When Gotham first premiered in 2014 I had high hopes. Ben Mackenzie had just come off several years playing a cop in “Southland” and in the previews, looked like he would do justice to the tough and honest Jim Gordan. Donal Logue has an affability to him regardless of the role, as seen in “Grounded for Life” and “The Tao of Steve” and when his casting was announced, it was speculated that he might actually be Gordan himself which people were not unhappy with. I didn’t know what to make of Jada Pinckett-Smith’s “Fish Mooney” and wasn’t quite sure about Sean Pertwee’s “Alfred” but after seeing previews I thought that David Mazouz had some talent.
Honestly though, I wasn’t all that impressed when Gotham first aired. I thought it was a little boring and even a little confusing with the ongoing Wayne murder investigation and all the betrayal and manipulation, but I remember some high points that really surprised me like when Fish took her own eyeball out so she couldn’t be experimented on, or when Maroni was unexpectedly murdered. Regardless, I wasn’t thrilled with it.
But as time went on, the show freed itself to undermine its original mood and story formula as well as Batman cannon, and offered some impressive takes on classic characters like Mr. Freeze, The Joker, and Victor Zsaz. But I most enjoyed Robin Lord Taylor’s take on Penguin, who for the first time that I can recall, was both silly and deadly. And Sean Pertwee’s Alfred is, in my opinion, the best version ever (Sorry Michael Caine, it’s close though!)
There were some disappointments: as high as my hopes had been for Mackenzie’s Gordan, more often than not he annoyed me with his Christian Bale-style vocals. I also felt that they made him sometimes too morally ambiguous, like when he murdered Galivant. I liked the actress who played Selina Kyle but I don’t think her stories and lines always landed. I think Dr. “Lee” Thompkins character arc was often ridiculous, as was Barbara Keene’s (taking over for Ras Al Ghul?) but regardless, Gotham was always game to try new things and that entertained me.
While I think Bruce’s transformation into Batman sometimes seemed a bit rushed or silly (like when he wore that goofy proto-type armor or got that low-key Batmobile), it’s really interesting to see him going from scared boy, to determined young man. I could have done without the black Matrix-style trench coat and gloves this season (which I believe Clark Kent wore on Smallville for a while too), but I think Mazouz has grown into the role.
Supporting characters like Lucius Fox, Harvey Bullock and Dr. Strange have all served the show well and I have to say that I’ve been consistently entertained by Cameron Monaghan’s “Joker” character, in any incarnation.
Personally I think Batman would make an outstanding TV show as long as it had a decent budget and the appropriate writers. Between the action, drama and mystery, it could unfold amazingly on television, and while I doubt that will happen anytime soon, Gotham was the next best thing.
Batman has always been my favorite superhero. His live action pinnacle was “The Dark Knight” trilogy and it’s gone downhill since. Afleck was ok, but more often than not, the DCEU has been a mess of starts and stops and adjustments, and that Batman reflected that. Jared Leto’s Joker was horrible, even if you ignore the fact that he was preceded by Heath Ledger. My fear is Batman over-saturation on the big screen with yet another actor and possibly another continuity.
Which brings me back to Gotham. It had a lot of misfires and mistakes but it kept going and there was usually a really interesting story in each episode. I would thoroughly enjoy watching this Batman match wits with Riddler, Penguin and Joker for more than a solitary episode, but at least I’ll have that.
One more bit of praise for “Gotham”: I was an avid “Smallville” fan for 10 years. I was never interested in the character prior to that show. The audience patiently waited as Clark SLOWLY moved towards fulfilling his destiny, to the point where he was like a 30-something who refused to move out of his parent’s basement. But with the final episode in 2011, I thought my patience would pay off with the birth of Superman. And what occurred was really a slight to the audience who had such high hopes.
Gotham is actually rewarding viewer loyalty despite running only half as long as Smallville and having an actor who is still too young (looking) to bring Batman to life. They’re working around that to give the show the finale it deserves. To me, this has been worth the wait.
Images from Slashfilm.com and Netflix