All involved delighted in hamming it up in this over-the-top rendition of the Batman tale. Do-gooder millionaire Bruce Wayne gets his kicks from dressing up in tights, hanging around with similarly wardrobed boy wonder Robin, and fighting crime in Gotham City - which has far more than its fair share of surreal villains. Camp classic.
Any show with ties to both Batman and The Lone Ranger probably should have done better, but it wasn't until co-star Bruce Lee became a cult figure that any real interest was shown in this series. As a result a handful of episodes have been repackaged into two movie-length features. Of interest to martial arts fanatics.
Shazam! 28 episodes (1974-76) 30m
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Live-action kids' version of the Captain Marvel saga. A teenager travels around in an RV with his 'Mentor' and each episode gets a cryptic message from the elders. He then works out what they were trying to tell him, turns into Captain Marvel (not necessarily in that order) and helps out someone in need. OK for its day.
Wonder Woman 57 episodes (1974-79) 60m
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The first (and best) 12 episode WW series was true to the comic books, with the hero leaving her Amazon home to help the US fight WWII. The more popular 1977-79 series brought the story into the modern day. Episodes tended to swing back and forth between the sci-fi and fantasy genres, but were generally of a high standard.
Swamp Thing 72 episodes (1990-93) 60m
Based on the DC Comics character, after being doused with chemicals and set alight Alec Holland is dumped in a Louisiana swamp by his evil nemesis Dr Anton Arcane. Although Swamp Thing would never take a human life, he manages to make a few pretty uncomfortable with his amazing control of plant matter.
Sheena 35 episodes (2000-02) 60m
Shape shifting jungle queen uses her power to protect her turf from the modern world. Blonde bombshell Gena Lee Nolin may not look much like what most would imagine a jungle queen to be, but who cares. Despite the pedestrian production, crumby acting and lousy scripts - the eye candy sustained things for 35 episodes.
The Tick 9 episodes (2001-02) 30m
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Tongue-in-cheek comic book hero, the 'Big Blue Bug of Justice', sets out to protect society even when it doesn't really need protecting. With practically no knowledge of humankind, he teams with a couple of other superhero wannabes to generally be very funny. Got a rough ride on the scheduling front and deserved much better.
Birds of Prey 13 episodes (2002-03) 60m
The Batman connection is alive and well in this short-lived drama about a trio of rather attractive female metahumans who become the protectors of New Gotham. One is the caped crusader's daughter, another his protégé and a young runaway completes the trio. Good series that never had a chance to get a full head of steam up.
