PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *adventure*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTIONS: *psychological, sociological*
The first season of BATMAN ’66
finishes up with one of the weaker Penguin episodes—though, to be
sure, it looks like a TV classic next to some of the things that
befell the character in Season Three.
Whereas “Fine Feathered Fiends”
hinged on the idea that the heroes themselves designed the villain’s
crime for him, “Finny”—a reference to the aquatic aspects of
penguins—posits the idea that the villain practically tells
everyone in advance what his target will be. Witnesses see Penguin’s
thugs kidnap the Wayne butler Alfred from a phony fish-market, but
he subsequently shows up at Wayne Manor, apparently no worse for
wear. Even before Alfred returns, Batman guesses that Penguin wants
inside info about a millionaires’ charity function, at which Alfred
serves as major domo. Despite these suspicions, neither of the heroes
figure out that Alfred has been subliminally brainwashed, through the
villain’s use of a device called a “Penguin box” (and which
looks like a steam cabinet made of papier-mache). However, Penguiin
wants Batman and Robin out of the way before he commences his
operation. He contrives to leave a clue behind at the fake
fish-market, which the Gotham cops overlook and the Duo immediately
pick up on. They find Penguin’s hideout, get caught, and almost die
in a deathtrap. Before breaking out, Penguin’s current moll Delia
swoons over Batman’s stellar handsomeness, but this time her
sentiment serves a purpose in the overall plot.
Penguin and his hoods abandon their
hideout, though for cost-cutting reasons, the fiends come back to the
same location for the final scenes. Though the heroes are free, they
apparently fail to stop Penguin from ripping off the charity dinner,
which also ties in to an institution of dubious repute these days: a
beauty contest packed with feminine pulchritude. But the Duo’s
failure is a fakeout, and once more the Penguin is forced to fold his
umbrellas and fade into the distance—if only for the first season.
Though there aren’t a lot of great
camp lines in Sheldon Stark’s script, one keeper is “Who’ll
save our natural resources now?”
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