Smack in the Middle

Season 1, Episode 2, Aired

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Batman's attempts to contact Robin with no luck. Riddle copies Robin's face for Molly who infiltrates the Bat-Cave but falls to her death when Batman discovers her. Batman frees Robin. The Riddler goes after the Mammoth Of Moldavia. The Dynamic Due pursue and capture the Mole Hill Mob as Riddler escapes in an explosion.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (2)

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  • Pilot pt 2

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By djscotty54, Mar 10, 2008
    I rated the Pilot Episode Batman a 9.2 due to the fact that it was done really well with use of Frank Gorshin as The Riddler. Also the fact that it is already known that the 1966 series did not explain Batman's origin and the villain origin this pilot was simply 'a way to start' this campy series. Frank Gorshin as the Riddler is PERFECT as for the other main villains (ie Joker, Penguin, & Catwoman) on this series. This episode had a notable comical moment when after removing metal bars from a secure window Robin was just going to throw it down into the alley way, but Batman refused stating "pedestrian safety" and out came the 'bat-hook' the he hung the metal bars on.moreless

  • The worst is yet to come!!!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Kenibeni93, May 21, 2007
    When we enter the episode, we see Batman trying to contact Robin, but he still has no luck. The Riddler has taken Robin to his hideout, and uses Riddler wake up gas to revive an unconsious boy wonder. He then tells Robin to call up Batman on the hotline so the Riddler can deliver clues as to where he will be hiding Robin. After The Riddler is done talking to Batman, he tries to hang up the phone but Robin grabs it and warns Batman not to fall for Riddlers trap. But Riddler gives Robin a dose of knockout gas, and Robin is out cold once again. In the first episode we saw Riddler and his assistant Molly operating on Robin. They were only using his face to construct a mask for Molly. She is to be diguised as Robin, and Riddler will drop her off at the spot where he told Batman to come, and she will go with Batman to the Batcave... and finish him off!! So, they drive until they are chased by the Batmobile, and Batman uses the Bat Ray to short out the engines on Riddlers car. When the car crashes, it lands on it's side, and Molly and Riddler jump out, as the car explodes. Molly is now in her complete Robin outfit, mask and all, so Riddler tells her to lie on the ground a few feet away from the car, and make it look as if she was thrown from the car and hurt. Riddler runs off, and Batman arrive just in time to fall for the plot. Or so it seems. When they get back to the Batcave, he informs Molly that he saw through her diguise, and in an attempt to escape, she climbs onto the neuclear power generator for the Batmobile, and falls to her death! Batman finds the real Robin later on at Riddlers hideout, but when they go after him, The Riddler sets some laughing gas on fire, which causes an explosion that knocks out the Dynamic Duo, and allows the Riddler to escape. At the end of the episode we see Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson back at Wayne Manor talking, and Bruce reflects on how he regrets that he wasn't able to save Molly. But on the bright side, now he dosn't have to go to court!!moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (9)

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    • Lyle Waggoner was originally cast as Batman and filmed for a screen test. Waggoner later went on to play as a regular on The Carol Burnett Show from 1967-1974 and then as Major Steve Trevor on Wonder Woman starring Lynda Carter.

    • The exterior shots of Wayne Manor were really filmed at 380 South San Rafel Ave, Pasedena, CA.

    • The scene of the Batmobile leaving the Batcave to race the remaining 14 miles to Gotham was really filmed at Bronson Cavern in Hollywood Hills. This cave was used in many horror films including Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (Allied Artists, 1956). The problem they ran into when filming the scene was that the Batmobile was just about the same width as the cave entrance. To keep from ripping the fenders off of George Barris's creation, they undercranked the cameras so it could come out slowly and then later speed up the film to give the illusion of speed!

    • In all the scenes of the villains hideouts, the camera is slanted at an angle, almost "crooked"--to reflect the villains' being crooked themselves!

    • The Batmobile's ever-popular Emergency Bat-Turn Lever is put into use for the first time in this episode.

    • At the 1966 Emmys, Batman was nominated as Outstanding Comedy Series while Frank Gorshin was nominated for Outstanding Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In A Comedy for the episode Hi Diddle Riddle. A third nomination was made for editing.

    • Jill St. John would later play the role of Tiffany Case in the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever.

    • The Riddler's maniacal high-pitched giggle was inspired by the character Tommy Udo, portrayed by Richard Widmark, in the 1947 20th Century-Fox crime film-noir Kiss Of Death.

    • This is one of a couple Batman episodes in which characters lose their life. Instant Freeze where Princess Sandra's butler is frozen by Mr Freeze and he falls to the floor breaking into pieces & A Death Worse Than Fate wherein the gunmen, intending to drill Batman and Robin full of bullets, shoot each other to death as The Dynamic Duo dodge them aided by Zelda The Great.

  • QUOTES (5)

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  • NOTES (4)

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  • ALLUSIONS (1)

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    • Riddler: (after Batman and Robin burst from the Moldavian mammoth) A Trojan mammoth! This a reference to the Trojan horse that the Greeks left behind to capture Troy by stealth.

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