a5c7b9f00b Colonel Gumm moves out of the Pink Chip Stamps Factory, taking its owner Pinky Pinkston along as a hostage. A message hidden by Miss Pinkston in a bowl of alphabet soup directs Batman and Robin to the International Stamp Exhibition. Though the Green Hornet and Kato will be attending to try to expose Colonel Gumm, Batman and Robin believe they are out for personal profit. The misunderstanding has the two sets of crime fighters fighting each other while the real criminal nearly makes off with the exhibition's rare and valuable stamps.
"Batman's Satisfaction" again combines two sets of crime fighters, as the Caped Crusaders are joined by The Green Hornet (Van Williams) and Kato (Bruce Lee) working in Gotham City on the trail of counterfeit Pink Chip Stamp Factory foreman Colonel Gumm (Roger C. Carmel), who has apparently succeeded in blocking, gumming, and perforating the Hornet into a life sized human stamp now thumbtacked to the wall. Batman manages to allow his fellow crime fighters to escape their death trap, then go on their way for a final showdown at a stamp exhibition in the Constellation Room at the Gotham Towers West. Colonel Gumm shows up in yet another clever disguise, this time as Argentine collector Senor Barboza, owner of the famous Howling Monkey stamp, but with two sets of heroes in the vicinity he and his men don't stand a chance. Batman and The Green Hornet take jabs at each other, not a single one landing, while Kato gets at least one flying kick at Robin, sending the Boy Wonder sprawling! Bruce Lee enjoyed a phony running feud with Burt Ward, who had claimed great prowess in the art of karate but wisely kept his distance from the masterful Lee, one crew member cracking him up off camera with this remark: "the black panther and the yellow chicken!" The 'Visiting Hero' and 'Assistant Visiting Hero' make a quiet exit before Batman easily captures Gumm with barely a whimper. This two parter couldn't save the Green Hornet from cancellation, while Colonel Gumm proved to be too far out for the Hornet, yet too ordinary for Batman. In his various guises, Roger C. Carmel is as delightful as he was playing Harry Mudd in STAR TREK's "Mudd's Women" and "I, Mudd," but in deemphasizing his character as 'Special Guest Villain,' continues to be among the show's least appreciated bad guys. The Batclimb cameo comes from legendary Hollywood gangster actor Edward G. Robinson, discussing his real life passion for art with the Dynamic Duo, his dislike for the pretensions of Andy Warhol, and a plug for the Mona Lisa.
"Batman's Satisfaction" is somewhat of a frustrating episode, because it has Van Williams and Bruce Lee in a show campier than their own show, which overall was superior to the 1966 Batman series in so many ways. Worse yet, it has the two sets of crime fighters involved in a "Mexican standoff," a reflection of how little regard that ABC brass seem to have for Bruce Lee (who could have kicked Robin and the others to Kingdom Come).<br/><br/>That said, having Van Williams and Bruce Lee present is ALWAYS a pleasure. The window cameo is done by none other than Edward G. Robinson, who provides a wonderful witty presence. And even if Roger C. Carmel may not be in the same league as Frank Gorshin or Burgess Meredith, two of his henchmen are certainly well known—Seymour Cassel and Alex Rocco. We also have Diane McBain making a second appearance on the show, after making a Season One appearance as The Mad Hatter's moll.<br/><br/>And it is the cast that makes me give the episode 8/10.
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