Original artwork, not a still
The narrator's cliffhanger sign-off, Batman (1966)
Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!
— Batman • 1966
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The line turns a TV schedule into part of the story: the Bat- prefix, the gravely serious narrator and the ludicrous promise of tomorrow all sell the show's deadpan camp. It outlasted the series as the standard way to sign off anything serial, from podcasts to office emails, and it is still said by fans when they promise to be back at the same time.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for BatmanShow the scene
The sign-off belongs to Batman (1966), which ran on ABC as two half-hour parts a week: a cliffhanger on Wednesday night, the resolution on Thursday. At the end of each cliffhanger episode an uncredited narrator, executive producer William Dozier himself, promises that viewers should tune in tomorrow, at the same Bat-time and on the same Bat-channel. The series opened on January 12, 1966, with that two-part structure, and the phrase recurs at the close of nearly every first-half episode through the three seasons.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Batman (TV series)Overview section, narrator paragraphReference checked
- Wikiquote: Batman (TV series)Series header, recurring phrasesReference checked
Context reviewed
