Catwoman (Julie Newmar) is back, out of prison and prowling Gotham City. She also has a new scheme. This two-parter was written by Stanley Ralph Ross, and part one, The Cat’s Meow first aired on 14 December, 1966.

Batman (Adam West) and Robin (Burt Ward) are on the alert when they learn that Catwoman is back, but the rest of the city, especially Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton) and Chief O’Hara (Stafford Repp) seem to believe she’s no the straight and narrow.

She’s not, of course. She’s using technology to steal people’s voices, starting with a talk show host who is interviewing Bruce Wayne. She has set her eyes on the British Invasion that is happening in Gotham with visiting Chad and Jeremy (Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde, a real British musical duo). But a series of errors leads the Dynamic Duo to discover that Catwoman is scheming and using a dance studio as her current hideout.

Confronting the feline criminal and her thugs, the heroes triumph over the group and just as you’re thinking perhaps this is only a single-part story, Catwoman drugs the pair and leaves them in a death trap that will use sound to render them almost useless, empty-minded and malleable.

Catwoman rather likes this idea because her attraction and feelings for Batman come to the fore in this story. Something that may be shared by Batman, himself.

It’s a delightful romp, and honestly, Newmar is simply beguiling in her turns as Catwoman, it’s easy to see how Batman could become enchanted with her.

The second half of the story, The Bat’s Kow Tow, aired on 15 December, 1966. After Batman and Robin escape the death trap by hitting the precise note to shatter glass (!) the pair find themselves playing catch-up as Catwoman’s plan has already advanced, stealing the voices of Chad and Jeremy, and then issuing the threat that she plans to steal as many voices as she can, perhaps the entirety of Gotham City… and then the world!

The episode also features a window cameo, this time Hawaiian singer Don Ho makes an appearance while Batman and Robin are descending a building.

With the fate of the world potentially hanging in the balance Batman and Robin go to work to not only save the world but ensure the episode ends with a Chad and Jeremy concert.

There are fisticuffs and a chase, but it’s the surprisingly tender and sensual interaction between Batman and Catwoman that adds a real emotional riff to the episode’s climax almost ending in a kiss that is interrupted by Robin, silly teenagers.

I found this one a lot of fun, and I really like the fact that the attraction between hero and villain comes to the fore and is given some real substance in this episode. I’ll be curious to see if this gets a through line in her next appearance.

We’ll have to wait until next time to see what happens to the Caped Crusaders and the city they protect.