Episode
Batman: The Joker's Hard Times
Overview
Batman and Robin narrowly escape the Joker's death trap and quickly get back on the villain's trail. The villain runs the Gothham City Police Department ragged with his crimes based on the zodiac. Meanwhile, Venus, the Joker's accomplice, warms to Batman. Eventually, the Dynamic Duo again corner the Joker. But, once more, the heroes are captured. Now, Batman, Robin and Venus are chained in a shallow pool with a giant clam. The clam swallows Robin and Batman and Venus will be next on its menu.
Details
- Series
- Batman
- Season
- Season 2
- Episode
- Episode 38
- Air date
- 1967-01-12
- Runtime
- 25 min
Episode context
The Joker's Hard Times is Episode 38 in Season 2 of Batman. It aired on 1967-01-12. The runtime is 25 min.
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Episode 37: The Zodiac Crimes
The Joker and the Penguin team up on a crime wave based on signs of the zodiac. The pair, aided and abetted by a woman known as Venus, keep Batman and Robin on the run. The Dynamic Duo manage to capture the Penguin but the Joker remains on the loose. Batman and Robin figure the Joker's next caper will take place at a museum and lay a trap. But the heroes are captured instead. Now, Batman and Robin face almost certain death; the heroes are to be crushed beneath a giant asteroid on display at the museum.
Episode 39: The Penguin Declines
Batman, summoning all the strength he can muster, breaks his chains and frees Robin from the giant clam. The heroes arrange for the Joker's former confederate, Venus, to stay at an apartment while they figure out what to do next. Meanwhile, the Joker has freed the Penguin from Gotham State Prison to continue their crime wave. The Joker tricks Venus into asking Batman to take her to the Batcave. The Dynamic Duo take her to their base of operations (but only after making her fall asleep first). When they arrive, the Joker, Penguin and assorted thugs are revealed to be hiding in the Batmobile's trunk. Batman, however, anticipated this and none of the criminals know where the Batcave is. A figure erupts, with Batman and Robin finally ending the zodiac crimes.
More episodes from this season
Episode 36: The Mad Hatter Runs Afoul
What appear to be the skeletons of Batman and Robin are found at Gotham City's Atomic Energy Laboratory, where the Mad Hatter left them to irradiate. Word of their demise spreads like wildfire. With the world busy mourning its loss, the Mad Hatter has no trouble snatching a valuable ruby from the Golden Buddha of Bergama's forehead. However, when rumor spreads that Batman and Robin are still alive, the Mad Hatter's scheme appears jeopardized.
Episode 40: That Darn Catwoman
The Catwoman manages to drug Robin. The junior member of the Dynamic Duo is now the Catwoman's mindless slave. Batman is on the trail of the sultry villain, but he's hampered by the fact he can't harm his partner. Eventually, Batman is trapped by the Catwoman. He's in a giant trap and Robin is cutting the rope that will cause a giant mouse trap to snap on Batman. The Catwoman offers Batman a choice -- die by Robin's hand or agree to be subjected to the same drug.
Episode 35: The Contaminated Cowl
The Mad Hatter has escaped from prison, and is on a quest to add Batman's cowl to his collection of hats. He attends Gotham City's annual headdress ball disguised as the Three-tailed Pasha Of Panchagorum, and snatches a large ruby off of columnist Hattie Hatfield's headdress. The villain makes a getaway, but not before turning Batman's cowl pink with a radioactive spray. He trails Batman to the Atomic Energy Laboratory, knowing he will have a chance to snatch his cowl when it is removed for decontamination.
Episode 41: Scat! Darn Catwoman
Batman agrees to let the Catwoman drug him. But he appears to have a headache and the Catwoman permits him to take an aspirin. After the drug is administered, Batman appears to assist Catwoman on her crime wave. However, the police receive anonymous telephone calls that enable them to pick up members of Catwoman's gang, including the drugged Robin. Meanwhile, the Gotham City police try to trace the hot line to the Batcave. Batman is there with Catwoman. He uses a device that foils the trace. Eventually, Batman reveals he hadn't taken an aspirin but his universal drug antidote that prevented the drug from working. Catwoman tries to flee on top of a warehouse near the Gotham River. Batman is in pursuit and corners her. But, unwilling to go straight, she falls into the river. Has she lost her life, or just one of her nine lives?
Episode 34: The Catwoman Goeth
Though Batman escapes the Sandman's trap, Robin is left to wander in a deadly maze. A clue leads Batman to Catwoman's lair, where he informs her of Sandman's plans to elope with J. Pauline Spaghetti and keep her fortunes to himself. Enraged by the Sandman's trickery, Catwoman sets out after him. Batman, with the now-rescued Robin, also follows, and the group meet up at Spaghetti's old deserted pasta factory.
Episode 42: Penguin Is a Girl's Best Friend
As a front for his next crime wave, the Penguin forms a motion picture company. He teams up with Marsha, Queen of Diamonds, and gets Batman and Robin to take part in his movie. Marsha attempts to put Batman under her spell with drugged lipstick during the love scene, and filming at the Gotham City Museum of Antiquities turns out to be a good cover for the Penguin to snatch some ancient armor. Moreover, when the fight scene turns out to be all too real, the Dynamic Duo are captured and tied to a giant catapult about to be sprung.
Episode 33: The Sandman Cometh
Catwoman and the Sandman have teamed up, and they're after the fortunes of J. Pauline Spaghetti, a rich insomniac. Catwoman pulls a publicity stunt, getting the Sandman (under the guise of "Dr. Somnambula") an invitation to Spaghetti's penthouse - and her financial records. Batman and Robin investigate the situation, but soon find themselves trapped by the criminals.
Episode 43: Penguin Sets a Trend
In order to keep a close eye on the Penguin (and hopefully locate the stolen chain mail armor), Batman and Robin rejoin Penguin's movie efforts. The next part of his film is to take place in medieval times. Therefore, Penguin has the Dynamic Duo dress in armor suits, but only to trap them with a giant magnet while he snatches top-secret papers from the Hexagon. Batman and Robin free themselves and follow the villain, but after a losing battle with him, the Penguin has them hauled off as scrap metal to be crushed.
Episode 32: The Duo Is Slumming
The Puzzler continues with his plan to hijack Artemus Knab's new airplane, the Retsoor, all the while leaving puzzles behind for Batman and Robin to ponder. He familiarizes himself with the jet's designs, then prepares to fly his prize to a foreign country where he will hold it for ransom. But the Dynamic Duo have an easier time with his clues than he expected, resulting in a climactic confrontation at the airplane hanger.
Episode 44: Penguin's Disastrous End
Batman and Robin get back on the Penguin and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds', trail. Several escaped lizards lead them to the villains' hideout, where they find the stolen chain mail suits. Remembering an earlier clue from the Penguin, they head to the federal subtreasury to find that the Penguin, Marsha, and their cronies have broken into a vault containing ten million dollars in gold bullion. The Dynamic Duo shut the vault door on the criminals and try to prepare for every breakout scenario, but the Penguin has a daring plan of escape that no one could have counted on.