Holy Blogger Batman!

So where have all those wholesome TV shows gone? Leave it to Beaver? Now there’s a show that taught values! What about the Andy Griffith Show? I swear that there wasn’t a non-wholesome character in any of the episodes. You could spend hours talking about all those old shows. They may have been somewhat corny but they certainly taught healthy values.

As I think back to my younger days, the one show that comes to mind when I think of values being taught was Batman the television series (1966). Now they were corny but wholesome show! If you could just get through the “POWS!” and the “BAMS!” you would see what I mean. On many occasions, Batman would have some healthy advice for his sidekick Robin. Whether it be drinking orange juice or wearing a seatbelt, Batman was always there trying to instil the virtues of healthy and safe living into Robin and the viewers. I remember one episode where Batman made Robin pick up a piece of litter that he dropped onto the pavement. After a ten second lecture on littering, a contrite Robin picked up the piece of litter and deposited it into the trash can which just happened to already be in the scene. There were some instances where Batman would be lecturing poor Robin right in the middle of taking on a villain and his thugs … The guy just didn’t let up!

“Now Robin, we have to beat the crap outta Mr. Freeze here quickly so you could get to bed on time so you could be up early in the morning in time for your wholesome breakfast of orange juice, toast and eggs so that you can concentrate in school and get good marks and …" yada yada yada … You get the picture.

So, how corny does one have to be in order to be wholesome? I suppose in light of the crap that studios dish out today in contrast to what we watched when we were younger, corniness, I suppose, can be justified. Despite Batman’s bantering about how to be a model citizen, I would much rather children watch Batman and Robin dual with villains than them watching shows such as Bevis and Butthead!