EPISODE NUMBERS: 110-111, Production Code 1715

PLOT SUMMARIES:

The Funny Feline Felonies
Upon his release from Gotham City Prison, The Joker is immediately picked up by The Catwoman in her KittyCar. They soon arrive at a sleazy hotel across the street from Police HQ, where The Catwoman shows The Joker an old parchment that will direct them to a hidden cache of gunpowder they will use to blast a hole in The Federal Depository and clean the place out! Before leaving, they alert The Batman by shooting at him from an open window. The Caped Crusader traces the gunfire to the hotel room and finds The Joker's prison garb and a corner from the parchment. Moments later, Batgirl arrives and makes off with the fragmented parchment; returning to the library as Barbara Gordon, she finds the parchment was purr-loined from the very same library out of which she works. She locates a mircofilm copy and discovers that it contained an ancient riddle, which when mixed with certain clues will lead to the hidden gunpowder!

Barbara solves the riddle and goes to her father's office at Police HQ to call Batman (via The Batphone!!!) and arrange to rendezvous with The Dynamic Duo at the home of Little Louie Groovy, who owns the parchment's first clue: a nightshirt. The Batman and Robin arrive just as The Catwoman and The Joker arrive to steal the nightshirt. Joker tricks The Duo into shaking hands and buzzes them with his deadly Joker buzzer, and he and Catwoman leaves with the shirt. Batgirl appears moments later to revive batman and robin, and informs them that the shirt was only half the clue to the gunpowder's location, and The Dynamic Trio speed for the home of mod clothier Karnaby Katz, who owns the clue' second half in the form of a crib. However, The Trio arrive too late - or so it seems! Just outside the bushes Joker, Catwoman and their men wait in ambush for them!

The Joke's on Catwoman
As The Dynamic Duo depart in their Batmobile, Batgirl tries to rev up her Batgirlcycle, but it refuses to start. Joker and Catwoman leap from the bushes, and reveal to her that they swiped the spark plug from her beloved bike, preventing it from working. They then capture Batgirl and tie her up on the front lawn with deadly Cat Whiskers (Holy Bondage!), which when exposed to body heat will contract and strangle her to death! After Joker and Catwoman leave, Batgirl uses her nose to activate the lawn sprinkler, causing The Cat Whiskers to expand and spare her life. She then hurries to Gordon's office and arranges to meet Batman and Robin at The Grimalkin Novelty Company. Arriving at the archcriminals' hideaway, The Dynamic Trio overhear the villains' entire plan. The fiends depart for Phoney Island to find the secluded gunpowder, unaware of The Trio are dogging their every move! Later, at Phoney island, the villains find the gunpowder is hidden somewhere inside the lighthouse. While searching the house, The Trio ambush and try to apprehend the crooks, when The Joker, trying to make a break for it, trips a switch, accidentally revealing the gunpowder!

Without thinking the Joker lights a match so he can examine the gunpowder more closely, and as Batman wrestles the match away from him, it is unwittingly tossed into the gunpowder and sets it off! Batman quickly protects everyone with Antiblast Batpowder, and as The Trio prepares to deliver the criminals to the pokey, The Catwoman demands legal aid: Lucky Pierre, who has never lost a case (Holy Perry Mason!). Later, in court, Pierre refuses to crossexamine any of Batman's witnesses, despite the latter acting as prosecutor. Unknown to The Caped Crusader, the entire jury has secretly been replaced with Catwoman's former henchmen, who issue a dishonest not-guilty verdict! (Holy Fixed Jury!) Unfortunately, the jury foreman loses his disguise at the end of the trial, and, after Batman recognizes him, pulls a machine gun! Batman quickly disarms the gunsel, The Joker and his men rise to battle, and the crooks are rounded up. Lucky Pierre finally loses his first case, and he angrily discards all of his lucky charms and storms out.

Later, Louie The Lilac surprises Barbara Gordon at The Gotham Library...

WRITTEN BY: Stanley Ralph Ross

DIRECTED BY: Oscar Rudolph

CAST:
Cesar Romero (The Joker)
Gil Perkins (Foreman)
Eartha Kitt (Catwoman)
Sandy Kevin (Giggler)
Bobby Hall (Laugher)
Pierre Salinger (Lucky Pierre)
David Lewis (Warden Chrichton)
Rusty Lane (Judge)
Ronald Long (Karnaby Katz)
Dick Kallman (Little Louie Groovy)
Joe E. Ross (Louie Groovy's Agent)
Louis Quinn (Mr. Keeper)
Christine Nelson (Mrs. Keeper)

INTERESTING NOTES:
- Gil Perkins (Foreman) played Cauliflower in episode #1707, "Ring Around The Riddler," and Bluebeard in the 1966 Batman movie.

- The late Joe E. Ross (Louie Groovy's Agent) is remembered for his role of Officer Gunther Toody on Car 54, Where Are You? (NBC, 1961-63).

- This was originally a 2-part episode which was split into single 2-part episodes as the producers yearned to avoid a single cliffhanger ending suspended over a week's time.

- Eartha Kitt's second and final appearance as the third Catwoman.

- The Trap that The Caped Crusader and The Boy Wonder were supposed to be placed in was cut from the story, but later in this segment The Joker is surprised when The Dynamic Duo and Batgirl appear at the lighthouse, when he believed them all to be dead! When it was decided to delete the trap sequence, nobody took notice of the goof in The Joker's dialogue!

- There is a photograph of Vice-President Richard Milhous Nixon in the courtroom.

- Incidentally, Catwoman and Joker are among Batman's earliest comic book adversaries, initially appearing in Batman #1 (Spring 1940), and became the best-known and most frequently seen Batman anatagonists.

SCREEN GRABS FROM THE FUNNY FELINE FELONIES

SCREEN GRABS FROM THE JOKES ON CATWOMAN