Greetings Bat-Fans! I know it’s been a while since my first BTAS review, but I couldn’t resist waiting until Christmas to share this holiday themed episode with you. Unfortunately, it’s not that good!
The plot is simple; On Christmas Eve, the Joker hi-jacks all the TV networks in Gotham, and airs his own holiday special, Christmas with the Joker! He kidnaps Commissioner Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and Summer Gleason to be his own special Christmas family, and tells Batman and Robin that unless they finds the hostages by midnight, they won’t have a very merry Christmas.
The Good:
The actual plot, while not original or overly interesting is an enjoyable game of cat and mouse. However, I would definitely recommend watching it at Christmas time, because I always enjoy it more that way. It will fall flat almost any other time of the year.
Batman has a great line. Robin says that they should watch It’s a Wonderful Life. Bruce replies by saying he’s never watched because he “could never get past the title.”
Mark Hamill is, and always will be the voice of the Joker. They could not have gotten a more perfect actor for the role!
The Bad:
The animation! Holy crap does it look awful! The first episode looks amazing, and then this one, the second, looks terrible! Even when Joker laughs, he looks like a caricature of himself! It’s painful to watch at some points!
This episode feels way less serious than the previous one, and the ones to come. That’s not bad, but it feels very inconsistent. There’s some very lame humour in this episode. At one point, Batman picks up a baseball bat, and hits robotic toy planes with it, making him a ‘Bat-Man’. Hahaha old joke, not really funny. It feels like it’s aimed more at kids.
You would think that the first Joker episode would be awesome, and exciting, this episode is not a good way to introduce Batman’s greatest foe into the series.
Trivia/Random Points of Interest:
This episode it the first appearance of Robin as well. Robin appears very randomly throughout the series, one episode he's there, the next he’s not. But we do learn later that he’s in college, so it makes sense. Here we can assume he’s home for the holidays.
This episode also marks the first appearance of Renee Montoya, but only as a cardboard cut-out in Joker’s audience.
What the heck is Operation Cause and Effect? Joker rigs an old observatory telescope to become a cannon and fire at Batman and Robin. Batman tells Robin to perform “Operation Cause and Effect.” But all Robin does is throw a bomb at it!
I love Joker’s little Charlie Brown kind of Christmas tree in the background.
How can joker use candy canes as gags for his hostages? He takes them out to get them to speak so it’s not like they’re glued or something. You would think that maybe they would spit them out!
It seems the whole point of Joker’s scheme was to give Batman a Christmas present pie in the face.
Overall:
This episode almost needs two scores. One if you watch it during the holidays, and one if you watch any other month of the year. The episode is really just a light hearted Christmas themed romp through Gotham City. If you watch without expecting more than that, you’ll probably be able to enjoy it. In the spirit of giving, I’ll be generous with the episodes score.
BTAS: Christmas with the Joker:
Next episode; the introduction of The Scarecrow. Be here for it…if you dare!
Reviewed by Caleb
