Sun, May 11, 2014
Flopcast 105: Bed Bath and Batman Beyond
Happy 75th Birthday to Batman! This week Kevin and Kornflake look back at the Caped Crusader's first 75 years, including: Bat-Mite (Batman's Great Gazoo-style imp), Batwoman (who fought crime using jewelry and makeup, because, you know, she was a girl), and Ace the Bat-Hound (a dog with a mask)! And don't forget Cesar Romero's mustache! Or the time Batman met Weird Al! Also: We introduce a new superhero of our own (lobster-themed, of course), and we celebrate Sea Monkey Day (because we like fooling children). This show is such a Bat-tacular (as Kornflake calls it) that you'll want to display a giant penny in your living room.
Show Notes
Kevin is unusually excited about celebrating National Sea Monkey Day on May 16. Kornflake teaches us a thing or two about the brine shrimp, including the fact that comic artist Joe Orlando was responsible for the, um, creative art used to sell these "pets".
![](105/seamonkey.jpg)
Airing for 11 episodes in 1992, The Amazing Live Sea Monkeys was not a cartoon, as Kornflake thought (and any reasonable person would assume), but a live-action show that featured Howie Mandel among the cast.
On to the star of this episode...Lobstarr!
![](105/lobstarr.jpg)
Just kidding. The real star, of course, is Bat-Mite! Making his comic debut in 1959, he later became a regular character in the 1977 Filmation series The New Adventures of Batman.
![](105/batmite1.jpg)
![](105/batmite2.jpg)
Besides that mischevious imp and the faithful (and unfortunately-costumed) Robin, Batman's other memorable associates included Batwoman and Ace the Bat-Hound.
![](105/batwoman.jpg)
![](105/bat-hound.jpg)
Batwoman acquired her own sidekick, Bat-Girl, not to be confused with future Batman sidekick Batgirl. (Comics continuity is tricky, folks.)
Batman teamed up with just about everybody in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, based on the long-running comic book of the same name. Reaching beyond the usual DC Comics roster, he even worked with Space Ghost...
![](105/spaceghost.jpg)
...and the Scooby gang, and Weird Al!? Guess who was behind that caper.
![](105/batmite3.jpg)
Now for a few Batman oddities. Here's an early live-action depiction of the Dynamic Duo in film serial form:
![](105/serial.jpg)
Cesar Romero's infamous mustache, not quite hidden by the Joker make-up:
![](105/joker.jpg)
The Super Friends Heimlich maneuver lesson, which must have been prime fodder for The Ambiguously Gay Duo:
There are way too many television and film depictions of Batman to list here (there's even a new one coming to FOX this Fall: Gotham), so we'll just direct you to Wikipedia's extensive coverage.
How better to commemorate Batman's 75th anniversary? The beloved (if somewhat divisive) 1960s TV series is finally coming to DVD this year.
![](105/batusi.jpg)