“You have a little danger in your eye. I want to see what you’ll do with that.”
Gotham is the newest in a long line of superhero television shows, joining the ranks of this season’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Arrow, and The Flash. I just got through a binge of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in preparation for Tuesday’s new episode; it really grew on me in the last half, and I can’t wait to see what this season has in store. I’m more of a Marvel person, but Gotham might have been the new show this fall season that I was looking forward to the most. I wasn’t disappointed.
Gotham is going for the grittier Nolan aesthetic, but still manages to get a few jokes in, which I appreciated. A lot of characters made their first appearance tonight, including fan-favorite villains and some more obscure characters from the pages of DC Comics (at least to this relative comic newbie). Fish Mooney, Jada Pinkett-Smith’s awesome crime boss, is a character invented specifically for the show, and I can’t wait to see more of her. The show portrays a Gotham before the superheroes and villains take over; this is more of a cop show right now than anything, and thus newly-promoted Jim Gordon is our main character.
The episode begins with the murder of Bruce’s parents, kicking off the origin story of everyone’s favorite brooding dark knight. Gordon and his partner Bullock are assigned to investigate this murder, but the case quickly gets out of hand because of who the Waynes are. The acting is top-notch from everyone involved, and I was pleasantly surprised by the show overall. I’ll definitely be tuning in next week, and I can’t wait to see what avenues the show explores.
Watch Gotham at 8pm EST Mondays on FOX.
Nerdy But Flirty 
I watched the pilot, I’m unsure if I like it yet. Nice review.
Thank you for reading! 🙂 I’ll have a review of episode two up after it airs on the east coast!
I enjoyed it as well. My daughter is demanding more proto-Batman, proto-Catwoman content, which entertains me. (She loves Selina Kyle skulking about…)
I was surprised by the friction between Alfred and Jim Gordon, but I really liked it. They both represent father-figures to Bruce Wayne (with Gordon actually ending up more of a father figure to Batman, being the father to be more or less rebelled against, but who is always supportive. Okay, maybe that’s Alfred too… but he’s more acquiescent to Master Wayne’s wishes…)
Thank you for reading, Patrick! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I hope that Selina gets more involved soon! It would be great to see her interacting with Bruce. I didn’t think of the father figure angle, but you’re totally right. This Alfred seems more brusque than the usual characterization.