Season three of Batman got underway on 14 September, 1967 with Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin which was written by Stanford Sherman.

The episode, which began the run of single-episode stories, introduces us to Batgirl aka Barbara Gordon (Yvonne Craig).

Barbara is excited to be going to the opera in the company of Bruce Wayne (Adam West), though her father, Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton), Chief O’Hara (Stafford Repp) and Dick Grayson (Burt Ward) will all be in attendance as well.

When the group arrives to pick her up at her apartment, they are shocked to discover that she has been kidnapped by The Penguin (Burgess Meredith). He plans on marrying her (or killing her father) as a possible way to avoid being arrested for his criminal activity. How could he be arrested if he’s family?

Wayne and Grayson don their capes, becoming Batman and Robin, and arrive at Penguin’s hideout (right next door to Barbara’s apartment) to rescue Barbara and Alfred (Alan Napier), who has found himself wrapped up in events. It’s too bad that Barbara isn’t going to wait around to be rescued, she slips out of Penguin’s apartment into her own, which has a hidden section for her costume, crime lab, and bat-bike!

Batman and Robin initially fare well against Penguin and his thugs, until they don’t, ending up caught and abducted by Penguin. Batgirl trails them and effects a rescue of her own, all while maintaining her secret identity which only Alfred is privy to.

Penguin is put away, Dick passes his driver’s test and gets a new car, thanks to Bruce, and the episode ends with a phone call from the next episode’s villain – the Riddler (Frank Gorshin!) is back!

Ring Around the Riddler features Gorshin’s final appearance as The Riddler, which is too bad, because he really brings this character to life. Written by Charles Hoffman, this episode first debuted on 21 September, 1967.

Hey! There’s James Brolin (in a third appearance) as boxer Kid Gulliver.

Riddler’s scheme this time around centers on kidnapping and brainwashing prizefighter, with his long game of getting to faceoff against Batman in the ring and beating him soundly with the help of some iron filings and a powerful magnet to hold the Caped Crusader in place.

Unfortunately, he’s going to have a bit more trouble than normal, because of course, Batgirl is in town now as well, and he’ll have three heroes to deal with instead of the usual two.

Everyone seems to be able to outwit the villain, who has Siren (Joan Collins!) by his side to brainwash the boxers they’ve kidnapped.

Cutting the two-episode story format down to a single standalone episode makes things move a lot quicker, and Gorshin’s manic delivery easily keeps pace with it. But that doesn’t stop the Riddler from being caught by the heroic threesome, and being put away, despite the promise to return.

But Siren escaped! And shows up in Gordon’s office, threatening him and setting herself up as the villain for the next episode.