I Visit Famous TV Locations on Filming Location Vacation
Do you remember the awesome sequence where the Batmobile emerges from the mysterious Batcave? Well, I've found it, the site where the scene was filmed... and it was kind of a dud.
Childhood Fantasies
Did you grow up watching the 1966 Batman television series? Wasn't it awesome? According to Wikipedia, television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked Batman as the 82nd greatest American television show of all time.
One of the best scenes involved Batman and Robin emerging from the Batcave in their mighty souped-up Lincoln Futura. Back in the day we thought this was a big deal.
Fact Finding Mission
Just last week I embarked on a search of filming locations from my favorite episodes of Star Trek. One such location was Bronson Caves about three miles outside of Hollywood. Several Star Trek episodes, and even one Star Trek movie were filmed at Bronson Caves. They include:
- Star Trek: The Original Series "Bread and Circuses"
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - the Klingon prison asteroid scenes
- Star Trek : The Next Generation "Darmok"
- ...and an episode of Star Trek: Voyager that I don't care about
Other Notable Appearances
The site was used for countless westerns and movies from the 50s and 60s. It was even used briefly as the site for an episode of the 1980s "Movie Macabre" featuring Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
Perhaps its most significant claim to fame, though, would be its role as the entrance/exit of the hidden Batcave.
Now for the Bad News
Do you know that feeling you get when you finally meet a celebrity and they're not at all the way you imagined? I had that experience with Nancy Wilson from the band Heart. Well, that's the feeling I had when catching a glance at the Batcave.
As It Looks Today
As you can see from my photo below, taken on May 17, 2021, the Batcave doesn't look anything like it did on TV. Behold! - the secret lair of the enigmatic Batman and his faithful companion, the Boy Wonder.
Well, that's it, the awe-inspiring Batcave. I know, it's all theater-of-the-mind. With that having been said, seeing the bat cave in its "real ego" was something of a letdown.
I drove over 800 miles to see this. I'll save you some gas money and some wear and tear on your tires. The photo directly above will suffice. Save yourself the trip.