Right from the start, Gotham, which has started the back half of its fourth season Thursdays at 9 on Fox, was weird. It was “Batman Begins Begins,” following idealistic white knight Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), his gruff and corrupt partner Bullock (Donal Logue), and a vast swath of gangsters and other characters. Right from the start, it was what its fans endearingly call “Goth Ham,” a strange dark reboot of the ’66 series anchored by McKenzie and Robin Lord Taylor as the Penguin. And slowly it’s become a show you can’t quite believe Fox is letting the creative team get away with.
Currently, this is the plot: Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), booted from Wayne Manor, has teamed up with Bullock, now a bartender, as a vigilante duo. Lee (Morena Baccarin) is the reluctant head of Gotham’s slum neighborhood the Narrows. Edward Nygma’s dual personality is pulling a Tyler Durden and serving as unknowing aspiring crime boss. Gordon is trying to keep the city together yet again in the wake of a cannibalistic serial killer named Pyg. Oh, and also, the once and future (?) Joker (Cameron Monaghan) is back.
It would be easy to write all this off as ridiculous, and of course, it is all ridiculous. But that’s what makes it great. Flip through a typical comic and you will find some of the most absurd plots stuffed cheek-and-jowl together, all adhering to Michael Curtiz’ famous line about how if you make it go so fast, nobody will notice. That’s the joy of Gotham; it’s unabashedly out to be an over-the-top good time, no matter how absurd it has to be.
This Week’s Geeky TV
iZombie, Monday, March 5th, 9 pm ET, The CW: While we’re glad this show has switched, at least partly, from its police procedural formula, we still think Werezombie Ravi deserves more screentime.
The Flash, Tuesday, March 6th, 8 pm ET, The CW: “Oh, great, Barry is monkeying with time again.” Imagine that being a sentence you regularly say about your co-worker.
Black Lightning, Tuesday March 6th 9 pm ET, The CW: Anissa just learned her dad is a superhero, so this week’s episode will probably be Jefferson getting a well-deserved chewing out.
Riverdale, Wednesday, March 7th, 8 pm ET, The CW, Midseason Premiere: Archie has joined a crime family, in case you were thinking this show wasn’t getting soapier.
The X-Files, Thursday, March 8th, 8 pm ET, Fox: Mulder and Scully investigate a kid getting attacked by dogs in Connecticut, which of course has a sinister motive behind it.
Arrow, Thursday, March 8th, 9 pm ET, The CW: Is anybody else wondering why these two rival teams of superheroes don’t just, like, hire an arbitrator at this point?
Jessica Jones Season 2, March 8th, Netflix: Marvel’s beloved angry drunk is back, this time to figure out just why she has superpowers.
Agents Of SHIELD, Friday, March 9th, 9 pm ET, ABC: This episode had better open with Yo-Yo getting a massive raise, after what happened to her last week.