9. Batman (1966 – 1968)
The game-changing Batman TV series entertained audiences on ABC for three years between 1966 and 1968. It has gone down in history as an important part of the Dynamic Duo’s legacy, making them household names to mainstream audiences. It was also incredibly comic-accurate for the time, featuring all of the foes avid readers had come to know and love.
What the 1966 version of Gotham City lacks in visuals it makes up for in content, because even though we don’t see many eerie cityscapes or much outdoor scenes, you still can’t help but feel like Gotham is alive because of the way it is portrayed. It’s much more colorful and comical than any of the other iterations, but that’s what sets Batman and its movie counterpart apart from the rest of the pack. Yes, there were budgetary limitations but this classic adaptation made the most of it and found a way to make it work for it. The result was delightful.
8. Titans
Titans toyed with the idea of Gotham City for a long time, taking us there for a dream sequence in its season 1 finale. However, it finally took us there for real in the third season, as the heroes had to unite to take down the Scarecrow. And it worked for Titans really well, perhaps even handing the series it’s best season as a result.
The eerie visuals were perfectly at home in the gritty show. Titans was no stranger to dull alleyways and dark cinematography, so Gotham needed to look different. It pulled it off well, with the high quality production giving it a cinematic feel and a larger-than-life presentation that you don’t see on TV shows all that often.
It isn’t as Gothic as it appears in the comics, but it isn’t just any old city either. Titans found the perfect blend, and with The Scarecrow’s reign of terror, Nightwing’s familiarity with the city, and the emergence of Red Hood, it was the perfect setting for season 3.