The Penguin TV Series

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

A very tiny taster of the Colin Farrell series. Not sure if Oswald’s been on a diet since the flick, but this bird feels leaner and meaner…

[TheOtherTed]

I'm surprised to find myself typing this, but based on this one trailer, I'm tempted to sign up for HBO Max.  Catch Joaquin Phoenix's "Joker," finally watch "Game of Thrones" (albeit with low expectations, but, hey, I need the nerd cred), and have "The Penguin" to look forward to.

 

Nevertheless, it breaks my small, cold, fish-loving heart to know that we'll likely never hear anything like Burgess Meredith's signature Penguin laugh again.

 

 

[Techwright]

18 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

A very tiny taster of the Colin Farrell series. Not sure if Oswald’s been on a diet since the flick, but this bird feels leaner and meaner…

Still have to see The Batman before I go this route.  I will say, ever since the trailer for that movie I've been astonished at the transformation of Colin Farrell into the role.

 

Oh, and hey!  IMDB reports that Clancy Brown is playing Sal Maroni, one of the other big boss names in the non-powered Gotham underworld.   Release the Kurgan!

 

6 hours ago, TheOtherTed said:

Nevertheless, it breaks my small, cold, fish-loving heart to know that we'll likely never hear anything like Burgess Meredith's signature Penguin laugh again.

 

It's iconic, isn't it?  Meredith says he came up with it as a cover for his irritated throat due to smoking. 

[ThaOGDreamWeaver]

50 minutes ago, Techwright said:

I will say, ever since the trailer for that movie I've been astonished at the transformation of Colin Farrell into the role.

 

Without spoilering the movie, Farrell is unrecognisable beyond the eyes - it's a full physical transformation in terms of body posture, attitude, absence of trademark tics. The prosthetics are... just fractionally back from being cartoonishly gross - I've met and had to bat off similarly structured guys realtime - yet allow him the full range of expression and movement. It's stunning work by both actor, crew and director, made richer by the fact that he's not the Big Bad of the flick - which allows him freer reign of possible loyalties and plot movement.

 

In this trailer we see quite a lot of range in 90 seconds for this character, plus the ever-fabulous Shohreh Aghdashloo and yes, Clancy Brown. I have something to say... Per Wikipedia, the makeup has been adjusted to allow for even greater range of movement and definitely feels more firmly on the side of reality than the flick did. (Though from the before/after looks of things, if Pengy ever brought out a diet book, he'd never need to commit a crime again).

 

7 hours ago, TheOtherTed said:

Nevertheless, it breaks my small, cold, fish-loving heart to know that we'll likely never hear anything like Burgess Meredith's signature Penguin laugh again.

 

 

It still weirds me out that the Bat-villains were all these top-name actors of their day - the regular crew, plus serious guest stars like Vincent Price - having a massively good time. It's like Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Sofia Vergara showing up on The Aquabats Super Show! or something (who, to be fair, HAVE had some fairly serious guest stars.)

 

I also still want to know how this thing came about - presumably Burgess was late on set one day...?

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by ThaOGDreamWeaver

[Techwright]

17 minutes ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

 

It still weirds me out that the Bat-villains were all these top-name actors of their day - the regular crew, plus serious guest stars like Vincent Price - having a massively good time. It's like Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix and Sofia Vergara showing up on The Aquabats Super Show! or something (who, to be fair, HAVE had some fairly serious guest stars.)

It's not unlike the who's who in the modern Ocean's 11 movie franchise, just a lot campier.

 

As to why "top-name actors" were on a waiting list to play roles or have window cameos during the wall crawls,  Burgess Meredith himself says:

"It was a riotous experience. Everyone had a good time working together. We got to do an awful lot of ad-libbing. Mine usually came when the Penguin would insult Batman by calling him 'Batboob' or Bat-this' or 'Bat-that,' which made acting in the show additionally enjoyable. " 

Even top-billing loves to have a good laugh.

 

For me, it was weird seeing American 1920s radio and music star Rudy Vallee acting on camera and as a Brit (Lord Phogg).  Well, that, or narcissistic bully Otto Preminger as Mr. Freeze.  Yikes!

 

Trivia note:  The "top-name actors" element continued literally right to the end.  They made 2 animations canonical to the TV show.  The last thing Adam West worked on was Batman vs. Two-Face, something they'd always wanted to do for the 60's show, but left out, feeling that badly-scarred Two-Face was a bit too scary for the show's target audience.   When it finally was made, they brought in another 1960's top actor, William Shatner, to play Two-Face, and even drew the character to resemble Shatner of the late 1960s.  Really great touch.

[TheOtherTed]

3 hours ago, Techwright said:

Meredith says he came up with it as a cover for his irritated throat due to smoking.

 

Gotta love actors who own the role whatever the setbacks  (and directors who give them room enough to do it).

 

3 hours ago, ThaOGDreamWeaver said:

I also still want to know how this thing came about - presumably Burgess was late on set one day...?

 

Possibly, but I also imagine that waddling around a set all day would not be easy on the feet.  I wouldn't put it past a set crew in those days to slap paint on a couple of go-carts and present them to him as much for comfort as for fun.

 

Total side note:  My brain thinks of the 1960s as the "Silver Age" of TV, but having googled it, I find that "those who know" think the Silver Age is... well, now.  And that the Golden Age was in the 1990s and early 2000s.

 

Sorry, Jackie Gleason, but you've been de-throned.