You know the right jingle…
What They Say:
The Joker challenges Batman to find him and the three important citizens he’s kidnapped.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
One does wonder if this show was made today in this form whether it would have a lot more Joker episodes in it than it does. I grew up with the Joker in the comics so I was always familiar with him but with just getting random comics it wasn’t a character I saw a ton of. And I liked that this series used him infrequently overall when, after the 1989 Batman film, they could have used him every few episodes and you’d understand why easily. This episode is interesting in that we finally get one where both Robin and the Joker are in it together and both the writer and director, Eddie Gorodetsky and Kent Butterworth respectively, only worked on this one. Most of the creative worked on multiple episodes in various configurations but this was a one-off for both of them,
Like a lot of Joker episodes, the initial focus is the absurdity of his escape from Arkham Asylum on a jet-powered Christmas tree and it’s just as goofy as you’d want. For Batman, this is naturally a serious situation and doubly so as he’s got Robin with him and Robin is focused on just getting this done so they can have a nice Christmas dinner together. It’s actually amusing in that the time that they’re out on patrol results in there being nothing for them to actually do and the things that Batman sees at first are actually positives and not negatives. Which makes Robin happy since that means they can get back home to Wayne Manner and have a pretty good evening as Dick, being Dick, is excited to watch It’s A Wonderful Life as part of his own holiday tradition – just in the Wayne Manor theater. Of course, that doesn’t go to plan because The Joker has taken over the broadcast in a most delightful way – and getup.
The broadcast side is a lot of fun as Joker has Gordon, Summer Gleeson, and Bullock all tied up and wearing goofy costumes while he verbally taunts Batman by setting the trap for him. There are a few layers to this with a train that’s being targeted as well and creative bad choices for Batman and Robin to have to deal with and the Joker even comes up with a sidekick of his own, Laughy, which is just a face painted on his own hand. The episode is a pretty good cat and mouse kind of piece with our duo doing their best to get closer to the Joker while he’s comically one step ahead most of the time. It’s not a big ending when you get down to it, but half the time you know that the Joker escapes just to have fun during a particular period, like Christmas, with no long range or cunning plan at work. He’s just tormenting Batman because it’s what brings him joy.
In Summary:
I’m not much for holiday-themed shows and those are ones that will more often than not use someone like the Joker for it, so it’s a mixed bag. Mark Hamill certainly has a lot of fun with it and his performance is spot on. I was glad to have more time with Robin in the series as he’s so awkwardly used over the course of it so that you can never be sure if he’s actually a part of the overall property until he does show up. This episode is more goofy and silly fun in big ways as it uses all the Christmas themed elements and it does it well. It’s just not my thing overall even as it hits on a lot of key aspects of both the Joker himself and the dynamic with Batman.
Grade: B
