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Back to the Batcave
- batman fanThe book was in good shape and delevered in atimley mannner. It came in a plastic cover.
Rating:
- A history of the Batman television series from the realistic perspective of the man who was BatmanIt is hard to be sympathetic to television stars who complain about being typecast in the role that made them famous. The probabilities are overwhelming that if it were not for their landing that role, they would have had another, much more anonymous career. Adam West certainly fits into the mold of being typecast, his role as Batman forever labeled him, making it hard for anyone to ever see him in any other way. West is also like so many others in his position, they complain about the problems, only to eventually capitalize on it every way they can. In preparing this review, I went to the website adamwest.com. It is Batman all the way; the opening page pays the first part of the Batman themes. The page after that contains the entries:
*) BatSightings
*) Bat Scrapbook
*) BatComputer
*) BatPhone
*) BatMail
*) BatStore
*) BatFanClub
Fortunately, this book, a recapitulation of West's life, contains very little whining about his being typecast. It appears that West has sensibly come to terms with that, realizing that nothing he can say can change the public's perception of him. That is one of the reasons why this book was very fun to read. His perceptions of some of the guest stars, and they were many and significant, made the book worth reading. Although I have seen all the episodes, I had forgotten some of the big stars who played a villain or made a cameo.
The Batman television show was an incredible cultural phenomenon when it took place, in some ways it was a victim of its' own incredible early success. It rose to the top so quickly that it was destined to go nowhere but down. In some ways, it was also like the original Star Trek series in that the producers were so focused on keeping the production costs down that quality was sacrificed. Like Star Trek, it only lasted three seasons, with the last being one of clear decline.
If you are a fan of the show, then the last section of the book, which contains a synopsis of each show, makes it something that you will want to have. It brought back a lot of pleasant memories for me.
Rating:
- POW ZAP BANG BIFFMaybe I'm in the minority hear but I just didn't fall all over this autobiography. Yes, I loved the show and the comdic takes on the Dynamic Duo. This book however was nothing spectacular, we don't get any real behind-the-scenes stories, just some light brief anecdotes. West covers his life in quick jumps and says this book was written for the fans of the Batman show. He's admirable in not badmouthing people and keeping it light and wispy reading but there's no meat to his bio. It's rather bland and he seems to think his acting was much better than it ever was. He seemed more focused on telling you, which women he met were the hottest and teases at romantic interludes. I truly appreciate the effort Mr. West put into his story and it's certainly fun to read and you'll read it quickly. The best chapter is his life after Batman is cancelled and how he reacted to being stereotyped. At the end of the bio is an episodic guide for the three seasons of the series with comments by the author.
Rating:
- Captivating and TouchingIf you follow my reviews, you know that I like Batman on a whole which probably makes me biased. Now to be sure, this book is probably not for you if you aren't a fan of the old 60s series. Well, that said, the book is absolutely phenomenal. I apologize for the cliche, but I 'just couldn't put it down.' The book is nicely divided into several chapters, and Adam talks about the different aspects of his life. A little bit on his childhood, some of his work before Batman, a moment in his life that foreshadowed his role as Batman, and elements of his domestic life. One thing you will notice in this book is that West is NOT uptight and stiff like his most famous character. He writes very flowingly and at times he touches us closely with his experiences. Some things have a comical aspect. (Like how the mask compromised his vision, so he had to get familiar with the set to avoid tripping.) He also explains that to do a character convincingly, the actor has to understand and know who he is portraying; another amusing thing was he reveals that one of the reasons he often made exaggerated gestures was to compensate for the fact that for obvious reasons, facial expressions were not so much an option for him. He also gives a generous amount of time to the other cast members. (Another thing that shows Adam's abilites as a writer is that while he will admit that his favorite villains were Newmar as Catwoman and Gorshin as the Riddler, he explains why the Joker (Romero) and the Penguin (Meredith) held the most popular villain spots. The only guest star he really knocks is Otto Preminger as Mr. Freeze. He also talks a little about the equipment like the Batmobile. (It wasn't so easy to drive.) Another thing that shows his ability to write well is that while he liked Yvonne Craig as a person, he explains (without knocking her) that he was not overly delighted at the presence of her character. Some other significant chapters focus on his personal life. (How his domestic life was affected for the worse, how being famous came with some negative elements, and how he was affected when Batman was cancelled.) There is a deep sadness in how his life was brought to a sudden detour when this happened, and how he realized that being Batman gave him some years of fame but made it difficult to find work afterwards. To be sure, he did some work in movies and telvision, but nothing really gave him the popularity of the batdays. He later tells about an experience where he had to become Batman for real one day when on a vacation, someone attacked a girl with a machete. All in all, this is an absolute MUST for fans of the 60s Batman series. Perhaps one of the greatest chapters is where he explains why he was hurt at not being asked to do Batman in the Burton movies. (And it wasn't just jealousy.) He had some really understandable reasons for being angered and hurt. (I did notice one glitch. He said he voiced a 'villain' Grey Ghost in the animated series.) Well, the Grey Ghost was not a villain. He was the childhood hero of Kevin Conroy's Batman, and on top of that Adam West's Grey Ghost helped Kevin Conroy's Batman stop the villain in that episode. A final passage that ties the book together is that even though playing Batman came with a price, he accepted that everything comes with good and bad, and that when he thinks of the good, he didn't regret it at all. This is NOT AT ALL the work of someone looking for a few dollars. This is a book full of interesting experiences, and written with honest heart felt emotions. Sometimes they are comical, sad, or objective. Good luck trying to put this book down once you pick it up. If you enjoy this book, be sure to get the dvd "Return to the Batcave." Many of the events in this book will be seen in that recent movie.
Rating:
- A Slam Bang True StoryWest shows us here how he became the comic book super hero for the ABC series which aired in 1966! Its all here the shows the casts and directors and each series plot. I think West was a great actor acting the part.
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