Batman: The Animated Series: Christmas with the Joker
We here both love Batman: The Animated Series for a variety of reasons. Namely, because it is one of the finest American animated shows ever (only Disney's Gargoyles comes close) and because it is the best incarnation of the Dark Knight outside of the comics (with the exception of the latest movie, Batman Begins). It's even better than the original Burton movie from the late 80's. They recently started releasing this show on DVD, and the second episode of the first volume is "Christmas with the Joker." The plot of the episode involves the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill) trying to kill everyone in a Christmas flavored scheme unless Batman can find them before midnight. Of course, he throws a bunch of traps and detours in Batman’s way, but it all comes out right in the end. This episode has many wonderful moments, such as Batman mentioning that he’s never seen “It’s a Wonderful Life”, because he could never get past the title. The best moment, though, is the beginning. The Joker escapes from Arkham Asylum, complete his Batman version of Jingle Bells (“And the Joker got away!”)