The first season of Gotham, on Fox, is 5 episodes in of what seems to be a 16 episode season (IMDB has 21 listed for the first season), and while lots of folks, mainly comic book fans, were skeptical about the show, Gotham seems to have won-over a lot of people, and continues to do well, week after week. While there's a ton of things to love about what we've seen so far, there's still quite a few of big misses in the execution of the show. We thought it was time to take a look at some of the hits and misses that Gotham has to offer everyone, not just the comic book fans.
Hits
Everything Penguin
Robin Lord Taylor's portrayal of the iconic Batman villain "Penguin" is easily one of the best things about this new show. Taylor has really made this role his own by giving this character and awkward but deadly feel to him. His mannerisms and the way he delivers his lines can be frightening at times. On top of everything else, his journey from low-level thug to eventual crime boss of Gotham is the most interesting story in the show because fans have no idea what is coming next. The show keeps us all on our toes and we look forward to everything Penguin.
Bruce Wayne's Story
Like many fans, I'm a bit down the middle on Bruce Wayne's involvement with the series. However, week by week, it's actually pretty good. Bruce Wayne is a big part part of the show, but not the main focus. We get to see him in the moments after his parent's death and how he deals with the tragedy on a day-to-day basis. And as much as most fans don't want to see that because it's been represented in film many times, it's actually pretty good. We're catching glimpses of him learning to become a detective in order to find his parent's killer.
Maroni vs Falcone vs Fish Mooney
What do you get when someone rising in the ranks in the Gotham crime scene wants to overtake the current crime boss? Some pretty awesome back and forth action. Maybe I'm a bit biased because I love the work of David Zayas, but the Maroni character is represented in a whole new light and done incredibly well. He's powerful and charismatic, but you do not want to cross him because he has no problem killing you. John Doman does great as Carmine Falcone, the man who has been on top for so long. He's starting to go a little soft and it's like blood in shark-infested waters. Lastly, there's Fish Mooney who has a bit of a plan to take down Falcone. In recent weeks, we've seen it come together, and her part, in the grand scheme of things, adds a new dimension to the larger story.
Everyone is a Bit Over-the Top
That's not a typo. This is supposed to be in the "hits" section. Most cop procedural dramas can be a bit dry, even the best ones. While Gotham has elements of a cop procedural drama in it, it's more about the city of Gotham and how it works. More importantly, the show is based off elements and concepts from a comic book, so some of the over-the-top performances from Jada Pinkett-Smith (Fish Mooney) and Donal Logue (Harvey Bullock) add a comic book element to it. These characters have huge personalities and can be a bit over-the-top, but it really works on the show and makes the show-to-comic connection really stand out.
Misses
Selina Kyle
Selina Kyle witnessed the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, so of course, she was a bit of the focus in the second episode, which was named after her. Aside from that, why does she keep popping up? In the episode "Viper," she pops in and out in about 10 seconds as only a reminder to the audience of her existence. Sure, the character was worthwhile in the couple of episodes where it mattered, but she doesn't do anything else for the series. She has nothing more to add, currently, to the Wayne murders, and she can't give us a good look at Gotham's underworld that Falcone, Maroni, and Mooney don't already give us.
Certain Characters Can't Stop Saying Their Names
"Call me Cat!" Because eventually, you'll become Catwoman, right? There are some things in this show that are unnecessary. Reminding the audience who these characters are, constantly, is one of these things. How many times do we have to hear the Captain tell us the forensics guy is Edward Nygma. Meanwhile, I have to go on IMDB to remind myself of Montoya's partner's name (It's Crispus Allen). When the focus is so heavy on certain characters's names being shouted from the mountaintop, it's just disappointing.
The Police Station's Design
In the world of Gotham, architecture is important, especially when it comes to designing a maddening Gotham Central Police Station. For the most part, police departments are dull and straight to the point. They look a lot like any old office. While it's understandable they want to "spice things up" for the television show. Why are the jail cells in the main area, where people are working? No one is going to get any work done when the "perp" you arrested is screaming at you/spitting on you/something worse on you. Most of the set designs are great, except for this one. Did we also forget to mention that everything seems to be located in one room, including processing and the evidence locker?
The Main Storylines Can Fall Flat
Each episode revolves around something happening in Gotham that Gordon and Bullock have to solve. These stories are pretty good on their own merit (some are misses), but when placed into the episode, with these really captivating side-stories, they come off as "villain of the week," and they tend to be the least interesting parts of the episode. It throws the episode off a bit because it's throwaway compared to everything else. This could change is future episodes build towards something else, but as of now the "villain of the week" stuff is not working.
Bonus: The "Penguin is the Joker" Theory is Awful
The chances of any fan theory coming true is a shot in the dark. However, there's one theory on the net that may be aggravating to some fans. A post over at Reddit theorizes that Penguin is acting a lot more like Joker than Penguin because of all the killing he's doing. Here's the full theory:
Oswald Cobblepot is supposed to be dead. He knows that with such an unusual name it's bound to get back to Fish Mooney that someone named Oswald Cobblepot is still in Gotham. So he hires a short fat kid to go around telling people his name is Oswald Cobblepot. This kid idolizes the Joker so he does everything he can to be more like him. He dresses like him, he walks like him, he carries an umbrella just like him
Meanwhile original Cobblepot realizes he has to hide his identity if he's going to continue to operate as a gangster in Gotham and develops the Red Hood identity.
This short fat kid with the big long nose becomes the Penguin. The original Cobblepot has some kind of industrial accident and becomes the Joker.
It's reaching. Lots of people want the Joker in the show, and this theory undermines all the greatness of the Penguin in the television series by saying "it was Joker all a long!" It's just a fan-theory and let's hope the writing staff doesn't see that and think "that's a great idea." However, the chances of that happening are 1,000,000-1 though.
Luckily, Gotham has been a pretty great show thus far, and hopefully, it continues to do so. Make sure to check out the show every Monday night on Fox and we'll have a review of each episode right after it airs. What are your hits and misses of this series so far?