Q: Will the "Batman" TV series from the '60s finally be coming to DVD?
A: There were hopes among the fans of the Adam West-Burt Ward series in 2012 when 20th Century Fox, which owns the TV show, and Warner Bros., which owns Batman generally, worked out a deal for merchandise tied to the series. But a representative of Warner's DVD / Blu-ray operation told me recently that "We don't have any plans at this time" for a DVD release. As the Comics Alliance website noted at the time of the merchandising deal, rights issues are "an absolute nightmare."
"The sheer amount of guest stars and cameos over the course of three seasons causes a legal headache," said the Alliance analysis, "as does the fact that there's a separate set of rights for the design of the classic Batmobile — which is why it's one of the few things you can find a licensed product of. Throw in disputes between the production companies, the involvement of ABC, the clearances for music and a bunch of contracts that were signed 20 years before home video was even a concern for Hollywood, and you've got a pretty thorny situation."
