Pirates, and tigers, and Catwoman… oh, my! Today’s Throwback Tuesday post takes us back to the 1966 Batman TV-series starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. “The Purr-Fect Crime” marks the first appearance of Catwoman (Julie Newmar) on the show. The villain makes two separate robberies to get her claws on a pair of golden cat statues. However, Catwoman is after something far more valuable than the cats themselves. Together the statues reveal the location to a secret pirate treasure hidden in caves underneath Gotham City. Yes, I said secret pirate treasure. To get her her hands on the prize she’ll need to out-wit the Dynamic Duo including putting the pair through multiple death traps (one inspired by the famous Lady and the Tiger conundrum).
Although the character would return for multiple episodes in the following two seasons, this is the only appearance of Catwoman during the show’s First Season. The episodes showcase the villain toying with Batman and Robin, even after she gets the upper hand and a willingness to turn on her henchmen when it serves her purpose. Although Newmar had less than 24-hours from accepting the role to shooting the episodes, she embodies the character with ferocious glee and remains some fans favorite Catwoman. The end of “Better Luck Next Time” is also notable for having Catwoman fall to an apparent death (a very rare sight on the show), refusing to release her plunder to save herself. However, eventually she would return to battle the Dynamic Duo again.
