No One Does Christmas Quite Like Batman
Merry Christmas, everybody. Castellani doesn’t like to take days off at this point, and considering I don’t expect much news to break in the world of sports, I figured I’d take the time to write about something I know a lot about, and that’s Batman. I’ve written before about how I think "Batman: The Animated Series" is one of the definitive versions of the Caped Crusader. Not only is it one of the best portrays, but I would argue it’s the most important. It did lay the template for many future interpretations of the character, and the late Kevin Conroy is the voice many people think of when they think of Batman. The show didn’t have a ton of holiday-themed episodes. A few other shows in the series took place around the holidays, but this was the most Christmas-centric episode of the entire series.
Mark Hamill, as the Joker, is front and center here. Like Conroy as Batman, many people associate Hamil as their version of the Joker. It's a truly brilliant portrayal. More often than not, this series tried to ground itself and some sense of reality, which is why the opening scene of this episode, which features the Joker flying out of Arkham Asylum with a Christmas tree rocket, is so beautifully over the top and hilarious. I love what other live-action versions have done with the character of the Joker. Still, since Heath Ledger's undeniably charismatic portrayal, we've gotten away from the fact that the Joker is supposed to be funny. He's sadistically funny. Nobody else might laugh at his jokes, but he can be a silly goose when he wants to. Hamill captured that so perfectly. 
The premise of this episode is very simple. It feels like something straight out of the comics. The Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum and kidnaps three prominent figures on Christmas, including Commissioner Gordon. It's Batman and Robin's job to bring them to Justice. I've never been a huge fan of Robin as a character. I know there are multiple versions of Robin, but I've never been crazy about bringing him into live-action because the character is a bit dated. With that said, having him and Batman alongside each other on a Christmas adventure is a great idea. Batman has no time for bullshit. There's a great joke early in the episode where he admits he's never watched "It's A Wonderful Life" because he couldn't get past the title. That's funny to me. These two have a buddy-cop dynamic in this episode that's pretty charming. 
As one would expect with a Christmas episode, this is not nearly as dark or deep as some other entries in the series. It's still filled with the Joker's twisted humor. I always appreciated the show for not talking down to the children who watched it, but it's meant to be taken pretty lightly. No one is an actual danger here. For what it is, it's a whole lot of fun. You could tell Mark Hamill was having the time of his life playing this role every time he stepped into the recording booth.
In the last two years, we've lost Arleen Sorkin, the iconic voice of Harley Quinn, and in November 2022, we lost Kevin Conroy, the definitive voice of Batman. One of the great things about media is that it allows us to preserve people's legacies uniquely. "Batman: The Animated Series" is something that I grew up watching. I look forward to showing it to my kids one day if I'm fortunate enough to have them. Christmas is many things to different people, but to me, it's about hope. People need hope to know that somebody has their back. It helps us sleep at night. Hope brings us comfort, and nobody understands hope quite like the Batman. Merry Christmas, everyone. Be good to each other.