Robin (Burt Ward) falls to the dark side in That Darn Catwoman the first part of a two-parter that was written by Stanley Ralph Ross. The first part aired on 19 January, 1967.

Catwoman (Julie Newmar) is back in Gotham, and this time she seems completely intent on taking down Batman (Adam West) and Robin. There’s no other plan, just that. To pull that off, she has a new sidekick, Pussycat (singer Lesley Gore) who she will use to sway Robin to their side.

Well, that, and a new drug that Pussycat scratches Robin with. The drug turns Robin into the complete opposite of the crime fighter he was. Robin is under Catwoman’s complete control, and Batman is in for a shock when he confronts Catwoman and has to square up against his young ward.

Catwoman is very intent on swaying Batman to her side, she’s still very much infatuated with him, and Batman feels the same way about her. Crime simply keeps getting in their way.

The episode is filled with lots of puns and plays on names, and, of course, you can’t have someone like Lesley Gore in your show without letting her sing a song or two, so Pussycat gets to serenade Catwoman’s thugs as she is intent on pursuing a career as a singer.

Sooner or later, Batman tracks down Catwoman’s hideout, with some very obvious signs, and is determined to rescue Robin from Catwoman’s clutches, but he’s caught in a trap, and we’re left with a cliffhanger that sees the World’s Greatest Detective strapped down and about to be severed in two when Robin finishes cutting the rope!!

The second part, Scat! Darn Catwoman, aired a week later on 25 January, 1967. The only way Batman can survive the death planned for him is to agree to join Catwoman. He does so because he doesn’t want a murder rap hanging over his young ward’s head.

Before Catwoman can tag him with the mind control drug, she allows him to take a bat-pill, he’s not feeling well. Seems like a chilly choice, because we all know that taking that pill will make the drug ineffective on Batman.

But he pretends to be under Catwoman’s sway, and while Lesley Gore gets to perform another number, Batman bides his time waiting for a chance for both he and Robin to get the upperhand, and it comes when she uses Batman to help break into a safe to get some more capital.

A recovered Robin is waiting for them, Batman reveals he’s been faking and fisticuffs ensue!

Batman ends up in a rooftop chase with Catwoman, and amid some flirting almost convinces her to surrender, but she tumbles off the back end of a warehouse and plunges into the waters below.

Dead?

Our heroes seem to think so. But she’s been dead before.

Will we see her again? I sure hope so, Newmar is wonderful to watch in this role and the flirtation she has with West’s Batman is delightful.