Christmas with the Joker
| "Christmas with the Joker" | |
|---|---|
| Batman: The Animated Series episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Kent Buttersworth |
| Written by | Eddie Gorodetsky |
| Original air date | November 13, 1992 |
"Christmas with the Joker" is the second episode of Batman: The Animated Series. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 13, 1992. It was written by Eddie Gorodetsky and directed by Kent Butterworth. Although this was the first produced episode of the series to feature the The Joker, the series aired six previous Joker episodes.
On Christmas Eve, The Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum using a rocket hidden inside Arkham's giant Christmas tree, using the tree to blast through the roof as he is attaching the tree topper.
Batman and Robin begin patrolling Gotham City to search for Joker. Robin is skeptical this particular patrol is worthwhile, opting to relax and get into the holiday spirit at Wayne Manor, stating, "Its Christmas Eve! Even scum spend the holidays with their families", to which Batman responds, "He has no family." After finding Gotham to be uncharacteristically peaceful, the Dynamic Duo return to Wayne Manor to watch It's A Wonderful Life (a film Bruce has never seen because he "could never get past the title.") when they discover that Joker has gotten control all of the all the television waves. He announces that he is going to broadcast his assault on Gotham City as a Christmas special. Joker is speaking to a "live" studio audience consisting of cardboard cutouts of Gotham's various public servants, including Batman and Robin. Joker tells the camera that because he does not have a family of his own to spend the holidays with, he has decided to steal one. His family, "The Awful Lawful Family", is made up of a hogtied Commissioner Gordon, Summer Gleeson, and Harvey Bullock. Joker tells the camera that if Batman isn't able to track him down by midnight, he will kill the three hostages.
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