From Season 1
Part 1 - HI DIDDLE RIDDLE 1/12/66
Part 2 - SMACK IN THE MIDDLE 1/13/66.
Starring Frank Gorshin as The Riddler
Written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. Directed by Robert Butler. Batman and Robin are sued for one million bucks for false arrest by the Riddler, who seeks to force Batman to unmask in court. Clues hidden in the legal documents bring the Dynamic Duo to a hot and trendy discotheque What A Way To Go-Go, as Batman does the Batusi with the Riddler's moll, played by Jill St. John. "I didn't know that I was going to have to do a dance in a disco before I came in," Adam West has noted. "That was all improvised on the set. The watusi was the dance that was popular then. I said, 'Okay, I'll do the Batusi.' And it just happened." Production values and the pilot's high budget are evident in the creative and original set designs, lighting and excellent use of color, noticeably absent in some underbudgeted third season misfires. Variations between pilot and regular series: opening theme is slightly different, Alfred's rarely used tuxedo is worn throughout #1/2 and the superimposed cliffhanger texts are angled. BatBits: Based on "Remarkable Ruse of the Riddler" from Batman #171 (5/65, written by Gardner Fox. Lyle Waggoner was originally cast as Batman and filmed for a test reel.