Beware the Gray Ghost
- Episode aired Nov 4, 1992
- Unrated
- 22m
Batman connects a string of bombings to an episode of the old television series "The Gray Ghost", and seeks the aid of the show's washed-up star in deducing the bomber's identity.Batman connects a string of bombings to an episode of the old television series "The Gray Ghost", and seeks the aid of the show's washed-up star in deducing the bomber's identity.Batman connects a string of bombings to an episode of the old television series "The Gray Ghost", and seeks the aid of the show's washed-up star in deducing the bomber's identity.
- Batman
- (voice)
- …
- Summer Gleeson
- (voice)
- Gray Ghost Narrator
- (voice)
- The Mad Bomber
- (voice)
- (as Bruce W. Timm)
- …
- The Gray Ghost
- (voice)
- …
- Video Store Owner
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe character Simon Trent who played the Gray Ghost on the old TV show is voiced by Adam West who played Batman in Batman (1966). The plight of character Simon Trent is a close parallel to real-life actor Al Hodge, who starred in the popular 1950s TV show Captain Video and His Video Rangers (1949), but died in 1979 in both poverty and obscurity. Bob Hastings's younger brother Don Hastings played Captain Video's sidekick the Video Ranger on the series.
- GoofsIn the first shot of the Chelsea Arms apartments, the neon 's' in 'Chelsea Arms' is burnt out with an 'a' and an 'r' flickering. In a following scene, the 's' is functioning.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Bruce Wayne: [presenting a "Gray Ghost" video to Trent] Could you make it out to Bruce?
Simon Trent: [signing the video] Here you go, Bruce!
[Wayne starts to leaves, then turns and looks at Trent]
Bruce Wayne: You know, as a child I used to watch it with my father. The Gray Ghost was my hero.
Simon Trent: Really?
Bruce Wayne: [quietly to Trent, in a familiar tone] ... and he still is.
- ConnectionsEdited into Bat-May: Beware The Gray Ghost (2020)
Other than some terrorist plot line which really isn't that important by it's nature it's really a clothesline for the character drama which is what really powers the episode. I really like the character Adam West plays whom your really feel a sense of pathos for; I also can't help but feel some of this story might actually be based on some of his own life considering what happened after the 60s Batman was over and what he did afterward, this also made me think about a lot of other actors whom are now out of the limelight.
West's character is a man whom use to have fame as an iconic hero but then somewhere along the line has fell out of the spotlight; and just like the hero he's use to play he has been forgotten as well. I'll admit one scene that was just heart sinking was seeing him destroy some of the memorabilia he's kept and cry, believing everything he's done has amounted to nothing, the hero and the ideals he portrayed and believed in in fact believed himself to be he feels are worthless.
Bruce/Batman we see is doing everything to keep both the actor but most of all the hero and the ideology alive. It's interesting seeing Bruce/Batman for once not just solving crimes but actually saving someone having a crisis in faith which I find a refreshing change of pace. The back and forth between both Bruce/Batman and West is just fantastic and touching, because it two Batman's from two different generations in the same room together.
But the really touching moments were seeing how far Bruce's fandom of "The Gray Ghost" really goes. From a flashback scene when we see Bruce as a young child watching the show while both his parents were still alive which is part of why that show is sacred to him because it a relic that represents a time when his childhood still had light, his parents where still alive and there was love. As well as a scene where we see Bruce/Batman have a private collection of Gray Ghost memorabilia, showing not just the extent of his love for the franchise but how much an important part of his life and how infuentional it is to him.
The episode isn't just about believing once more but also about the importance of fandom. This episode is in a really a love letter to the Batman franchise in general and the fans that have keep it alive throughout the years.
The Batman franchise has been a important part of my life, the first time I've even seen Batman was the 60s Batman with Adam West and I remember having a blast with it the first time I saw it thinking as a kid it was an exciting escapist actioneer seeing costumed men fight costumed villains. I still have fun watching that show, I watch it more like a comedy as anyone would watch shows like "Red Dwarf", "The Simpsons" etc; but that just made me love the show even more enjoyable because as I got older I found new things about it; which just shows why the franchise keeps giving.
But I have seen the two Tim Burton films read and collected the comic series and they've been influential to me because they taught me important lessons about the importance of standing up against evil, to never fear it, never let it or anyone bring you down, to fight by any means necessary to not just defend yourself but defend others as well. It also inspired me to strengthen both my mind and body, that one can become something much more. As well as influence a bit of my writing.
As Babe Ruth once said, "Heroes are remembered by legends never die."
Rating: 4 stars
- hellraiser7
- Sep 28, 2017