#87 Batman - Knightfall (BBC)

Batman Knightfall offers the usual BBC high standard of good acting and sound production. In this department producer Dirk Maggs shines. However, if this is any indication, the Batman comic franchise has fallen on hard times in the writing department. Knightfall is a fine production but could have been great if only a better story had been chosen for dramatization. With such a rich heritage of great Batman comics it's hard to comprehend why this particular story was selected or even created. Unless you're a die hard Batman fan this one may not connect with you. For those who enjoy the relaunch era of DC Comics with its more grim and violent tales this Dark Knight adventure may be right down your dark and sinister alley. 

As a point of interest Bob Kane's creation of Batman was inspired by Zorro the masked hero of Spanish California. In the movie Batman (1989) starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger there is a scene that takes place in a movie theater. The movie showing on the screen is The Mark of Zorro (1920) starring Douglas Fairbanks. You will also find three Zorro audio dramas listed on this blog: The Mark of Zorro, Zorro and the Pirate Raiders, and Zorro Rides Again. 

From the BBC:

In this thrilling radio drama, Batman has been crippled by his fiercest foe ever: Bane, a villain of superhuman strength, cunning and evil. '...Dirk Maggs, who wrote and produced, threw everything into the pot and stirred vigorously. The result was richly textured, highly flavoursome, original and wonderfully energetic ...' "Daily Telegraph." Gotham City is reeling from the shocking news that Batman is confined to a wheelchair. Who will now protect the innocent from the dangerous inmates of Arkham Asylum, whom Bane has released? A new hero - Azrael - takes up the mantle of the Bat. But Azrael is a more brutal Batman than Bruce Wayne, and far more eager to punish the guilty than to protect the innocent. Will he destroy Gotham City in order to save it? This fantastic full-cast adventure stars Bob Sessions, Michael Gough, Peter Marinker and Kerry Shale, and it comes from the renowned producer Dirk Maggs.

http://www.amazon.com/Batman-Knightfall-CD-BBC-Audio/dp/0563510994