497e39180f The Penguin plans to gain immunity from the law by becoming the police commissioner's son-in-law. He kidnaps Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara, and threatens her into agreeing to marry him. Unknown to him, Barbara Gordon has a secret crime fighting identity, Batgirl. Alfred learns of her secret when he is brought to Penguin's hideout instead of a preacher, and Batman and Robin realize just how valuable their new ally is when they find themselves hopelessly strung up in Penguin's lair. BATMAN's third season introduced Yvonne Craig as Batgirl, actually Barbara Gordon, daughter of Neil Hamilton's Commissioner Gordon, recently graduated from college, returning to Gotham City with her eye on millionaire Bruce Wayne as potential husband material. Imagine her surprise when The Penguin (Burgess Meredith) pops up out of the blue, with his own ideas about marriage, which don't exactly sit well with his blushing bride, his intent to become the son-in-law of the police commissioner, therefore exempt from prosecution. The presence of Batgirl made for fine eye candy but she wasn't allowed to do much more than high kick her way out of trouble, but Yvonne Craig's ballet training served her well, and her infectious joy in fighting crime proved to be a boost for the show. We get more scenes set at the library to accommodate Barbara's occupation as head librarian, which was actually the only set used for the single reel Batgirl pilot (Elizabeth Harrower's Drusilla appearing just this one time, after playing another librarian in "The Ring of Wax"). Alan Napier as Alfred, like Neil Hamilton, gets increased screen time this season as well, the only other person who knows Batgirl's secret identity, due to his impersonation of a minister to protect the actual man of the cloth from Penguin's henchmen. Burgess Meredith was the right choice to kick things off, spiriting his unconscious mate to another location with the priceless ad lib: "here comes the bride, all bagged and tied!" This third season was essentially scripted by Stanley Ralph Ross, Stanford Sherman, and Charles Hoffman, with minor contributions from Elkan Allan and Dwight Taylor, so obviously producer William Dozier wasn't taking chances on anyone unfamiliar with the series format, now reduced to a single weekly half hour. The ratings for 'Batman' slipped as Season 2 drew to a close, so instead of giving 'Batgirl' ( Yvonne Craig ) her own spin-off series ( as was originally planned ), producer William Dozier chose to make her a regular in the parent show. Stanford Sherman's 'Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin' opens with Batman and Robin returning to the Batcave following an off-screen skirmish with Catwoman. As Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson, they prepare for a night at the opera with Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara. Bruce has a date with Gordon's daughter Barbara. Alas she is abducted from an elevator by Penguin, who intends marrying her in order to gain immunity from prosecution. Should she refuse, her father dies. Luckily, Barbara does not have to worry too much - she is really 'Batgirl'…<br/><br/>A bit straighter than your average 'Batman' episode. Gordon's grief at his daughter's predicament is unusual in what had been up until then a campy show. As an introduction to the 'Batgirl' character, it works well enough, although where Barbara got the money from for all the fancy gadgets in her flat she is never revealed. The Batgirl Cycle is cool though. Fortunately, we are spared the full horror of the 'Batgirl' theme ( I cringed whenever it came on ). Billy May ( who had worked on 'The Green Hornet' ) replaced Nelson Riddle as resident composer. Madge Blake's 'Mrs.Harriet Cooper' made only two appearances in Season 3, one of which was in the following episode 'Ring Around The Riddler'. Episodes were cut down from two a week to merely one. Shorter stories became commonplace, although the occasional two and three parter got through.<br/><br/>Each episode ended with a lead-in to the next instalment. This one climaxes with an appearance by Frank Gorshin's 'Riddler' ( returning after a season's absence, during which time he was temporarily replaced by John Astin ). When I.T.V. repeated the series in 1969, they showed the stories out of sequence, rendering the lead-ins meaningless. I remember seeing one for 'The Entrancing Dr.Cassandra'. The trouble was it had been shown the week before. One confused viewer complained that whenever the Dynamic Duo put someone in jail, that person would be out the very next week!
promalmacalc Admin replied
346 weeks ago