Batman vs Lost in Space

Don’t bother with the Riddler and King Tut to eliminate Batman. Try monsters instead.

That was the master plan of Arch Producer Irwin Allen.

Batman aired on ABC opposite Allen’s Lost in Space on CBS. Eventually both shows got so silly their audiences disappeared. But, for a while, it was real serious ratings battle.

Here’s a story from the TV Key service that began appearing in papers around April 2, 1966. It goes into how some of the alien creatures were designed for Lost in Space. Whether they were cooler than the Batmobile, you’ll have to decide.

'Batman' Competition Confident Monsters Figure In Rating Battle By CHARLES WITBECK
HOLLYWOOD—While TV's winter wonder, "Batman," clobbers its opposition "Lost in Space," "The Munsters," "The Virginian" and "Daniel Boone" small whimpers from the wounded are heard in the enemy camp. Herman Munster sounds like a bleating sheep.
Only the "Lost in Space" people appear to have any confidence in outlasting the Cowled Crusader and Boy Wonder, for their spies optimistically report kiddies under 12 prefer the weird monsters and the Robinson family in outer space to the far-out absurdities on the comic book series.
"We have no doubt about 'Lost in Space' surviving against 'Batman,' bravely asserts assistant producer Paul Zastupnevich, the man who designs and constructs the marvelous mutant monsters, plants and machines on the Wednesday night space show. Perhaps Paul is the pigeon, but somebody has to stand up and fight back, even if the rebuttal has a hollow sound.
Taking a poll on the kids in his block, Paul says "Lost in Space" is regaining its hold on youngsters after "Batman's" opening bombardment. The novelty is wearing off after the first two weeks. Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but Paul believes he has reason on his side.
"STRANGE AS IT may seem, our space villains are quite realistic compared to these comic book characters," he explained. "We may be far-out, but we do relate to current space ideas.
The robot is a good example of fans' fascination with the series, Paul believes. "Children love that robot," he says. UCLA college students have gone so far as to adopt the metal marvel, and the show term, "does not compute," apparently is a favorite with high school and college students. While nobody is fascinated by the weekly wooden dialogue, it is an accepted basic ingredient.
The main interest in "Lost in Space," lies in the imaginative flora and fauna seen each week on the planet, wonders created and constructed by the talented special effects crew under producer Irwin Allen, who also turn out the slick gadgetry for "Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea."
Either Allen, Zastupnevich or special effects artists dream up the imaginative creatures which quickly appear on a drawing board in the sketch department. Two or three days later, the creature or plant has been constructed and is ready for filming.

AT THE MOMENT Zastupnevich is working on a man fish for an upcoming episode, a creature who must have gills and wear a fish head. "These underwater sequences are tricky," says Paul. "You just can't put an actor into a fish costume and throw him into the water. You have to construct a costume so the actor is able to regulate his buoyancy; he must be able to get rid of the necessary weights around his body in a hurry.
"Secondly, he needs an air hose, because we can't shoot him with a bulky air tank on his back. If the actor used a tank, air bubbles would result and ruin the whole effect. At the moment, we'll probably have the actor work a minute under water and then come up for air."
Most of the outer space monsters are merely camouflaged humans. The one-eyed, part mineral part vegetable-part animal, giant, Paul's favorite creature so far, was portrayed by the huge Los Angeles Ram defensive end, six-foot, sin-inch Lamar Lundy.
"We have to use actors inside our weird costumes," says Paul, "because our monsters must breathe and throw rocks and be able to move around easily. Lundy was a splendid choice."
GIVEN THE one-eyed monster assignment, the assistant producer first visualized his giant with an artichoke body, but he couldn't make up his mind as to the most pliable kind of material. Walking around the 20th Century Fox prop shop. Zastupnevich picked up a piece of palm tree pulp and absently began to knead it with his fingers.
The pulp began to feel like hair, and this gave him an idea. He sanded the stuff and worked it over again. The palm tree pulp held together by adhesive tape would be just right for the giant's skin. Out went the artichoke idea.
Next, Paul made a plaster cast of the monster's head, then applied a mixture of palm and adhesive to the giant frame. This was followed by inserting the single eye which rolled back and forth when Lundy tilted his head.
Not all the "Lost in Space" creatures require such time and trouble. When small space horses were called for in the script, Paul merely attached plastic horns to the animal's heads. For faceless genies, the assistant producer swathed cloth around a model, then sprayed the whole thing with adhesive.
"You can easily get carried away on some of these projects," Paul pointed out. "But you have to think about the actor inside. He must be able to see and breathe."
Like the live two-footed actors, "Lost in Space" monsters must also have doubles and triples in case of unforeseen casualties, rips or tears. So far the doubles have been so much excess baggage, but they can always be used for future space episodes ones where Allen can cut down on the budget.
But there'll be no budget cutting now with the Batman war on. Obviously, more imaginative monsters will take to the battlefield. "And put us in color," added Zastupnevich. “Then we can fight on even terms."