The Penguin's Nest (7 Dec. 1966)

Penguin has opened a fancy restaurant called The Penguin's Nest. There every order has to be written down by the customers on a piece of paper. He then plans to get himself arrested and ... See full summary »

Director:

Murray Golden

Writers:

Bob Kane (characters), Lorenzo Semple Jr.

Stars:

Adam West, Burt Ward, Alan Napier

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Adam West	...	Batman / Bruce Wayne
Burt Ward	...	Robin / Dick Grayson
Alan Napier	...	Alfred
Neil Hamilton	...	Commissioner Gordon
Stafford Repp	...	Chief O'Hara
Madge Blake	...	Aunt Harriet Cooper
Vito Scotti	...	Matey Dee
Lane Bradford	...	Cordy Blue
Grace Gaynor	...	Chickadee
David Lewis	...	Warden Crichton
James O'Hara	...	Policeman
Burgess Meredith	...	The Penguin

Storyline

Penguin has opened a fancy restaurant called The Penguin's Nest. There every order has to be written down by the customers on a piece of paper. He then plans to get himself arrested and hand over the handwritten notes to a forger doing time by the name of Ballpoint Baxter. Suspecting a scheme, Batman urges the police not to send The Penguin back to his permanent cell. Unable to reach Ballpoint, The Penguin and his culinary cohorts escape from jail, taking Chief O'Hara along as a hostage.

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Plot Keywords:

jail | restaurant | fancy restaurant | swimming pool | pie thrown in face | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Family | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 December 1966 (USA)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Greenway Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ted Cassidy's cameo appearance as Lurch is heralded by the theme from The Addams Family played on the harpsichord.

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Quotes

Lurch: [pops his head out a window as Batman and Robin are climbing the wall outside, interrupting his harpsichord practice] Ohhhhhhhh. It's youuuuuu, Batman... gave me quite a startle.
Batman: Yes, citizen, you may return to your harpsichord.
Robin: We're on official business!
Lurch: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh.

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Connections

References The Addams Family (1964)

User Reviews

The little touches make this worthwhile

"The Penguin's Nest," like so many episodes from Season 2 of Batman, suffers from its share of unneeded campiness. But it is one of the better efforts for the season, because of casting and the script of Lorenzo Semple Jr.

First, the casting: ABC had canceled "The Addams Family" earlier in 1966, but it did not forget this great show. Here, we have Lurch the Butler, played by Ted Cassidy, make a Bat climb cameo; he is playing that show's theme on the harpsichord. And we also have frequent "Addams Family" guest star Vito Scotti as a henchman.

Now, to Lorenzo Semple Jr. He wrote several excellent scripts, including the pilot episode. Like so many of his previous episodes, he incorporates some unpredictable elements, and he also includes the use of firearms. Unlike some of the other screenwriters, his writing can take on a slightly darker edge, which he showed in Season 1.

While the show was on a downslide by this time, he still manages to give us something worthwhile. Even as this episode adheres to the usual formula, the details make the difference here. Certainly, this is one of the better efforts from Season Two.