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| Left to right: Robin Lord Taylor and Ben McKenzie |
Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
Is there any superhero that has withstood the test of time better than Batman? While Superman has been around in equal proportions, the DC caped crusader has a little more acclaim behind him being able to run the gamut from campy noir to serious dramatic fare. In fact, his entourage of villains are some of the most memorable. Who doesn't know The Joker? It's a testament that Gotham is so rich with miserable crime that its alterations and metaphorical contexts can fit with the time or source of entertainment. In fact, with series like Arrow and The Flash airing this season, it looks like DC Comics has hit the TV landscape with a force. Still, in the middle of them all is mack daddy Gotham.
As the movie universe gets ready for yet another incarnation of Batman next year, it is interesting to see that Gotham is taking a different route. Instead of telling the familiar pattern of Bruce Wayne growing up to be the caped crusader, the series will focus on a different origin story. While everyone knows Wayne's trajectory, very little is known about the bad guys and where they started. Wouldn't it be interesting to see where The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) or The Riddler got their starts? No. Well, the series is going to tell them to you anyways through a young man named James Gordon (Ben McKenzie), who just started at Gotham City Police Department; a place where it is so easy to get mugged that the police station can be overrun due to inept cops.
Yes, there is a charm to the perverse, loopy cartoon of this premise. The best of Batman has always had a small sense of humor to itself. Taking in the vein of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy, it is more serious and the sky is continually overcast as over dramatic music plays. The police are consistently in lieu of getting chopped to bits. In fact, this is a procedural that plays all of the familiar cards. There's the bad guys and the peril. It's all there. However, there isn't much else that would separate it from the "That's Familiar!" form of entertainment that has started up including series like Penny Dreadful and Sleepy Hollow, which Gotham has been paired with. It really doesn't help if you have existed for the past 25 years and know these names from the other TV or film properties of Batman.
At least, that's what makes "Pilot" so dull. The angle is new, but what does it really offer to people who want to invest in a full season? At best, we're about to see how Gordan pissed off the mentally deficient mob syndicate and turn them into caricatures with great names and kooky traits. At least, that's how things feel. Mind you, nobody is really their villainy self yet. People simple spout dialogue that insinuates trademarks. If you don't know that Oswald Cobblepot will be The Penguin, there's enough context ques to make the mystery amazingly disappear. There's no mystery and even worse, Gordon gets his name repeated in jarringly disproportionate ways. We get it. He's the cop who is going to have the show.
For those wondering about Master Bruce, look no further than the footage of a scene that you're already familiar with. Family ditches opera and walks down a dark alley into death. Bruce (David Mazouz) is then forced to live life with a butler who curses at him and doesn't quite feel the need to use the millions to pay for proper therapy. Yep. For those who want to know what Baby Batman is up to, you'll get it as he is bound to pop up to wish Gordon luck quite frequently. Why he even needs to be a prominent figure is baffling. This is between GCPD and the villains on the street. There is no purpose.
Gotham could get better. The annoying part about almost all forms of media nowadays is the insistence on featuring an origin story. Do we really need it? It seems like everyone already knows Batman's not only because Batman Begins did it so well, but because it has been barraged on us so many times. Even his pal Superman has had the treatment way too many times. At some point, the story needs to make way for the action and style that makes Batman so accessible and fascinating after 75 years. So what if he is an orphan? Don't tell. Show.
Also, it does hurt that none of the roles feel particularly exciting or original. There's the campy lunacy that goes with stating the obvious, but The Penguin has particularly forced movements that would make Burgess Meredith blush. It is more of an overview of things to come. Gordon isn't interesting nor is his mentor Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). It's an overview that gives potential for things to come, but the real question is why this series was necessary. It is inherent that DC would want to compete with Marvel, but their brand doesn't need to rely on giving every small character their own show. It is a little drastic.
Of course, Gotham can grow and become more interesting, provided that it isn't simply telling us who the characters are with jabs to the ribs. Maybe the syndication will build and more characters will join. Maybe they won't be as delightfully memorable as the 1966 Batman, but hey, we can try. Fox already has some hope with the highly enjoyable Red Band Society and maybe this will prove to be more than a cash-in of familiar names given unnecessary detail. Frankly, Danny DeVito's Penguin in Batman Returns so far has had a far more successful grasp on the zeitgeist than this one. He is just too silly, which is hard considering that this is a post-Nolan world and everything is too serious, including Man of Steel's lack of proper ethics.
For those wondering about Master Bruce, look no further than the footage of a scene that you're already familiar with. Family ditches opera and walks down a dark alley into death. Bruce (David Mazouz) is then forced to live life with a butler who curses at him and doesn't quite feel the need to use the millions to pay for proper therapy. Yep. For those who want to know what Baby Batman is up to, you'll get it as he is bound to pop up to wish Gordon luck quite frequently. Why he even needs to be a prominent figure is baffling. This is between GCPD and the villains on the street. There is no purpose.
Gotham could get better. The annoying part about almost all forms of media nowadays is the insistence on featuring an origin story. Do we really need it? It seems like everyone already knows Batman's not only because Batman Begins did it so well, but because it has been barraged on us so many times. Even his pal Superman has had the treatment way too many times. At some point, the story needs to make way for the action and style that makes Batman so accessible and fascinating after 75 years. So what if he is an orphan? Don't tell. Show.
Also, it does hurt that none of the roles feel particularly exciting or original. There's the campy lunacy that goes with stating the obvious, but The Penguin has particularly forced movements that would make Burgess Meredith blush. It is more of an overview of things to come. Gordon isn't interesting nor is his mentor Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). It's an overview that gives potential for things to come, but the real question is why this series was necessary. It is inherent that DC would want to compete with Marvel, but their brand doesn't need to rely on giving every small character their own show. It is a little drastic.
Of course, Gotham can grow and become more interesting, provided that it isn't simply telling us who the characters are with jabs to the ribs. Maybe the syndication will build and more characters will join. Maybe they won't be as delightfully memorable as the 1966 Batman, but hey, we can try. Fox already has some hope with the highly enjoyable Red Band Society and maybe this will prove to be more than a cash-in of familiar names given unnecessary detail. Frankly, Danny DeVito's Penguin in Batman Returns so far has had a far more successful grasp on the zeitgeist than this one. He is just too silly, which is hard considering that this is a post-Nolan world and everything is too serious, including Man of Steel's lack of proper ethics.
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