Joker's Favor

Joker's Favor is the twenty second episode from Batman: The Animated Series. First aired on September 11th, 1992. Written by Paul Dini and directed by Boyd Kirkland. It features the first appearance of the Joker's occasional sidekick, Harley Quinn.

Plot

Charlie Collins, a paper-pushing Gotham City accountant, accidentally runs afoul of the Joker by cursing him out on the highway, after a bad day at work. Pleading for his life, he promises the Joker he will do anything, if he will only let him go. Joker agrees to let him go and makes Charlie promise to do him a favor in return. Two years later, Charlie (who has changed his name to Don and moved to a new neighborhood away from Gotham) receives a phone call from The Joker, who wants Charlie to make good on his promise. The favor is as follows: Charlie must open the door for the Joker, so he can infiltrate a testimonial dinner for Commissioner Gordon and plant a bomb.

Notes

This episode marks Harley Quinn's first appearance (animated or otherwise).
One of the Joker's two henchmen (either Rocco or Henshaw) is shown reading a Tiny Toon Adventures comic book.
Near the end of the episode Charlie says: "Say goodnight Gracie." to The Joker. A reference to the Burns and Allen (George Burns and Gracie Allen) comedy duo, who would end all their routines with this line.
According to the map Charlie looks at in one scene, Gotham City appears to be based on the East Coast around New Jersey. Indeed, Post-Crisis continuity has Gotham in the state of New Jersey. Although on Charlie's license, his address says he lives in "Gotham Estates" in New York.
The note the Joker has that says Charlie has changed his name to Don Wallace lists his address as 12 Marigold Lane Springdale, Ohio a city near Cincinnati, however his area code is listed as 614, which is the Columbus, Ohio area code.

Voices

Actor	Role
Kevin Conroy	Batman/Bruce Wayne
Bob Hastings	Commissioner James Gordon
Robert Costanzo	Detective Harvey Bullock
Efrem Zimbalist Jr.	Alfred Pennyworth
Ed Begley Jr.	Charlie Collins
Mark Hamill	The Joker
Arleen Sorkin	Harley Quinn