| 12-14-1967 | "KattWOman's Dressed to Kill" |
Eartha Kitt as "KattWOman..."
After Newmar's unavailability the producers, rather than giving up on one of the most popular characters, re-invented her... While obviously being sexy, KattWOman was at the same time de-sexed from Batman, as though they had no prior history together... Whereas Newmar possessed a playful threat, Kitt was "all work," hell-bent on committing crimes in a more threatening / ruthless manner... She embodied The Dominatrix without the teasing interplay, perhaps due to her race and the taboo on inter-racial action still in effect at the time... Kitt looks great in the costume, she's mean & vicious, but ultimately it's still Eartha Kitt making believe she's CatWOman and achieving no substantial Femmenomena...
What Kitt does have that Newmar never did was the chance to bitch up BatGirl, something she does with relish...
Batgirl being the focus and Batman being relegated secondary is never more obvious in the KattWOman eps where it seems she doesn't know Batman and has a reservoir of resentment for BatGirl...
Thanks to Starman* for the large vidcaps...
High
C writes: "WOmWAm believes that Eartha
Kitt’s version of CatWOman, a.k.a. KattWOman, was more frightening in nature
than erotic. I disagree, and would say she was a little of both, but still a
fascinating Femme.
As noted, the attitudes toward
race relations of that time precluded the producers and writers from
continuing with the Bat/Cat sexual tension that had pretty much defined
Julie Newmar’s character. From a human standpoint, that’s unfortunate. From
a show standpoint, it wasn’t all that bad. Newmar’s CW reached her zenith in
terms of evil in her very first storyline, as she showed she would discard
henchmen as if they were socks as she plotted and planned to have a fortune
in stolen booty all to herself and her
own incredible booty. That was in the first season, which was a bit noir-ish
to begin with.
By the second season, CW had morphed into a love-struck teenager, except, in her case, she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to kill Batman or go to the prom with him. While this recurrent storyline provided some great moments, it also became monotonous, as the character’s evil nature often was lost, except for scattered classic FemmeDom moments. Please understand I’m blaming the producers and writers, not JN. She could nail any interpretation of CW she was asked to, as she did with the ruthless CatWOman of season 1.
So without having to work in the sexual tension and attraction to Batman, KattWOman was pure evil, an unapologetic dominatrix who was quite serious. Kitt wasn’t mugging for the camera or winking at the audience. Her villainess was single-minded in her pursuits, most of which involved humiliating Batgirl before sending her to a grisly death. I suppose maybe I appreciate the character because, in that respect, she’s similar to Lorelei Circe, The Siren. LCTS also is uninterested in a relationship with Batman, and is all business in her criminal endeavors. She, like KattWOman, isn’t playing for fun."