Writer:	Eddie Gorodetsky
Director:	Kent Butterworth
Star:	Bob Hastings (Commissioner Jim Gordon),  Kevin Conroy (Bruce Wayne / Batman)
Recurring Role:	Robert Costanzo (Detective Harvey Bullock),  Loren Lester (Dic Grayson/Robin),  Mari Devon (Summer Gleeson),  Mark Hamill (Joker)
Guest Star:	Clive Revill (Alfred Pennyworth)

This marks the Fifth Appearance of Robin/Dick Grayson (edit) This episode, along with "The Laughing Fish" was released on VHS as The Adventures Of Batman & Robin: The Joker. Later it was paired up with the VHS The Adventures Of Batman & Robin: Fire & Ice (consisting of "Deep Freeze" and "Fire From Olympus") on DVD.

It was also released along with "On Leather Wings", "Nothing To Fear", "The Last Laugh" and "Pretty Poison" on the DVD Batman The Animated Series: The Legend Begins (edit) This was the second episode produced, but the 38th to air. All the DVD releases of this episode have it as being the 2nd episode of the series. (edit) The present Summer opens is a Betty Blooper doll. Perhaps the name comes from Betty Boop. (edit) The Joker waves goodbye to Charles Manson as he escapes from Arkham Asylum. (edit)

Joker: Live, from the city, the show that nobody wants to see but everybody will watch! (edit) Joker's christmas song:
Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg, the batmobile lost a wheel and the Joker-Got-away! (edit) Robin:You're gonna love It's a Wonderful Life. It's a great movie.

Batman: It's not relentlessly cheerful, is it?
(edit) Robin: Ok, I'll make a deal with you. If we go out on patrol, and Gotham is quiet with no sign of the Joker, we come back here, have Christmas dinner, and watch It's a Wonderful Life.
Batman: You know, I've never seen that. I could never get past the title. (edit)

In this episode, the Joker sings a song about Batman on the tune of Jingle Bells.

"Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin lays and egg, the batmobile has lost a wheel, Joker got away"

This is exact song also sung by Bart Simpson in an episode of The Simpsons. (edit) Among the "audience" is Batman, Robin, Alfred, and others. But how could Joker know about Alfred? (edit) Okay, there are a lot of weird inconsistencies all throughout the episode (like the observatory telescope becoming a cannon??), but one of the more obstinate goofs occurs inside the Laffco toy factory. When Donner and Blitzen open fire on Batman's cloak, we see that it's riddled with bullet holes. However, when he puts it back on, there are no holes. (edit) When the Joker is shooting his television program a shot of the audience is shown. The audience is of cardboard people. Among the people shown are show regulars Commissioner Gordon, Officer Renee Montoya, Batman, Mayor Hill, Robin, Alfred, Harvey Dent and Harvey Bullock. (edit) This episode introduces the Joker, Robin and Summer Gleeson. It also gives us our first look at Arkham Asylum. (edit)

Betty Boop

The doll Joker plays with has a similarity to the classic cartoon girl, Betty Boop. (edit) When Joker escaped from batman's grip he ran and said "Run run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Joker man!"

This is a reference to The Gingerbread Man fairy tale, in which the gingerbread man said "Run run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm The Gingerbread Man!" (edit) Numerous references to It's a Wonderful Life, the ever present Christmas movie. At the end of the episode, it even shows the two church bells and "The End," which also appear at the end of this movie. At one point during the episode, Robin mentions that "[the movie] is about how much difference one person can make" and asks Batman if that sounds familiar. (edit) Robin: He could give lessons to Scrooge.

Ebenezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol is a fictional story about an old and bitter man, who undergoes a profound experience of redemption when he is haunted by ghosts on Christmas Eve. (edit)