Here is a last from the past. There have been many excellent incarnations of Batman as an animated series and 1977's THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BATMAN is a somewhat forgotten series. This is perplexing considering that Adam West and Burt Ward lent their voices to the series. Then again, there were not many episodes produces as was par for the course with Saturday Morning television. Since kids were willing to watch the same episodes over and over and over again, it was not uncommon for a series to run forever without any new episodes. Johnny Quest lasted close to twenty years with this formula!

This series brought Batman and Robin to the small screen in a solo series. They were part of the mix with the SUPERFRIENDS and while the latter series was REALLY slipping into politically correct awfulness this series was a throwback to the more serious style of late 1960's cartoons. As a kid, I enjoyed the series a lot although the limited style of animation was very noticeable and detracting. Then again, it was not like they had a choice. Animation costs were rising and the need for a less inexpensive production module forced more stock footage into the presentation.

However, this series did capture what kids were looking for in a Batman cartoon...the eternal struggle between Batman and his rogues gallery of villains. That was a huge improvement over the wimpiness that other hero programs were promoting