9.0/102 votes#1 - The Penguin Declines
Season 2 Episode 39 - Aired 1/18/1967
Batman, summoning all the strength he can muster, breaks his chains and frees Robin from the giant clam. The heroes arrange for the Joker's former confederate, Venus, to stay at an apartment while they figure out what to do next. Meanwhile, the Joker has freed the Penguin from Gotham State Prison to continue their crime wave. The Joker tricks Venus into asking Batman to take her to the Batcave. The Dynamic Duo take her to their base of operations (but only after making her fall asleep first). When they arrive, the Joker, Penguin and assorted thugs are revealed to be hiding in the Batmobile's trunk. Batman, however, anticipated this and none of the criminals know where the Batcave is. A figure erupts, with Batman and Robin finally ending the zodiac crimes.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stephen Kandel
9.0/102 votes#2 - The Joker's Last Laugh
Season 2 Episode 47 - Aired 2/15/1967
Counterfeit money is being distributed by respectable citizens in Gotham City. Batman and Robin investigate, and find one of the Joker's lifelike robots substituting for a bank teller. They are certain who is behind the crime. But to get actual proof, Batman plans to visit the villain as Bruce Wayne and trick him into disclosing his operation. When his scheme suddenly backfires, it appears he will instead have to appoint the Joker as Vice Chairman of the Gotham National Bank.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Lorenzo Semple Jr.
8.7/103 votes#3 - Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 9/14/1967
"Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin", is the first episode of Season 3 of the Batman television series', first aired on ABC September 14, 1967 as its ninety-fifth episode. It guest starred Burgess Meredith as The Penguin, and also was the first appearance of Yvonne Craig as Police Commissioner Gordon's daughter, Barbara Gordon, a.k.a. Batgirl.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanford Sherman
8.5/102 votes#4 - The Zodiac Crimes
Season 2 Episode 37 - Aired 1/11/1967
The Joker and the Penguin team up on a crime wave based on signs of the zodiac. The pair, aided and abetted by a woman known as Venus, keep Batman and Robin on the run. The Dynamic Duo manage to capture the Penguin but the Joker remains on the loose. Batman and Robin figure the Joker's next caper will take place at a museum and lay a trap. But the heroes are captured instead. Now, Batman and Robin face almost certain death; the heroes are to be crushed beneath a giant asteroid on display at the museum.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stephen Kandel
8.5/102 votes#5 - Scat! Darn Catwoman
Season 2 Episode 41 - Aired 1/25/1967
Batman agrees to let the Catwoman drug him. But he appears to have a headache and the Catwoman permits him to take an aspirin. After the drug is administered, Batman appears to assist Catwoman on her crime wave. However, the police receive anonymous telephone calls that enable them to pick up members of Catwoman's gang, including the drugged Robin. Meanwhile, the Gotham City police try to trace the hot line to the Batcave. Batman is there with Catwoman. He uses a device that foils the trace. Eventually, Batman reveals he hadn't taken an aspirin but his universal drug antidote that prevented the drug from working. Catwoman tries to flee on top of a warehouse near the Gotham River. Batman is in pursuit and corners her. But, unwilling to go straight, she falls into the river. Has she lost her life, or just one of her nine lives?
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanley Ralph Ross
8.5/102 votes#6 - The Joker's Epitaph
Season 2 Episode 48 - Aired 2/16/1967
The Joker is now Vice Chairman of the Gotham National Bank, due to an unsuccessful plan of Batman's. He installs his robots as tellers, and despite his criminal past, seems to be running things in perfect order. The Dynamic Duo realize they will have to trick him into making a mistake in order to remove him. They go to work on a plan to gain control of his robots. But that plan is jeopardized when, due to an odd turn of events, Batman's true identity Bruce Wayne is declared mentally ill and hauled off in a straight-jacket.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Lorenzo Semple Jr.
8.0/101 votes#7 - Never Put a Genie on a Budget
Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 12/30/1969
New housewife Jeannie goes overboard when Tony puts her on a budget.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Sidney Sheldon
8.0/104 votes#8 - Ma Parker
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 10/6/1966
Now in charge of the Gotham State Pen, Ma Parker and her jailhouse full of criminal cohorts use it as their base of operations. No one suspects jailed prisoners of the crimes, but a clue picked up by Batman and Robin may lead them right to Ma's whereabouts.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Henry Slesar
8.0/102 votes#9 - The Joker's Hard Times
Season 2 Episode 38 - Aired 1/12/1967
Batman and Robin narrowly escape the Joker's death trap and quickly get back on the villain's trail. The villain runs the Gothham City Police Department ragged with his crimes based on the zodiac. Meanwhile, Venus, the Joker's accomplice, warms to Batman. Eventually, the Dynamic Duo again corner the Joker. But, once more, the heroes are captured. Now, Batman, Robin and Venus are chained in a shallow pool with a giant clam. The clam swallows Robin and Batman and Venus will be next on its menu.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stephen Kandel
7.8/104 votes#10 - That Darn Catwoman
Season 2 Episode 40 - Aired 1/19/1967
The Catwoman manages to drug Robin. The junior member of the Dynamic Duo is now the Catwoman's mindless slave. Batman is on the trail of the sultry villain, but he's hampered by the fact he can't harm his partner. Eventually, Batman is trapped by the Catwoman. He's in a giant trap and Robin is cutting the rope that will cause a giant mouse trap to snap on Batman. The Catwoman offers Batman a choice -- die by Robin's hand or agree to be subjected to the same drug.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanley Ralph Ross
7.8/105 votes#11 - A Piece of the Action
Season 2 Episode 51 - Aired 3/1/1967
The Green Hornet and Kato are in Gotham City to bust a counterfeiting stamp ring. Believed to be arch-criminals by nearly everyone, their midnight visit to Colonel Gumm at the Pink Chip Stamps Factory stirs alarm. Even Batman and Robin believe they are out for a piece of the action. Figuring the Green Hornet's goal must be the Gotham Gothic, a rare and valuable stamp, they trail him and Kato to the Pink Chip Stamps Factory. But when Colonel Gumm and his men make giant stamps out of the visiting crime fighters, it appears Batman and Robin will be doomed to the same fate.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Charles Hoffman
7.5/104 votes#12 - The Greatest Mother of Them All
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 10/5/1966
Ma Parker and her delinquent children are pulling off a crime wave in Gotham City. Batman and Robin round up the gang one by one, but when the arrests seem all too easy, the Dynamic Duo suspect something else more sinister may be up.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Henry Slesar
7.5/102 votes#13 - The Contaminated Cowl
Season 2 Episode 35 - Aired 1/4/1967
The Mad Hatter has escaped from prison, and is on a quest to add Batman's cowl to his collection of hats. He attends Gotham City's annual headdress ball disguised as the Three-tailed Pasha Of Panchagorum, and snatches a large ruby off of columnist Hattie Hatfield's headdress. The villain makes a getaway, but not before turning Batman's cowl pink with a radioactive spray. He trails Batman to the Atomic Energy Laboratory, knowing he will have a chance to snatch his cowl when it is removed for decontamination.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Charles Hoffman
7.5/102 votes#14 - The Mad Hatter Runs Afoul
Season 2 Episode 36 - Aired 1/5/1967
What appear to be the skeletons of Batman and Robin are found at Gotham City's Atomic Energy Laboratory, where the Mad Hatter left them to irradiate. Word of their demise spreads like wildfire. With the world busy mourning its loss, the Mad Hatter has no trouble snatching a valuable ruby from the Golden Buddha of Bergama's forehead. However, when rumor spreads that Batman and Robin are still alive, the Mad Hatter's scheme appears jeopardized.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Charles Hoffman
7.3/103 votes#15 - The Funny Feline Felonies
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 12/28/1967
The Joker, just released from prison, teams up with Catwoman. They follow the clues of an ancient riddle to retrieve a nightshirt and an antique crib, which together form a map to a hidden cache of gunpowder which they plan to use for their next crime. Batman and Robin, together with Batgirl, follow their trail, little knowing that they are about to walk right into an ambush.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanley Ralph Ross
7.0/102 votes#16 - Hizzonner the Penguin
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 11/2/1966
The Penguin appears to have gone straight. (Evidently the citizens of Gotham City have short memories; he tried the same trick in season one.) Not only that, he has emerged as the leading contender for mayor of Gotham City, thanks to a little-known provision of the city charter that permits felons to run for elective office. Mayor Linseed, facing almost certain defeat, convinces Batman to run for mayor. This displeases the Penguin, who doesn't want to leave anything to chance. He lures Batman and Robin into a trap and, by episode's end, things don't look good for the Dynamic Duo.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanford Sherman
7.0/102 votes#17 - Dizzoner the Penguin
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 11/3/1966
After escaping the Penguin's death trap, Batman still faces an uphill run to defeat the Penguin in the race for mayor of Gotham City. The Feathered Fiend uses every dirty trick he can think of to ruin Batman's reputation. But the Penguin discovers opinion polls aren't what they are cracked up to be. Still, Batman and Robin will need to subdue the villain before his plot can be put down once and for all.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanford Sherman
7.0/102 votes#18 - Come Back, Shame
Season 2 Episode 25 - Aired 11/30/1966
Shame is back, and is using stolen vehicle parts to assemble a truck so fast even the Batmobile won't be able to catch him. Bruce Wayne tricks him into stealing his limo, which he (as Batman) and Robin use to track down his hideout. But the villain gains the upper hand in the ensuing fight, and the Dynamic Duo find themselves staked to the ground in the path of a cattle stampede.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanley Ralph Ross
7.0/102 votes#19 - Ice Spy
Season 2 Episode 59 - Aired 3/29/1967
Mr. Freeze is back in town, and has plans to build an icy weapon that will have the world at his control. With help from Glacia Glaze, the renowned ice skater, he captures Professor Isaacson and tries to extract the secret formula for instant ice from him. Mr. Freeze then sends his trained seal Isolde to Police Headquarters with a note, demanding Batman deliver a ransom in exchange for the professor. But the frosty villain not only plans to keep the money and the professor, but to terminate the Dynamic Duo in the process.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Charles Hoffman
7.0/102 votes#20 - The Duo Defy
Season 2 Episode 60 - Aired 3/30/1967
Back in his iceberg headquarters, Mr. Freeze persuades the kidnapped Professor Isaacson to build him a thermodynamic ice ray beam. He issues an ultimatum that he will begin freezing the entire country if his demands are not met, then gives a demonstration of his weapon. As the villain works out just what his demands are, Batman and Robin track his seal, Isolde, through an ice-packed Gotham Harbor to locate the villain's hideout.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Charles Hoffman
6.8/104 votes#21 - The Joke's on Catwoman
Season 3 Episode 17 - Aired 1/4/1968
Following a tip from Batgirl, the Dynamic Trio meet up at the Grimalkin Novelty Company, hideout of the Joker and Catwoman. There, they overhear the arch-criminals' plot and secretly trail them to a stash of hidden gunpowder. A careless mistake spoils the villains' evil plan, however, and they are captured and brought before the Gotham City judge. But when the jury seems less than interested in justice, courtroom mayhem ensues.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanley Ralph Ross
6.8/104 votes#22 - Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires
Season 3 Episode 26 - Aired 3/14/1968
Minerva has been using her "Deepest Secret Extractor," disguised as a piece of equipment at her mineral spa, to discover where her wealthiest customers hide their valuables. With this info in hand, Minerva has been able to pull off a string of robberies with ease. When Batman and Robin's investigation is cut short by the villainess, butler Alfred goes undercover to help foil her criminal operations.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Charles Hoffman
6.5/102 votes#23 - It's How You Play the Game
Season 2 Episode 26 - Aired 12/1/1966
With his special truck finished, Shame goes to work on his final caper - the theft of four prize cattle worth over one million dollars. Batman and Robin deduce his plan, but realize they are too late to stop him and too slow to catch him. With little left to go on, the Dynamic Duo employ their "bat-logic" to try to figure out his next move.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Stanley Ralph Ross
6.5/102 votes#24 - Caught in the Spider's Den
Season 2 Episode 56 - Aired 3/16/1967
The Black Widow adjusts her cerebrum short-circuiting device to successfully alter Batman's brain. With Batman powerless to resist, and Robin captured, she disguises herself as the Boy Wonder and brings along a dummy Batman to rob another bank. Commissioner Gordon initially believes Batman is setting a trap for the villainess. But when word comes of the successful robbery, the commissioner puts out an all-points bulletin to bring in the Caped Crusaders dead or alive.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Robert Mintz
6.5/102 votes#25 - Penguin's Clean Sweep
Season 3 Episode 20 - Aired 1/25/1968
The Penguin taints the ink at the U.S. Mint with Lygerian Sleeping Sickness. As word of the infected money gets out, citizens of Gotham City empty their cash right onto the streets - and into Penguin's pockets. But when Bruce Wayne spreads word of the infected bills worldwide, the Penguin realizes his ill-gotten gain is worthless and threatens a more devilish plot if the warning is not retracted.
Director: Oscar Rudolph
Writer: Sam Sherman
Popular searches:
The Best Episodes Directed By Oscar Rudolph
Every TV Episode Directed by Oscar Rudolph Ranked from Best to Worst by Thousands of Voters
Oscar Rudolph Ratings Summary
"The Penguin Declines" is the best rated episode directed by Oscar Rudolph. It scored 9/10 based on 2 votes. It was written by Stephen Kandel. It aired on 1/18/1967 and is rated 0.0 points higher than their second-best episode, "The Joker's Last Laugh".