Holy Batman!
Am I seriously suggesting that the 1960’s era TV Adam West
version of ‘Batman’ that I watched as a kid can teach us about
characterization?
Yes—good and bad.
When I finished making breakfast this morning and served my
hubby in bed, he was watching the old sitcom so I joined him. After all, I
absolutely loved this show—when I was six. It was my favorite thing on TV until
I discovered Star Trek and fell in love with Spock.
Everything about the show seems so silly now that I was
cringing—a lot. Yet, it was a real blast from the past.
This particular episode featured The Riddler played by Frank
Gorshin, a very giggly, annoying villain who overplayed his part like all the
other characters in the show. And of course this version of Batman was his usual
stoic, heroic, super stiff self, not like the later charming Michael Keaton
version.
My first reaction to the characterization was that it was way overdone, sickeningly so. Maybe it
needed to be for six year old audiences but it’s irritating to my adult self.
So what do I think an over-acted, overly dramatic cast of
characters can teach us about characterization? Although overdone (which
teaches us to dial the dramatization down several notches and smooth off the
rough edges) each character is unique.
Batman is always heroic, selfless, and stoic. He loves his
expensive toys and always has some new gadget (or two).
Robin is eagerness personification—Holy cheesecake! this and that all the time. Whereas Batman speaks
quietly, Robin usually raises his voice.
The Riddler giggles all the time and of course he leaves
riddles as clues. He’s a prankster. And if we dared forget who he is, he wears
a big question mark on his quest.
The Joker wears his evil, spooky grin. He’s a clown that
makes us shiver, shudder, and quake in my boots. He’s pure evil itself.
King Tut is a psychopath who thinks he’s the reincarnation
of the Egyptian monarch. He dresses like an Egyptian king and devises Egyptian-like
crimes and punishments to fit with his persona.
I could go on but it’s clear that each player is a unique
character. Still, in this early version of Batman, they are cardboard. We only
got to view the black and white sides of their lives. Batman and Robin are pure
good. The Riddler, The Joker, and King Tut are pure bad.
They’re a good start
on characterization. They’re just one-dimensional. To make them truly
interesting and sympathetic, they need more traits. They need to be rounded out.
The 1960’s version of Batman might grasp a little kid’s attention but there’s a
reason we don’t enjoy it as adults except perhaps for a few minutes traipse
down memory lane—we want multi-dimensional, complex characters that make us
think and emote. At least I do.
Keep Reading for an excerpt of Ashley's new release, Spooky Sojourn. (I luuurve this cover!)
Title: Spooky
Sojourn
Series Name
(If applicable) N/A
Publisher:
Totally Bound
Genre:
Contemporary Erotic male-female contemporary paranormal romance
Book Length:
50,000 words
Blurb:
Someone’s trying to kill Deanna, but is it the ghosts she doesn’t
believe in, the rich socialite who might be a murderess, or someone else with a
beef against The Gilroy Hotel and Resort that Deanna has just been hired to
manage? The Gilroy’s owners want the
ghosts, or whoever is causing the trouble at the hotel eliminated, and they are
pressuring Deanna to do the job as quickly as possible. Harry DeVeaux,
paranormal investigator comes highly recommended to do the job and against
Deanna’s better judgment, she hires him.
Although Deanna thinks Harry’s crazy for believing in ghosts and Harry
thinks Deanna has a closed mind to the possibilities of ghosts and they highly
annoy each other, sparks fly. Deanna can’t help but fantasize about Harry and
inspired by a romance convention visiting her hotel, writes her fantasies in a
private blog that Harry finds, hacks, and reads. Ooh la la!
Excerpt:
Drawing in a long, shuddering breath,
he looked heavenwards and crossed his fingers behind his back hoping she
wouldn’t throw something at him, hoping she’d be okay with his admission. “I
found your blog and read it.”
Paling, the blood fled from her flesh
and her eyes looked like sooty coals against her face. Her gaze clashed with
his and held. “How did you find it? I used a pseudonym and I put it on privacy
settings.”
He screwed up his lips, and scrubbed
his hand over his face, preparing to tell more painful truths. “I’m a bit of a
hacker and I like to research the people I’m working with.” Not sure she’d be
receptive to his theory, he left out the part that he thought the ghosts led
him to her site. He thought they were closet romantics. He wouldn’t be
surprised if they’d locked them into the room now to force them into some alone
time together.
When a tsunami of emotions flitted
across her face he tried to read them. Fury. Embarrassment. Lust?
“You investigated me? You read my
private musings?”
“You wrote about me? In some very
intimate ways. At least I presume it was me since you used my name.” He fixed
her with a piercing gaze. “Did you?”
A pregnant pause rent the air as she
veiled her eyes from his view. Finally, she smoothed her skirt against her legs
and admitted, “Yes. I have very mixed feelings about you. You make me crazy the
way we argue, the way you believe in ghosts, and yet I find myself thinking
about you, fantasizing about you.”
Taking heart in the last part even if
he wasn’t sure he liked the first, he said with a lopsided grin, “You fantasize
about me much?”
As if she suddenly got bold, she
sidled up to him with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes and ran the tip of her
finger down his chest. “Aren’t my blogs proof? The question is, do you
fantasize about me?”
Buy links:
About the Author
Ashley Ladd
is a disabled Air Force vet that is hard of hearing but still loves language,
especially the written word. She loves a sexy man, especially one with a
military background and they’ll often pop up in her stories. She also loves
cats and has been known to empower a cat with the gift of speech. Unfortunately
he wouldn’t shut up. J She loves to plug into Pandora and sip Diet Coke
while writing, usually with a cat or kid at her side.
How you can contact Ashley:
