Gotham TV Show

[MichaelC]

When Penguin talks about find out what someone loves and you know how to kill them, I was reminded of Penguin Pride and Prejudice. In that his modus operandi is to destroy everything a person loves in order to destroy them.

[Jim Kelly]

Did this actor play the watcher guy from Fringe? I can look it up on IMDB but....

He's not listed as such. His last big roles were on PARENTHOOD and THE FORGOTTEN. But his hairlessness seems to be a recent development.

[AngelsXDemons]

That you think Anakin character did not suck by episode II (his portrayal sucked in all 3) means I can negate your criticism of my criticism. Also, thanks for agreeing with me regardless.

Yeah man, I'm not here to pick a fight. We're all entitled to our opinions and I respect you. But I'm not saying that the prequels portrayal of Anakin was perfect as it was far from it. In fact, Anakin in the television series "Star Wars The Clone Wars" and "Clone Wars micro series" is far superior to the Anakin we see in "Attack of the Clones" although "Revenge of the Sith" is the best out of the prequel movies in my opinion, howbeit, the Dual of the Fates in "The Phantom Menace" is still the most exciting prequel fight ever. Darth Maul and Qui Gon Jinn are freaking sweet!

[Jack Flag]

Yeah man, I'm not here to pick a fight. We're all entitled to our opinions and I respect you. But I'm not saying that the prequels portrayal of Anakin was perfect as it was far from it. In fact, Anakin in the television series "Star Wars The Clone Wars" and "Clone Wars micro series" is far superior to the Anakin we see in "Attack of the Clones" although "Revenge of the Sith" is the best out of the prequel movies in my opinion, howbeit, the Dual of the Fates in "The Phantom Menace" is still the most exciting prequel fight ever. Darth Maul and Qui Gon Jinn are freaking sweet!

No fight picking intended - this is the internet so things sound heated when they are not. What Gotham gets wrong is the revenge fantasy. The bad guys start off scary but the pay off is when Batman comes in and kicks ass. There is no light at the end of the Gotham tunnel and I think it is because they went too far back in time with Bruce Wayne. They could have had a young adult Bruce Wayne who is starting to explore crime fighting and have flash backs to younger versions of Bruce Wayne. You could have had like 3 different ages Bruce Wayne actors each portraying Bruce Wayne in the flash backs and one in current time line. Without that we have Gordon as the hero and I find him bland as heck. I rather watch Bullock than Gordon.

[Chrysalis_Changling]

i really love the fact that crap like The barbara scenes aren't taking up too much screen time...if this was on The CW we'd see that way too often!

[PretenderNX01]

They could have had a young adult Bruce Wayne who is starting to explore crime fighting and have flash backs to younger versions of Bruce Wayne. You could have had like 3 different ages Bruce Wayne actors each portraying Bruce Wayne in the flash backs and one in current time line. Without that we have Gordon as the hero and I find him bland as heck. I rather watch Bullock than Gordon.

This isn't a Batman show. It was never going to be a Batman show. There won't be a Batman show.
The "light" is Bullock/Gordon eventually cleaning up the police department so there's some sort of support for when super-villains show up and vigilantes come. They're going to build a solid foundation.

Not all in Gotham would be the same.

I never said they would all but you were acting like she wouldn't find enough (or any) to cause chaos. She had two Goats in like 10 years and we see in real life how the divisions between the haves and have-nots are causing increased strain. It's plausible to me that someone would want to overthrow those they perceive as a ruling class. Just a couple days ago someone on Facebook posted a protester in a Guy Fawkes mask with a sign saying "soon the poor will have nothing to eat but the rich". There is that sentiment out there in large enough numbers for someone with hypno-powers to get it going.

[Jack Flag]

This isn't a Batman show. It was never going to be a Batman show. There won't be a Batman show.
The "light" is Bullock/Gordon eventually cleaning up the police department so there's some sort of support for when super-villains show up and vigilantes come. They're going to build a solid foundation.

If the police can do it then why do you need Batman or any costumed vigilantes? The costumed secret identity superhero fantasy came about because in the era of the birth of Batman the police really were primitive and corrupt. The FBI is just being born and trying to use 'scientific' methods to catch criminals. Citizens do feel helpless and you can see why a rich person who has had trauma decides to take matters in their own hands because being connected they know the system is broken. These days for the most part (though not in all cities) the American police forces are professional and organized crime like the Mafia is a shadow of itself (again, this is in the USA, if in Mexico that is not the case for example). The American law enforcement depts have huge budgets and resemble mini armies complete with special forces like officers (SWAT).

So if Batman was never invented and someone tried to invent him now he would not work as a crime fighter. That is why more and more in the comic Batman is a specialist who goes after the criminally insane and not so much at stopping bank-robbers - a common act back in the 20s and 30s but very rare today and usually non violent (pass a note) and these days it is small time to rob a bank.

Marvel also realizes that the crime fighting super hero no longer works in our low crime - professional police force era - so they are more like a super team fighting super spies or aliens or foreign power made would be Hitlers rather than ordinary bank robbers.

Spider-Man is right now fighting a dimension hopping mystic powers eating vampire of some sort.

So back to Gotham, having it be some sort of "Sopranos" with the expectation 10 years from now little Bruce Wayne will dress in a Bat costume is a weird way to structure a series. I like the criminals in Gotham - I love the Penguin but Gordon comes off as a poor hero in terms of capturing my attention. I just don't care much for his story as a standalone tale.

[AndrewCrossett]

A possible scenario: this season ends with Gordon (probably with some assistance from Penguin's treachery and Bruce's investigations) taking down the Falcone and Maroni families, along with the corrupt mayor. He becomes a hero and the new reformist mayor promotes him to captain, or maybe even higher. He now has real power to clean up the corruption in the GCPD. Meanwhile, Penguin (having murdered Fish Mooney) goes underground and begins to consolidate his power over what remains of the old gangs.

Season 2 begins 3 or 4 years later, with a (re-cast) Bruce Wayne now in his mid/late teens and now capable of becoming at least a prototype of Batman. Gordon has married Barbara and now has a baby son and daughter. Penguin has become the primary underworld boss in Gotham, and has become more flamboyant and aggressive as his confidence increases. In the absence of the entrenched old gangs to keep order in the underworld, however, we start to see the first "super-villains" appear, some working alone and some with small gangs. Catwoman, Riddler, Two-Face, and possibly the Joker make their first appearances as such.

The big problem such a show would have is, how do you keep the focus on Gordon and the other non-super characters when everybody wants to see Batman? It's similar to the problem faced by Agents of SHIELD, and they'll need to solve it by writing compelling stories about Gordon and Bullock and Alfred and the others, while not having Batman swoop in to solve every problem. Keep the focus at street level. Show us more Bruce than Batman. Give us just enough of the big-name villains and heroes that their appearance is a treat rather than a routine. Give us some more interesting origin stories, like we're getting this year with Penguin. Let's see the rise of Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn and other "younger" characters. Let some of the popular comic writers write episodes.

[maczero]

A possible scenario: this season ends with Gordon (probably with some assistance from Penguin's treachery and Bruce's investigations) taking down the Falcone and Maroni families, along with the corrupt mayor. He becomes a hero and the new reformist mayor promotes him to captain, or maybe even higher. He now has real power to clean up the corruption in the GCPD. Meanwhile, Penguin (having murdered Fish Mooney) goes underground and begins to consolidate his power over what remains of the old gangs.

Season 2 begins 3 or 4 years later, with a (re-cast) Bruce Wayne now in his mid/late teens and now capable of becoming at least a prototype of Batman. Gordon has married Barbara and now has a baby son and daughter. Penguin has become the primary underworld boss in Gotham, and has become more flamboyant and aggressive as his confidence increases. In the absence of the entrenched old gangs to keep order in the underworld, however, we start to see the first "super-villains" appear, some working alone and some with small gangs. Catwoman, Riddler, Two-Face, and possibly the Joker make their first appearances as such.

Giving Jim a big win at the end of this season is a smart idea. Otherwise he appears ineffective and you're always wanting/waiting for Batman to show up. As for the time skip in season 2, excellent idea. Things become much worse in Gotham with Penguin as a major player. Bruce is at an age that you might see him experiment as a vigilante. And honestly, if they insist on introducing known villains at least the age gap between Bruce and some of his foes won't be that big.

[Chrysalis_Changling]

i think it's far too early to start making predictions for the end of the season and on future seasons that may or may not happen

[maczero]

i think it's far too early to start making predictions for the end of the season and on future seasons that may or may not happen

Who cares? I can't speak for AndrewCorsett but I'm not making a prediction, I'm just voicing what I'd like to see happen.

[Chrysalis_Changling]

Who cares? I can't speak for AndrewCorsett but I'm not making a prediction, I'm just voicing what I'd like to see happen.

just saying....people always say Fox likes destroying shows before they get off the ground...

[AndrewCrossett]

It's OK... Fox never listens to my ideas anyway.

[AJBopp]

Fast forwarding the years between seasons on a show that is about the evolution of a city would be a pretty devastating idea. I don't get the desire to turn this show into "Batman: Who He Is And How He Came To Be." What would really have been kind of a good idea I think is to not have Bruce in the show at all, just some references to the kid in the mansion on the hill. But the direction it's going now is great.

[Chrysalis_Changling]

a lot of people keep thinking we need to jump ahead and save some bat-villains for when batman shows up(even though that will probably end up like the final episode of smallville)....forgetting this series is about as you said...the evolution and complete transformation of gotham city

it's not about rushing it just to get to batman's time in the spotlight4