Gotham (Fox)

[Gotham Knight]

The only real complaint I have is Barbara Kean. I understand that every show has to have one, because there is that segment of every audience that will never function without 'wanna hump hump' stories. It had better not become a crutch and the future Mrs. Gordon will have to show me something better than flavor of the week.

I've never heard that expression before.  What do you mean by it?

Sex based stories. I shamelessly stole the expression from As Good As it Gets.

[johnnygobbs]

The only real complaint I have is Barbara Kean. I understand that every show has to have one, because there is that segment of every audience that will never function without 'wanna hump hump' stories. It had better not become a crutch and the future Mrs. Gordon will have to show me something better than flavor of the week.

I've never heard that expression before.  What do you mean by it?

Sex based stories. I shamelessly stole the expression from As Good As it Gets.

Okay.  I like that film but I don't remember the expression.

So you don't have a problem with the character of Barbara Kean, just her subplot?

[Slash Man]

Overall, I'm impressed and already anticipating the next episode. Well done. I'm about to go into more detail, so spoiler alert.

This show pretty much proves that Batman is still interesting without Batman. While Gordon seems almost too perfect of a person, he's nonetheless compelling and interesting to watch. Bulloch is perfect and works well with the young Gordon.

The villains were well done, but it also came off as a little cheesy when they were just thrown in there (portrayals and mannerisms still seemed accurate, though). Riddler and Ivy didn't really have a purpose yet; they could have been replaced by any normal person in their situations. It was interesting to see a young Catwoman, but it felt weird having her present during the Wayne murders. Penguin was probably the best of the bunch. Despite being physically lacking for the role, you could still identify the character.

[Gotham Knight]

The only real complaint I have is Barbara Kean. I understand that every show has to have one, because there is that segment of every audience that will never function without 'wanna hump hump' stories. It had better not become a crutch and the future Mrs. Gordon will have to show me something better than flavor of the week.

I've never heard that expression before.  What do you mean by it?

Sex based stories. I shamelessly stole the expression from As Good As it Gets.

Okay.  I like that film but I don't remember the expression.

So you don't have a problem with the character of Barbara Kean, just her subplot?

Actually, now that I've seen it again, I don't think I have a problem with her sex based plot specifically.  I'm...concerned in a very broad way. It may be far too early to tell, and I don't want to peg it right out of the gate, but I'm getting the sense that Kean is there just to complicate matters. Naturally, complications make for tense and interesting plots, but I'm getting the sense...how shall I put it...that she's going to suffer from Rachel Dawes syndrome. I use Rachel because she's from another Batman property, but it describes an occurrence I notice more and more. Rachel Dawes was not a person. She didn't breath air or drink water. She was a plot device, designed to catalyze disaster. It's the difference between 'Oh my God, something just happened!' and 'we need something to happen right...here.' I feel like she exposed the writing process. She served the needs of the plot to a point where she would behave contrary to the reality of herself and the universe so the story would have an impact later on. It's somehow...telegraphed. You look to her for every 'angle.' I feel like Kean will amount to no better. Whenever the story needs to be turned upside down, they'll feed her whatever line or action they need for the furtherance of the storyline.

"Jim, I'm an ex con."

"Jim, I had an affair with Oswald/Fish/Montoya/Bullock/etc."

"Jim, I'm an alien/robot/potted plant."

"Jim, I'm really three different people."

I know this is all an incredible supposition. She had maybe 5 minutes of screen time and that's a lot to take from it. I've just watched lots of TV. It was just a feeling, and really, rereading my post, I think for now I should just shut my mouth and see what happens.

[johnnygobbs]

I'm so pleased to see, judging by the reviews and audience rating, that my high expectations for this show were completely founded! 

I always said a 'Batman show without Batman' could work...but oh ye of little faith and all that.

[Grissom]

Just saw the first episode and I must say it's very solid. Very interesting characters and the potential is almost boundless. Alot of people may be a bit skeptical to introduce so many characters in a pilot but I think we will see them fleshed out well in the following episodes.

I certainly hope though that we see glimpses of Bruce developing that drive and strength to eventually become Batman. It'll be nice to see him even developing some crime solving/detective techniques and anonymously handing them off to Gordon.

Fish Mooney and Penguin are two of the most intriguing along with Gordon, Bullock, Bruce and Alfred. The Wayne murders go much deeper than appears and I hope this series can go a long way.

Here's to Gotham!!

[GBglide]

I certainly hope though that we see glimpses of Bruce developing that drive and strength to eventually become Batman.

I think he has the drive already, did you see how he put Alfred in his place? He seemed like a mini Batman!

[BatmAngelus]

Caught the pilot and thought it was ok. Can't help but feel that maybe the Tim McCanlies's Bruce Wayne pilot was a better take on the prequel idea.

Gordon was alright, but the character could be in danger of being a little too on the "annoyingly moral" side of things (like Rick in the first couple Walking Dead seasons), but I liked what he did at the pier. Also, I get why he doesn't have the mustache, but couldn't they at least have given Ben McKenzie glasses? 

I like where they're going with Oswald, as well as Bruce and Alfred, though I didn't get the emotional impact I had hoped for in the teaser compared to the version in Batman Begins, possibly 'cause we hadn't seen enough of Thomas and Martha prior to that. (But hey, at least Martha had more lines than previous live action incarnations!)

Still hate the idea of Edward Nygma as the forensics guy during this time and the performance was annoying. Gonna take a lot to win me over.

Really liked John Doman's Falcone, just wished he has the Brando mustache, haha. He seems more layered than the Wilkinson version, which is natural since they have more time to flesh him out in a season than in a subplot in a two hour movie.

In the meantime, a season trailer has been released:

Still liking Oswald, Bruce & Alfred, and Falcone. Looks like we'll be seeing Victor Zsasz for sure and possibly Scarecrow and Professor Pyg.
Not sure how I feel about these guys being full fledged villains already, but in Zsasz and Pyg's case, they might as well do this with the obscure villains and develop the more well known ones, like Penguin, Catwoman, and Riddler, for later.

[The Laughing Fish]

There is a Selina Kyle featurette where the young actress playing her saying Michelle Pfeiffer is her definitive Catwoman. She's not the only one who thinks she shares a resemblance with her either. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sLG5lqzk00&feature=youtu.be&list=UU2zkeSg_I8EsNpx3nA_OYSw

[The Joker]

Checked out the 2 episodes of GOTHAM that's been aired so far, and though it's a little rough around the edges, I found the show overall highly entertaining, and one that I've gotten more out of than any episode I've seen of AOS so far. Definitely alot of potential to be had.

Still liking Oswald, Bruce & Alfred, and Falcone. Looks like we'll be seeing Victor Zsasz for sure and possibly Scarecrow and Professor Pyg.

Not sure how I feel about these guys being full fledged villains already, but in Zsasz and Pyg's case, they might as well do this with the obscure villains and develop the more well known ones, like Penguin, Catwoman, and Riddler, for later.

Not surprising really. Considering the show's timeline predates Batman making an appearance for a number of years, it was pretty evident from the first announcement that the show was going to rely a bit on Batman's rogues gallery in order to give the show a buzz and, of course, garner more interest. Much like how Smallville pretty much incorporated nearly every Superman character/villain into the show prior to Clark being fully realized as "Superman". In the grand scheme of things, I'm not wholeheartedly supportive of this notion, but am willing to roll with it, and I honestly can't say I'm not interested in seeing how GOTHAM introduces some of the lesser known villains like Zsasz/Pyg/Dollmaker/ect. Hopefully the interpretations/portrayals should be fun.

I really like Falcone though. I think they nailed his casting.