Every Batman TV show ever, ranked from worst to best

2. Batman (1966)

The word "classic" will never be enough to sum up just how legendary the 1966 Batman TV series is. It's the show that very much saved the Caped Crusaders from a dark demise in the comic books, reinventing the approach to their stories, and cementing them as pop-culture icons for so many generations to come.

Starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, the show brought the Dynamic Duo to television for the first time ever (and, interestingly, remains the only linear live-action TV adaptation of the characters) and it single-handedly brought them into the mainstream as a result. During those early days of its run, Bat-Mania was everywhere and it isn't hard to see why. Batman was unlike anything else of its time, and it thrived because of that.

The show is renowned for its ridiculously campy tone and over-the-top storylines, and it owned that so well. The colorful world of the Caped Crusaders was a vibe (as the kids say) and it kept viewers coming back week after week at the same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel (and has done so countless times in the half-century since its debut). Adam West played the role of Batman with a charm the likes of which will never be seen again, playing the character as direct and serious without ever letting him descend into parody, which is a testament to his skills considering the outlandish world that surrounded him.

It's rare that you get a show that is so very much a product of its time and yet timeless all at once, but that's the enigma that is Batman. All Bam, Smack, and Pow of it.