Batman (TV Series) Barbecued Batman? (1966) User Reviews

An intriguing villain sunk by Van Johnson's sour notes

[kevinolzak · 6/10 · 11 May 2016]

"Barbecued Batman?" finds the Dynamic Duo easily escaping their revolving spit by simply shaking themselves loose, surprising The Minstrel (Van Johnson) and his henchmen, but allowing all to get away without incident. Attractive moll Octavia (Leslie Perkins) believes Batman to be a perfect gentleman, until discovering the bugging device planted in her handbag. The Minstrel delivers a final ultimatum to Gotham City's Stock Exchange members, threatening to collapse their building through subsonic vibration, making out all certified checks to account 007, the Broccoli bank in Switzerland (a nod to James Bond and his producer Albert R. Broccoli). The climax is a disappointment, with the villain hiding in plain sight among his intended victims, but the odd coda finds him still in good spirits, predicting the demise of Batman and Robin on live television. Were it not for the calamitous casting of Van Johnson it could have been a great two parter, his repeated sour notes not enough to sink a decent plot concocted by Francis and Marian Cockrell, their only other script "The Joker Trumps an Ace"/"Batman Sets the Pace." The 'nice young man' described by the on screen characters simply ring false with the jowly, 50 year old former screen heartthrob, delivering a performance utterly lacking in the charisma that it required.

Really good episode ...

[tforbes-2 · 9/10 · 13 January 2012]

What I admire about this outing is how Van Johnson's character of The Minstrel seems to be outwitting Batman and how he is menacing. While the series had the nerve to give us another medieval-clothed villain within the same month (this is two weeks after the Archer episodes), this works better.

One weird touch: The episode titles don't match. Maybe this might be a case of Bat-fatigue setting in after what had been a furiously busy year. Look also for a conflict between Commissioner Gordon and Chief O'Hara, when the latter is casting aspersions on the Dynamic Duo. Oh, and the moll is pretty cool as well.

In any case, this is a solid episode and fine entry in the Second Season!

DULL VILLAIN, BORING SCRIPT

[asalerno10 · 5/10 · 22 June 2022]

This is the worst episode of the entire season 2 for several reasons: The villain is bland, unfunny, and his lines are dull. The story is poor, the cliffhanger is almost the same as in the previous episode where Batman and Robin will be roasted, except that this time instead of being on a grill it will be on a rotisserie. An episode to pass by and see the next.