"Shoot a Crooked Arrow" is the 35th episode of the ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' television series. It was the series' second season opener on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, originally airing on September 7, 1966 (with a repeat taking place on May 31, 1967), as well as the first to air first-run on ABC since the release of the 1966 Batman motion picture, and guest starred

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best kn ...

as The Archer.

Plot

's first episode of the second season, The Archer, a villain modeled after

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

, escapes from Police Headquarters in a moving van from the Trojan Hearse Company, driven by Maid Marilyn. Together, with his band of "merry malefactors" - Crier Tuck and Big John (a play on

Friar Tuck Friar Tuck is one of the Merry Men, the band of heroic outlaws in the folklore of Robin Hood. History The figure of the jovial friar was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th to 17th centuries. He appears ...

and

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...

, respectively) - he pays a surprise visit to

Wayne Manor Wayne Manor is a fictional mansion appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the home of Bruce Wayne, owner of Wayne Enterprises, who is also the superhero Batman. The house is depicted as a large mansion on the outskirts ...

. The inhabitants are gassed and cash is stolen. Later, the crew attacks Police Headquarters. When they are giving out other stolen cash they are apprehended by Batman and

Robin Robin most commonly refers to several species of passerine birds. Robin may also refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), inclu ...

. The Gotham citizens enriched by the muggers save them from arrest. Batman and Robin trace the Archer to his hideout at the

Earl of Huntington Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland ( David of Scotland). The seventh and most recent creation dates t ...

Archery Range (

was the alias of the

Earl of Huntingdon Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland ( David of Scotland). The seventh and most recent creation dates t ...

) in Gotham's Green Forest section, where

Alfred Pennyworth Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth, originally Alfred Beagle and commonly known simply as Alfred, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Alfred is ...

attempts to divert the antagonists long enough for Batman and Robin to inspect his lair. The two are trapped in a giant net. The Archer threatens to behead Alfred if he does not get the location of the

Batcave The Batcave is a subterranean location appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is the headquarters of the superhero Batman, whose secret identity is Bruce Wayne and his partners, consisting of caves beneath his personal r ...

, so the crime computers can be destroyed. Knowing the guillotine is fake, Batman refuses and challenges Quigley to a fair duel. The Archer then sets up Batman and Robin to be skewered by lances.

Notes

* Episode production numbers appear at the end of the show's end credits throughout this season. *

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

makes an appearance while Batman & Robin are climbing down the wall of a building. Batman doesn't recognize him, but says he must be from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

by his accent (although Clark was not actually from Philadelphia, it was the city where he originated his show ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'' (AB) is an American Music television, music performance and dance television series that aired in various iterations from 1952 to 1989. It was hosted by Dick Clark who also served as the program's Television producer, pr ...

'' on the same network

at the time). To make the scene funny, Robin introduces himself, but Clark mistakes them for a

vocal group A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrume ...

for their outfits, which caused them some annoyance. * Beginning this season, all of the

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

which appear during the climactic fight sequences were inserted in between shots, as opposed to being superimposed over the footage, due to cutting down the massive budget devoted to camera and art work. *

Howie Horwitz Howard Santly Horwitz (May 22, 1918 – June 25, 1976) was an American television producer, remembered as the producer of ''77 Sunset Strip'' between 1958 and 1964 and the ''Batman'' television series between 1966 and 1968. Biography He was b ...

's producing credit is now moved from the end credits to the episode sub-main title sequence.

External links

* {{Batman (TV series) Batman (TV series) episodes 1966 American television episodes