Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

If this series reminds you of another bat-oriented superhero, it’s no coincidence. The producers of Batfink decided to spoof the popular prime-time version of Batman, apparently forgetting that the TV show was already a spoof of the comic book.

Unlike his live-action counterpart, Batfink was a real bat, equipped with superpowers and high-tech gadgets. His sidekick, Karate, was a martial-arts expert who had more in common with Kato, the Green Hornet’s sidekick, than with boy wonder Robin. The duo’s main villain was Hugo a Go Go, a swinging sixties bad guy.

While Batfink was full of hip gags and references to culture as well as pop culture, its strongest point was definitely the voices. Frank Buxton's Batfink combined the straight announcer style of Gary Owens with the overplayed heroics of Dudley Do-Right, making the character so over the top, one couldn’t help but laugh.

100 five-minute episodes were produced over the show's brief syndicated run. The idea received an update of sorts two decades later in Ralph Bakshi's Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures, which featured a winged wonder named BatBat.

Release History

Syndicated: 1967

TV Sub Categories

animated

TV Studio

Hal Seeger/Screen Gems

Television Cast

Batfink Frank Buxton
Karate Len Maxwell
Voices Bob McFadden

 

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