Some proclaim Christian Bale the greatest Batman, others champion Val Kilmer or newbie Ben Affleck. But those of us old enough to remember those halcyon days when movie theaters didn't show commercials know the truth: West is the best.
Old-school Bat-fans can rejoice in the news, announced Wednesday in Entertainment Weekly, that Adam West will be returning as Batman, with Burt Ward as sidekick Robin and the purr-fect Julie Newmar as Catwoman. Sure, it's just their voices (West is a little croaky, but still charming), and the animated feature-length film, "Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders," will be for home viewing rather than in theaters, but we'll take it.
In a short trailer, West and Ward take up their hero personas again in a circumstance that any fan of the 1960s show will recognize: A campy death, this time in an oven, approaches. Fortunately they're able to avoid getting toasted, and instead shill for the film, which will include all the great old villains -- Joker, Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman.
"On earth, and in space," offers West, in a hilarious and hopefully true aside that harkens back to memories of "Josie and the Pussycats in Space," and "Gilligan's Planet." (In the 1970s, cartoons went to space like other people went to 7-Eleven, randomly, often, and sometimes for no reason.)
The new film flies onto digital HD on October 11 and Blu-ray on November 1.