About Batgirl
History
Batgirl entered the Batman TV show in 1967 in order to try to freshen up, and save the series as it was in danger of being cancelled as its popularity had been declining at the end of its second series.A 10 minute promo was created to introduce the Batgirl character into the Batman show in 1967 to make her appearance in the third series. ABC liked the idea, but unfortunately her appearance couldn't save the Batman series and sadly the Batman TV show ended in 1968 with Batgirl appearing in 26 episodes.
Batgirl
Stats/Facts :Height: 5'4"
Eyes: Green
Weight: 109 lbs.
Hair colour: Brown (Her red hair was extensions/fake)
In reality Batgirl really is Barbara Gordon, the daughter of the Police Comissioner Gordon. She lives in a cool apartment in Gotham City, her apartment number is 8A but I've never heard the address mentioned in the TV series. Barbara Gordon also works at the Gotham City Library.
The only person who knows she's Batgirl is Alfred (Bruce Wayne's butler). Batgirl is not related to Batman or Robin but she aids them in crime-fighting. She drives a purple Batgirl Cycle around the streets of Gotham City. Introduced in the episode, "Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin" (first aired September 14, 1967), in which the Penguin planned to gain immunity from the law by marrying the police commissioner's librarian daughter, Yvonne Craig's Batgirl had no judo or karate skills, no photographic memory, nor even actual red hair. She still managed to give Gotham's underworld a hard time, however, usually with a well-placed fan kick and effectively turned TV's Dynamic Duo into the Terrific Trio.
Yvonne Craig
"When they called me and asked if I would like to do Batgirl in the Batman series, I was very interested. I had been looking around for a series. When I went into Mr Doziers office, he said 'And of course you've seen our show' and I said that I hadn't but tyhat I would watch it all summer long in re-runs if I get this job because I need to know how it looks and how I fit in. He didn't seem offended by that at all."Yvonne was born on the 16th May 1937, in her early life before her television carrer she was trained to be a ballet teacher. She gradually moved into acting during the 1950s. Before appearing on television she starred in a few films including; "The Young Land, The Gene Krupa Story, and High Time. She even played alongside Elvis Presley in "Kissin' Cousins".
During the mid-1960s Yvonne moved from film into television, where in 1965 she appeard in "The Man from U.N.C.L.E". More famously she played as "Marta" (a green skinned Orion) in the third series Star Trek episode entitled "Whom Gods Destroy" in 1968. Of course, she played Batgirl from 1967-68 on "Batman's" last season which came to be her most famous role.
Batgirl back on her feet after 23 years in DC comics reboot
Fans lament end of paraplegic storyline as DC Comics announces all 52 of its series are to revert to issue number one
Yvonne Craig as Batgirl in the US TV series: the superheroine is to regain the power to walk after 23 years. Photograph: The Kobal Collection
Holy broken bones! Barbara Gordon, the original Batgirl character paralysed from the waist down in a dastardly deed by the Joker, is to rise again - 23 years after she lost the ability to walk.
In September, DC Comics will reboot the Batgirl storyline and begin the series again from issue number one. In the process, the superheroine will miraculously regain the power of her legs.
The last time she walked was in 1988 until the Joker targeted her in an act of vengeance against Batman and her father, Commissioner Gordon. In Batman: The Killing Joke, he shot Barbara, rendering her paraplegic.
The decision to give her the ability to walk again is part of a move by DC Comics to reignite public interest in its publications. All of DC Universe's 52 comic book series will go back to square one, allowing their writers to invent new storylines in tune with the modern day.
Among the changes will be a redrawn Superman who will no longer sport red pants worn outside his blue skin suit.
The first black character wearing Batman's cap and cowl will also be added to the stable. The character will not be a fully-fledged black Batman: instead, Batwing will be a spin-off creation who, according to bloggers, will inhabit the fictional African city of Tenasha.
The reinvented storyline that is likely to capture most attention, however, is the return of the walking Barbara Gordon. After she was reintroduced in 1989 as Oracle, she featured in the comic Birds of Prey, which was made into an ill-fated TV series.
In that role, the wheelchair-bound Gordon's intellectual brilliance was put to use as a hacker fighting crime in cyberspace. Two other characters have since donned the Batgirl mask.
The decision to turn one of the most renowned female superheroes into a paraplegic was regarded at the time by some comic fans as misogynistic, although many came to appreciate one of the few prominent disabled characters in popular culture, and will now regret her disappearance. As one fan, Lance, put it on a comment in a comic blog: "What has me upset is how unnecessary it was to remove Oracle from the DC Universe.
"She represented too much to have the void be ignored, even more so since this is happening when DC is claiming to increase the amount of diversity in its books. Unless Oracle is still present, it says that people with disabilities aren't cool enough."
The writer of the new series, Gail Simone, said she was aware of the controversy likely to surround the revival of Batgirl's mobility but that the downside would be more than balanced out. "She's been removed from the action and danger for a long time. With this relaunch, she is still very much Barbara but she can reclaim part of her history and legacy with modern stories."
• This article was amended on 17 June 2011. In the original we reported that Barbara was shot in the back. This was removed as it was incorrect.#
No comments:
Post a Comment