Christmas With the Joker

Season 1, Episode 38, Aired

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The Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum in order to host his own deadly TV Christmas Special. He holds the Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock and Summer Gleeson hostage as he plays cat and mouse with Batman and Robin.
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Fan Episode Reviews (8)

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  • One of the funniest and most twisted of Batman epsisodes.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Weezing101, Jan 20, 2011
    I found this episode to be hilarious as a kid. The Joker was just flat out insane and funny. Me and my cousins used to watch this all the time and I still like to watch it every Christmas eve. If you have not seen this episode of Batman the Animated Series then I recommend it, especially if you are a Joker or Batman fan. I personally find this episode quite grim, for the Joker's jokes and ways of torture were cleverly made twisted and sick in a way that would not harm or scare a child. Also, the opening song sang by the Joker was pretty epic. The lyrics were of course "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile lost it's wheel and the Joker got away".moreless

  • This shows the craziness of the Joker. He is a nut!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By lynjs, Mar 18, 2008
    "Christmas with the Joker" is one of my favorite episodes of the Batman series. It is fun to watch because it shows another side to Bruce Wayne/Batman character. We see that even though he tinkers in darkness, he does perform some human stuff like spend Christmas with Robin and eating Christmas dinner. And also it is fun because of the Joker who puts a damper on the holiday season.

    But most folk miss the real deal of the episode. It is not to commit murder and mayhem to run Batman crazy on Christmas Eve. The train crashing and the observatory telescope shooting at the city to hurt folks is just the icing on the cake. Joker's real objective is to just lure Batman in order to throw a pie in his face and laugh about it. It is as simple as that. No more, no less. If people get hurt like on the train, in the city and his hostages, Commissioner Gordon, Bullock and Summer Gleason, so be it.

    His objective is just to get Bats' goat when he can. He is totally obssessed with him. This is a very entertaining episode if one just sits down and actually looks at it with out preconceived notions.moreless

  • It's Christmas time in New York...and the Joker is still causing trouble.

    7.8
    "Good"
    By Agent-Red, Jul 01, 2006
    This is one of the best episodes with the Joker and we get a hint of his psychology as well. Since Christmas is all about family and neighbors gathering around, why else would the Joker kidnapped a family of his own to torture anyway he wants too? Remember, in this version, the Joker is demented due to abuse from his father (JUST this version! They didn't say anything about abuse in the comics).

    I also love the references of "It's A Wonderful Life" and Robin cleverly pointed out about the topic of the film. Indeed, the film was about how one man can make a difference for his city. I also love the comment about Ebenezer Scrooge (well, he sure acted like Scrooge throughout most of the ep).

    This is a well done Christmas episode and who'd best celebrate it with none other then the Joker himself?moreless

  • A good show but doesn't quite live up

    6.3
    "Fair"
    By Darknight57, Jun 02, 2006
    This was a good episode , but doesn't live up to its predessesor "On Leather Wings" the animation can get a little off at times , paticularly a scene in which Batman is using a baseball bat to bat away some of the toys and the Joker isn't used to his full potential , but this is forgivable seeing as how this is his first appearance and the producers probably hadn't quite figured him out yet , plus Mark Hamil is there to bring the role to life. But aside from that it is a good Christmas episode, plus the Jokers plan is a good example to show just how sick and twisted he is.moreless

  • Christmas With The Joker was a great episode definetly one of the best Christmas specials to ever air.For fans who have Batman:The Animated Series Volume One watch them in the order thats given on this site or other sites Batman sites,the same goes with tmoreless

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By JUSTAFANOFTV, May 28, 2006
    I have to tell you the truth I kind of dislike Christmas specials because there always about families,coming together,and happy moments,but this I can make an exeption for because this is not about families or coming together this is about the crazy City of Gotham and how there is never any peace of mind,but only total destruction and mayhem when the Crazy Prince of Crime is on the loose,thats right Joker escapes The Arkham Asylum and go's family hunting,he ends up catching Detective Harvey Bullock,Reporter Summer Gleason,and Commissioner Gordon,then he plans to kill them unless Batman and Robin can stop him.This episode is great because of the Joker and how he wants to destroy a Happy Christmas in Gotham City,also because this episode shows great detective work from Batman and Robin,and you put that all together you got yourself a superb Christmas special.moreless
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  • TRIVIA (6)

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    • The Joker waves goodbye to Charles Manson as he escapes from Arkham Asylum.

    • 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.

    • Among the "audience" is Batman, Robin, Alfred, and others. But how could Joker know about Alfred?

    • 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.

    • 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.

    • This episode introduces the Joker, Robin and Summer Gleeson. It also gives us our first look at Arkham Asylum.

  • QUOTES (5)

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    • Laughy: Bah humbug, I hate Batman and Robin!
      Joker: Then let's get rid of them. (Joker presses a button and blows up the cardboard audience)

    • Joker: Live, from the city, the show that nobody wants to see but everybody will watch!

    • Joker's christmas song: Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg, the batmobile lost a wheel and the Joker-Got-away!

    • Robin:You're gonna love It's a Wonderful Life. It's a great movie.
      Batman: It's not relentlessly cheerful, is it?

    • 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.

  • NOTES (4)

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    • Episode Villain(s): The Joker

    • This episode is episode 2 on the Batman: The Animated Series Volume 1 DVD.

    • 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

    • 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.

  • ALLUSIONS (6)

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    • Batman (1989): In the final confrontation between Batman and The Joker, the conflict ends with Joker falling into a cauldron of liquid that would surely kill him, only to be saved by Batman, who holds him by a limb, thus stopping his fall. This scene is virtually identical to a scene in the 1989 Batman film in which Batman grabs Jack Napier's hand as he falls into a vat of acid, only to lose his grip, watch Napier fall into the acid and become the Joker.

    • The Nutcracker: As Batman and Robin face off against toys that attack them (including giant wooden soldiers akin to the ones in The Nutcracker), several sections of the Nutcracker Suite are played in a modified chord to reflect the tension of the fight. The Nutcracker is a famous story that features toy soldiers and is a Christmas staple in many forms of media.

    • Betty Boop The doll Joker plays with has a similarity to the classic cartoon girl, Betty Boop.

    • 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!"

    • 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.

    • 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.

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