This 1966 television series ran for three seasons. Despite the short run, it is one of the most well-known of all TV shows. During Season One it was hugely popular. "At the end of Season 3 ABC planned to cut the budget by eliminating Chief O'Hara and Robin. Their idea was that Batgirl could become Batman's full-time partner. Both creator William Dozier and star Adam West were firmly opposed to the idea, voicing their concerns to ABC. A short time later, after 120 episodes and a spin-off movie, the show was canceled.
The producers then began shopping the series around to see if any other network were interested in picking it up. After several months, and having given up hope, sets were destroyed and the Batcave was bulldozed. Typically, two weeks later NBC expressed an interest in continuing the series! Initially unaware that the set had already been dismantled, and then unwilling to invest in the high cost of rebuilding, NBC ultimately decided to not acquire the series" - an absolute travesty!
(Borrowed from http://www.warpedfactor.com/2015/03/25-things-you-might-not-know-about.html) A great article with a lot of information.
The show starred Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin. According to Ward, the creators of the series wanted Dick Grayson to be the all-American boy. Naive and wholesome, with plenty of energy. Interestingly enough, the screen test for West and Ward reveals a far more serious tone to the one used in the show. You can view this screen test, along with a screen test for the two other actors who auditioned for the role, at the bottom of this page.
The show seemed to find the happy medium... a comedy for adults and a hero flick for youngsters. It still has a huge fan following and since Warner Studios obtained the rights to release merchandise in 2012, its popularity has continued to grow. I, for one, have spent a fortune on it!
In the first and second season, each story comprised two half hour episodes, the first episode in each pair ending in a cliff hanger. During the third season there were huge cutbacks and episodes were only one part.
This is where my first love of Dick Grayson came from... which I am sure is the same for many fans.
For detailed information on individual episodes, including summary, review, screen grabs and video grabs, scroll through the list and click on the episode title.