Batman is one of the most iconic superheroes in the world today. He’s got a large collection of movies, comics, cartoons and TV shows that have run the gambit from dark and brooding to silly and goofy. But Batman is probably the least interesting part of his own story. What really sticks out in people’s minds are the villains. Be honest. The one thing you remember about “The Dark Knight” is the Joker.
With that in mind, perhaps it was inevitable that a TV show would be made about Gotham City before Batman’s rise to power. The makers of “Gotham” are obviously very excited to be part of the immensely popular Batman story line. They’re so excited, in fact, that they can’t seem to wait a few minutes before reminding the audience that the show they are watching involves the Caped Crusader’s gallery of rogues. Just when you think you’re finally settling back into the story, yet another character pops up to remind you that they exist in the Gotham universe.
“Gotham” follows Detective James Gordon, played by Ben McKenzie, the newest member of the Gotham City Police Department. His first assignment? Find out who killed Bruce Wayne’s parents. Yes, this show starts out with the one murder everyone, even the most casual Batman fan, knows about. Don’t worry though, the entire show doesn’t revolve around just the one murder. It seems Gordon also has to deal with the fact that the entire police force is more corrupt than today’s Ferguson police department.
The main focus of the story seems to be the corruption of the GCPD, as everyone with a badge is working for the local mob boss, Carmine Falcone. It’s not even something that these cops are able to keep under wraps; after James Gordon has seemingly become corrupt too, everyone continually questions him on whether he’s “with the program” or not. I guess there’s no point in keeping it a secret when the entire force is working for the mafia.
The acting in the series so far has ranged from believable to wildly over the top. McKenzie falls more toward the former. He has a good tough-and-gruff attitude that people come to expect from cop dramas. You can really tell he’s struggling to maintain his corrupt facade while still truly being a good cop. Still, Gordon isn’t all that interesting to watch because at his core, he’s just the by-the-book-no-nonsense cop that we’ve all seen countless times before.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Jada Pinkett Smith who plays Fish Mooney, Falcone’s second in command. Pinkett Smith, quite frankly, doesn’t seem to know what she’s doing in this role. Whenever she’s trying to be intimidating, she seems to be channeling Eartha Kitt’s performance as Yzma in “The Emperor’s New Groove.” Her anger is a joke: her yelling sounds more like a whining child than a furious mob henchman. Everyone else on the show is good enough. If nothing else, they play their parts decently. But Pinkett Smith is so bad that she stands out as the queen of overactors.
The absolute worst part of this show is the way that it keeps winking to the audience that it is, in fact, a show about Batman’s baddies. It seems every five minutes we have to be reminded of the fact that this is Gotham, the city where Batman grew up. Let me give you a few examples. Oh, look, that guy’s name is Edward and he loves to constantly ask people riddles. I wonder who he could be? That guy works for the mob and hates it when people call him a penguin because of the way he walks and dresses. Who could he possibly be? That girl! She is a pickpocket and she slinks around on rooftops and feeds cats milk. Who on earth could she be? The heavy winking gets old very quickly; the show winks so much that, if it were a person, you’d swear it developed a horrible twitch.
Normally, these nods to a popular comic series would be praised. Other shows reference their original incarnations and have done them well, such as the early seasons of “Smallville.” I can see only two possible outcomes from these winks. First, the viewer has no prior knowledge of Batman or his baddies and every reference will go over their heads. Or, the viewer is well-versed in Batman’s story and will say, “Yes, we get it already. Enough with the references.” The biggest problem here is the show lacks subtlety in its winks and makes it too obvious what it’s trying to say.
Ultimately, the show is only a halfway decent cop drama that puts a nice spin on old tropes by making the cops members of the mob. However, as a part of an immensely popular superhero’s background, it’s unsubtle in every single reference it has to that story, and the characters are completely uninteresting to watch. You’ll probably like this show if you’re looking for a newer kind of cop show or if you’re a hardcore fan of the dark detective’s fearsome foes. I recommend a drinking game where you take a shot for every obvious reference you can spot in the show. On second thought, don’t do that. You might die of alcohol poisoning before the title sequence starts.
