"Penguin's Clean Sweep" marked the final appearance of Burgess Meredith's Penguin on the series, certainly better served this last season than Cesar Romero's Joker (Meredith actually does one last cameo as The Penguin in THE MONKEES "Monkees Blow Their Minds"). With henchmen named Dustbag and Pushbroom, and Monique Van Vooren as Miss Clean, the overstuffed bird intends to contaminate all the money in Gotham City with Lygerian Sleeping Sickness, using his collection of Lygerian fruit flies to accomplish the task, thus sweeping up every piece of green paper dumped on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne's influence leaves Penguin with millions in worthless paper, no bank or merchant in the world willing to deal with his ill gotten gains. Unbilled cameos this time include John Vivyan (MR. LUCKY) as a bank manager, and former MLB player John Beradino, fittingly cast as a doctor.
6 Reviews
A BIZARRE AND FUN PLAN
asalerno1028 June 2022
The Penguin enters the Gotham City Mint and manages to inject a strain of a Ligerian virus that causes an eternal sleep in the ink with which the banknotes are printed. Aware of this, Batman, Robin and Batgirl alert the population about the danger of contact with these bills, which causes all the people to get rid of them by throwing them into the street. Pinguino and his gang dedicate themselves to sweeping up the money since they are the only ones immunized with the antidote vaccine. An extremely funny episode with one of the most bizarre and crazy plots that have been presented in the series.
The Last Penguin Episode
StuOz11 August 2018
Penguin (Burgess Meredith) makes trouble at the mint.
There is no question that this episode does not compare to the sort of quality we got in season one or even season two. But we are talking about 1966 Batman here, one of TV's most popular shows ever made. One of the biggest cult hits ever! So with that in mind I can partly turn a blind eye to the various flaws in this adventure and just go along with it.
The thing that bothered me more than anything else was the terrible make-up job on Meredith. His big nose never looked right (mainly in close ups) and it was just too fake looking. Perhaps the high definition picture quality was to blame for this?
Some interesting plot points in this episode, I would call it good but not great.
There is no question that this episode does not compare to the sort of quality we got in season one or even season two. But we are talking about 1966 Batman here, one of TV's most popular shows ever made. One of the biggest cult hits ever! So with that in mind I can partly turn a blind eye to the various flaws in this adventure and just go along with it.
The thing that bothered me more than anything else was the terrible make-up job on Meredith. His big nose never looked right (mainly in close ups) and it was just too fake looking. Perhaps the high definition picture quality was to blame for this?
Some interesting plot points in this episode, I would call it good but not great.
A FOND FAREWELL TO THE PENGUIN.
tcchelsey23 April 2023
As the series was coming to an end, this was the last episode to feature the outrageous Penguin. The multi-talented Burgess Meredith was so popular that the producers always had a script ready to go, depending on his busy film and tv schedule. He was more than happy to oblige, and it showed. Doing a little research, it turns out that Meredith's over the top performance as a mad scientist (who produced earthquakes) in the WILD WILD WEST (1965), may have inspired producers to cast him as the Penguin the following year. He was a brilliant, one of a kind actor. Hands down, the best choice. Here, chain-smoking, quack quacking Penguin develops an ingenious plan to infect Gotham City's money supply. If that's not enough, he threatens Batman he will release thousands of fruit flies to invade Gotham. Heaven forbid! Former skater and model Monique van Voreen makes her second appearance as Penguin's bad girl, Miss Clean. Van Voreen reportedly spoke as many as six languages, and at age 40 (and looking terrific) was the oldest of villain girls. Look for Charles Dierkop as Dustbag, long playing sidekicks and hoods in tv cop shows and films. The next villain to appear is Calamity Jan, played by Dina Merrill, in a brief cameo. Merrill, enormously popular in dramatic roles (BUTTERFIELD 8, THE SUNDOWNERS) gained a new generation of fans with this offbeat part, possibly a replacement of sorts for Eartha Kitt's Catwoman. SEASON 3 dvd box set in restored multi colors.
Short on Time, Short Pengy, Short on $$$, Shorter on Bat-Value.
redryan6423 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
AS LIVING TESTIMONY (pre-recorded, of course) that the best of the BATMAN TV Series (1966-68)were done in its first season, we present this 'Penguin's Clean Sweep'. Over budget co$t$ and a decreasing interest by viewers ganged up on the show, which brought about an uncontrollable downward spiral.
EVIDENCE OF THIS phenomenon is already showing in the otherwise fine group of episodes that began airing in the Autumn of 1966. Although this may well seem to be truly petty, it is both significant and symptomatic of declining budgetary considerations.
AND WHAT IS this that to which we are referring? It is the difference in the manner in which the various visual POWS!, WHAMS!, CRUNCHES! and YEOWS! are shown on the screen. The early episodes had the written action words superimposed over the individual frames; whereas the later installments showed the descriptive words shown against a field of plain, of coloured backdrop. The visuals would very quickly cut away from the action; only to return just as quickly.
THIS MAY WELL not sound like much, but it is an indicator of irrefutable nature.
AS FOR THIS story, it suffers from a combination of maladies; which put it on shaky ground from the outset.
OTHER THAN THE aforementioned cutback in special effects, there were several other problems that we would like to mention. First, a change in writing staff signaled a great shift in the program's central theme. Whereras the series brought us amusement through the depiction of super-serious situations, which were rendered humorous by their exaggeration.* In these later episodes, they went for a cheap laugh. Rather than laughing with a show, we would now laugh at it.
SECONDLY, THE SERIES was now cut back to one half hour, instead of two 30 minute segments shown on two evenings in Cliff-Hanger style.
THIRD IN OUR complaints is the expansion of featured characters to include BATGIRL. In reality, she's Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara, a Gotham City Librarian. Originally BATGIRL was intended to be a series of its own; but was merged with the BATMAN Show, causing a problem in character usage.
CONCERNING THIS PARTICULAR episode, it was too short to develop a good story, it centered on a plot that was even too implausible for a comic book story and it definitely went for the cheap laugh.
THE USE OF the Penguin character was always a pleasure; as Burgess Meredith did nail the part very well. As an indicator of this assertion, Penguin leads the series in number of appearances.
ONE POTETENTIALLY OFFENSIVE element of the story lies in the plot involving a 'Sleeping Sickness' being spread by a fictitious "Lygerion" fruit fly. Maybe we're being a little too touchy about this; but, doesn't that put you in the mind of many other real epidemics such as the current Ebola crisis?
WHEN THE SERIES was canceled by ABC, the NBC TV Network ("a Service of RCA") expressed some interest in picking it up. The plan called for upgrading the quality of the stories and restoring it to its former glory. But, alas, fate intervened and the Bat-Cave set at the Desilu Studios had already been bull-dozed into Bat-Oblivion!
THERE WAS NO more "Worst Is Yet To Come!"
EVIDENCE OF THIS phenomenon is already showing in the otherwise fine group of episodes that began airing in the Autumn of 1966. Although this may well seem to be truly petty, it is both significant and symptomatic of declining budgetary considerations.
AND WHAT IS this that to which we are referring? It is the difference in the manner in which the various visual POWS!, WHAMS!, CRUNCHES! and YEOWS! are shown on the screen. The early episodes had the written action words superimposed over the individual frames; whereas the later installments showed the descriptive words shown against a field of plain, of coloured backdrop. The visuals would very quickly cut away from the action; only to return just as quickly.
THIS MAY WELL not sound like much, but it is an indicator of irrefutable nature.
AS FOR THIS story, it suffers from a combination of maladies; which put it on shaky ground from the outset.
OTHER THAN THE aforementioned cutback in special effects, there were several other problems that we would like to mention. First, a change in writing staff signaled a great shift in the program's central theme. Whereras the series brought us amusement through the depiction of super-serious situations, which were rendered humorous by their exaggeration.* In these later episodes, they went for a cheap laugh. Rather than laughing with a show, we would now laugh at it.
SECONDLY, THE SERIES was now cut back to one half hour, instead of two 30 minute segments shown on two evenings in Cliff-Hanger style.
THIRD IN OUR complaints is the expansion of featured characters to include BATGIRL. In reality, she's Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara, a Gotham City Librarian. Originally BATGIRL was intended to be a series of its own; but was merged with the BATMAN Show, causing a problem in character usage.
CONCERNING THIS PARTICULAR episode, it was too short to develop a good story, it centered on a plot that was even too implausible for a comic book story and it definitely went for the cheap laugh.
THE USE OF the Penguin character was always a pleasure; as Burgess Meredith did nail the part very well. As an indicator of this assertion, Penguin leads the series in number of appearances.
ONE POTETENTIALLY OFFENSIVE element of the story lies in the plot involving a 'Sleeping Sickness' being spread by a fictitious "Lygerion" fruit fly. Maybe we're being a little too touchy about this; but, doesn't that put you in the mind of many other real epidemics such as the current Ebola crisis?
WHEN THE SERIES was canceled by ABC, the NBC TV Network ("a Service of RCA") expressed some interest in picking it up. The plan called for upgrading the quality of the stories and restoring it to its former glory. But, alas, fate intervened and the Bat-Cave set at the Desilu Studios had already been bull-dozed into Bat-Oblivion!
THERE WAS NO more "Worst Is Yet To Come!"
The 40 Year Old Monique van Vooren
richardchatten30 July 2020
Best remembered for the absurd reincarnation of the Dynamic Trio as the Pied Pipers of Gotham.
But just as Eartha Kitt had recently shown there was no age limit on seductive evil by satisfyingly slipping into Catwoman's catsuit at the age of forty (over fifty years later still the oldest actress ever to have played the feline feloness), so Pengy's final henchbabe Miss Clean also broke the age barrier on being an arch villain's sexy moll by being played by big-haired 40 year old Miss van Vooren (fifteen years after playing the femme fatale in 'Tarzan and the She-Devil').
Coming next, 44 year-old Dina Merrill as Calamity Jan in the very next episode...
But just as Eartha Kitt had recently shown there was no age limit on seductive evil by satisfyingly slipping into Catwoman's catsuit at the age of forty (over fifty years later still the oldest actress ever to have played the feline feloness), so Pengy's final henchbabe Miss Clean also broke the age barrier on being an arch villain's sexy moll by being played by big-haired 40 year old Miss van Vooren (fifteen years after playing the femme fatale in 'Tarzan and the She-Devil').
Coming next, 44 year-old Dina Merrill as Calamity Jan in the very next episode...
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