TV on the major networks is so horrible now, particularly during prime time 8-10pm. I think they've actually given up, because the cable subsidiaries to the majors are actually showing some really good stuff, stuff I'm not ashamed to talk about. But on the networks you see shit like 2 hours of Deal or No Deal, not just once a week but 3-4 days a week.

There's been a lot of talk recently about the fragmentation of television audiences due to the onset of digital media (like our show).  So a show in the 80s like "MacGyver" pulled like a 20 on the Neilsen ratings scale, and be considered very popular.  And Heroes today dominates it's TV block with like a 10.
That being said, nobody really thinks that Neilsen ratings are that great to begin with.  

Oh definitely, but the show was wildly popular too. Celebrities were tripping over each other to get cameos, and I'm sure agents and publicists were all over Batmans producers to get their people roles. If the show had had terrible ratings you'd have never seen that many stars. The Lucy shows were like that too. Occasionally you see a show get insanely popular nowadays, and the same thing happens. 30Rock, Boston Legal, and ER, for instance. But I dont know if any show came close to what Batman did.

It's funny how the hollywood business model was different back then, actors were still considered employees under general contracts like Sammy Davis Jr, and not as much like the free agents of today.  That's why there were so many weird cameos, the actors contracts' had to be honored by the studios.  So many appearances in popular shows, etc.  

The sheer quantity of celebrities and top rung stars that appear in the Batman series is nothing short of incredible. Its only a shame the show itself was so horrible. I watched them as a kid when they were new, and then as syndicated repeats with much love. But now I cant watch them at all, its just too dumb.