This pilot episode looked to me like “some FOX exec watched Arrow and decided he wanted one of those, too”. It’ll take me a few more episodes to decide if that’s a good thing or not. I like Arrow plenty, but a large chunk of that is the past-and-present mystery spin with all the what-happened-on-the-island stuff. Gotham doesn’t seem to have an equivalent giant mystery hanging around. It does have the same “familiar but slightly different so there’s still some surprises” comic character usage, which I like. We’ll see if the writing hangs in there well enough to be watchable.
I like the cast but I kind of wish this wasn’t on a typical network. This pilot suffers the same way most big channel pilots suffer, no pacing or subtle as they feel the need to jam everything imaginable into the first episode without any nuance whatsoever. But again, Gotham isn’t alone in this sin.
A really typically inept pilot due to the boxes it probably had to check off, but hoping the great cast and slower pace of regular episodes allows this to shine.
How did no one tell me that Donal Logue was in this as Bullock?
I don’t really need Jim Gordon or the rogues gallery. Just give me Donal Logue in Bullock: The Series.
That dude’s in everything, and he’s usually awesome in it. Last thing I saw him in was the now-cancelled Copper and he played a real villain.
Yes, it felt very small town/set. Every villain happens to be around town in some form, and part of Gordon’s life, within the same first day. And linked together.
I bet the butler did it.
The girl they got to play young cat woman looks like she walked directly out of a Ninja Theory game’s cut scene.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a netflix show? I don’t see it on Netflix anywhere.
Netflix bought streaming rights, but that’s for after the broadcast season is over. Expect it on the service next summer at earliest.
Ah, of course - Thanks.
Good second episode, I thought. The interplay between Gordon and Bullock continues to entertain, but I was particularly impressed with the actress who played Selina Kyle. Casting top to bottom on this show has been very good so far.
I enjoyed it as well. Annoyed by the “homeless kids” that looked like they stepped right off a suburban schoolbus, but that’s just one of my pet peeves about television in general. Would it be so hard to put a little dirt on their faces and make them up with some matted, dirty hair? Overall, though, good fun crime-drama with a side of comic book geekery…exceeding my expectations to this point.
Well this is unexpectedly awesome.
Great casting, what with a surprisingly youthful Russell Crowe as Jim Gordon and pitch-perfect looks and characterization for all the major villains crowded into the cupboard. The look of it out-Snyders Snyder, with great cinematography and art design generally, particularly with the use of CGI to fill in Gotham. It’s very comic-ey, in a good way.
I must admit, I still don’t even, but I’m definitely hooked.
Actually, maybe I do even … just as not seeing the monster in a horror movie is often better than seeing the monster, there’s a peculiar sense in which the way the dark, deco atmosphere is set up sort of sets Batman’s “size” in one’s mind, like he’s a looming presence in the background, and one gets the feeling that if they ever did get to the point where Bruce grows up and dons the cowl, he’d be the best goddamn Batman ever portrayed on screen, because the doomy weight of what he’s up against has been well established.
Is it just me, or is Robin Taylor (The Penguin) channeling Crispin Glover?
Another great thing about this show is the fine line between it walks between the whacky vibe of the original Batman tv series (e.g. Balloonman this episode) and the grimdark Snyder-esque feel. Really quite clever.
And I’ve just realized, with a slap of the forehead - it’s obvious. This format allows them to luxuriate in developing a whole roster of supervillians over time. It’s a treasure trove, and without much that’s very fixed in the canon re. the supervillain origins, they can really take it wherever they want. Penguin is developing nicely: the mixture of smarts, fear and sudden, insane violence is just right for the character.
Wait, you guys are saying Gotham is actually good? I haven’t been watching.
My stupid cable feed was out last night until the episode was 3/4 over, grrrr. I hope it’s on Hulu or something in a couple of days. Of course, there’s always Usenet. ;-)
Yup, great actors, actor interaction, script, cinematography, art design, story. I’ve been caught on the hop by it because I expected it to be pure shite and didn’t understand the purpose or function of such an animal.
Turns out it’s a great popcorn tv show with the most genuine comic book feel of anything I’ve ever seen on tv, and only barely seen on film.
It even has Batman in it, well, a very young (and amazingly handsome kid - i.e. perfect looks for the role) Bruce Wayne starting on the path to becoming Bats, coming to terms with his trauma, and being parented, in a slightly prickly relationship, by an actor doing a refreshingly different take on Alfred.
And as I said, it’s obviously going to take its time and have fun with the origin stories of all the Batman villains. We’re seeing the origins of the Penguin now, which I think will probably stretch over a good part of this season.
I checked, and my DirecTV DVR has automatically recorded the first 3 episodes because they fit my taste profile. I have to admit I really like that feature, since sometimes missed episodes aren’t available On Demand, and On Demand often sucks because it’s in letterboxed SD and you can’t skip commercials.
I’ll check it out. I’m not sure what my wife will think, since she’s not into the comic book stuff. But the credits do mention Donal Logue, and she likes him.
It’s totally worth it, Gus. From discussions in other threads, I think it’s safe to say that you and I have similar tastes. I love Gotham so far, and I think you will too.
I like Donal Logue but became a big fan after watching the series Terriers, which unfortunately ended way too early. Anyway he is excellent and well cast as Bullock. You dont need to be a comic book fan to like the series, in spite of all of the connections, but it does help. The main star of the series is Gotham itself, as the show is about how the city falls so low as to actually need someone like Batman to save it. That journey is being shown through the eyes of the young, somewhat naive, rookie detective, Jim Gordon. Try it out, its pretty good.