Batfink
Encyclopedia
Batfink is an animated television series, consisting of five-minute shorts, that first aired in September 1967. The 100-episode series was quickly created by Hal Seeger
, starting in 1966, to parody the popular Batman
and The Green Hornet
television series which had premiered the same year.
and continued to air on local stations throughout the 1980s. Nickelodeon
briefly aired episodes of Batfink on its Weinerville
and Nick in the Afternoon
series in the 1990s. In September 2006, it returned to the U.S. as part of "Cartoons Without a Clue", Boomerang
's mystery lineup on weekends.
The Batfink series was very popular in the UK, becoming a cult series like the later DangerMouse
, and from 1967 onwards was shown at least once every year on UK terrestrial television up until 1983, initially on the BBC network where it was allocated an early evening slot just before the BBC News
, and latterly as part of Children's ITV
; it subsequently reappeared in 1986 on the ITV
Saturday morning magazine show Get Fresh
. In the early 1990s it was repeated again as part of TV-am
's Wide Awake Club/Wacaday
series; after Wacaday finished in 1992, Batfink was consigned to the vaults in the UK for the next twelve years. It was introduced to a new audience in 2004 when it was included in a number of episodes of the BBC
's Saturday morning show Dick and Dom in da Bungalow
, and since April 2006 has been enjoying an extended, if somewhat irregular, repeat run on CBBC
.
Batfink was made quickly and cheaply by re-using stock sequences. Although most serial animations do this to some extent, Batfink did it more than most. Commonly repeated scenes include the intro to the initial briefings by the Chief (the TV screen hotline buzzing into life), Batfink and Karate getting into the Battillac, the Battillac going round mountain bends, the Battillac going over a bridge, Batfink's radar and others. Sometimes the repeated scenes would be cut short so that sections could be re-used to fit the storyline more closely.
) is a superpowered anthropomorphic gray bat
in a yellow costume with a big red "B" on the chest and red gauntlets
and boots. He uses his super-sonic sonar radar and metallic black wings to fight crime. In the last episode of the series ("Batfink: This Is Your Life"), it's revealed that he got his powers from being born in an abandoned plutonium
mine and that he'd lost his natural wings as a child while saving his mother's life after escaped convicts blew up their mountaintop cave. This incident is what motivated him to become a crimefighter.
Batfink lives in a split-level cave, and has a direct video link to the Chief's office.
) is a gi
-clad martial arts expert and Batfink's oafish oriental sidekick who drives the Battillac. He is somewhat oversized and isn't very bright, but is strong enough to help Batfink out of any situation. He carries a wide variety of objects and gadgets in his "utility sleeve
" (which is a takeoff of Batman's utility belt
), but he often has trouble finding what he needs in it.
Karate's name, besides being that of a martial art
, is also a takeoff of Kato
, The Green Hornet
's sidekick, while his hulking size is inspired by the James Bond
villain Oddjob. His voice is a caricature inspired by Don Adams
as Maxwell Smart of the Get Smart
series which was popular at the time. Karate on occasion has even uttered the catchphrase, "Sorry about that, Batfink."
His father was the blacksmith
who made Batfink's mighty metallic wings.
) is Batfink's contact on the local police force and informs Batfink of all the latest crimes via a direct video link to Batfink's split-level cave ("The hotline! Batfink here.").
) is the main villain of the series who is referred to as "the world's maddest scientist" and spends his time in his "secret" laboratory creating weird and wacky inventions (including at one point building himself a robot bride complete with robot mother-in-law) to defeat Batfink and dominate the world. He somehow manages to escape jail every time when caught to antagonize the hero in a later episode. The cheerfully demented little villain, whose name is inspired by Go-Go dancing
, often breaks the fourth wall
to talk with the narrator.
and her bees to "Sting Sting"), "Victor The Predictor", "Judy Jitsu" (a martial artist whose name is derived from jujutsu
, and who Karate has a crush on), "Brother Goose" (who always left taunting clues based on nursery rhymes), and "Goldyunlocks" (with an obsession of unlocking every lock she sees – Batfink was finally able to catch her by putting her in a cell with no lock).
radar
played upon his being a bat
. Bats use echolocation
to detect their prey and home in on it. Batfink's radar was the superpower version of this and usually took the form of the letters "BEEP" (sometimes "BEEP BEEP") emanating from his mouth and then flying wherever he needed them to go, accompanied by a distinctive beeping noise.
The "BEEP"s acted as people: they were able to see, be scared, evade capture and report back to Batfink on what they had seen. In one episode, the "BEEP" even gets beaten up after being ambushed from behind a tree. The "BEEP"s also get confused, misdirected and lost and Batfink has to rely on other means to find out what Hugo A-Go-Go (or some other major villain) has been up to. Once, when the "BEEP" was sent to investigate Queenie Bee and her swarm of villainous bee
s, it returned with the letters "EEP" swollen with bee stings. When Karate asked Batfink, "How come they just stung the EEP?" he replied, "Because a bee would never harm another B. But a B will tell on another bee – Queenie Bee is in THERE!"
(He claimed in some episodes that his wings were stainless steel
, but in other episodes he explicitly stated that they were not, since he always carried a can of spot remover to keep them polished.)
He could also use his wings as offensive weapons; in one episode, he used one of his wings as a sword
during a duel. His wings would also help him fly at enormous speeds and were often used to help him escape certain death or cut through bonds when he had been captured (he can break out of regular ropes but not rubber
ones). In the episode "Ebenezer the Freezer," Batfink had automatic retrorocket
s built into his wings, but not in any other episode.
Sometimes, however, his wings hindered him; when in water, he would sink because of the weight of his metal wings. Powerful magnet
s were also a problem for him. Plutonium
, for reasons unexplained, also rendered the wings useless.
Batfink's life and wings are explained in the final episode, "Batfink: This Is Your Life", in which he is shown his boyhood, and how his real wings were replaced.
-like car with scallop
ed rear fins
called the "Battillac" (rhymes with "Cadillac
"), that is outfitted with a sun roof and lots of barriers and shields. In this way, when the car falls into a valley or gets shocked by a sound wave, it remains intact. Then, Batfink says something like, "It's a good thing the Battillac is equipped with a thermo-nuclear
plutonium
insulated blast shield!" and Karate says, "It's also good it was a small bomb." A humorous feature of this expression is that in most of the events that occur a thermo-nuclear plutonium insulation of any sort would not have any realistic use whatsoever and may actually have caused more harm than protection. As soon as a crime is acknowledged Batfink says, "Karate, the Battillac!"
or through him using his superpowers.
Hal Seeger
Harold "Hal" Seeger was an animated cartoon producer and director who owned his own studio the Hal Seeger Studio ....
, starting in 1966, to parody the popular Batman
Batman (TV series)
Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...
and The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet (TV series)
The Green Hornet is a television show on the ABC US television network. It aired for the 1966–1967 TV season, and starred Van Williams as the Green Hornet/Britt Reid and Bruce Lee as Kato.- Episodes:...
television series which had premiered the same year.
Production & syndication
The cartoon was produced at Hal Seeger Studios, in New York City, and at Bill Ackerman Productions in Midland Park, New Jersey. It was syndicated by Screen GemsScreen Gems
Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
and continued to air on local stations throughout the 1980s. Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
briefly aired episodes of Batfink on its Weinerville
Weinerville
Nickelodeon Weinerville is an American television program on Nickelodeon that was produced in 1993 and 1994, aired in re-runs until 1997. The show was based around a giant puppet stage which was designed to look like a city, called Weinerville...
and Nick in the Afternoon
Nick in the Afternoon
Nick in the Afternoon is a programming block on Nickelodeon that aired from 1995 to 1998 on weekday afternoons during the summer, hosted by Stick Stickly, a popsicle stick voiced by New York City native Paul Christie . The 1998 stint ran from the summer until December...
series in the 1990s. In September 2006, it returned to the U.S. as part of "Cartoons Without a Clue", Boomerang
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
's mystery lineup on weekends.
The Batfink series was very popular in the UK, becoming a cult series like the later DangerMouse
DangerMouse
Danger Mouse is a British animated television series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television. It features the eponymous Danger Mouse, an English mouse who works as a superhero/secret agent. The show is a loose parody of British spy fiction, particularly James Bond and the...
, and from 1967 onwards was shown at least once every year on UK terrestrial television up until 1983, initially on the BBC network where it was allocated an early evening slot just before the BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, and latterly as part of Children's ITV
CITV
CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
; it subsequently reappeared in 1986 on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Saturday morning magazine show Get Fresh
Get Fresh
Get Fresh was a children's television programme that ran from 1986 to 1988 in the United Kingdom.-Premise:Broadcast on the Children's ITV network, the show starred Gareth Jones , Charlotte Hindle, and a puppet named Gilbert the Alien...
. In the early 1990s it was repeated again as part of TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
's Wide Awake Club/Wacaday
Wacaday
Wacaday was a children's television series in the UK that ran in TV-am's school-holidays slot from 1985 until 1992, in an 8:50-9:25 a.m. slot, and was hosted by Timmy Mallett....
series; after Wacaday finished in 1992, Batfink was consigned to the vaults in the UK for the next twelve years. It was introduced to a new audience in 2004 when it was included in a number of episodes of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Saturday morning show Dick and Dom in da Bungalow
Dick and Dom in da Bungalow
Dick and Dom in da Bungalow was a CBBC children's entertainment television series presented by the duo Dick and Dom...
, and since April 2006 has been enjoying an extended, if somewhat irregular, repeat run on CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
.
Batfink was made quickly and cheaply by re-using stock sequences. Although most serial animations do this to some extent, Batfink did it more than most. Commonly repeated scenes include the intro to the initial briefings by the Chief (the TV screen hotline buzzing into life), Batfink and Karate getting into the Battillac, the Battillac going round mountain bends, the Battillac going over a bridge, Batfink's radar and others. Sometimes the repeated scenes would be cut short so that sections could be re-used to fit the storyline more closely.
Batfink
Batfink (Frank BuxtonFrank Buxton
Frank Buxton is an American actor, television writer and director. His first credit was host and producer of the ABC television documentary series, Discovery, which he hosted from 1962 to 1966....
) is a superpowered anthropomorphic gray bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
in a yellow costume with a big red "B" on the chest and red gauntlets
Glove
A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb; if there is an opening but no covering sheath for each finger they are called "fingerless gloves". Fingerless gloves with one large opening rather than individual openings for each...
and boots. He uses his super-sonic sonar radar and metallic black wings to fight crime. In the last episode of the series ("Batfink: This Is Your Life"), it's revealed that he got his powers from being born in an abandoned plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
mine and that he'd lost his natural wings as a child while saving his mother's life after escaped convicts blew up their mountaintop cave. This incident is what motivated him to become a crimefighter.
Batfink lives in a split-level cave, and has a direct video link to the Chief's office.
Karate
Karate (Len MaxwellLen Maxwell
Len Maxwell was an American voice actor and announcer.-Career:Prior to his career in voice-overs, Len was a stand up comedian....
) is a gi
Keikogi
or dōgi is a uniform for training, used in martial arts derived from Japan, or budō. . The prototype for the modern keikogi emerged in the late 19th century. The keikogi was developed by judo founder Kano Jigoro...
-clad martial arts expert and Batfink's oafish oriental sidekick who drives the Battillac. He is somewhat oversized and isn't very bright, but is strong enough to help Batfink out of any situation. He carries a wide variety of objects and gadgets in his "utility sleeve
Sleeve
Sleeve is that part of a garment which covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips. The pattern of the sleeve is one of the characteristics of fashion in dress, varying in every country and period...
" (which is a takeoff of Batman's utility belt
Batman's utility belt
Batman's utility belt is one of the most characteristic portions of Batman's costume. Similar belts are used by the various Robins, Batgirls, and other members of the Batman family.-History:...
), but he often has trouble finding what he needs in it.
Karate's name, besides being that of a martial art
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, is also a takeoff of Kato
Kato (The Green Hornet)
Kato is a fictional character from The Green Hornet series. This character has also appeared with the Green Hornet in film, television, book and comic book versions. Kato was the Hornet's assistant and has been played by a number of actors...
, The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
's sidekick, while his hulking size is inspired by the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
villain Oddjob. His voice is a caricature inspired by Don Adams
Don Adams
Don Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...
as Maxwell Smart of the Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
series which was popular at the time. Karate on occasion has even uttered the catchphrase, "Sorry about that, Batfink."
His father was the blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
who made Batfink's mighty metallic wings.
The Chief
The Chief (Len MaxwellLen Maxwell
Len Maxwell was an American voice actor and announcer.-Career:Prior to his career in voice-overs, Len was a stand up comedian....
) is Batfink's contact on the local police force and informs Batfink of all the latest crimes via a direct video link to Batfink's split-level cave ("The hotline! Batfink here.").
Hugo A-Go-Go
The blue-smocked, wild-haired Hugo A-Go-Go (Frank BuxtonFrank Buxton
Frank Buxton is an American actor, television writer and director. His first credit was host and producer of the ABC television documentary series, Discovery, which he hosted from 1962 to 1966....
) is the main villain of the series who is referred to as "the world's maddest scientist" and spends his time in his "secret" laboratory creating weird and wacky inventions (including at one point building himself a robot bride complete with robot mother-in-law) to defeat Batfink and dominate the world. He somehow manages to escape jail every time when caught to antagonize the hero in a later episode. The cheerfully demented little villain, whose name is inspired by Go-Go dancing
Go-Go dancing
Go-go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at a discotheque. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s when women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City began to get up on tables and dance the twist...
, often breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
to talk with the narrator.
Miscellaneous characters
Other villains have included "Queenie Bee" (with her army of bees – Batfink sent Queenie Bee to Sing SingSing Sing
Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison operated by the New York State Department of Correctional Services in the town of Ossining, New York...
and her bees to "Sting Sting"), "Victor The Predictor", "Judy Jitsu" (a martial artist whose name is derived from jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
, and who Karate has a crush on), "Brother Goose" (who always left taunting clues based on nursery rhymes), and "Goldyunlocks" (with an obsession of unlocking every lock she sees – Batfink was finally able to catch her by putting her in a cell with no lock).
Plot devices
Batfink had at his disposal two main superpowers: his super-sonic sonar radar and his metallic wings. At least one of these would feature in every episode in order to help him catch the bad guy.Super-sonic sonar radar
Batfink's super-sonic sonarSonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
played upon his being a bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
. Bats use echolocation
Animal echolocation
Echolocation, also called biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several kinds of animals.Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects...
to detect their prey and home in on it. Batfink's radar was the superpower version of this and usually took the form of the letters "BEEP" (sometimes "BEEP BEEP") emanating from his mouth and then flying wherever he needed them to go, accompanied by a distinctive beeping noise.
- "My super-sonic sonar radar will help me!"
The "BEEP"s acted as people: they were able to see, be scared, evade capture and report back to Batfink on what they had seen. In one episode, the "BEEP" even gets beaten up after being ambushed from behind a tree. The "BEEP"s also get confused, misdirected and lost and Batfink has to rely on other means to find out what Hugo A-Go-Go (or some other major villain) has been up to. Once, when the "BEEP" was sent to investigate Queenie Bee and her swarm of villainous bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s, it returned with the letters "EEP" swollen with bee stings. When Karate asked Batfink, "How come they just stung the EEP?" he replied, "Because a bee would never harm another B. But a B will tell on another bee – Queenie Bee is in THERE!"
Metallic wings
Batfink's main defense were his metallic wings, which he was able to curl around himself as a protective shield against most attacks, thereby spawning the most famous catchphrase of the show:- "Your bullets cannot harm me – my wings are like a shield of steel!"
(He claimed in some episodes that his wings were stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, but in other episodes he explicitly stated that they were not, since he always carried a can of spot remover to keep them polished.)
He could also use his wings as offensive weapons; in one episode, he used one of his wings as a sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
during a duel. His wings would also help him fly at enormous speeds and were often used to help him escape certain death or cut through bonds when he had been captured (he can break out of regular ropes but not rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
ones). In the episode "Ebenezer the Freezer," Batfink had automatic retrorocket
Retrorocket
A retrorocket is a rocket engine providing thrust opposing the motion of a spacecraft, thereby causing it to decelerate.-History:...
s built into his wings, but not in any other episode.
Sometimes, however, his wings hindered him; when in water, he would sink because of the weight of his metal wings. Powerful magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
s were also a problem for him. Plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
, for reasons unexplained, also rendered the wings useless.
Batfink's life and wings are explained in the final episode, "Batfink: This Is Your Life", in which he is shown his boyhood, and how his real wings were replaced.
The Battillac
Batfink rides in a customized pink Volkswagen BeetleVolkswagen Beetle
The Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
-like car with scallop
Scallop
A scallop is a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a food source...
ed rear fins
FINS
FINS is a network protocol used by Omron PLCs, over different physical networks like Ethernet, Controller Link, DeviceNet and RS-232C....
called the "Battillac" (rhymes with "Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
"), that is outfitted with a sun roof and lots of barriers and shields. In this way, when the car falls into a valley or gets shocked by a sound wave, it remains intact. Then, Batfink says something like, "It's a good thing the Battillac is equipped with a thermo-nuclear
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is the process by which two or more atomic nuclei join together, or "fuse", to form a single heavier nucleus. This is usually accompanied by the release or absorption of large quantities of energy...
plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
insulated blast shield!" and Karate says, "It's also good it was a small bomb." A humorous feature of this expression is that in most of the events that occur a thermo-nuclear plutonium insulation of any sort would not have any realistic use whatsoever and may actually have caused more harm than protection. As soon as a crime is acknowledged Batfink says, "Karate, the Battillac!"
Karate
Batfink's sidekick, Karate, was his backup in case his superpowers couldn't help him out of a sticky situation. Unfortunately, Karate was a bit clumsy and not the brightest sidekick, but was big and strong and highly trained in martial arts, most famously his Karate Chop. Usually, when Karate did help Batfink escape Hugo A-Go-Go's clutches (or some other fiend's, for that matter), it was more by dumb luck than judgement, and sometimes, it was Karate that landed them both in a situation in the first place.Cliffhangers
In many episodes, events would come to a head with Batfink in a seemingly fatal situation. At this point, the action would freeze and the narrator would ironically ask dramatically whether Batfink would survive. Then, the action would continue with Batfink surviving, either through use of a Deus Ex MachinaDeus ex machina
A deus ex machina is a plot device whereby a seemingly inextricable problem is suddenly and abruptly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability, or object.-Linguistic considerations:...
or through him using his superpowers.
Hidden political message
According to Dave Mackey's Batfink site, there's a two-part political message hidden in two episodes, disguised as sped-up gibberish. He translates the message as follows:- Part 1 (in "Spin the Batfink"): "The most dangerous force in America today is Walter ReutherWalter ReutherWalter Philip Reuther was an American labor union leader, who made the United Automobile Workers a major force not only in the auto industry but also in the Democratic Party in the mid 20th century...
and his political machine. It’s time we realized that they intend to run this country. When the smut publishers put a..."
- Part 2 (in "Bride and Doom"): "...dirty cover on a clean book, let’s take it at face value and call it trash and dump it in the river."
DVD release
- On 6 December 2004, Cinema Club released the complete series on Region 2DVD region codeDVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
DVD. - On 3 July 2007, Shout! FactoryShout! FactoryShout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
released Batfink: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1DVD region codeDVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
.- Both DVD boxsets run over 4 DVDs and contain all 100 episodes of the series.
- In January 2007, A-Design released a single Batfink DVD in BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. The DVD includes 26 5-minute segments.
Airing history
| Country | Network(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
 Australia |
ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster... |
196? – 197? |
| 2004 | ||
 Norway |
NRK Norsk Rikskringkasting The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation , which is usually known as NRK, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest media organisation in Norway... |
(subtitled) 2006– |
 The Netherlands |
Kindernet Kindernet Kindernet was the first commercial television station in The Netherlands. It started on 1 March 1988. It broadcast programmes, most of them were cartoons. Their final broadcasting was on 31 December 2004... |
6 January 1994 – 10 July 1998 |
| UK | BBC1 | early evening slot (1967–1975) |
| BBC2 | afternoon slot (1976–1982) | |
| Children's ITV CITV CITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00... |
1983, 1986 | |
| TV-am TV-am TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period... |
as part of Wacaday Wacaday Wacaday was a children's television series in the UK that ran in TV-am's school-holidays slot from 1985 until 1992, in an 8:50-9:25 a.m. slot, and was hosted by Timmy Mallett.... (late 1980s-early 1990s) |
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| CBBC CBBC CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14... |
(2004–2008) | |
| BBC Two BBC Two BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio... |
(2007) before 8 am | |
 USA |
Independent Independent station An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network.... |
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| Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (TV channel) Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers... |
as part of Weinerville Weinerville Nickelodeon Weinerville is an American television program on Nickelodeon that was produced in 1993 and 1994, aired in re-runs until 1997. The show was based around a giant puppet stage which was designed to look like a city, called Weinerville... (1995–1997) |
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| Boomerang Boomerang (TV channel) Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises... |
(2005–2008) | |
 India |
Nickelodeon (India) | (2007) in Hindi |