Holy Low Ratings, Batman! The Pilot Was Underwhelming
The series that eventually turned into a legendary hit actually started out on a bumpy ride. Adam West revealed in his 1994 book, Back to the Batcave, that the pilot of the show received the worst score from test audiences in television history.
Source: Moviestillsdb.com/ Copyright: 20th Century Fox
Usually, average scores fall in the 60s range, but Batman initially scored in the 40s. As the story goes, the reason for the poor score was because the series was originally meant to be a crime drama. The producers then had to try and improve the bleak test results, so they added the now-famous features of the show, like the laugh track and narration. Looks like silly wins in the end.