Batman (TV Series) Better Luck Next Time (1966) User Reviews

No CAT-astrophe this...................

[redryan64 · 8/10 · 18 January 2015]

FOLLOWING UP THE traditional cliff-hanger with some application of items from the trusty old Utility Belt, the action shifts to a lost treasure from one Captain Manx, who buried it somewhere in Gotham. Manx is a word derived from the Irish island of Mann. It also is the name of a tailless breed of cat that originated there.

USING YET ANOTHER of the early scripters references to literature, in this case THE LADY OR THE TIGER, the Dynamic Duo are saved from yet another death trap. Both Catwoman and the Batman & Robin team part company to live and fight another day.

THE INCLUSION OF the character of Catwoman proved to be a real boon to the series. In all, three actresses appeared in the feline costume. In addition to Julie Newemar, we had Ertha Kitt and Lee Merriweather; who appeared in the feature film BATMAN (20th Century-Fox, 1966), when Miss Julie was not available.

The lady or the tiger

[kevinolzak · 7/10 · 16 May 2016]

"Better Luck Next Time" sees Batman trying to evade the Bengal tiger as it tries to use its claws on him. He manages to climb a short distance up the wall before reversing the polarity on his communicator to 20,000 decibels, enough to render the hungry beast harmless. In searching for a way out, he finds Robin in a similar cliffhanger, perched above two starving tigers, easily rescued to subdue Catwoman's henchmen, all except Leo (Jock Mahoney, later seen in "I'll Be a Mummy's Uncle"), who joins Catwoman (Julie Newmar) in searching for the lost treasure of Captain Manx, its location revealed by joining the two golden cats together. With all the baubles in one bag, Catwoman has no qualms about bopping Leo to claim the treasure for herself, but with the Dynamic Duo right behind her there's nowhere to run, unable to hold on with the weight of her ill gotten gains enough to send her plunging into a bottomless pit. Since this was only her first adventure we can breathe easy knowing that this cat's got nine lives, writer Stanley Ralph Ross still feeling out the character, the episode shrouded in darkness, more somber in tone than the ones still to come. The Catwoman's second appearance would be in the person of Lee Meriwether, a fine substitute, in the 1966 feature film, before Julie Newmar returned for "Hot Off the Griddle." Very little flirting this first go round, Batman repeating the phrase "you feline devil" every time Robin is threatened, but the second season would yield greater results with each succeeding entry.

FANTASTIC DEBUT OF CATWOMAN

[asalerno10 · 9/10 · 29 June 2022]

Catwoman has stolen a valuable cat from a museum display case, Batman suspects that the villain's next move will be to seize the other pair and sets him up. Catwoman manages to escape with the second collectible cat and leads the dynamic duo to her lair where after several original traps she leaves Batman at the mercy of a ferocious tiger. Our hero manages to escape and after going through the labyrinthine lair he can free Robin. Both will follow the villain to some distant caverns where a pirate treasure is hidden. An excellent entry for Catwoman in the series, with an impeccable and sensual Julie Newmar, a solid and entertaining script and a lot of suspense. A great adventure from start to finish.

CAMPY CATWOMAN AND SOME CAMPY SURPRISES

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 12 June 2022]

This was Julie Newmar's second episode as the Catwoman, the deadly feline you love to hate, so looking for a knock down, drag out cat fight! Now she is after the lost treasure of pirate Captain Manx, the trail leading to a treacherous cave with all the deadly trimmings. Traps are logistically set for Batman and Robin which, you have to admit, are one heck of a challenge.

Credit veteran writer and actor Stanley Ralph Ross, who wrote 27 exciting episodes for the series. This same year he wrote this story, he also did work for THE MONKEYS and THAT GIRL. Former Tarzan Jock Mahoney (as Leo) and Ralph Manza (as Felix) make a return. Mahoney was the 13th actor to play Tarzan in the 60s.

One of the most classic comic book scenes has Batman adjusting his sonic sound belt and defusing the very snarling and dangerous Catwoman's tiger. Unfortunately, there are little if any notes as to who trained and owned the tiger (named Tinker Bell), and if the tiger appeared in any other tv shows.

Super idea department: the Batmobile gets a couple of flats and Batman hits the automatic tire repair device, thus re-inflating the tires in seconds. If only we could all have one! Watch this one in beautiful restored color, and the ending really leaves you HANGING?

SEASON ONE dvd box set.

Holy Bat Ear Plugs

[DKosty123 · 8/10 · 17 February 2017]

The Tiger has Batman almost collared. Then against the protests of PETA Batman blasts the tigers skull with 20,000 decibels of sound so he can escape. Meanwhile, Robin is worried about his weight as he is on the scales of sand which are slipping away as he is suspended over 2 more tigers who look hungry

After Batman escapes and comes to help rescue, Catwoman escapes again but loses her booty, the stolen gold cats. She is visibly upset. Then she gets a chance to score some more jewels. Batman finally tracks her down.

Meanwhile the chase leads out of town and into the hills where a cat uses her claws. Then Batman chases Catwoman and a bag of stolen jewels into a cave where she chooses to fall into a deep pit rather than give up her bag.

The ending for this is Batman & Robin looking desperately for Catwoman but finding only a cat. Does she have any more of her 9 lives left?

"Holy Felony!"

[JosephPezzuto · 8/10 · 28 February 2015]

Based off of Bob Kane and Bill Finger's DC Comic phantom phenomenon, Batman (Adam West) and the "Boy Wonder" Robin (Burt Ward) team up once again as the Dynamic Duo in episode twenty of season one's 1966 titular series. Opening with images from the eponymous comic in Gotham City we see stills of the Duo fighting crime followed by a parade of villains, as the famously campy and infectious Batman theme song on the soundtrack (ba-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Batman!) plays as the credits roll. This time, our heroes take on the fur-ocious antics of the Catwoman (Julie Newmar) and her henchmen. But first, Batman must scale a wall with his Batclaws to evade a man-eating tiger. Using the super-amplified sounds from his Batcommunicator, he subdues the big cat and escapes in search of Robin, of whom has been separated from him. Meanwhile Catwoman has balanced Robin on the end of a board, while below him is a pit of hungry tigers. Sand is released to the other end of the board, slowly allowing half of the duo to sink further to his impending doom. The felonious feline then leaves to search for Captain Manx's treasure, having created a map by joining two Golden Cat statues together and drawing the outline for a map. Batman intervenes and a good fight breaks out between our two crime fighters and the henchmen, of whom the duo all overpower (including the ever so-popular colored onomatopoeic phrases to appear on the screen as well with each hit or punch given). Only one henchmen named Leo escapes to rejoin his boss. Back at the Batcave, the Dynamic Duo use the Golden Cats to decipher where the treasure is buried. Upon arriving at McElroy Point in the Batmobile, they soon find themselves facing Catwoman's deadly minefield which eventually leads to a possible demise to our villainess that just might leave you hanging off the edge without letting the cats out of the bag.

With cheesy dialogue and pasted with dated pastel-color costumes and sets, I do hope 'Better Luck Next Time' does have better luck next time, this being the only episode I have ever seen before or after or of any of this series put together. Sure Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan have truly upped the anti in modernizing the Caped Crusader into the Dark Knight with a bleak back-story, gravelly voice and hip high-tech gadgets, but if your a fan of the comic series and want to see or relive the original TV series from some almost fifty odd years ago, check out this nostalgic blast-from-the-past that is just pure Saturday-morning fun in all of its laughable kitsch.

"There's NEVER Enough for Two!!"

[richardchatten · 8/10 · 30 July 2020]

Thus does the Princess of Plunder sum up her whole philosophy of life when henchman Leo is foolish enough to declare "We're rich Catwoman!" to his sociopathic mistress as they jointly savour their ill-gained loot.

A moment later she's swinging the bag containing all the swag over her shoulder with absolutely no intention of sharing it with anyone, promptly paying for her greed by plunging for the first time - but not the last - to her death, emitting a blood-curdling scream in the process.

(Another dramatic use of sound noticeable only now on high definition TV is the creak her costume makes whenever she moves in the early scenes in this two-parter.)