Gotham

Gotham chronicles the life of a young Bruce Wayne growing up and young detective Jim Gordon as they take on a corrupt Gotham City. I though Gotham did a great job at building the world of Batman as he grew up and before he actually became Batman. Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) and the villains were all the real stars of this show. The only weak link is the actor who played Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz). He just doesn't come off as someone who can play a tough guy or beat people up, quite the opposite actually. All his fight scenes were just so unbelievable. But overall the show is very good and worth watching!

Gotham has long been the TV show many like to pick at, its first season, while compelling was mostly a mundane origin tale. Happy to report that since that time, the show has evolved into something really special. Lavish, atmospheric set pieces, great performances and a constant drift from episodic story arcs are just a few qualities to love about this show. Moreover it does justice to many comic book characters that everyone knows. While it does face some tonal inconsistency and gets the villain-of-the-week treatment on occasion, at least it builds its characters and does proper justice to them.

I must say, if you have an...average opinion of season 1, I don't blame you. The show was decent, good at times but it lacked continuity and it had way too many "Villain of the week" scenarios and all the side story lines were seen as irrelevant mostly.

Now after watching a few episodes of Seasons two, I can say that just the first episode is way better than maybe the entirety of season 1 ( maybe a stretch but I just think it's amazing ). So if you are done with Gotham after the first season, please give it a go as I feel that the makers of this series have injected some new life into it and it shows in every episode so far.

A crime drama about the rise (and falls) of Detective James Gordon in the years while Bruce Wayne grows into Batman, told in parallel from the angle of Gordon himself, from the angle of young Wayne, as well as from the angles of important players of the Gotham underworld.

Initially a combination of gangster and buddy-cop genres, as convincing and realistic as possible for the DC universe, the series later grows into an SF superhero (or supervillain, as they are in majority and much more fun) madness with countless plots and subplots. However, although it may be a bit over-the-top, the series does not lose its direction and not a single ark remains incomplete.

The complex multi-layered story, which does not get lost in its complexity, brings us the origins stories of Penguin, Riddler, Joker, Catwoman, and many other well-known characters of the Batman universe, and introduces some new, equally good ones. The strongest asset of the series is the great variety of compelling characters with excellent characterization (no black-and-white division between good and evil) and the evolution of their relationships. The cast is top-notch, and I especially have to single out the wicked and sexy Jada Pinkett Smith, the best Penguin ever played by Robin Lord Taylor, Cory Michael Smith as Riddler, and Cameron Monaghan as the Joker whose creepiness is unlikely to ever be matched, let alone exceeded.

8/10.

As a pretty engaged Batman fan (I read the comics, played the heck out of the Arkham games, saw all the movies, the first Animated Series and I even play the tabletop miniature game) I was apprehensive about this show.

After all, what could be good about a Batman show without Batman? Not to mention the fact that all the rumors mentioned different takes on characters, etc?

I tried it anyway... and I'm glad I did!

There is an awful lot to like here. First of all, the characters are interesting: interesting enough to make you forget all about Batman! You root for Gordon, you're annoyed at Bullock, Fish gives you the creeps and Penguin... let's just say he's moved up in my favorite villains list (and he was near the bottom, let me tell you!).

The acting is great (again I must mention Penguin) and while some have said it's over the top... maybe it is, but it's never distracting and fits within the universe that we're presented with.

As I mentioned above, the series has its own take on the universe - you'll soon recognize certain characters, even though they're introduced in ways that are different than what you knew from the comics - and yet, even as a seasoned Batman fan, I was never bothered by the differences and enjoyed the fresh perspectives on familiar characters.

Also, don't worry about the writers shoe-horning in characters, just to get them on screen. Every character I've seen makes sense within the series.

The first season (which I'm basing this review on) has overarching plot lines, but occasionally has "freak of the week" episodes. I was never bored, though (as I regularly was when watching Flash or Arrow) and it's obvious the writing went towards longer plots when it was clear the show was doing well. It never steeps to "cop show" levels, which is an achievement.

Finally, I must commend the "atmosphere" of the series. It all feels very "Gotham", including the shots of the city skyline, the sets, the extras... it all comes together feeling very Batman, without actually having Batman in the mix...

Do I have any criticism? Not really, no. I would love it if they do a Batman series to tie into this one... there's so much they could work with.

Go see it and enjoy it!