The television series also followed the comic books’ plot. Bruce Wayne (played by Adam West) was orphaned in his teens when criminals killed his parents. He inherited a huge fortune and, obsessed with fighting the evil-doers who plagued Gotham City, became Batman, the Caped Crusader. Under his mansion, Batman constructed the Batcave, an elaborate laboratory used to fight crime. His young ward, Dick Grayson (played by Burt Ward), also orphaned due to evil-doers, became Robin, the Boy Wonder, under Batman/Wayne’s tutelage. Together they defended the city against the sick-minded criminals that populated the underworld. The only person who knew their identity was Alfred (Alan Napier), Wayne’s butler, who raised Bruce after his parents were killed. In the Batlab and at the Batcave, Batman and Robin were helped by the most advanced technology to fight their enemies. Police Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton) could ask Batman for help either through the use of a searchlight, the Batsignal, or the Batphone, a direct line between the police station and Bruce Wayne’s mansion. To defeat their enemies, Batman and Robin also used the Batmobile, their utility belts, and other Bat-devices.

The success of the series attracted several famous actors and actresses to play the villains. Among the most famous enemies were the Riddler (played first by Frank Gorshin and then John Astin), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), the Joker (Cesar Romero), King Tut (Victor Buono), Egghead (Vincent Price), and Catwoman (played at different times by Julie Newmar, Lee Ann Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt).

Batman incorporated the expressive art and fashion of the period in its sets and costumes. It also relied excessively on technological gadgetry, transforming the show into a parody of contemporary life. It was this self-reflexive parody/camp of the comic character that boosted the ratings of the program to the top ten during its first season. The show was not to be taken seriously. The acting was intentionally overdone and the situations extremely contrived. In the fight scenes, animated “Bangs,” “Pows,” and “Bops” would fill the screen every time a blow was struck. However, these characteristics, besides displeasing many fans of the superhero, were not enough to save the show.

Batman came to television supported by a massive advertising campaign followed by heavy merchandising placement. Directed toward adults and children, this campaign cost millions of dollars. Originally scheduled to start in the fall of 1966, the show debuted earlier, in the middle of the spring season. ABC aired Batman in prime time from January 12, 1966, to March 14, 1968. By the fall of 1966, ratings were already falling. To offset this trend, in the fall season of 1967, the show was cut to once a week and Batgirl (Yvonne Craig) was introduced. This time, she came to save the show from falling ratings and not to protect Batman and Robin against accusations of a homoerotic relationship, as was the case for her creation by the comic book writers in the mid-1950s. Batgirl, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon and a librarian, fought crime on her own and was many times paired with the Dynamic Duo. Her debut, however, was not enough to save the series. The producers tried to enliven the plots with the new sexy heroine, but it did not work, and Batman went off the air in midseason in the spring of 1968.

In September 1968 CBS produced an animated version of Batman in which the super duo shared one hour with Superman (in separated segments). Even though the program introduced a less camp version of Batman and Robin, possibly in response to fan criticisms to the prime-time serial, the program lasted only two seasons. Between February and September 1977, CBS broadcast an animated version with the voices of Adam West and Burt Ward. In September of that year, CBS changed the New Adventures of Batman to The Batman/Tarzan Hour, in which Batman and Tarzan shared one hour back to back, in separate segments.

In the fall of 1992, FOX television released a new animated series capitalizing on publicity for the movie Batman Returns. This new series followed the stylistic changes in the comic book hero. The FOX series earned critical and popular acclaim for its high-quality graphics and action-packed storylines. Interestingly, as in two of the Batman movies released in the 1990s, this new animated series erased Robin from the scene, possibly responding to criticism of the homoerotic subtext between the two heroes. Originally shown every afternoon, the FOX series moved to the Saturday-morning FOX line-up in the spring of 1994. At the same time the series also brought Robin back, possibly responding to the word that a new Batman film (Batman and Robin, 1997) would again include Robin in its plot.