what’s wrong with “gotham”?

Last night was the premiere of one of the most anticipated shows for the 2014 Fall season. Especially for fanboy geeks like myself, I practically told people I wouldn’t be hanging out with them unless they were seated next to me in front of the TV at 8 pm. And from the looks of the ratings and the fact that #Gotham has been trending long after the pilot aired, it shows that others stopped to watch too. (To be fair, it didn’t “win” the ratings according to the numbers, but performed well and is still being discussed.)

So what’s wrong with Gotham? Nothing, really. It’s a show that get’s right to the action (SPOILER ALERT: Bruce Wayne’s parents get killed) and does a decent job introducing us to characters new and old (and by “old” I mean we know them, but they are younger). What’s wrong with Gotham City? It’s reeking with crime and corruption, and a lot of it is stemming in/from/through Gotham’s “Finest”. Except for our hero Batman Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie). He’s going to do the best job he can to clean up this city which is a very tall order to fill, especially if he can’t even trust his own partner, the ever lovable Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). Our main baddie is a tough hottie with a name I’m still not sure I like: Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith). But what I admire about Mooney is how dynamic she is. She can soft, sensual, seductive… but she has no problem beating you down with a chair if necessary. So stay on her good side maybe? Also, it’s been agreed that Smith is channeling Eartha Kitt who famously played Catwoman in the 60’s version of Batman. Small world. We also meet the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) and why they call him the Penguin. But don’t call him that.

I don’t really want to list out each character but I just want to make the point that while young Bruce is present and well-established, this show isn’t about him. Yet we all know and sorta look for the signs of his Bat-calling, this is Gordon’s origin story. And we get to see familiar friends and foes along the way such a pre-Catwoman, wee Poison Ivy, and a less dapper version of Alfred. I’m perfectly okay with that, and I’m along for the ride for however long it’ll go. I would love to see the Joker as he’s been my favorite all-time villain since the 90’s animation.

Speaking of my childhood memories of the animated Batman series, I’m interested to see more of how this time period is being played out. You don’t see a whole lot of cutting edge technology, yet there’s mentions of cell phones. So it almost suggests maybe this takes place in the 90’s. But like the cartoon, and even the 90’s films, the city had a classic feel to it, yet still employed a few gadgets from a present era.

Enough of my babbling, if you haven’t seen the show, start now. I gave it the DVR season pass, although it is now appointment television as I have a reason to stay home Monday night (“Sleepy Hollow”, “Scorpion”, “The Blacklist”).