Gotham: Pilot
September 22, 2014 9:52 PM - Season 1, Episode 1 - Subscribe

Rookie detective James Gordon investigates the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
posted by Jacqueline (61 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oh, the irony of this bit of dialogue:
"Suppose, just suppose for a moment that Pepper was innocent. I killed him."
"We killed him."
"We killed him. We'd lose our jobs at the very least!"
My husband I burst out laughing. Even the citizens of the DC universe's quintessential urban dystopia can expect more accountability from their local police force than the citizens of most U.S. cities and towns in the real world can expect of ours.
posted by Jacqueline at 9:57 PM on September 22, 2014 [12 favorites]


Also: I DO NOT CARE ABOUT BRUCE WAYNE!!! I have seen many many many movies about Bruce Wayne. I don't need another TV show about Bruce Wayne. I *do* need a TV show about hot young James Gordon and the other interesting players in the city.

I was hoping that the young Bruce Wayne bits were just there to establish the timeline of this reboot but IMDB informs me that he's going to be in at least as many of the early episodes as James Gordon and his partner. :(
posted by Jacqueline at 10:02 PM on September 22, 2014 [1 favorite]


And is it just me or do The Penguin and The Riddler look way way WAY too much alike?

I got so confused that I had to rewind to confirm that there were indeed two different creepy skinny white guys with weird ears on this show and that the GCPD's CSI tech was not in fact moonlighting for the mob.

(Hint for future reference: The Riddler has glasses and The Penguin doesn't.)
posted by Jacqueline at 10:11 PM on September 22, 2014 [3 favorites]


Why is Alfred an Australian? :\
posted by mstokes650 at 10:46 PM on September 22, 2014


~*BACKSTORY REBOOT*~
posted by Jacqueline at 10:49 PM on September 22, 2014


Why the heck did they have Catwoman be a witness to the Wayne murders? They're going for like, a ~destiny~ thing or something, but that seemed unnecessary.

This week's "Joker": A standup comedian at Fish's club.
posted by Small Dollar at 11:06 PM on September 22, 2014


~*BACKSTORY REBOOT*~ is going to be my answer* to every "WTF why that but ??!?!" aneurysm this show threatens to give me. It's how I've gotten through the new Star Trek reboot films with my sanity intact.

*Plus booze. Lots and lots of booze. Between this show and Sleepy Hollow, Monday night is not going to be a sobriety night for me for the next several months.
posted by Jacqueline at 11:12 PM on September 22, 2014 [1 favorite]


Scarecrow's going to look a lot like Penguin and Riddler, right? Unless they make him a kid, in which case he's probably going to look a lot like Bruce.
posted by Small Dollar at 11:48 PM on September 22, 2014 [1 favorite]


Nice start. The comic book parts are the weakest. Seeing the actual shooting, yet again, I'm left wondering why the mugger didn't shoot Bruce too. You've just shot two people in front of him, you're pretty much taken up residence in a town called "Irredeemable".

Catwomangirl milling about the rooftops, feeding cats and watching. every. thing. was just silly in some ways.

The Penguin and Fish Mooney were great. Except for the end when Oswald starts shoving food in his his face, like a penguin. Silly! Jada Pinkett Smith IS Fish Mooney (what a terrible name). Loved the way she sweet talked the detective on the phone, then got her henchman on the line to tell him to kill bot cops. This is not a character to be trifled with.

Gordon fake killing Oswald was nice, as was Falconi actually caring about the city. These are the sort of shades of grey that could make the series really good.

The actor playing Gordon looks like poor man's Russell Crowe.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 3:45 AM on September 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


I thought that was pretty bad. The AVClub review was pretty much spot-on, point for point.

It somehow manages to be simultaneously campy and dark, yet it completely avoids being fun. And Rene Montoya—way to take one of my favorite Batman supporting characters and make her completely unlikeable. Sheesh.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 4:22 AM on September 23, 2014


I liked the pilot and I'll be back for more episodes. They're laying on the mythos heavily in places to get you to gasp "Oh! It's Catwoman!" or "Oh! He's going to be The Riddler!", but I'm hoping they dial that down in future weeks. Pilots are usually running a few speeds slower and more blatant than the series proper to not scare away viewers.

That Bruce Wayne is already working through his "I must conquer fear" phase concerns me though. I get that the night in Crime Alley is supposed to Change Him Forever, but I'd rather Bruce go away from the plot until it's time for him to put on the cowl years later. Right now I fear by season's end he'll put on a cheaply homemade costume and start prowling the streets to "fight crime" only for GCPD/Gordon to pick him up just before he gets his ass kicked by a random thug (and after he meets Selina Kyle and has a meaningful "destiny!" eye contact moment with her).

We'll be seeing a bunch of guys who could be The Joker someday, but I'd rather they not lay that on too thick. Joker should just appear one day from out of nowhere with no backstory. He's a force of chaotic nature. Moreover, since Batman's presence in Gotham is usually responsible for his multiple choice origin (chemical factory, escalation, whatever), how do we get to Joker before we get to Batman?
posted by Servo5678 at 4:36 AM on September 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


Catgirl milling about the rooftops, feeding cats and watching. every. thing. was just silly in some ways.

The actress clearly spent some time Arya-ing it up following cats around.

Also, that pilot was the most piloty thing that ever piloted. Horrible writing, unsure cast, weird pacing choices, but it'll get the same pass I gave Agents of SHIELD for the first six episodes due to the comicness.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:41 AM on September 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Was the Joker the comedian that Mooney was auditioning?

I get that the night in Crime Alley is supposed to Change Him Forever, but I'd rather Bruce go away from the plot until it's time for him to put on the cowl years later.

I'd wouldn't mind seeing Bruce around a bit. Emotionally, he might be drawn to cops and Gordon in particular, for ability to avenge others and right wrongs. So Bruce would want to be a op for a while, takes an interest in being a detective specifically, reading and studying. But he slowly learns that the police are mostly corrupt and then tries to use his families money and power to do something, but he's too young and inexperienced to really use power that way. So he goes back to what he knows. One man, who isn't afraid, can make a difference (be it for good or bad). Que working outside the law and yada yada yada.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 4:50 AM on September 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


The actor playing Gordon looks like poor man's Russell Crowe.

I thought he looked like a young Sean Bean but now that you've said Russell Crowe I see that resemblance too.

As my husband put it, they seem to have gone for the most generic "hero" white guy they could find.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:08 AM on September 23, 2014


I didn't see any of Birds of Prey, but is this really that much better? This pilot got great reviews, I read some of them and none of them mentioned how over-the-top and dumb so much of it is. And from the director of the Stallone Judge Dredd movie, no less! Some random thoughts:

Really, really pushing the "Riddler likes riddles" thing, hm. Thirty seconds of screentime and what, 4 attempts at riddles? It would be a nice gag scene if they were never planning on bringing Nygma back, but latching so singularly hard to the one attribute that anyone would already know about him doesn't really do us any favors in establishing a new incarnation of the character. However...

...I really like Penguin in this so far.

Did Gordon try to turn in his badge to Bruce Wayne?

I like that Catkid seems to like to playing "the ground is lava" most places she goes.
posted by doctornecessiter at 5:25 AM on September 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


As my husband put it, they seem to have gone for the most generic "hero" white guy they could find.

Woah. That's Ryan you're talking about there.

Also what are the chances of Jaden Smith playing a young Harvey Dent?
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:27 AM on September 23, 2014


Yeah this was pretty weak. I thought I'd hate Fish the most but she was actually mildly interesting. Less Penguin please. Don't care.
posted by cashman at 6:08 AM on September 23, 2014


Did anybody else pick up on a certain level of subtext in the scene with Montoya and Gordon's fiancee?

I'm both thrilled that they're going there by un-closeting an important Batman character whose sexuality has never been portrayed outside of the comics, but also wary that this could turn into a really draggy subplot that artifically amps up the personal/professional tension between Montoya and Gordon for no particularly good reason.
posted by Strange Interlude at 6:24 AM on September 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Did anybody else pick up on a certain level of subtext in the scene with Montoya and Gordon's fiancee?

Yes, my husband picked up on it immediately and narrated an alternate dialogue straight out of a lesbian porno for the entire scene. :)
posted by Jacqueline at 6:35 AM on September 23, 2014


Did anybody else pick up on a certain level of subtext in the scene with Montoya and Gordon's fiancee?

It wasn't subtext.

OK, maybe for this show it counts as subtext, because it was pretty much the only plot point that wasn't spoon-fed to the viewers.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 6:36 AM on September 23, 2014 [6 favorites]


I think Donal Logue saw the title on the script and said, "You want ham? You've GOT HAM."
posted by doctornecessiter at 6:47 AM on September 23, 2014 [11 favorites]


I thought this was god-awful, but I'm probably going to keep watching it. I will say it's nice to see comic book media that's pulp instead of dark entertainment for adults.

Nice start. The comic book parts are the weakest. Seeing the actual shooting, yet again, I'm left wondering why the mugger didn't shoot Bruce too. You've just shot two people in front of him, you're pretty much taken up residence in a town called "Irredeemable".

My thought on this is that it could be Ra's Al Ghul, who is intentionally trying to make Batman as Gotham's own personal reckoning machine.
posted by codacorolla at 7:05 AM on September 23, 2014


Yeah, there was an opportunity there to build into the Batman mythos. Have the crook get startled by a noise or shadow (Catwoman? Kittengirl? knocking something over) moving across the alley. He flees before offing Bruce, thus feeding into the whole 'criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot' thing.

One thing I did like was The Butcher, that industrial thug of Fish's, who came out like he was debuting at the WWE because that's the way she likes to send a message. It gives Fish a bit of a place in Gotham history if she's the one who pushed costumes and theatrical over-the-topness on the city's crooks.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 7:17 AM on September 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


I thought this was god-awful, but I'm probably going to keep watching it.

I wonder how much of television is entirely this statement. And we should also just assume that television producers and executives are keenly aware of this statement.
posted by Fizz at 7:23 AM on September 23, 2014 [4 favorites]


My thought on this is that it could be Ra's Al Ghul, who is intentionally trying to make Batman as Gotham's own personal reckoning machine.

Of course, Ra's al Ghul is currently tied up with Arrow over on the CW, so they'd either have to do a multi-network crossover or have two separate instances of RaG going on two different shows. At the very least, it seems like Gotham takes place in a nebulous "Somewhere in the 20th Century" past, whereas Arrow is set in the present day, so any kind of crossover between the two would be tricky. Then again, RaG is an ageless immortal, so maybe you're on to something.
posted by Strange Interlude at 7:28 AM on September 23, 2014


I thought this was god-awful, but I'm probably going to keep watching it.

I'm going to give it another episode or two before dismissing it, I can imagine it becoming a guilty pleasure. I am going to need some BIFF! POW! BAM!s though, if it has any hope of keeping me for the long haul.

The Butcher, that industrial thug of Fish's, who came out like he was debuting at the WWE because that's the way she likes to send a message.

My thought at the time was that they were making a snuff film, with all of that fuss over setting up the camera and then the crazy outfit on the butcher...But you're right, the fact that this is the urban criminal underworld does lead more to sending a message than to a twisted black-market filmmaking thing.
posted by doctornecessiter at 7:29 AM on September 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


As my husband put it, they seem to have gone for the most generic "hero" white guy they could find.

Well somebody's off the Chrismukkah invite list.
posted by kmz at 7:36 AM on September 23, 2014 [14 favorites]


?
posted by Jacqueline at 7:39 AM on September 23, 2014


I enjoyed it. There was no slow reveals or other pointless dragging outs. They are painting a pretty bleak & dark picture of what Gotham really is - A corrupt PD, gangsters and depraved psychopaths holding the strings (while still trying to maintain a pecking order), a internal affairs trying to frame the PD/settle scores/play politics ( and not care about the actual perps). In many ways, the future villains are being made by the city & its structure as much as Batman himself is.
posted by asra at 7:48 AM on September 23, 2014


Chrismukkah is a joke from The OC, which is where Gordon originally hails from.
posted by codacorolla at 7:50 AM on September 23, 2014


I also thought it was interesting that the show is ostensibly set in our present day, which means that this version of Batman will inherently be a SciFi super hero. I mean, he always sort of has been with his reliance on gadgets and technology, but you don't usually picture Batman in "the future".
posted by codacorolla at 7:51 AM on September 23, 2014


This pilot got great reviews, I read some of them and none of them mentioned how over-the-top and dumb so much of it is. And from the director of the Stallone Judge Dredd movie, no less!

This show just went from "watch eventually" to "watch immediately" for me.
posted by Peccable at 8:16 AM on September 23, 2014 [3 favorites]


The Selina Kyle actress looks remarkably like mini Michelle Pfeiffer to me...At least she has really similar facial features. We have yet to see if she can act beyond picking pockets and perching, but if visually connecting closely to a certain previous production is important to you, then A+ casting in that case.
posted by doctornecessiter at 8:25 AM on September 23, 2014


Why is Alfred an Australian? :\

\begin{morbo}
THE THIRD DOCTOR'S SON IS NOT AUSTRALIAN!
\end{morbo}
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:56 AM on September 23, 2014 [7 favorites]


I also thought it was interesting that the show is ostensibly set in our present day, which means that this version of Batman will inherently be a SciFi super hero.

Unless the show stays on for like 15 seasons without changing the time period, then he can still be present-day Batman.
posted by doctornecessiter at 9:19 AM on September 23, 2014


I don't need another TV show about Bruce Wayne. I *do* need a TV show about hot young James Gordon and the other interesting players in the city.

Now that would be interesting - show us Gotham from everyone else's point of view while the Batman is being created, and when he bursts on to the scene. The cops, a few of the villains, and average citizen on the street. Never, ever show us anything from Bruce/Batman's POV.
posted by nubs at 9:47 AM on September 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


While I enjoyed it, it could have been a lot better. There was no reason to go so over-the-top with Penguin and Riddler - the umbrella and one riddle would have been enough. Actually name-checking them as Penguin and Riddler? Yeesh. You don't even have to be a casual fan to know some of these characters. A girl named Ivy is fine, but having her constantly behind a plant is overkill. Same with a catburglar stealing milk and serving it to an alleycat. Dial it back and it works better. Casual viewers will love the eventual reveals that much better, and the more fanatic will be watching in anticipation like it's another Red Wedding.

The comedian telling jokes, for example. Is that the Joker? No. But it's a hint of what's to come. Is the guy with the pills Bane? Those are the subtle touches that would work better, especially if this series is going to run more than a year or two.

I would rather have seen Gordon dealing with Alfred, as Bruce's shield, rather than Bruce directly... but have Bruce overhearing. Even having him use kiddy spy gadgets to listen in to the conversations. Gordon's initial "success" should build up a reverence for the police, almost a hero worship that the police will always be there to right things, rather than put him right on the revenge path right away. Send him in a diametrically opposite direction at first, to increase the distance between Bruce and the eventual Batman. And Alfred being younger, ex-military, and overly protective of his suddenly orphaned charge gives you that potential.

Lesbian backstory in the pilot? References to at least five major villains? Hell, that's more than they crammed into Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Batman & Robin (and pretty much the entire first season of Agents of SHIELD). This show needs to go with a lighter hand, counting on the audience's familiarity with the subject. But there's enough potential there that I'll be sticking with it for a while. I'm hoping this was just pilot overkill, and not the regular tone.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 9:51 AM on September 23, 2014 [6 favorites]


My wife and I kept cracking up at how the crammed plants into every. single. shot. with l'il Ivy.
posted by Shepherd at 5:25 PM on September 23, 2014


My god, that was NOT subtle.

But I'm hoping they just got it all out of the way to let the show breathe on its own eventually.
posted by Kitteh at 5:27 PM on September 23, 2014


I think Donal Logue saw the title on the script and said, "You want ham? You've GOT HAM."

As did Oswald in the last five seconds of the pilot, if I know my sammiches. I confidently predict that DRAMA SANDWICH will be our household term for inappropriately oversized music stings accompanying entirely mundane actions for years to come. One wonders how many takes there were before he achieved the "frenzied noshing" direction the script called for.
posted by Shepherd at 5:43 PM on September 23, 2014


Oh jeez, that sandwich. After being so heavy handed with everything the entire episode, the Penguin emerges from the water, kills a fisherman, and in the final scene of the pilot, he eats.....a turkey sandwich.
posted by troika at 6:11 PM on September 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


Seriously, no ham?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:29 PM on September 23, 2014


Relevant?
posted by Strass at 7:47 PM on September 23, 2014


Okay, I'm not exactly a tough audience but I thought this was really good. I was worried after reading some reviews, but it was nowhere near as ham-handed as it's been made out to be. There were some clunky aspects - I thought the Catgirl stuff was the most out of place - but for a pilot? Really good.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 8:32 PM on September 23, 2014 [1 favorite]


I really liked it. I didn't expect to at all. I was a little surprised by all the griping about it I saw on twitter, and the crappy meh review from AVC, but I don't think I'm necessarily feeling the pulse of the average modern fanboy/girl. I prefer this kind of weird, lurid, semi-campy darkness to the just plain dour Nolan Batmovies. For all its blood and violence (some of it kinda kinky), Gotham feels more like a bizarre child of Batman '66 to me than anything else. This may not be the thing today's nerds are looking for. It's certainly a thing I'm looking for.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 8:40 PM on September 23, 2014 [2 favorites]


I'm really hoping the on-the-nose stuff is just pilotyness.

I do like Donal Logue. And his hat.

That's a hell of an apartment on a detective's salary. Also, I don't remember Gordon mentioning where, but I'm betting on Afghanistan. That's the go-to place nowadays.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:48 PM on September 23, 2014


And is it just me or do The Penguin and The Riddler look way way WAY too much alike?

IT IS NOT JUST YOU.

For all the ham-handed "HEY LOOK THIS IS THE PENGUIN AND THE RIDDLER" stuff, there is one thing I liked about Edward Nygma's new characterization: the producers have said that he'll use his knowledge of how the police work in addition to his forensic skills to become a more dangerous Riddler (okay, that's a ripoff of Dexter, but still). That could put him on a more elevated level than just "lower-tier Joker".
posted by Etrigan at 4:23 AM on September 24, 2014 [2 favorites]


It was made clear in the dialogue that the penthouse belongs to Barbara, not Jim, and they are not yet married.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:08 AM on September 24, 2014 [1 favorite]


Oh my word, no pilot has ever piloted this hard. And never has a soundtrack had so much gratuitous Jack White. That was delightful.
posted by Peccable at 7:13 PM on September 24, 2014


I was laughing out loud within 5 minutes, as catwoman went leaping from roof to roof. It was just silly. It was ham ham ham. And then the show made me downright grumpy when Gordon went to Bruce (who, of course, is a KID. A kid whose parents JUST DIED. A kid who is suffering intense trauma regarding the death of his parents) and is all "btw, i didn't actually find the killer, sry, plz forgive." Like that's Bruce's job. Like Bruce should be made to feel responsible for Gordon's quest for the killer. Way to weigh the weight of the world on a small child's shoulders, Gordon!

So.... I was both amused and annoyed at the whole thing. I figured I would continue watching it just because I cannot help but watch Batman-related things, but I also figured I would find doing so a more and more frustrating experience.

Then Falconi started talking.

That is when things clicked for me. He was an actual person, rather than some one-dimensional villain. He actually had a deep relationship with Gotham, and he expressed a depth of moral sentiment that was otherwise completely lacking in the show. Falconi gave me real hope that Gotham's going to turn into something really cool--if not spectacular, then at least interesting.
posted by meese at 11:11 AM on September 25, 2014 [4 favorites]


I really enjoyed it. It was over the top and I didn't care. The last five or so minutes (Falconi and the pier) less the "let's talk to bb Bruce" bit, was perfect for what I wanted out of a noir show, then the one more thing of Penguin coming out of the water and killing the fisherman.

I love me some Batman, but the Batman references--other than Pertwee!Alfred, who can stay--are easily the least interesting thing about this show. It's the noir soap opera I'm going to be tuning in for.
posted by immlass at 6:59 AM on September 26, 2014


That was really bad. I'll give it another episode or two, but I'm not hopeful.
posted by homunculus at 10:36 PM on September 26, 2014


After all of the Nolan pablum, I'm ready for some bad Batman. I just hope they give it to me.
posted by codacorolla at 11:10 PM on September 26, 2014


Nolan pablum

You. Me. Batarings at dawn.
posted by entropicamericana at 9:31 AM on September 27, 2014


Can someone explain the "Where's Batman?" running joke in the AV Club recap comments?
posted by oh yeah! at 2:27 PM on September 27, 2014


"One, Poochie needs to be louder, angrier, and have access to a time machine. Two, whenever Poochie's not on screen, all the other characters should be asking 'Where's Poochie?' Three--"
posted by entropicamericana at 7:28 PM on September 27, 2014 [3 favorites]


Ah, so it's a Simpson's reference then, ok. I thought it was a comics or animated Batman series in-joke I was missing.
posted by oh yeah! at 7:55 AM on September 28, 2014


Guys, this show is fucking ROUGH. My wife and I cringed super hard all through this pilot. The tone is all over the place. Worse, the suspension of disbelief is all over the place - how "real" is this universe? Also, why does the police station look like a dank and humid version of the station from RIPD?

Falcone and the Penguin were the characters who approached interestingness. Falcone was easily the best: I like the idea of an organized crime baron who sees himself as a sort of steward of the city. The Penguin was also a well-painted portrait of someone who really could be a future crime boss: he's manipulative, cowardly, and a bona fide survivor.

Riddler wasn't too terrible, but he didn't have much to do. I agree that he looks too much like the Penguin. Why not have the Penguin be, well, built like a penguin? Or, why does the Riddler have to be thin and lanky?

But the rest: hoo boy. Fish Moody feels like she tumbled in from a panto. I don't care about Bruce Wayne, especially not as a kid. Selina Kyle seems well-cast, I guess, but the writing is not doing her any favors. (Why would I ever prefer to watch this version of Selina Kyle, over any of the adult versions of her?) Donal Logue is wasted in his role. I wish that they'd turn his character into an aggressive parody of cop cliches, complete with him turning in his badge and gun every single episode, without any reference to any previous turning-in.

The direction was all over the place, especially with regard to the blocking: what a bizarre scene with the comedian, where he's apparently just awkwardly standing there the entire time. It's also weird, and forced, that he was giving Moody a semi-private audition - har har, he might be the Joker, too bad they couldn't think of a more compelling diegetic reason to have a comedian in that episode.

Hugger mugger harumph harumph.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:58 AM on September 30, 2014


I liked the characters and the world they're building. But they went so hog wild piling in people that half of the damned dialogue was expository, often just people saying their names. Actually, the dialogue was bad beyond that. "I may be lackadaisical..." Criminy. Entirely too many people saying what their deal is.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:49 PM on October 1, 2014


Why is Alfred an Australian? :\

He's not Australian. He's Cockney. It's a working-class London accent. The presumption is that they're going to model this Alfred after the Alfred from Batman: Earth One, in which he is a hard-ass ex-marine.

MoviePilot: What's the Deal with Alfred?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:54 PM on October 1, 2014


I finally got around to watching it and found it not bad. It definitely came across as super piloty, "Look! Look! This is what the show will be about!" The constant references to future villains tipped back and forth in my mind as amusing or a bit overkill. The show definitely picked up steam in its last act and is the reason I'll keep on catching up.

Ben. I enjoyed him as Gordon. Yup.

Fish Mooney. Not bad as a villain, terrible as a name.

I'll try out this version of Alfred, though, I'd rather see a man with a refined British accent kicking butt versus a cockney one.
posted by Atreides at 2:17 PM on October 29, 2014


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