Here are things that you may need to know before we move forward. The first five minutes of the show are literally something that you have already seen before – Bruce Wayne’s parents got killed in a robbery gone wrong, young Selina Kyle the child thief and young Jim Gordon as the man whom we know will be Batman’s sidekick. Then and again, that is 12 years into the future. What you probably did not know is probably Gordon’s “lackadaisical” partner Harvey Bullock. But what you should know are the differences between this and the one in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
It is entirely unfair to compare an apple and a pear. The good thing is that the Gotham’s pilot episode shows a tremendous rich production value that most TV series cannot afford. While the pilot episode by David Cannon (Nikita) and writer Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) occasionally got trapped in the loop of standard procedural drama running mill, the genre is almost too cozy to settle in – or probably not for some (understandably). It is easy to guess where will the second act leads us to but considering the circumstances in the hands, the show evidently has more theories and conspiracies to run almost for itself. It is a good thing as the production team can easily nickpick one of them and runs on a long term investment.
Almost every frame of the pilot spells Batman and the writings are pretty clear on the wall. You see, once the gate opens, the pilot takes every opportunity to flood the scenes with Easter eggs and cameo appearances by Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Falcone. Ben McKenzie's take on Gordon is pretty accurate. Interestingly, Jada Pinkett Smith impresses with a new character in the series, Fish Mooney but her over-the-top performances can be more than a distraction at times. But among the flooding of possible antagonists, Robin Lord Taylor’s impersonation of Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin seems to be the biggest winner of all. He truly fits and dazzles in that role. Guys, we are looking at the first mega villain in the making.
With so much to offer, the series has a lot of potential and directions to go forward. It is not entirely easy to root for Gotham. But the bigger question is, will Gotham make use of the all the cards in the deck to truly build up something big and epic in the end? I think it can be done, but it will definitely need time to set things in proper perspective and directions for the future goals or in this season, at least. So, Gotham is just another procedural drama that holds back on its conspiracy cards but, will truly works if it expands as well.
Rating: B
It is entirely unfair to compare an apple and a pear. The good thing is that the Gotham’s pilot episode shows a tremendous rich production value that most TV series cannot afford. While the pilot episode by David Cannon (Nikita) and writer Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) occasionally got trapped in the loop of standard procedural drama running mill, the genre is almost too cozy to settle in – or probably not for some (understandably). It is easy to guess where will the second act leads us to but considering the circumstances in the hands, the show evidently has more theories and conspiracies to run almost for itself. It is a good thing as the production team can easily nickpick one of them and runs on a long term investment.
Almost every frame of the pilot spells Batman and the writings are pretty clear on the wall. You see, once the gate opens, the pilot takes every opportunity to flood the scenes with Easter eggs and cameo appearances by Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, and Falcone. Ben McKenzie's take on Gordon is pretty accurate. Interestingly, Jada Pinkett Smith impresses with a new character in the series, Fish Mooney but her over-the-top performances can be more than a distraction at times. But among the flooding of possible antagonists, Robin Lord Taylor’s impersonation of Oswald Cobblepot aka Penguin seems to be the biggest winner of all. He truly fits and dazzles in that role. Guys, we are looking at the first mega villain in the making.
With so much to offer, the series has a lot of potential and directions to go forward. It is not entirely easy to root for Gotham. But the bigger question is, will Gotham make use of the all the cards in the deck to truly build up something big and epic in the end? I think it can be done, but it will definitely need time to set things in proper perspective and directions for the future goals or in this season, at least. So, Gotham is just another procedural drama that holds back on its conspiracy cards but, will truly works if it expands as well.
Rating: B
