Dear Batman, Please send me a Batman button. The only button I have says vote for Goldwater.
December 19, 2011 7:02 PM   Subscribe

Dear batman,
Your television program is keen. The greatest thing is the theme song. Could you please tell me which opera your theme song is from.
Yours truly, Barbara L., Long Beach. Calif.

So begins one of the many missives written to Batman and catalogued in Bill Adler's 1966 book, Funniest Fan Letters to Batman. Featured in this week's episode of WireTap (MP3 link) where you can hear some of the letters read (starting around 15:20).
posted by goingonit (24 comments total) 13 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is great! It's like Found Magazine for retro Batman fans. Thanks for sharing.
posted by shortyJBot at 7:05 PM on December 19, 2011


This is cute but....we're not supposed to buy the letters as being real, are we?
posted by roger ackroyd at 7:33 PM on December 19, 2011


Are Howie and Desmond in this episode? If not, I'll... pass.
posted by docgonzo at 7:51 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


When I was in kindergarten, I loved watching reruns of the old Batman series on WSBK (Channel 38). I especially loved Batman's utility belt, because yellow was my favorite color and every little boy loves gadgets. I wanted to know where I could buy a utility belt, too. Obviously I imagined it would come stocked with all those cool gadgets and sprays and such.

My mom helped me write a letter to the TV station. Somebody there must have recognized a little kid's writing because I actually got a very polite letter back saying, "We are sorry but we don't know where you can buy a Batman utility belt." I felt disappointed but was happy about getting the response.
posted by cribcage at 7:53 PM on December 19, 2011


So did we find out what opera it's from?
posted by bongo_x at 8:15 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


Note: Assuredly a Howie and Desmond free episode. Govern yourself accordingly.
posted by docgonzo at 8:32 PM on December 19, 2011


You sure look keen in your mask and cape. Now if you only had a Beatle haircut you would be the most beautiful man in the whole wide world.
Love, Sherry P., Baltimore, Maryland


Note to self.
posted by device55 at 8:55 PM on December 19, 2011 [2 favorites]


I've got a book of letters to the Star Trek production office and I assure you - there's no way you can overestimate a child's precociousness or a psychopath's obsessive desires.
posted by beaucoupkevin at 8:58 PM on December 19, 2011 [1 favorite]


I'm sooo old that I was about kindergarten age when Batman originally aired and IT WAS AWESOME. My friends and I didn't think to write letters, but we were convinced that Batman lived in "Cow City" which happened to be within shouting distance of our block. So we'd take turns hollering out our fannish messages to Batman from the streetcorner.
posted by gamera at 9:26 PM on December 19, 2011 [3 favorites]




Here are the names of the big crooks in the Bronx. Get them! (1) Jerry Feldman, (2) Mike Harris, (3) Stanley Wolf, (4) David Paris, and (5) Paul Hyman. They are all in my class.

Your friend, Howard W., Bronx, NY

posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 12:32 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


This makes absolute sense to me. Look, if I was the praying sort of person, Batman is the sort of person I'd pray to.
posted by X-Himy at 3:39 AM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


I can't help but read all of these in Hank Venture's voice.
posted by emmtee at 4:25 AM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


Are Howie and Desmond in this episode? If not, I'll... pass.
I dunno. Wire Tap bringing-in outside content is probably the best thing that could happen to it.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:30 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Dear Batman,
How come you don't smoke, drink, or go out with women? You sure are setting a rotten example for Robin.
Sincerely, Ralph W., Anderson, Indiana


Hmm. Good question. Won't someone think of the sidekicks?

I never thought of actually writing to Batman. All this time I've just been lighting my Batman prayer candle.
posted by Metroid Baby at 4:33 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


OMG a Batman prayer candle would be the most awesome thing ever. Somebody get me DC licensing on the phone! and Urban Outfitters on the other line!
posted by sevenyearlurk at 6:25 AM on December 20, 2011


Forget Nolan's dour take on this superhero. Ignore Tim Burton's soulless style exercise.

For many of us who came of age in the 60's, the classic camp TV show Batman is the one true screen Batman.
posted by fairmettle at 7:01 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Related-ish: Letters to E.T.
posted by cottoncandybeard at 7:08 AM on December 20, 2011


I dunno. Wire Tap bringing-in outside content is probably the best thing that could happen to it.

Oooo disagree: there's been far too much cast off This American Life content in the current season (like the "Master Legend" segment at the beginning of this episode). This is admittedly a return to the roots of the show, but they're not roots I'm particularly fond of. I much prefer the WireTap of the previous couple of seasons where it was sometimes damn close to being like an old time radio comedy. These letters were funny though.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 7:28 AM on December 20, 2011


Could you please tell me which opera your theme song is from

Die Fledermaus, obviously.
posted by briank at 7:32 AM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


For many of us who came of age in the 60's, the classic camp TV show Batman is the one true screen Batman.

Hey, I came of age in the 80s/90s, and I still think it's the definitive Batman. Also, I will possibly POW! and/or *BASH* anyone who disagrees. Then I will tie them to a complex death contraption, following which they may or may not escape. Damn you, Commissioner Gordon, damn you!
posted by jaduncan at 8:44 AM on December 20, 2011


I was about 11 when this show beagan and I had 2 little sisters. The oldest sister and I wouldn't let the youngest sister (who was about 7 or 8) use the bathroom until she sang the batman theme song and substituted Batroom where Batman usually went.
posted by buggzzee23 at 10:17 AM on December 20, 2011


If folks enjoy the campy Batman, I'd suggest taking a look at Batman: The Brave and the Bold, an animated series produced by the Cartoon Network that lasted three seasons before ending last month. The writing isn't the same quality as the darker 1990s animated series, and compared to the 1960s series you'll need more familiarity with DC Comics' characters to appreciate this show. But it's a return to that campiness, which hadn't been done with Batman for quite awhile and so seemed "fresh" in a way, and it's a legitimately funny show. It's available on iTunes and Amazon.

Also, in 1977 CBS aired an animated Batman series, The New Adventures of Batman, that was fashioned after the 1960s show and featured Adam West and Burt Ward voice-acting in their original roles as Batman and Robin. Again, it's not the best-written of the various Batman series that exist, but if you enjoy the light-hearted Batman, it's more of that. This series is also available on iTunes and Amazon.
posted by cribcage at 10:46 AM on December 20, 2011 [1 favorite]


Dear Batman,
How are you? I am fine. How is Robin? I hope he is fine. Write me a nice letter and tell me how you both are. I am 8 and I worry a lot.
Alvin H., Topeka, Kansas



Who knew my mother used to be an 8 year old boy from Kansas?
posted by cottoncandybeard at 1:56 PM on December 20, 2011 [2 favorites]


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