Gotham is rapidly turning into Fox’s big hit of the season. Critics love it, us included, and Netflix took one look and snapped up the exclusive streaming rights. So, what’s behind all the hype? Here’s everything we know.
What’s the plot?
James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is a hotshot new detective, the son of a beloved Gotham DA and a war hero. He’s been paired up with the morally gray Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), and they’re investigating the murder of Martha and Thomas Wayne and its ties to the Falcone crime family, especially Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith). Wound in between that are the beginnings of Batman characters ranging from the Penguin to Catwoman. Gordon is forced to befriend young Bruce Wayne, and, well, we know where that winds up eventually. Behind the scenes, it’s run by Bruno Heller, who you might remember as behind The Mentalist, and Danny Cannon, a prolific TV producer.
So it’s Gordon Begins?
Ehhhhh, sort of, but that’s selling the show short. One of the nice touches of Gotham is that the characters are recognizable, but they’re not standing around filling in a blank. They’ve got ambitions, needs, and desires, and the show is really at its best when Gordon and Bullock are being detectives or butting heads over methods. The pilot has a particular scene towards the climax that’s both more than a little disturbing and fall-down funny.
Does Gordon have even the wisp of a ‘stache?
Sadly, no, but hopefully he’ll start growing it in.
What characters do we see early versions of?
Yeesh, where to start? Catwoman is actually the first character we meet in the pilot. The Penguin is currently a low-level organized crime flunky working for Mooney. The Riddler, Edward Nigma, is a forensic scientist with the GCPD when the show starts. Poison Ivy is still in middle school. And those are just the notable villains we run into in the pilot: Hugo Strange will turn up as the driving force behind the construction of Arkham Asylum, and Harvey Dent will be appearing as a crusading young lawyer. Oh, and there will be lots of potential Jokers.
Will it be worth watching?
We can vouch for the pilot, but after that, we’ll see. If nothing else, it’s a strong start to the show in its own right. Still, considering the early reaction, and Fox’s recent track record with shows that are better than their concepts sound, we’ll mark this one a must-watch. It starts September 22nd at 8pm on Fox.
