Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt

Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt is a 2003 television movie reuniting the cast of the 1960s Batman TV show. It features the original stars of the series Adam West and Burt Ward as themselves, with Jack Brewer and Jason Marsden portraying the young West/Batman and Ward/Robin in flashbacks. It was broadcast as a part of "CBS Sunday Night Movies" on March 9, 2003.

Plot
Adam West and Burt Ward go in search of the Batmobile after it is stolen, and along the way find themselves forced to consult their memories to decipher clues left by the criminals, evidently people they had known from filming the Batman television series. Memories include affairs, one of which led to Burt being chased by a knife-bearing lover, medicine Burt was forced to take so his genitals would not be so visible in his tights, and Adam meeting the actress who played Batgirl (Yvonne Craig) and accidentally placing a hand on her breast during filming. As it turns out, the villains who stole the Batmobile were the actors who once played the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and Catwoman (Julie Newmar).

Casting
Apart from West and Ward, a number of actors from the original series also appeared in the film. This includes Frank Gorshin, who played the Riddler, Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman for the first two seasons of the show and Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman in the Batman theatrical film. Gorshin and Newmar appear as themselves, while Meriwether appears as a waitress. The most noticeable surviving cast member not to appear in the movie is Yvonne Craig, who played Batgirl in the third season of the show. When asked by a fan at a convention why she did not appear in it she replied that she did not like the script and politely turned it down.

Due to licensing problems involving the original TV series, the makers of this film were only allowed to use footage from the 1966 Batman feature film. As a result, Lee Meriwether's rendition of Catwoman is the only one seen in archive footage in this film (even during a musical sequence intended to pay tribute to Newmar). Zambia-born actress Julia Rose plays the young Julie Newmar and gets to briefly don the Catwoman costume.

Jason Marsden, who plays the young Burt Ward/Robin, has done a few voice roles in recent DC/Warner Bros Cartoons such as Batman Beyond, Justice League Unlimited, and Young Justice.

Lyle Waggoner, who originally auditioned for the part of Batman, and Betty White both have cameos in the movie. Some of Waggoner's actual audition tape footage can be seen in the movie. Waggoner ended up landing a role into another DC Comics' TV series: he played Steve Trevor on Wonder Woman in the 1970s alongside Lynda Carter as the title character. Adam West's daughter, Nina West, also has a cameo as a psychotic actress who tries to kill Burt Ward after a one-night stand. This incident is mentioned in Ward's autobiography, My Life in Tights. During the original series, of the four main supervillains (Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and Catwoman), only Riddler never entered the Batcave set; in the movie the Riddler finally does enter the Batcave.

Cast

 * Adam West as Himself
 * Burt Ward as Himself
 * Jack Brewer as Adam West\Batman
 * Jason Marsden as Burt Ward\Robin
 * Lyle Waggoner as Himself\Narrator
 * Frank Gorshin as Himself
 * Julie Newmar as Herself\Arizona Bar Owner
 * Lee Meriwether as Waitress in Diner
 * Betty White as Woman in Window during Batclimb Sequence
 * Amy Acker as Bonnie Lindsey
 * Brett Rickaby as Frank Gorshin\The Riddler
 * Curtis Armstrong as Jerry the Butler
 * Jim Jansen as William Dozier
 * Stacy Kamano as Nghara Frisbie-West
 * Ray Buktenica as Robert Butler
 * Steve Vinovich as Bartender (was a bad guy)
 * Andy Umberger as Sam Strangis (Assistant Director)
 * Joel Swetow as Casting Director
 * Nina West as Burt's One Night Stand
 * Darla Haun as Charity Event Host
 * Julia Rose as Julie Newmar\Catwoman
 * Erin Carufel as Yvonne Craig\Batgirl
 * Nikki Ziering as Lucy
 * Quinn K. Redeker as Vincent Price\Egghead
 * Tony Tanner as Burgess Meredith\Penguin
 * Bud Weston as Cesar Romero\Joker
 * Christopher Darga as Adam West's Agent Lou
 * Ivar Brogger as Doctor
 * Silas Cooper as Wardrobe Man
 * Todd Merrill as Network Executive
 * John E. Goetz as Valet parker
 * Elisa Marchhand as Fem fatale
 * Rory Thost as Hunter
 * Talt Ruppert as Pubilicist
 * Ben Perkins as Fan boy
 * Kelli King as Joneli
 * Heidi Androl as Sexy fan
 * Traci L. Crouch as Secretary
 * Frank Addela as Robin stuntman
 * Steve Bialock as Batman stuntman
 * Bobby Porter as Henchman - Big Joe
 * Scott L. Schwartz as Henchman - Curly
 * Carl Ciarfalio as Henchman - Slim
 * Anthony G. Schmidt as Henchman -Pretty Boy
 * Brian Shakti as Delivery boy
 * Zack Milan as Mysterious Stranger (uncredited)
 * Chris Dawson as Reporter (uncredited)
 * Bryan Hanna as Director\Cameraman (uncredited)
 * Paul A. Kaufman as Network Executive #2 (uncredited)
 * Cesar Romero as The Joker (uncredited\Archive footage from the 1966 movie)
 * Burgess Meredith as Penguin (uncredited\Archive footage from the 1966 movie)

DVD release
Return to the Batcave was released on DVD on May 17, 2005, by Anchor Bay (under license from Fox/Artisan, owners of the special). (Cat. No. DV13084)

It is now out-of print.