From the links page there, I came across this message board devoted to the 1966 show. Too much stuff to mention here, but I must call your attention to two items of interest:
1. Green Hornet fans will want to check out the section of the Bat-board devoted to GH. From there I learned--be still, my beating heart!--that Starz's ACTION channel is currently broadcasting the TV show. Hip, hip, hooray! The last time I am aware of that this was on the air, more than 10 years ago, I didn't have cable, and couldn't lure my friends into taping every single episode for me. But the TiVO era changes everything. Word is, the episodes are uncut and (I think) shown in original sequence. (The board also led me to this nifty site devoted to the costumes and weaponry from the GH series.)
2. The cool comics blog DIAL B FOR BLOG did a six-part retrospective on the "Secret Origins" of the legendary series a couple of months ago to mark the--gulp!--40th anniversary of its premiere on January 12, 1966. It begins here, and is a profusely illustrated, trivia-packed account that actually taught me plenty of stuff I didn't already know. (Were you aware, for instance, that the Batmobile actually appeared in this movie before it was transformed into the vehicle we all know and love?)
Somewhere in there, I came across...
...this shot of Lyle Waggoner in an early version of the batsuit, from his screen test. (Heretical though this may sound, I wouldn't have minded him in the part. I always enjoyed him on Wonder Woman, which also called for lots of bondage fun. Plus, come on, he's just fucking handsome in that shot.)
Finally, from the final installment of the DIAL B six-parter, I discovered this site where you can buy all 120 episodes of the series on DVD for $36. They are bootlegs, of course (from the TV Land airing of the series, which I think may have been edited a bit as I recall), and the packaging is ultra-minimal, but the episodes are presented in sequence, and I can finally get rid of the endless half-labelled VHS copies I made of random episodes. Besides, at that price, if an official version EVER comes out, I won't mind shelling out a second time if there are any worthwhile extras. So, needless to say, I bought 'em immediately.
And set my TiVO for Tuesday morning's 6 a.m. airing of The Green Hornet. Life is good, batfriends, life is good. (Thanks again, BritBat--I owe ya one.)
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