Batman Prequel "Gotham" Greenlit: Fox

[RedMileDJ]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Did they really need to introduce every Batman character and villain in the first episode??

I was ticked off that they already showed the death of Bruce's parents. Come on...you can't even wait until a few episodes in?

Originally Posted by GirlySports

i thought Barbara was the daughter.

Hey, I thought Alfred was English...

WTF are these writers thinking? I get that you're trying to give your own spin, but stay with the source material and don't change the basics of well known characters.

[To Be Quite Honest]

First off I'm completely bias to the DC Batman universe...

I really enjoyed the pilot. This show is a HUGE undertaking and the open is showing us that this won't be just a monster of the week episodic series. The production is fantastic and the visuals surpass Marvels Agents of Shield, but that has always been the difference between DC and Marvel. DC modern era has always been a darker character driven story line while Marvel has been lighter using comic relief to carry the story. Both are good and entertaining in their way.

The pace was a little quick, but for all they included it was quite impressive! The network gave them 49 mins to tell the story so they got 7-8 extra minutes to wrap up the pilot.

The characters
Detective James Gordon played by Ben McKenzie - No handsome porn stash yet... He plays a straight arrow pretty well. His go to is the clenching of the teeth and I wonder if that's due to is jaw line. Gordon has always been black and white so it will be interesting to see how this plays through. What will he be forced to do (on top of the execution style hit)? Gordon has always been a bit one dimensional and that could get tough to watch in a story that they are trying to tell.
Detective Harvey Bullock - Donal Logue played by I have been a fan of this guy for awhile as I've previously stated. Bullock will be one of the interesting characters to watch and this is a huge get for Logue. Bullock is a survivor. Some episodes he's gooing to be the villain and te next the hero and he's always been a character of substance. He's incredibly flawed and Logue has this character down. I'm going to enjoy watching this.

Alfred Pennyworth played by Sean Pertwee - We have seen Sean in many roles and most of us would say "Oh, I recognize him." He's very talented but as the saying goes, always the bridesmaid and never the bride. He is a very busy actor as you can see from his IMDB but he hasn't been a real leading man. This part could change that! It looks like the producers are moving away from the proper English butler a little bit. We didn't get to see much yet but I hope they don't steer too far from that traditional role. I've always had a soft spot for the well mannered surrogate parent.

Fish Mooney played by Jada Pinkett Smith - The last time I remember her acting was in the Matrix. I guess she did some voice work but her acting is few and far between. She plays a bad### well however! This is the only character that was created exclusively for the series. I see why as Carmine Falcone can't be the only mafia player in Gotham. And she's more ruthless than Falcone which I can see will be her downfall in the end.

Carmine Falcone played by John Doman - Is he Italian? Almost a serial criminal in TV and movies. Not a hard choice here I mean Robert De Niro has already stated that he doesn't do TV. Eh oh eh, we get it Mr. De Niro, but you follow the flow of the vino and that's TV right now. (I do believe Lorne Michaels got him to do 30 Rock and I don't count Saturday Night Live.) Back to Doman, he's playing a crime boss that follows a code. Something tells me this means that he'll be a savior down the road (not just this episode) just as much as a villain.

Oswald Cobblepot played by Robin Taylor Obviously the hidden gem till the Joker appears. This guy is going to steal the show out from everyone. The Penguin has never been one of my favorite villains but this performance might make me a believer!

Barbara Kean played by Erin Richards - This is one good looking lady! I first noticed her on Breaking In. I enjoyed that show. A big difference from breaking in is her accent! It's gone! Kean is from Wales and I like to have a little fun when the actors from across the pond come over here and TAKE ARE JOBS! Ahem, I mean entertain us, but I like to hear little slip ups. Not to shame them, but just to say "There it is!" when the accent appears. Kean did pretty good. There were no obvious slips but I did hear some with inflection. Good news men and lesbians, she's going to be around for a while. "Barbara Gordon" and "Jim Gordon" have a kid named "Barbara Gordon" that becomes Batgirl! ... Or that story arc doesn't happen... Not sure. See the Barbara Gordon has a ever changing past... "Post Crisis" Jim wife has been Thelma, and Sarah which I guess was done to fix the confusion of the two Barbara's... I'm thinking they're not going with a Batgirl in this universe, when the time comes.

This was a strong first show and I'm pumped for the a full season order! The production value is fantastic and the cast is well thought out. It currently has a 9.2 on IMDB so it's certainly a success in most peoples eyes.

[GGG]

I really enjoyed this show. Penguin will be fantastic along with Smith's chractor as primary villians for the first season. Love the world building they are comitted to doing.

One question about this thread. There is a whole bunch of comic book backstory of each charactor that is available to read. I have not read this. Will this thread be discussing how the back story in the show compares to the back story in the comics and what is going to happen next based on the comics. If so I will just stay out of it.

Or will it be a thread that focuses on the show rather than what is going on and how it compares to the comic.

queue game of thrones type argument.

[TSXCman]

Crazy... I thought the first episode was so mediocre. Not terrible, but not good considering the source material. Why did they cram in a million characters into one episode? If they slowly brushed past characters over the season it would make sense.

None of the acting is very good, maybe Bullock.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by GGG

I really enjoyed this show. Penguin will be fantastic along with Smith's chractor as primary villians for the first season. Love the world building they are comitted to doing.

One question about this thread. There is a whole bunch of comic book backstory of each charactor that is available to read. I have not read this. Will this thread be discussing how the back story in the show compares to the back story in the comics and what is going to happen next based on the comics. If so I will just stay out of it.

Or will it be a thread that focuses on the show rather than what is going on and how it compares to the comic.

queue game of thrones type argument.

The only source material are the origin stories which they may play around with (they didn't with Bruce Wayne). So it's not like there are any real "spoilers" like the GoT thread.

The city shots are actual shots of Manhattan with cgi changes to the buildings. I'm not that familiar with New York to recognize buildings but the city shots look pretty cool. They are going for a timeless look much like the Batman comics where the cars aren't particularly new but there are cell phones and other modern items. The police headquarters is a pretty cool set which was built specifically for the show, nothing really new there, but it's neat to see that the producers didn't just pick a building to shoot in. The tailor made studio will make for some great shots. I'd love to be on the set of this show...

[CaptainCrunch]

The opening scene of Catwoman standing on the roof was breath taking,

I really like that Gotham looks beat up and seamy.

And no Schumacher penis statues.

[RedMileDJ]

I only got into the first 10 minutes, so I'll finish watching it tonight.

I got kind of ticked off when I heard Alfred say "mate."

[bigtmac19]

I also loved the look of Gotham, how a lot of the city shots had a sepia tone to them, I thought it was perfect.

Liked some of the music I picked out, heard some Dead Weather during the show, Treat Me Like Your Mother.

[Yeah_Baby]

I'm pretty sure Gordon's daughter is named after her mother anyways.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

I'm pretty sure Gordon's daughter is named after her mother anyways.

The daughter, Barbara Gordon, has been adopted, a niece, and a daughter through the years. I think she even came from another universe at one time... I just found it a bit confusing that the producers went with Barbara instead of Sarah, or Thelma. Well, at least Sarah anyway. Thelma sounds like a grandma and probably became the popular choice for the comic because of Thelma and Louise...

So with that being said I'm really curious to see where they take the story. It's the traditional Barbara so I don't think there will be any time vortex/wormhole travel in this series.

Also, regarding Enigma, do you see his look when Gordon quickly answered his riddle? He was surprised, and annoyed which plays well to his character.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

The daughter, Barbara Gordon, has been adopted, a niece, and a daughter through the years. I think she even came from another universe at one time... I just found it a bit confusing that the producers went with Barbara instead of Sarah, or Thelma. Well, at least Sarah anyway. Thelma sounds like a grandma and probably became the popular choice for the comic because of Thelma and Louise...

So with that being said I'm really curious to see where they take the story. It's the traditional Barbara so I don't think there will be any time vortex/wormhole travel in this series.

Also, regarding Enigma, do you see his look when Gordon quickly answered his riddle? He was surprised, and annoyed which plays well to his character.

When I watched the preview show the director talked about the origins ideas and stated that some of the future villians are good people that go bad, some of them are just bad in the first place.

So far we've seen Riddler who's with the police department. I'm betting that he see's the corruption as an opportunity

Ivy a little girl scared of her father at first but sees the cops frame him and gun him down and becomes fueled by vengence

Catwoman She was never really bad in the truest sense of the world, she had a rough childhood

Penguin He's bad but he was constantly teased and then crippled and probably does his stuff out of a thirst for revenge.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

When I watched the preview show the director talked about the origins ideas and stated that some of the future villians are good people that go bad, some of them are just bad in the first place.

Harvey Dent (shocker) as well.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

So far we've seen Riddler who's with the police department. I'm betting that he see's the corruption as an opportunity

I think he'll continue to show signs of insecurity and out of spite and jealousy he slowly turns to the dark side.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Ivy a little girl scared of her father at first but sees the cops frame him and gun him down and becomes fueled by vengence

Poison Ivy is going to have a hard life and I think we will feel very sorry for her as an audience. Her father being "mean" will also aid in building her disrespect for authority figures and men in general. So it's not just the police that "planted that seed".

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Catwoman She was never really bad in the truest sense of the world, she had a rough childhood

Catwoman has always danced around the anti-hero title, she's a Robin Hood character, that kills when she feels she has too. They are building that relationship up early with her showing up at Wayne Manor in the end. Is she going to get caught and beat up Bruce?

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Penguin He's bad but he was constantly teased and then crippled and probably does his stuff out of a thirst for revenge.

The Penguin has always had an inferiority complex and consistently dreams about being the kingpin of Gotham. He is definitely bad and manipulative so it will be interesting to see how he gets rid of the powerful Fish Mooney. I can see him almost reach the top only to have it taken away by another character "in a sudden but inevitable betrayal".

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

I felt the scenes with Bruce were kinda forced. Learning to conquer fear by standing on top of his manor and such seemed so artificial. It had a whole "Look at me! I'm gonna be Batman someday!" kind of feel to it. Other than that I enjoyed the episode. Solid build-up of the Penguin character (Although again it felt forced when Smith called him "my little penguin"... ugh).

[To Be Quite Honest]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

I felt the scenes with Bruce were kinda forced. Learning to conquer fear by standing on top of his manor and such seemed so artificial. It had a whole "Look at me! I'm gonna be Batman someday!" kind of feel to it. Other than that I enjoyed the episode. Solid build-up of the Penguin character (Although again it felt forced when Smith called him "my little penguin"... ugh).

Bruce Wayne scene is a bit "over the top" but what are they going to do? Have him start holding his hand over a lighter? He is working on his fears because he was too afraid to help his parents. It's the guilt and shame he feels that drives him "insane"; not the actual death of his parents.

The Penguin is a hated nickname by Oswald Cobblepot. That's the actual point they are trying to make when Fish calls him that. It's an insult. It's when he embraces the name that he gets the power from it. I don't find it forced at all.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by To Be Quite Honest

Bruce Wayne scene is a bit "over the top" but what are they going to do? Have him start holding his hand over a lighter? He is working on his fears because he was too afraid to help his parents. It's the guilt and shame he feels that drives him "insane"; not the actual death of his parents.

The Penguin is a hated nickname by Oswald Cobblepot. That's the actual point they are trying to make when Fish calls him that. It's an insult. It's when he embraces the name that he gets the power from it. I don't find it forced at all.

I would have preferred them to not include that scene at all. Just have Gordon talk to Bruce in the house. Why does he have to be standing on the manor at all?

And yeah I get that "Penguin" is supposed to be insulting to him, and maybe there was no way around calling him Penguin without it sounding forced. But again, couldn't they just not bother at all? We know who he is.

It reminds me of Star Wars when Amidala holds each baby up and says "Luke! Leia!" (Though that scene in Star Wars was way more eye gouging lol).

[RedMileDJ]

Ok, just got finished watching. That was really good. As it's been said before, I wish they didn't cram so many characters into this first episode.

That comedian was totally The Joker, in my opinion.

[KTrain]

I think the comedian was just a red herring. If anything I could see the Joker killing him.

[RedMileDJ]

Yah, I'm kind of hoping it was just there to throw us off.

[Daradon]

Traditional networks are under pressure to rush storylines and make every episode big, to hit big numbers right away, so that's the reason for the reveal of so many big characters right away. Which is unfortunate, because the way it was talked about in the media, they talked up a slow reveal.

However, the average TV viewer is a lot more seasoned now and expects a lot more. Unless they're a rabid reality show viewer, the public doesn't mind a slow build anymore as long as the payoff is there.

I think Gotham fails (and fails fairly quickly, maybe a season and a half?) not because it can't be great or because there aren't people who believe in it, but because it's being pulled in two different directions and will ultimately fail at both. The studio will wreck it, the writers won't be able to do what they want or what they should.

I wasn't a huge fan of some of the acting either, but I'm going to give that a pass based on the content of the show and the fact that writing and directing can really bring out acting, and as I mentioned, I don't think the writers are going to get the opportunity to do it right here.

I might like this show on a pay network like AMC or HBO. Actually, it'd probably be right up FX's alley.

[Wastedyouth]

The Alfred character pissed me off mightily.