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Batman the Complete 60s Television Series is Finally Coming Home!

It’s finally happening. The once beloved, then reviled, and now all-time classic 60s Batman series is finally coming to home video!

There’s a handful of TV series that have been sitting in limbo for years, with fans begging for their release into the wild. An official release of the 1960s Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward has been at the top of the list for decades. Now it’s coming to Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital HD in November of 2014.

Sure, it’s campy and stilted and silly. When kids today think of Batman, they think of Christian Bale or the Arkham video game series. That Batman is dark and brooding without a BIFF! BAM! POW! in sight. In the 90s, Joel Schumacher attempted to relive those glory days with a series of post-Burton films that almost signaled the end of the cinematic superhero era before it really had a chance to begin. And it reflected badly upon the source material for some. Schumacher and that campy 60s show RUINED Batman for many.

I grew up with reruns of the classic Batman series as a kid and loved it, but even I lost my love for it once the intentionally corny 90s films became more about mimicking style of the Adam West series and less about creating a Batman (and rogue’s gallery) of substance. We eventually got it, but for a long time, Batman was a joke.

Thankfully, things have finally shifted back into place. Not everyone can appreciate the 1960s Batman series for what it was: an intentional reflection of the psychedelic times without an ounce of cynicism or serious political drum beating in the era of the Vietnam War and Free Love. But for those who can get by the camp factor, the Batman series is a breathless piece of superheroic nostalgia and a hoot to watch. Plus, if you have any knowledge or love for classic Hollywood, here’s your chance to see some of the greatest ham it up for the camera: Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, Caesar Romero as the Joker, and Frank Gorshin as the Ridder. And let’s not forget the stunningly gorgeous THREE women who played Catwoman over the years (including the movie): Eartha Kitt, Julie Newmar, and Lee Merriweather. How many boys suddenly shot into puberty the moment they stepped on screen?

If any show deserves a binge-watch of its 120 episodes the moment it arrives digitally or on disc, it’s Batman: The Complete Television Series.

Batman: The Complete Television Series arrives November 2014, same bat time, same bat channel!
(I’m sure that makes no sense at the end of that sentence, but I had to write it.)

Image: Warner Bros

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