History Trivia / Batman1966

* BeamMeUpScotty: Sort of. Robin's infamous "Holy [relevant phrase]!" CatchPhrase ''was'' used constantly, but he usually didn't end it with "Batman!". He did occasionally, but not nearly as much as the phrase's popularity would make one think he did.

* UnfinishedEpisode: Creator/HarlanEllison wrote an unproduced script for the show with Two-Face as the villain. The script revealed that his origin in the show was that he was a TV news anchor who had a TV set blow up in his face. Creator/ClintEastwood was even considered for the role, but the character was ultimately dropped because he was considered "too gruesome" for such a light-hearted show. The episode finally saw the light of day when it was adapted into "The Lost Episode" of the ''Batman '66'' comic book.

* BrieferThanTheyThink: The series only ran for a little over two years, from January 1966 to March 1968, but since most of the series' stories were two-parters, that means 120 episodes were produced for a suitable syndication package.

* TropeNamers: For BatDeduction, DatingCatwoman, OfficerOHara

* WordOfSaintPaul:
** To quote Creator/AdamWest:
-->I did a little backstory in my head for Joker. I reasoned the insanity, whatever you want to call his psychopathic quality -- I reasoned that he was kidnapped by a perverted clown when he was a youngster.
** To which Jerry Robinson, co-creator of the Joker, replied, "That would do it."
** Creator/CesarRomero gives a different backstory for the Joker, stating that like in the comic books, the Joker "[[https://youtu.be/CBJVfy0_A4Y dove into a river that was full of a certain chemical]]" in an attempt to escape Batman and ends coming out with green hair (and presumably chalk-white skin).

* ExiledFromContinuity: It is one of few DC Comics-based media barred from Warner Bros.' ''DC Universe'' and Creator/{{Max}} streaming platforms, due to Disney owning the series. This was underscored by a list HBO Max [[https://pressroom.warnermediagroup.com/us/media-release/celebrate-batman-day-hbo-max released]] for Batman Day 2020 showcasing all the various Batman media available to stream on the service that day: ''Batman'' '66 and its movie were nowhere to be found, as were the ''[[Film/TheBatmanSerial Batman]]'' serial films from Creator/ColumbiaPictures (those are owned by Sony). ''Batman: The Movie'' has since been added to HBO Max, but its originating series is still nowhere to be found.

* ExiledFromContinuity: It is one of few DC Comics-based media barred from Warner Bros.' ''DC Universe'' and Creator/HBOMax streaming platforms, due to Disney owning the series. This was underscored by a list HBO Max [[https://pressroom.warnermediagroup.com/us/media-release/celebrate-batman-day-hbo-max released]] for Batman Day 2020 showcasing all the various Batman media available to stream on the service that day: ''Batman'' '66 and its movie were nowhere to be found, as were the ''[[Film/TheBatmanSerial Batman]]'' serial films from Creator/ColumbiaPictures (those are owned by Sony). ''Batman: The Movie'' has since been added to HBO Max, but its originating series is still nowhere to be found.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szZsKdJYR-A A PSA about equal pay]] featuring Batman, Robin and Batgirl was produced in 1972. Creator/BurtWard and Creator/YvonneCraig returned to reprise Robin and Batgirl, but Batman was played by Dick Gautier, as Creator/AdamWest was trying to distance himself from the role.

* ExiledFromContinuity: It is one of few DC Comics-based media barred from Warner Bros.' ''DC Universe'' and Creator/HBOMax streaming platforms, due to Disney owning the series. This was underscored by a list HBO Max [[https://pressroom.warnermediagroup.com/us/media-release/celebrate-batman-day-hbo-max released]] for Batman Day 2020 showcasing all the various Batman media available to stream on the service that day: ''Batman'' '66 and its movie were nowhere to be found, as were the ''[[Film/TheBatmanSerial Batman]]'' serial films from Creator/ColumbiaPictures (those are owned by Sony).

** Creator/SpencerTracy was offered the role of The Penguin, but would accept only on the condition that the series got to end with him killing Batman. Creator/MickeyRooney was also offered the role.
*** The "Batbook", a book filled with trivia on the series, revealed that Dozier also had the late Creator/MickeyRooney in mind for the part, but he couldn't work it into his schedule.

* TheOtherMarty: Robert Morley was originally supposed to play the Sandman, but he quit after the episode was rewritten to include Catwoman [[note]]The producers had guaranteed another Catwoman episode, so they had Charles Hoffman rewrite the Sandman episode to include her, since it was cheaper than making another one[[/note]]. This led to Michael Rennie getting the part, whom the co-writer felt was "too stiff," [[CreatorBacklash resulting in him disowning the episode]].

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vpl-eO6Tik Lyle Waggoner as Bruce Wayne, and Peter Deyell as Dick Grayson]].

* ActorInspiredElement: Creator/BurgessMeredith had not smoked in 20 years when he was cast as the Penguin. He came up with the Penguin's distinctive squawking sound because the cigarettes were irritating his throat. Like his trademark "quack", the Penguin's waddling was largely a result of improvisation by Burgess Meredith, as he found it difficult to stand and walk straight while wearing the rubber padded fat suit that was part of his costuming.

* BeamMeUpScotty: Sort of. Robin's infamous "Holy [relevant phrase]!" CatchPhrase ''was'' used constantly, but he usually didn't end it with "Batman!". He did occasionally, but not nearly as much as the phrase's popularity would make one think he did.
* BrieferThanTheyThink: The series only ran for a little over two years, from January 1966 to March 1968, but since most of the series' stories were two-parters, that means 120 episodes were produced for a suitable syndication package.
* CastTheExpert: Creator/BurtWard got the part of Robin based on his martial arts and tumbling experience, meaning he could do his own fights and stunts.

* FakeNationality: British actor George Sanders played Mr. Freeze with an exaggerated German accent. However, it was averted in the character's next apperance, when Otto Preminger played Freeze with his native Austrian accent.

* NoBudget: The third season was embarrassingly cheap-looking; the majority of the sets (apart from already-built ones like the Batcave and Commissioner Gordon's office) were simply cardboard scenery in front of stark black backgrounds.
* NoStuntDouble: Burt Ward was required to do his own stunts. This was partly because Robin's DominoMask would make hiding a double's face harder, and partly because the studio wanted to save money by not having to pay another stunt double. Burt was a legitimate martial artist, but by the time the show was over, he had been hospitalized over a dozen times.

** Leslie Parrish appeared as heiress Dawn Robbins in "The Penguin's a Jinx", then appeared a season later as Mr. Freeze's (Eli Wallach) moll Glacia Glaze in "Ice Spy"/"The Duo Defy".

** In ''Series/TheGreenHornet'' crossover, Robin was originally going to defeat Kato in battle, but Creator/BruceLee got really angry and reportedly even threatened to beat Burt Ward up for real (Ward has claimed this was a joke on Lee's part). To placate him, their fight was turned into a draw.

* ImageSource:
** AlternateContinuity (middle-right)
** [[BoundAndGagged/LiveActionTV Bound and Gagged.Live-Action TV]] ("Catwoman's Dressed to Kill")
** HitFlash
** ASpyAtTheSpa
** ToTheBatpole
** UtilityBelt (collage)
** TheWallsAreClosingIn

* RecursiveAdaptation: 2013's ''ComicBook/Batman66'' comic book series is an adaptation of this series, which of course was itself an adaptation of the Batman comics that had been printed up to that time.

* MoneyDearBoy: Alan Napier (Alfred) admitted that he'd never read the Batman comic books and only took the part because of the high salary. That said, unlike some examples of this trope Napier enjoyed working on the show and got along well with his costars.

** In a case of You ''Sound'' Familiar, mixed in with Hilarious In Hindsight, Creator/BobHastings plays a supporting role of a gormless major who is gulled by Penguin's fake movie company. 25 years later, Hastings would be hired to voice Commissioner Gordon in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''.

** Creator/NeilHamilton and Creator/YvonneCraig had appeared together several years earlier in the 1958 Franchise/PerryMason episode "The Case of the Lazy Lover." The latter played Patricia Faxon, while the former filled the role of her stepfather Bertrand Allred.

* HilariousInHindsight: The second Mister Freeze is played by an [[{{Film/Batman & Robin}} Austrian]].
** The season 2 episode "Pop Goes the Joker" opens with The Joker [[{{Film/Batman}} vandalizing an art gallery.]]

* FanNickname: This incarnation of Batman is often referred to as the "Bright Knight" or "Camp Crusader" to distinguish him from darker, more serious takes on the character. Both are of surprisingly recent vintage: the term "Bright Knight" was coined in TheNewTens and only became popular in 2017, with the death of Creator/AdamWest.