Episode 5: Holy Koufax!: August 29, 2021

The Joker is Wild
January 26, 1966
"The Joker decides to fight fire with fire against Batman with a utility belt of his own."
72 minutes 

RD Thinks Criton's A Crook. Russo disagrees. He also doesn't listen to his own podcasts. However the other day while driving this podcast came on and his wife seemed to like it. I'm glad it wasn't the last radio progrem then where one of the people was a concussed drunkard.

Vince likes the show's attempts at continuity. That's the joke. (:03) But this is actually due to Warden Criton to again appear with his "advanced theories of penology making a place where recreation is part of reform." RD wants a similar character to appear in pro wrestling. Vince thinks it's referencing his gimmick.

At Arkham Asylum Gotham State Penitentiary, "entertainment plays a role in CONtainment". (:07) Among the item swaps, a corkboard, pin-ups exchanged for art material, "law books for hacksaw", "a travelling bag for what have you", a glee club, bowling, and afternoon softball with the aforementioned Joker pitching. RD can't believe how bad the baseball field was, prison or otherwise. It was more circular than diamond! Vince ridicules the team the Joker is up against easily throwing softballs and laughing at them. I'd go mad too if I was in his place.

RD notes the first appearance of the Joker's theme. (:11) RD Jr's school banned spiral-bound notebooks like what Russo is using due to all the mess they make.

Even more bizarrely the game has spectators including O'Hara. Vince wanted him drinking. The catcher swaps out one ball for another while loudly saying "this is the one". Hitting it causes a smoke bomb and the spring-loaded pitcher's mound to launch the Joker out of jail into a net. (You'll have to take the show's word for it as we just hear a spring instead of seeing any moving bodies.)

Gordon recalls O'Hara just for some reason so he can call Batman instead. (:18) Dick is playing Chopin on the piano while Bruce and Aunt Harriet make fun of him for some reason. 

Bruce: "All music is important Dick. It's the universal language, one of our best hopes for the realization of the brotherhood of man." What happened to language language? 

At Alfred's prompting the two say they have to go to the ballgame rather than fishing. Dick: "Holy Koufax!"

RD wonders why no one caught on that the Joker was making a spring in the prison workshop despite it being of enormous size. They then find a paper-mâché bust of the Joker which doesn't really look much like him. Batman: "A trait of the criminal mind, the urge to boast often leads to the criminals giving themselves away!" This leads them to the Gotham Museum of Modern Art's newly opened Comedians Hall of Fame which sadly does not feature the Joker. RD thinks they should have renamed it to the Random Warehouse of Randomness. Vince wonders why Pete Rose still isn't in the Hall of Fame.

As the Dynamic Duo visit they are beset by groupies - Robin groupies. (:26) RD hopes they were high school seniors or co-eds marking out over a 12 year old. Vince wonders if Robin had a cold during the shooting due to his nasal voice. He also thinks the cops wouldn't have let Batman remove a No Parking sign if he were Black. Batman parks somewhere else after regardless.

The two enter the museum 30 seconds before closing to see another Joker statue that looks nothing like him, despite Batman's claims to the contrary. The curator promises they'll lock up tightly but the Joker is already there just hiding behind a statue with his henchmen, about to raid the Hall of Fabulous Jewels. Vince was fascinated by a statue of "Vin Vinson".

The Duo break in anyway to fight as obvious stunt doubles. Vince wonders if the word balloons were thus used to try and cover them. (:36) During the scuffle a hung jewel-encrusted toy sword falls onto Batman knocking him out and allowing the two to be captured.

Joker: "Batman and Robin: the dashing diamonds of daring-do!"

While captured and tied up Batman manages to break free with a utility belt smoke bomb of his own: "Here's a joke for you, you FIEND!...This is the end of your evil career!" He uses what RD terms a "double noggin knocker". Vince thinks the sword only pretended to knock him out so Batman could use it to his advantage.

Joker: "I swear by all that's funny: I will never be foiled by that insidious unconstitutional device again!...Never again will that ghastly girdle thwart my plans!"

Young Vince would see his grandmother wearing a non-ghastly beige girdle. Sadly he did not wear one as a utility belt. He would wear a blue towel as as a cape instead. Geek Nerd & Poindexter RD references "The Joker's Utility Belt" as seen in Batman #73 (1952).

The Joker's hideout is in a still shot of the Gotham Pier Amusement Park with the same henchmen the Duo's stunt doubles beat up. (:45)  RD uses it as proof that secret crime boss Gordon released them after their arrest to return to criminal activity on his behalf. They plan to steal the cruise ship SS Gotham.

Vince finds the name of one of them, Queenie, hilariously funny. Not to be confused with the more well known Harley Quinn, she was also in the comic in the 40s and actually found out Batman's secret identity, but was killed before divulging it. 

IMDB lists her trademarks as "natural brunette hair" and "seductive deep voice". She too appeared on The Original Series. (Although I am admittedly more fascinated by her long lasting marriage to Zubin Mehta, musically inclined as I am.) RD feels he underrated the earlier Molly and updates her to 9 Batpoles so that Queenie gets an 8 due to her appealing evilness. A head shaking Vince gives her a 3 due to her long in the tooth appearance as a mid-30s lady.

Back at police HQ no one figures out Bruce and Dick may be more than they seem when an evil clown doll crashes through a window. (:52) They think the "chaplain of chicanery" will rob the circus which left last week. They call up Batman but Alfred tells them he's "out for the day" like he's gone grocery shopping or something. This saddens Gordon considerably to the point of depression. Bruce takes the doll as a souvenir of his "narrow brush with crime", evidence collecting and safekeeping be damned. RD wonders how it could have been thrown through a high story window. A facepalming Vince has to remind him the Joker has a strong pitching arm.

O'Hara then mocks Bruce after he's gone for some reason so Gordon has to stand up for him.

The doll is scanned on a doll stand in the Batcave because why not? A facepalming Vince has to remind him they find only "ordinary dust patterns". 

Thus they naturally segue to the opera. Robin: "Holy ravioli!" The Co-Bros call Pagliacci the Jim Belushi opera. (:60) The Duo go to the TV studio where it is to be shown, as a clown appears wearing a mask from the bank heist from The Dark Knight. Vince remembers a Rice Krispies commercial of the time based on one of the more famous arias (from the opera, not The Dark Knight). Meanwhile there are constant cuts to a bar where one drunk patron says random things and thinks his mother-in-law is on the screen. The clown is in fact the Joker who escapes by throwing sneezing powder, causing the Dynamic Duo to again lose a fight and about to be unmasked on live TV. Patron: "They shouldn't be out with those colds."

Vince wonders why the cliffhangers so far have been rather weak, predictable, and flat. RD liked the Joker's sinister theme and the filmography. (:65) He remembers a third of the cliffhangers and guesses they'll escape with their own utility belt. Vince thinks the patron will do a run-in.

RD does his shilling. (:68)

• Special Guest Villain: The Joker (Cesar Romero)

 

• RD Time Outs: 1 
  

Round One - Bro Necessities: August 24, 2021

28 minutes

(Like the other show, this first episode is free. Later ones require Patreon support.)

According to his title, Remember - RD is Always Right. 

Vince is and will always be the undefeated WCW World Champion despite misplacing a Hogan style legdrop against Stevie Ray much like RD's mishandled move from the Big Show, and despite looking silly in his protective gear against the Legion of Doom according to John Laurenitis. RD plans to write yet more about him. Vince, not Show or LOD or John. (:02)

Today RD has a set of questions and topics he and Blade Vince will argue over. The two test their angry poses. 

• Star Wars: Vince does not recognize RD's Rebel Alliance cap. Neither did he see Episode IX, for good or bad. (:05) Unlike Blade he prefers the originals and The Empire Strikes Back over the prequels. He likes Chewie since he reminds him of Planet of the Apes. RD is glad they are in agreement for once so he goes to his Facebook post for some more questions.
• Mary-Ann or Ginger...which would you hire to build a new deck? (:09) Vince chooses Mary-Ann for building, Ginger for...other stuff. RD mocks him for liking "mid fifties" Tina Louise. Vince never watched The Brady Brunch, to RD's surprise. Vince does his research to find she and Kim Novak (who has a Wikipedia page) were actually mid thirties back then. "No Batman henchman should have had a woman over thirty. None of them. None of them."
  
• Does pineapple belong on pizza? (:13) Vince has to think on RD's "phrasing" of the question, but he says no. He will "accept" it but he would never actively pay for it. 
• Chicago or New York style pizza? RD: "Did you hear the man's accent? What kind of terrible question is that?" (:14) Neither can explain big crusts. RD likens it to he and the wife not liking to go to the beach, but they go every once every 10 years to test the waters (pun intended).
• Crocs: sensible footwear or fashion faux pas? Vince once owned an orange pair, but he prefers flip-flops. (:17) Right now he's barefoot, as he gleefully displays to the camera. His wife talked him into getting a pedicure the other day. Taz would always get angry at him for wearing Giants gear. His "custom" jerseys in WCW were all store bought. RD calls him cheap. (Who does he think he is, Blade?) As a teenager his friend wanted to be paid around $20 for a Queen ticket which he declined. RD asks him not to cry. (:21)
• Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse? Vince is not a Mouse man although he is a Disney fan, as showcased by his Baloo forearm tattoo. RD: "Oh ok, so you liked Jungle Cruise?" Vince saw The Jungle Book so many times in the cinema as his third favorite movie of all time after Rocky and Saturday Night Fever. RD just fell asleep. Vince also liked the recent live action one. RD only saw it and fell asleep at the Skyline Drive-In. Vince fell asleep watching the recent Summerslam. RD prefers Sleeping Beauty. Vince: "Is that the lady in the mirror? Is that the mirror mirror on the wall gimmick?"
  

Episode 4: Holy Gimmick!: August 22, 2021

The Penguin’s a Jinx
January 20, 1966
"The Dynamic Duo are tricked into planning the Penguin's next crime, but the supervillain adds his own twist to the plan."
68 minutes

RD Drinks Less Than Chief O'Hara. Vince has a problem with this. RD reminds him he's a teetotaler. 

Unlike the Penguin's goons RD does not go to work wearing his name on his shirt and asking his subordinates to call him The Real Deal. Next he'll say he doesn't always wear a fur coat. He tellsVince to button up his shirt.

We get an early scan of the Batcave with everything still labelled while Alfred messes about. RD calls out his Co-Bro on not paying attention like he's Blade or something. (:03) Narrator: "PANDEMONIUM!" 

Vince shows his neat handwriting on a non-plate paper up to the camera so RD can read he had underlined World's Slowest Conveyor Belt. (:05) Vince gives Bruce two hours of slow movement while Penguin watches. During this the storefront front is still normally operational, despite the employees still wearing masks. This leads to the two discussing the Penguin's unique look. 

In the Batcave Alfred tells Robin not to worry about their bug not working due to sunspots, or sometimes "hotspots". In response Vince's Batphone alarm rings. (:09)

Bruce finally awakens due to his shoes catching fire. He pulls out a lighter which the Penguin immediate recognizes has a "lifetime supply" of butane gas inside it and when thrown explodes, somehow allowing Bruce to escape with only clothing damage. Penguin cannot go to the police about the intrusion or the bug due to being a criminal.

Robin considers calling Gordon to find Batman. Alfred: "They'll inaugurate a most effective search." Spoiler alert: they will never do so. (:14) Batman returns with a splashy swirl down the Batpole. 

Vince has his turn to call out RD on not paying attention by skipping Batman telling Alfred to fix his "rocky shape" clothes and Robin having to "muster all of our brain power". Unfortunately for him RD already knows about this. Unfortunately unfortunately Penguin has himself bugged the Batbrella in the totally not bug-protected Batcave. Vince gives him the intellectual edge over the Riddler because of this. 

Penguin: "Let's see how my gimmick is working!" (:19)

Vince thinks he's talking about his unit.

RD: "Maybe that's a Russo-ism. I have never once said "hey honey, you wanna see how my gimmick's working tonight?""
Vince: "Yeah, but you're not the Penguin!"
RD: "I'm apparently not Vince Russo either, thank God I don't know that I ever said that!"

Regardless the Dynamic Duo learn the Penguin will kidnap an actress named Dawn Robins in The Mockingbird produced by Ward Eagle staying in The Pelican Arms. (:21) Vince takes the opportunity to mock Randy Orton's current character, as you or I would do. He then discusses comic book Robin being bisexual and how this may relate to on-screen by saying the Batbrella looks pretty.

Vince shows his neat handwriting on a non-plate paper up to the camera so RD can read that Batman may have found Dawn's location due to being a STALKER (double underlined). (:27) RD thinks it can be written off as Bruce being a playboy (reading Funboy Magazine). Vince then wonders what birds reside in bushes.

Cut to the Penguin and co. in a "Criminal Storeroom". (:30) Vince think they flubbed filming by having an elevator descend before his goons could enter. RD didn't think they would expect people to analyze their episodes in detail 55 years later. Vince thinks the elevators didn't have that big of a capacity.

Vince remarks on Dawn "spilling cleavage" while photo-shooting at her room. He gives her 6 Batpoles. RD gives her 4 due to her weird eyebrows. (:32) Her IMDB profile (which also has her on The Original Series) lists her trademark "heart shaped mouth with full lips." RD thinks she is one of their battle-axe listeners. 

The Duo show up. Dawn: "Eeek! There's guys from outer space!" Robin is immediately "randy" for Dawn. Batman vows to "never lend himself to commercial enterprises." 

Meanwhile across the street the Penguin shoots a Penguin-line to cross the buildings. RD compares it to his umbrella ride in Returns and the bank heist in The Dark Knight. (:37) He immobilizes the Duo with magnets and takes Dawn away.

Narrator: "The Dynamic Duo's darkest hour: DAWN!"

The Penguin ransoms her for the low low price of $200,000. RD thinks he could have gone higher. The trade is to be made at Stately Wayne Manor despite the Penguin not knowing who Bruce Wayne was. At Police HQ RD thinks Gordon's unexplained disheveled look was due to some private action with someone involving his gimmick. They still cannot reach Bruce because he's gone "fishing". Vince calls him Jacques Cousteau. 

The Penguin overhears the Duo preparing to ambush him by his bug, so he has his goons gas Alfred who is confused of their presence despite being supposedly told. Vince thinks he was just play acting. Satisfied, Penguin takes his money and drops Dawn on Alfred's body for him to cuddle with...just as Aunt Harriet sees this and gets jealous.

Of course the two catch up, having used decoys due to learning about the bug. Batman: "You betrayed yourself in the penthouse!" Cue the big fight with fencing umbrellas, confusing RD. (:47) Afterwards back home Aunt Harriet is still angry at Alfred, before randomly going off on Dick eating too much shrimp. Russo notes the first token black couple appearing in the city.

Gordon finally has a good line: "Nothing so strikes terror into the criminal mind as the shape and shadow of a huge bat!"

Also Dawn is now head over heels for Batman...as Bruce is seen walking towards her as the episode ends. The two wonder if he would bury Batman to make her love him instead, perhaps with the use of his gimmick. (:53)

Russo repeats his thought that the Penguin was a slightly better villain "by a nose" than the Riddler so far based on his criminal masterminding. (:57) He gives Riddler a 4 for planning; RD gives him a 6 due to making Jill St. John look like Robin so well. Both give Penguin a 6.

RD has his space once more to shill. (:61) The two will also do another show called RD vs. Russo for the Patreoners to be recorded after the next show to discuss Jerry Lawler vs. Batman in Memphis. Vince hopes he can get his involvement on the show if in turn RD gets Bryan Alvarez, else they will discuss something else. The two virtual shake their hands around.

 

• Special Guest Villain: The Penguin (Burgess Meredith)

 

• SPEAKING OFs: 1. The Batbrella
• RD Time Outs: 1 
• Brown Hornet Escapes: 1. Causing an explosion through butane gas.
  

Episode 3: Holy Umbrella!: August 15, 2021

Fine Feathered Finks
January 19, 1966
"The Penguin plots to manipulate Batman into inadvertently devising capers for him."
73 minutes

RD is now Alfred's Stunt Double (Pennyworth, not Lord). He doesn't know if he will call their 12 listeners "Battle-Axes". 

He's wearing a mustard yellow Robin shirt, but seeing Vince in a KISS shirt makes him remember Blade and if KISS meets the Phantom of the Park will ever be on Blu-Ray. Vince is receptive to doing a separate watching of it.

Vince wrote more for analyzing an episode of Batman than he did an episode of Raw, and not just because the former is far more entertaining (:03). This is despite today's continuing to be convoluted. Even Mrs. Deal noticed it.

RD notices the first instance of a particularly used blue van. (:05) It is being used by the eponymous goons to sell umbrellas to a surprisingly large customer base to open them inside a shop for snake prizes, superstitions be damned. This reminds Vince of the gimmicks he had in his video store, though sadly none had umbrellas. RD in particular had to rewind for one line from one of the (original) shopkeepers to his colleague: "I smell a hoax Jenkins! Devilish! Sinister!"

At the PD they find the Penguin has been released from jail by one Warden Criton. Gordon asks for volunteers for the "pompous waddling master of fowl play...are any of you smart enough?" Of course according to RD's theory of Gordon being the secret crime boss no one takes him up for it. To the Batphone!

Since Bruce's Batphone is in his study both wonder how on earth Aunt Harriet never noticed it until now. Vince thinks she doesn't because she's a freeloader and/or he asked Alfred about it. (:14) Neither does she seem concerned with two adult men rushing to go fishing during the heat of the day. Vince compliments RD on his observation skills. RD responds by noting that all the sounds are now in the right place.

Robin complains about learning French. Batman: "Language is the source of world peace." RD thinks he wants everyone to speak English. It's not like one of the world's greatest detectives needs language to demonstrate his mastery and superiority over crime or anything. I'm surprised he didn't want the fighting word balloons to be equally uniform.

Seeing the Batmobile's (regular) license plate makes Russo wonder how it's registered. (:21) RD wonders what they will do if they need change for their parking meters. 

At Police HQ Robin gets too excited for RD's taste. Chief O'Hara: "It will be a sad day for corkscrews when that crooked bird goes straight." Batman is a "big fan" of Warden Creighton for some reason. The Co-Bros are split on his methods. Said methods include videotaping criminals (in high quality!) to see if they are reformed while wearing their old outfits and umbrellas and saying aloud their intentions to return to criminal activity. Penguin: "I am an aristocrat of crookery!"

The Co-Bros laugh about the big umbrella industry that allows three manufacturers to open in Gotham the week before with one Cagey Bird organized by jailbird Penguin. RD: "He's a cagey bird!" This includes a huge sign on the company building, a giant igloo penguin clock, and carrier pigeons. (:31)

Vince points out the clock contains an early Alexa and he's planning a crime about "nothing", like he's a master of his own domain. Then he wonders why he's beating his own employees with an umbrella and why they don't go to the police about it. RD is ensure what their goal is while the Duo Bat-turn. Possibly related: a bank branch using an umbrella holder as a trash can.

Vince was traumatized by a henchman mishandling one of the carrier pigeons due to the lack of ASPCA presence. Until then that was probably the only "crime" so far. (:38) While the Penguin states he has not (yet) committed any crime, animal cruelty or otherwise, RD wonders about the snake umbrellas. 

Finally he uses a Rooftop Umbrella Launcher (with sign) to fire a giant umbrella onto the street. Vince wonders if the sign manufacturer could be charged as an accomplice. Robin has to warn people it may be dangerous as they try to defuse the situation. Batman climbs up the umbrella to get the smaller one on top to take to the Batcave. There Alfred is cleaning the "Super high high voltage" Atomic Pile of Molly's body, signed to prevent any more deaths. (:44)

Batman uses a Hyperspectro-Graphic Analyzer on fabric to see if the umbrella is poisonous. Robin uses a Chemo-Electric Secret Writing Detector. They plant literal bugs around the Cagey Bird by having Batman as Bruce with his father's umbrella. This activates the Penguin's Automatic Anti-Bugging Machine which Vince knows the name of. RD hangs his head in shame. This causes Bruce to stand still and swivel his head around slowly for 15 seconds as a giant net descends upon him.

Shockingly, despite the Penguin being a wealthy high society mainstay of Gotham City and mastermind (of whom Batman once admitted was his intellectual rival if not superior)...he has no idea who Bruce Wayne is. "For all we know, this could be a rival umbrella king trying to steal my precious secrets." So they send him on the world's slowest conveyor belt to be incinerated in the furnace, the plan originally set for Batman. (:53) RD wonders if the same production people tried doing that to James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. Vince questions if they're using Bruce's endangerment too early in the series.

The Co-Bros wonder why Penguin didn't have a lady accomplice of his own. They feel the episode needed more substance and movement. 

Narrator: "Keep your Batfingers crossed!" Vince thinks they're like buffalo wings AKA "chicken of the cave". The two hope Bruce survives or else Alfred will have to wear the cowl. 

The two remark on such scenarios already seen in three episodes that would never fly today. especially the surprisingly adult observations of things. They wonder when they will hit their more well-known stride regardless of all that.

RD promotional considerations some more. (:65) He compares his interactions with Blade to his with Vince. Vince goes off against the marks who keep forgetting the business/corporate side of wrestling. RD enjoys analyzing a show that the original writers didn't intend for 55 years ago. Vince had to deal with Standards & Practices following him around in WCW. I'm now saddened he didn't make them World or Tag Team Champions.

• Special Guest Villain: The Penguin (Burgess Meredith)

• SPEAKING OFs: 1. The camera
• RD Time Outs: 1. (Wait a second)
  
• Blue Van: 1
• Rewinds: 1. RD
• Entertain The People: 1

 

Episode 2: Holy Red Snapper!: August 8, 2021

Smack in the Middle
January 13, 1966
"The Riddler schemes to have his henchwoman, disguised as Robin, to have her kill Batman in the Batcave."
74 minutes

RD is now Aunt Harriet's Favorite, according to his display name. He is jealous of Vince's Batman shirt and Colorado tan (as long as he evades the wildfire-caused air pollution).

Vince thinks today's is "convoluted" and it's only the second episode. RD thinks it's "morally reprehensible." This is not helped by the Riddler having Robin's head in a vice while he... makes another mask? And keep him alive?

RD used this to his advantage to win a bet with his son on Robin's survival. Vince calls him despicable. RD: "I learned from the best!"  (:06)

Narrator: "COMES THE DAWN in the Batcave no birds sing." (:10)

Even Aunt Harriet suspects something is up by the Dynamic Duo not sleeping in their beds. Vince thinks she may be ungratefully worried about them having fun out on the town for some reason. At least Batman has recovered from doing the Batusi.

Anyway, with just one mask Molly transforms into the "most effeminate Robin you could ever imagine" per RD's words. Vince wonders what the transformation would do to her breasts. (:14) RD thinks Robin loved this change a little too much.

Riddler has Robin call the Batphone through Commissioner Gordon, yet Batman knows who it is as soon as he picks up the phone. RD marvels at Vince pointing out a plot hole for once. (:18)

Batman: "Riddler...you jolly devil!"

Now if Riddler just wanted to get to the Batcave, why can't he just simplify things with a gun to Robin's head? RD things the complications are just to show they're smarter than Batman. Also it would deny the use of a car chase and the Batturn lever to cause a parachute 180 degree turn. RD asks for physicists to please to explain. Vince wants people to please to explain the confusing episode.

RD questions Batman's somewhat violent manner in causing a car crash. (:24) But without it we wouldn't have Molly Robin giving a big "OK" sign, then hide her voice by pretending not to be able to speak. Batman thinks it was due to a "swine scope", whatever the hell that is. (Perhaps he meant a swing scope. He probably had golf on his mind.)

Inside the Batcave Molly reveals herself by pulling a gun. Vince wonders what Riddler's next step would have been, besides just shoot Batman and automatically claim the place just because. Of course Batman knew she was a fake because of her nostrils, but brought her back regardless. Vince: "Could this possibly have been a potential date rape?" (What does he think this is, a Frank Miller story?)

RD wants Vince to please to explain the Bat "Lazar" Beam to remove bullets while inside a gun. (:31)

Molly tries to escape via the Atomic Pile despite his warnings, but she falls to her death inside the nuclear reactor. RD is shocked there was a death so early in the show, and in such a manner. Batman: "What a terrible way to go." RD is sure the police wouldn't do anything even if Batman reported it. Gordon was even asleep when Molly Robin called!

Vince remembers something in his non-itinerary notes, in that Gordon could trace the Riddler calling. Couldn't they then trace the Batphone? RD thinks Batman avoided that by just using a "tin can and string" for 14 miles.

Regardless, they try to track sounds over the call with the "Mobile Crime Computer" which leads to a subway station. RD is not sure how it was done. At the station Batman uses his stud finder Batgage to find and blow up a wall, then shout "surrender you rat!" and confound Riddler with a Batarang. Vince thinks he spun around on purpose. But he somehow levers down some bullet-proof glass, kisses it, then draws a question mark on it before fleeing. 

Once again Robin has to help solve a riddle. Vince hadn't watched the series in a while but even he knew he was horribly wrong. (:43) Batman embarrasses his friend by patronizing him: "Nice listening."

The narrator reacts to the "fearless minions of the law" going to the wrong place with a "Holy red snapper!" Vince wishes there was a narrator-only character in wrestling. RD remembers thought-narrating Jeff Hardy that perhaps his Co-Bro had a hand in creating. The actual target is at the World's Fair with a stuffed elephant filled with postage stamps. Only now does Vince realize why the Riddler is thus wearing an elephant mask. RD thinks he was actually wearing a Joker outfit because it was too tight originally and Frank wouldn't pass an opportunity up. 

RD delights in the Riddler making bad jokes about Greta Garbo like he was auditioning to be a Co-Bro. Vince: "What is he, Vince McMahon?" (:53)

Instead of finding stamps in the elephant, they find the Dynamic Duo...somehow. (They didn't notice the extra weight?) Even worse, Robin's riddle of his own causes Riddler to send his henchmen after them "or it's curtains!" Cue the word balloons.

Vince uses his expertise as WCW Champion and being Twitter followed by Mickey Dolenz to judge Robin's slow motion fighting technique. (:58)

Riddler escapes through a hole with colorful smoke and a slide whistle. Batman follows with a slide whistle of his own but escapes before the Riddler "blows up". Of course they don't check for any remains. Even Dick is extremely happy that Riddler is somehow deceased, while saddened Bruce warns for his return and not having saved Molly, "weaned her from the criminal underworld, but she vanished like a puff of smoke." Then he goes to help Dick with his algebra.

Overall the Co-Bros think the fledgling show was trying to find its footing, Garbo jokes notwithstanding, although RD can relate to just writing jokes for yourself. Vince wonders if Molly was the only death throughout the series. The two are happy they did a good job taking over an hour to analyze a 22 minute episode.

Vince was so traumatized by Robin being in a giant clam that he only watched it once. RD wonders if he will need a temporary Co-Hosss when they get to that episode.

Vince gives RD some space to promotional considerate himself. (:69) Vince started following Ward the other day (for free!). 

• Special Guest Villain: The Riddler (Frank Gorshin)

• Vince Time Outs: 1
• Curtains: 1
• I didn’t even know he was sick: 2. Peter Tork, Davy Jones
  

Episode 1: Holy Batusi!: August 1, 2021

Hi Diddle Riddle
January 12, 1966
"While the Riddler maneuvers Batman into being sued, the Dynamic Duo investigate the supervillain's concurrent scheme."
80 minutes

(Note that a monthly subscription is required for access beyond this first free sampler episode. Russo needs money to buy (Bat)poles for his (Bat)pole matches.) 

Vince officially calls himself the Robin to RD's Batman. He compensates by having a Batman logo tattooed on his right arm. RD only has his Black Friday shirt.

Vince once met Adam West and Burt Ward ten years ago at a New Jersey convention for free. (:03) He had to find something for them to sign to "Vincent" just one day before. West told him he got into the role perfectly from the first time he read the script. Ward just wanted the money upfront. (West did it for free.) Sad News: he couldn't get a later autograph from Julie Newmar.

For the first time in his life RD has to entertain the people. (:05)

After Vince shows his impressive Blu-Ray they get down to the episode proper, which may be a possible drug reference. It was the 60s after all. (:13) What IS weird: there's no opening "BATMAN" singing.

Three year old Vince went to the '64 World Fair in New York.

RD takes umbrage at narrators thinking Gotham City was ever "peaceful". (:15) The people can't even solve basic riddles!

Vince wonders why the Riddler thought blowing up a "friendship cake" would be enough to get Batman's attention. (It was still a better explosion than the one AEW "had".)

Already Commissioner Gordon shows his secret crime boss characteristics by shaming his own incompetent officers. Quote he on Batman: "We're in luck, he's home."

This is one of the only times in the series that Bruce ever mentions his parents. (:23) Vince is confused by who's ward Dick is and what that entails, including who Harriet is actually Aunt to (it's Dick). He also calls RJ "JD".

Vince shows off his secret button mantelpiece. Sadly it does not open up any bookcases in his studio. (:26) He wonders why the Batpoles had cushions at the bottom. 

RD is too fixated on how the sounds and musical cues of the episode have different timing than the rest of the series.

Vince loved how everyone physically followed Batman while he walked around Gordon's office trying to solve the riddle (via Robin). (:31)

Vince momentarily forgot tents have stakes. RD has to help him out once more.

RD wonders why Robin walked on the Batmobile.

All the Batitems are meticulously labelled. Vince wonders if they label them themselves or get them from a vendor. As they climb up a wall Batman wonders if his friend is distracted by "that cute little teenager", raising questions from the two. Inside the building Batman then warns about "pedestrian safety". This raises more questions. They then bust through some glass to chase the Riddler without checking for any surrounding pedestrians. This raises further questions.

This leads to Riddler's actual plan, to sue the two to go to court and unmask them. Vince approves. RD does not. (:41)

Back at Stately Wayne Manor to figure out the next riddle, Bruce wears a stylish red smoking jacket. RD thinks he and Vince should wear something similar. Grayson solves it by "toot too tooting" to go to an "abandoned subway tool room" being used as the "What A Way To Go-Go" disco. Despite being able to drive the Batmobile, he's considered underage to enter.

RD mocks Vince for missing Jill St. John as Molly. (:47) Vince rates her an 8 out of 10 on his Batpole scale (10 being Shelly Winters), even as she is eating caviar from a huge jar. RD: "When you think fat-shaming, you think Jill St. John."

Batman refuses taking his cape at the disco door as he doesn't want to attract attention despite causing a girl to faint. (:53). He then drinks orange juice laced with Molly giving it a "mickey" (that's the technical term). 

Batman: "You interest me. ... Strangely."

Cue the Batusi! (:55)

RD also enjoys Robin just dancing around too while waiting in the Batmobile. 

After subduing Batman with a tranquilizer dart, the Riddler's attempts on Robin is foiled by turning on the Batmobile's Anti Theft Device by starting the car and causing more weak fireworks. Vince is mystified by the Emergency Batturn Lever. RD calls him out on it. (:59)

Ridder: "CURSES!"

Cue an influenced Batman attempting to drive before being stopped by "offesers" who probably took him back to the bar.

Despite the "goofy" connotations, the Co-Bros still find it alarming that the Riddler has Robin's head in a vice while he threatens him with a scalpel instead of unmasking him as was his original intent. Vince wonders if he would have his young children watching it. 

Vince makes a guess as to how Batman will save Robin "same time same channel...the worst is yet to come!". RD thinks it references the Joker's mustache. (:65) Vince wonders what his next plan of rescue would be if the first one failed. 

RD begs for more appropriate questions for them to answer. For now he marvels at how Frank Gorshin liked his outfit a little too much, and how people liking his successor surprise him. 

Vince aims to get his mantelpiece working by the end of their run together. (:73) RD just wants him to be better prepared. That reminds me of his earlier co-host.

Oh wait, RD HAS a question. Taylor Wilson on Patreon also asks about Aunt Harriet. RD mocks his living in a Unabomber-style shack. That also reminds me of his earlier co-host.

Vince threatens a giveaway of a (signed) The Death of WCW. He invites people to submit things to stump RD who would have to giveaway a (signed) Rope Opera.

• Special Guest Villain: The Riddler (Frank Gorshin)
  

 

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