On January 12, 1966 the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) launched a television show that would transform into a beloved icon of the 1960ies. It was on this Wednesday evening at 7:30pm that the first airing of the Batman 1960ies episode "Hi Diddle Riddle" began. Thus began an allegiance to this comic book character that has survived for over 4 decades and has spawned numerous motion pictures and continues to strive in popularity. The Hi Diddle Riddle episode was the first of 120 that would air on ABC over the next two and a half years. It was the beginning of a series that would earn a special place in the hearts of millions of adoring fans.
It was not easy for the producers of the Batman series to decide upon a star to play the leading role of Batman. Everyone had his or her own opinion on who would do the role justice. In the end it was Adam West who won not only the role but also inherited iconic status and a career of stereotyping as well. Burt Ward was selected to portray the Boy Wonder Robin who was Batman's faithful sidekick. Together they would blaze a trail into the hearts and souls of loyal Batman enthusiasts. For some the shows were comedic and made fun of itself with cheesy lines and overacting that was all too evident. But for those children who rushed home after school on Wednesday and Thursday nights eagerly awaiting the next episode the Batman series was a masterpiece of good versus evil that had to be witnessed.
The episode that started it all was Hi Diddle Riddle and gave us our first glimpse of one of the memorable villains that brought energy and excitement to the show. The first villain that Batman and Robin would face was the Riddler played by Frank Gorshin. In this first episode the Riddler leaves one of his many clues for the dynamic duo to solve. He leads the caped crusaders into believing that he is robbing a bank. The dynamic duo are mislead into thinking he has a gun that actually turns out to be a cigarette lighter. The Riddler takes Batman to court and sues him hoping that the Batman will finally have to reveal his identity. Not to be fooled the dynamic duo are convinced the Riddler has criminal intent and pursue him to a club where Batman is drugged by one of the Riddler's followers and Robin is taken away. The episode ends with Robin in grave peril. The audience must wait for the next day when the second episode will air to see how it ends.
Of course in the second episode "Smack in the Middle" airing on January 13, 1966 Batman ends up rescuing Robin while the Riddler gets away. Batman ends up saving the day. In this episode Jill St. John plays Molly the Riddler girl who drugs Batman and ends up in the Batcave. She becomes the first of only a handful of characters that actually die in the series. She falls into the Batcaves atomic reactor trying to escape.
Throughout the series the episode on Wednesday night ended in a cliffhanger to be solved on Thursday night. It was a clever way of drawing in the audience for both nights. The episodes may have been cheesy and a little frail compared to the Batman movies of today but they were sufficient for the time and delivered to the screen a Batman that many Americans could relate too. For 120 episodes good really did win over evil and it all began with that first Batman 1960ies episode.
