Just got done watching "SCAT! DARN CATWOMAN" Although ABC ran this story OUT OF SEQUENCE originally, and so it has been run OUT OF SEQUENCE every single time it's been seen on TV ever ever since, on MY videotapes I copied it IN THE PROPER sequence. See... this was the LAST Julie Newmar episode of BATMAN. (Or it should have been, barring HALFWIT IDIOT programmers.) And after her debut story, I'd rank it as her 2nd-best story.
It's like this... in the "SANDMAN" story, Batman tells Catwoman he'll put in a good word for her after she betrays her partner.
In "CATWOMAN GOES TO COLLEGE" (run last-- those IDIOTS), she's let out of jail on parole. Could it be any more obvious it was intended as a DIRECT sequel to the SANDMAN story?? At the end, she regrets having to go back to prison. She also tells Bruce Wayne he's a nice guy, but her "heart belongs to Batman".
"THAT DARN CATWOMAN" opens with her out of jail again, and this time with a young protoge, "Pussycat" (Leslie Gore). Robin is drugged, instantly becomes a "bully", attacks Chief O'Hara, and wants to make time with Pussycat. (In the previous Cat-story, Robin had told Batman, "You may have been taken in by her, but, I'M too young for that sort of thing.") At the cliffhanger, Batman is strapped to a giant MOUSE-TRAP, and Robin is sawing away at the rope holding it up. Catwoman says she wants Batman to become her partner-in-crime-- OR, Robin will be the cause of his death!
So in Part 2 (which network viewers had to wait 6 DAYS to see), Batman agrees, and after taking a Bat-pill (for a headache-- HE claimed), she drugs him. "Heyyy, Cat-baby-- you got -- a lot of CLASS!" Next thing, the COPS are out to arrest Batman. They try tracing the line of the Bat-Phone, but he's worked out something to send them to the wrong address. When an "anonymous tip" send the cops to the Cat-Lair (netting both Pussycat AND Robin, just as he was trying to put the moves on her), Catwoman says they'll need another place to hide out. She asks Batman to TRY and remember where the Batcave is (the drug causes amnesia), and he slowly remembers, then pulls out a spray can. "What's that?" WHOOSH! And she's unconscious. BATMAN was FAKING it!
When she wakes up, she's IN THE BATCAVE! (Her first time there, following the likes of Molly, Miss Limpet, Penguin, his 5 guinea pigs, and later, The Joker, Penguin again, and 3 henchmen.) She asks if there isn't something he wants to DOOOOOO... but he says, first, the heist. She's pleased at how much of a crook he's become. Later, at the Gotham Mint, she asks him to put her arms around her, but just then, her men arrive. "We're READY for the job, boss!" "Your timing is INCREDIBLE!!"
Inside the vault, they find Robin waiting. Somehow, this doesn't bother her-- she thinks he "escaped" from the cops. (Actually, Alfred delivered a Bat-antidote, so Robin's alright now.) Batman reveals he was "acting", and merely wanted to find out the weakness in the Mint. FIGHT ensues, Catwoman flees, stealing the Batmobile.
"Chief O'Hara, may I borrow your police car?"
"Are you insured?"
"GIVE HIM the KEYS, O'Hara!!!"
: D
The Duo pursue, and via remote-control, cause the Batmobile to grind to a halt, next to a waterfront warehouse. Catwoman runs and reaches the roof. Batman follows. "You'll NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!" This continues until she reaches an unexpected edge. He offers to help her reform. She suggests he marry her. He says a wife would interfere with crime-fighting. She says as an ex-crook she could be a great help. "What about Robin?" "Oh.... we'll KILL him." "I can see you're not ready to take your place in society." "I guess you're right. Give me your hand..."
As he reaches out, she suddenly FALLS backwards. Looking over the edge, down to the river 100 feet below, there's no trace of her. Batman is left in tears.
In the epilogue, everyone seems convinced she's dead and won't be coming back.
You can see how MIND-NUMBINGLY STUPID it was for them to have run the "COLLEGE" story about a month after this... right?
Henry
PS: My theory is, whether she survived or not, Eartha Kitt was NOT her-- but somebody else, who decided to call herself "Catwoman", since the "real" one, as far as anyone knew, was DEAD! But you only "get" this if you watch them in the RIGHT sequence.
PPS: IF you watch Newmar's episodes in the "correct" order as I suggest, guess what? the VERY NEXT episode after her "death" features Lee Meriweather as heiress "Lisa Carlson". Really, now... her character SHOULD have been "Kathy Kane". (Think about it!)
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