Fox has brought a new twist to the batman lore with their new series, Gotham. The series follows a young Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) who has just joined the Gotham Police Department. He is partnered with Harvey Bullock and soon discovers what crime in Gotham is really like.
The series will be depicted as a police procedural focusing on Gordon. The series is set right after the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Bruce Wayne is still very young as are a few of the characters that will become some of his greatest villains. If given enough of a run, the show could end with Bruce growing up and putting on the cowl for the first time much as Smallville did with Clark Kent becoming Superman.
The series has a nice visual style to it. Keeping up with much of the Batman lore, Gotham has a gritty tone to it that will hopefully stay dark as the series goes on. Several Batman villains are introduced or hinted at for future reveals. The actors in the episode all delivered a great performance. For a pilot, this was a great episode and solid introduction to the series.
One minor gripe I have with the show is that I’m not sure when the series is supposed to be set. Much of the dress of the characters and the vehicles they drive would seem to have it set in the 70s or 80s, but some of the vehicles in the funeral scene are much newer than that and several times during the episode, Gordon is seen answering a cell phone from likely the early 2000s. It was a bit distracting to think that, but otherwise the show is fantastic. I look forward to the season continuing and seeing where things go from here.
