSHER.

Outrageous.

Only debit; Carolyn Jones (as Marsha, Queen of Diamonds) appears in one scene with goofy witch Estelle Winwood, but they make a classic team. Estelle would play the same sort of a role on BEWITCHED.

Campy to the max, and note the restored color, better than when the show originally premiered. SEASON 2 EPISODE 43, remastered dvd box set. Parts 1 and 2. 4 dvds each. 2015 release.