Skip to main content

Batman Television Series Reboot - It's About Time

Adam West is in this picture of
Julie Newmar - so I'm told.
It's been a while since I had a rant about Batman but I've been listening to recent Batman on Film podcasts where the team there again reiterated that a live action Batman should be exclusive to the Silver Screen as an 'event' movie that fans look forward to.

I completely disagree.

Batman's career on film started in serialized shorts in the cinema back in 1943 and again in 1949. It was the success of the re-release of the 1943 serial in 1965 that inspired the 1966 TV series and movie spin off. All of these series were quite popular and demonstrate that Batman works as a serialized product.

I haven't even mentioned all the Batman TV cartoon/animated series over the years.

More so than the films it's Batman on Television (mostly the '66 series and various animated series) that has kept the legend alive for main stream audiences - even more so than Batman comics. Personally I've never read a complete Batman story in the comics.

Having to wait 3-5 years minimum for a new Batman story on the big screen and having to wait around ten years just to get through a trilogy of films is a crock. I don't care how good a movie is. There's only so many times you can rewatch it on DVD.

Don't get me wrong. I love the films and they should be 'event' movies. I just don't see that you can't have a good Batman series on television that is its own thing. Completely unrelated to the movies. Audiences are sophisticated enough to know that a TV show is unrelated to the continuity of a movie franchise.

Live action Batman on television is screaming out for a reboot for a new generation. Batman on television has been defined by the 1966 series for decades. It's a series that you either love or loathe. I loved it as a kid. It's the reason I'm a Batman fan today. However it's somewhat cringe-worthy (but still fun) to watch it as an adult. Unsurprisingly Adam West who played Batman in the series is still popular and is fairly active on Facebook.

As a reboot I'm not talking, necessarily a Christopher Nolan style copy reboot. If I'm completely honest, Christopher Nolan's Batman isn't my Batman. There's a lot I like about his version but there's still something missing for me. What Chris has done, however, is shown that Batman can be popular as serious drama/action movie. It doesn't need over the top design, special effects and comedic scripts.

Crime shows on television are real popular right now with the CSI and Law and Order franchises. I've already written about how I'd like one of these shows to perhaps do their take on Batman in The Bat Suit and CSI: Batman.

I've also written about how there's an opportunity to put Robin on the small screen to tell his Nightwing story perhaps in Can Batman's Robin find his Cool?

More than anything though, the reason to put Batman on TV is not to create a series with self contained one hour episodes each week. Rather it's to tell longer and more detailed stories in serialized format.

As an example I'm going to highlight the 2003 British TV series State of Play which was adapted into an American film of the same name in 2009 and starred Russel Crowe. I am a huge fan of both for different reasons but one thing most people can agree on is that the series is better. Not because the movie is bad, it's just that the series has so much more depth in every aspect of the story and covers more ground.

Imagine a Batman series in the format of State of Play. Not single, self contained and similarly structured episodes with threads running through to future episodes but one complete story that unfolds over the entire series with twists, turns, surprises and more. Is that not how Batman should be done and is that not a good reason to put a live action Batman on TV? To tell bigger more detailed stories.

Forget this BS of live action Batman should only be on the big screen. At the rate these films get made I'm only likely to see two or three per decade and, to get a detailed story like Nolan's, it takes a decade just to tell one complete story.

There's plenty of room between movies to fill the gaps with a Batman television series. Especially now that Nolan's last film is set for release this year. It's a great time to bring Batman back to the small screen in a ground breaking, prime time drama series for adults.


Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space.  Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation .  Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their  space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ).  While they sound highly soph

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Guest Post: NEW NOVEL ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL!

Today's guest post is by returning Artist, Writer, and Mental Health Advocate, Jo B Creative who writes for her blog, Creating My Oddessey . Jo's previous 2019 post,  MY SOOPER DOOPER NEW CONSERVATORY/ART STUDIO! for a long time was one of this blog's most read pages. Jo returns under a new alias, author Kit Mackenzie , and with word of her new novel, ALIAS JEANNIE DELANEY - BOOK 1 - GO WEST, GIRL! which is now available on Amazon. T he first book of this epic western trilogy, Alias Jeannie Delaney - Book 1 - Go West, Girl!  is the life story of a devastating and charismatic pants-wearing cowgirl who's the fastest gun in the west and bisexual. A crack shot story that blazes across the wild west! Jeannie Morgan, a devastatingly tomboy-beautiful, pants-wearing maverick who flicks a finger of contempt at society in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Her speed with a gun is faster than the strike of a rattler, outshooting every man she meets. Love, hate and jealo

Nobody move, I've dropped my brain!

I'm probably one of the last Pirates of the Caribbean fans to see At World's End which is still playing at a few cinemas as it nears the end of its run. The title of this post, which is a quote from the movie, aptly describes the difficulties of trying to get your head around the plot. Although it does continue from the previous film in the series (all the characters are there) it doesn't seem critical to know the back story. The main plot is established right at the start. The East India Trading Company is out to wipe out pirates and anyone that so much as glances at a pirate. Our motley crew, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Barbossa join forces to bring together the Brethren of Nine pieces of eight (nine pirate lords who can unite all pirates) and stop the massacre of their kind. Slight problem. Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the nine and he died in the last film. Since Captain Barbossa died in the film before that, we know that coming back from the dead isn'

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . ​​ Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur