Läderlappen The Zodiac Crimes (1966–1968) Online

This is a great three-part adventure, mainly because, by the end of it, we see TWO well staged fights between The Joker and Batman/Robin. This might be year two when the series was being rushed into production but there is nothing rushed about the photography, lighting and direction of these two fight scenes.

One fight takes place in the Batcave and there is something thrilling about seeing bodies jump and fall all over that flashy Batcave hardware (hardware that was constantly used in Irwin Allen television as well) with Nelson Riddle music playing over it all.

Other highlights include the girl "Venus" and her relationship with the Batman, Robin and The Joker.

And yes, this is the semi-famous show with the giant clam attack! I was trying to guess if this clam did double time on Lost In Space or Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as well? If Batman ever comes to DVD, watch all three parts in one 75 minute screening and you will get a "movie" that leaves those dark modern Bat-movies for dead.

Outstanding!

"The Zodiac Crimes" kicks off the series' first of 3 three part episodes, and the only one to justify the third chapter. Cesar Romero's Joker enjoys his most elaborate outing, easily the best from this second season, outlining a crime wave based upon the 12 signs of the Zodiac, beginning in Commissioner Gordon's office, where a Rare Art Map signifies Aries the Ram, intentionally putting Batman on his trail. The unexpected arrival of a jack in the box reveals a certain feathered fiend, Burgess Meredith's Penguin, his amusing banter with The Joker all too brief, their only teaming since the feature film. Gemini the Twins lead the Caped Crusaders to the singing duo The Twins, meeting The Joker's attractive moll Venus (Terry Moore), while the Clown Prince of Crime is in the process of pilfering a pair of diamonds also known as the Twins. The Penguin is present for the kidnapping of opera star Leo Crustash (Charles Fredericks), which covers both Leo the Lion and Cancer the Crustacean, but in being pinned to the wall is unable to escape with The Joker, already off to the museum to find Virgo, the Virgin Bereaved, a priceless statue worth 'a cool million.' Unbeknownst to the Dynamic Duo, Virgo turns out to be Venus, a reluctant pawn in The Joker's game, rendering them helpless for the cliffhanger, lying below an 8 ton meteorite which will crush their skulls after Saturn rotates around the universe. The henchmen have colorful names: only two are credited, Joe Di Reda as Mars and Hal Baylor as Mercury, unbilled are Eddie Saenz as Saturn, Charles Picerni as Uranus, and Guy Way as Jupiter.