The Archer, a missed opportunity (no pun intended)

[robinboyblunderer]

The Archer could've been as successful a villain as King Tut or Bookworm or even Shame but the character and story falls a bit flat.

Maybe Art Carney could've done a better job with a different script but his performance isn't very interesting. A Robin Hood type villain should've been more dashing. Perhaps that's what they went for, a man who obviously isn't dashing but believes he is, thinking that would be funny. But it didn't work that way.

The episode has more of a season one feel, but it's strange they'd end the episode on a boat with the Archer and his men wearing pirate hats. You're not a pirate! It would be like King Tut's gang wearing cowboy hats or something. The medieval lair could've been a better place for a final showdown.

I like Alfred's archery though.

On a somewhat related note,I relayed while watching that at least three different times in the Second season, there's a character who seems like a regular citizen but turns out to be a member of the villain's gang.

In this one it's Alan A. Dale.
Catwoman has Jack O'Shea.
Shame has that used car salesman.

The concept of a villainous parody of Robin Hood is fine, but the execution is off and seems to be abandoned at the conclusion on the boat.

There's probably more examples too.

[Gorshin Romero]

I did like this episode better than the Minstrel episode starring Van Johnson, because I like the way our heroes escaped from the death trap...I laughed. That said, if a younger actor had been playing the Archer, perhaps Peter Cook, John Cleese, Michael Caine, or Alan Bates might have turned in a better performance, although I don't think Art Carney did a bad job.

[chrisbcritter]

Perhaps an even better choice might have been Sean Flynn - son of Robin Hood and Captain Blood (Errol Flynn). In fact Sean did play the son of Captain Blood in the movie of the same name - and wasn't quite a big enough star to turn down a Batman role, either.



Oh well - couldawouldashoulda and all that.

[Progress Pigment]

The best choice possible would have been Richard Greene, who played Robin Hood on TV, and who was still active in 1967. I have all the episodes! Art Carney? The Sewer Man. Season 8, 1974.

[Sol]

I believe robinboyblunderer is correct in his speculation that "The Archer" isn't a dashing, romantic figure of a man, but rather a plain ol' American Joe, apparently from a New York (Gotham?) borough, but has the desire and will to be Erroyl Flynn. As usual the show finds its dynamic in the absurd - like King Tut being an obese man (no insult is intended to the great Mr. Buono). Your biggest clue, I think, is in the character of Maid Marilyn. Get aload of her!

By the way, both Merry Men sorts and pirates fall under the cimematic banner of "swashbucklers".

[clavierankh]

Agree about Maid Marilyn Sol. At one point she says 'Cmon Archer you know we grew up in the same neighborhood" They should have exploited that and explained more his motives.

The episode didn't make a lot of sense. His plot all along was obviously to steal the money meat for the poor so what was the point of robbing from the rich an giving to the poor at the beginning? It would have made more sense if he was try to ingratiate himself with the poor to use them as pawns in his ultimate scheme.

As for the boat and pirates at the end, I'm sure that was so the producers could exploit the Batboat and movie footage. I think the reason for starting the season with this episode was to show Batman's new crime fighting equipment.

[AndyFish]

What might have seemed like inspired casting at the time (the not debonair Carney as Robin Hood) falls flat. Carney was going through some personal issues at the time, but unlike Tut he wasn't funny, and unlike Bookworm he wasn't frightening. Just silly. He and the Minstrel signal the decline of the series for me.

[Gorshin Romero]

AndyFish: What type of personal issues was Art Carney having to deal with back then?

[AndyFish]

I remember it was something to do with a spouse. I also think he was ill or had just recovered. It's in one of the batbooks-- either Adam's, Joel Eisner's or the terrific magazine Fangoria did.

[epaddon]

He'd gone through a divorce a few months earlier from his first wife. A few months later he would marry again (after he had rejoined Gleason's variety show as a regular) and then after that marriage ended in 1977, he ended up remarrying his first wife in 1980.

Frankly, I would have preferred seeing Carney as henchman to a villain played by Gleason (I keep having visions of Carney doing the Ed Norton stalling bit when given the order to start a death trap which would provoke an angry "COME ON!" and a shove from Gleason).

[AndyFish]

THAT would have been a much better idea. I'm surprised Gleason didn't do the show.

[Gorshin Romero]

Frankly, I would have preferred seeing Carney as henchman to a villain played by Gleason (I keep having visions of Carney doing the Ed Norton stalling bit when given the order to start a death trap which would provoke an angry "COME ON!" and a shove from Gleason).[/quote]

THAT would have been HILARIOUS! Gleason might have made an interesting version of Louie The Lilac, with Art Carney as a bumbling henchman. Which brings us all to this obvious question: Had Jackie Gleason and Art Carney been cast together as an original guest villain-duo (a la "Chandell and Harry"), whom would they have played? I'll make up my own right now and say Studmuffin (Gleason) and Lounge Lizard (Carney), two cousins who fleece unsuspecting rich women of their bank accounts. Perhaps they could have a female cousin named Heartbreaker played by Leslie Parrish!

[epaddon]

And as Gleason is hauled off to jail, his parting words, "One of these days, Batman, one of these days......"

Followed by a perfect use of the POW graphic on-screen.

[Gorshin Romero]

And as Gleason is hauled off to jail, his parting words, "One of these days, Batman, one of these days......"

Followed by a perfect use of the POW graphic on-screen.

AWESOME! Thanks for giving me one final laugh before bedtime. Perhaps as Studmuffin (Gleason) prepares to fleece the unsuspecting dowagers, he could embrace them and say "Baby, you're the greatest!"

[BatmanFan102]

Two of the shows I watch on DVD are "Batman" and "The Honeymooners". The ideas you guys had about Gleason & Carney working together on Batman truly made me just about choke on my lunch from laughing!!! I especially loved the thought of Carney taking his sweet time with the death trap, only to have Gleason say "COOOOOOOOMMMMME OOOOOOOONNNN!" Truly hilarious! How amazing, Gleason died way back in 1987 and STILL can make us laugh almost 3 decades later. He truly was not only the Great One, he IS and forever SHALL be the Great One!

The thought of him going off to prison, I would have had him also utter "And away we go!!!"