User Reviews

"Tut's Case is Shut" begins with Batman in time to rescue Robin from a fate worse than death by swinging over on his Batrope, keeping those rubbery rapscallions from dining on Caped Crusaders. King Tut (Victor Buono) has completed his first batch of Abu Raubu Simbu Tu, testing it out on the dimwitted Chief O'Hara (Stafford Repp), sending him out on the ledge to do exercises we never thought he'd ever try! The sight of Batman and Robin is enough to drive the pharaoh and his queen, Cleo Patrick (Marianna Hill), back to their hideaway, while the Dynamic Duo call the still drugged chief inside the window. Unfortunately, Commissioner Gordon is now under Tut's evil influence, spiking Batman's lemonade so that even he cannot resist the commands of his arch enemy. With Robin in tow, Batman actually kneels before his pharaoh, before revealing himself to be in control of his faculties all along, the Caped Crusaders making quick work of the pharaoh's Tutlings before draining off his huge supply of Abu Raubu Simbu Tu, which inadvertently puts him under Batman's influence! Like the first Tut appearance, this was scripted by the duo of Robert C. Dennis and Earl Barret, their only contributions to the series, all future Buono episodes from the prolific pen of Stanley Ralph Ross.

King Tut returns to Gotham City, his henchmen seize some amber stone jewels inside which they have beetles from the Egyptian era, the villain manages to get them out and bring them back to life and use them to produce a hallucinogenic drug that will leave everyone the citizens under his power. Obviously the director asked Victor Buono to exaggerate his role even more which has made him more childish and less perverse than the Tut we saw in the debut in the previous season. Interestingly, the plan of the villain is quite similar to the premise of Jurassic Park where DNA is extracted from mosquitoes trapped in stones. Perhaps the creator of the movie had some inspiration watching this episode.

Victor Buono & Sid Haig chewing the scenery as "King Tut" and his "Royal Apothecary"; if you primarily appreciate this show for its camp value, as I do, then this is one of the series' best.