Gotham doesn't seem too bad

From the previews I basically write this off as shit. This is primarily due to Smallville, a terrible show imo.

Today in the UK we got the pilot episode (presumably after Americans) and I have to say, while Jada Pinkett Smith is terrible, and the first half wobbly, the second half showed promise.

How about you fellows? Any doubters with a changed perspective or do you still view it as shite?

The show premiered already? I recall someone making a topic about a batman universe show that has no batman a few months ago and I remember thinking how dumb that destined to turn out to be.

Here in the States episode 4 played tonight. Recorded it and will watch it in the morning.

The show is solid. It could definitely be done better, but the premise is just so good that it is VERY hard to screw up. People who are familiar with the Batman universe realize how interesting James Gordon's story is (Batman: Year One had a HUGE focus on his story). I would actually argue he is a more interesting character than Batman. The whole idea of some badass green beret joining a police force that is corrupt to the core and single-handedly cleaning it up is just epic.

I will say TC that the 2nd and 3rd episodes were even better then the pilot. They start developing the Penguin a bit (they are really doing their best to make him an interesting character) and also give young Catwoman more screen time and it turns out the young actress playing her is PERFECT for the role.

I will agree though that Jada sucks and I hate her character. My only solace is that I am fairly certain she will die in the season...

I don't see how that would be dumb. Batman is generally considered to have the best rogue gallery around. The penguin character was surprisingly quite good.

The new made up character (Will Smiths wife) was absolute shit. Looks like she should be on Ugly Betty, not a crime lord.

@uninspiredcup: Smallville is one of my all time most hated shows. I could spend pages writing about how fucking lazy the script writing was, how stupid the episode storylines were, how it just fucking dragged on for YEARS without going anywhere, etc. I made it through 8 and a half seasons of watching it as background noise while I worked in hopes that it would eventually get to a level of "just ok" before I threw up my arms and said "**** THIS! THIS IS TOO STUPID EVEN AS BACKGROUND NOISE!" and never went back.

Anyway, Gotham is OK so far if you can get over it's attitude of "how many retcons can we fit in each episode". So long as they focus on the younger versions of adult characters and don't go too far down the path of "little kid versions of Batman and Catwoman" bullshit then I think I'll keep watching.

Donal Logue as Bullock is an awesome choice, though. It would have even been more awesome if they had gotten him for the role when he was still fat.

-Byshop

I wonder if that comedian in the first episode was a joker. It seems like a very obvious reference to the killing joke. Perhaps it's not actually that character but a plot device for what will eventually be the character in future episodes.

My reason for hating Smallville is much more shallow, to me, superman should be herioc, truth and justice and all that shite. In Smallville, he seems to just be a whiny pussy doing shit because he's forced too.

Quite enjoyed Louis And Clark. Dean Kane was a great superman imo. Good chemistry between the characters. Everyone in Smallville just seems to act like a dick, for some reason.

The first 2 episodes were bad.. The pilot specifically was awful. But the show is slowly improving, so I'll keep watching.

Well I'd still be surprised if I ended up enjoying it a lot. Of all the superheros out there batman is the only one I ever cared about. But I'm highly ignorant of the backgrounds of the characters though; nothing beyond a shallow knowledge of their pasts and how they turned out to be whatever they turned out to be.

With that said, I'm still going to wait for more episodes to be released. I never watch a show as its premiering, always wait for episodes to add up to something worth going through.

And it was either you prophet or harry that made the first topic about this show I remember now.

That's along the lines of why I quit. There was little to no character growth in literally a couple hundred episodes. Rehashed story lines, rehashed dialog, and Kryptonite was used as a "unversal plot hole sealant". I could deal with an idiotic and whiny Clark if he eventually grew into an interesting person, but no. He was just as shitty a character when I quit as he was when I started the show.

Regarding Gotham: I do feel compelled to point out that the -last- time they decided to do a "Batman Universe re-imagining on network television" was the godawful "Birds of Prey" that was cancelled after 13 episodes.

I do like Cobblepot in this, though. I acutally find this version to be more interesting than the original.

-Byshop

Also who else thinks that the main crime boss Falcone's actor has been a serious powerhouse in the acting department?

I feel like he gives the character a weight with what little he has done so far.

Garbage.

I don't like it. The more I watch it the more I want Ben McKenzie to act like the cop he played on Southland.

hey, lets make a batman show without batman. BOOOOOO!

Hey it's not a Batman show. It's a show about James Gordon and Gotham.

I like the show. It's interesting.

From what I've heard about it, it sounds absolutely terrible.

Watch the fan-made Nightwing instead.

@foxhound_fox: It's not terrible. I have watched the fan made Nightwing. Which is entertaining but not nearly as well done. Watch the show....don't "hear" about it.

I agree that the show is solid and i like that its without Batman , Jim Gordon´s story is one that has been overlooked for to long and i like how they are trying to build the relationship between Gordon and the young wayne before he becomes batman, it actually fits well with how they are later on.

In regards to Jada well its kinda obvious that she will die, penguin will take over her turf is pretty much written in stone and not to mention penguin of course wants payback.

One character i don't like tho is Catgirl, might be the actor but the whole tomboy routine is getting old

That's the thing! It's not a Batman show but they don't seem to be confident that it will work, so they keep shoving unnecessary Batman things in there. The ridiculous Riddler introduction, Pamela being renamed to Ivy, Cobblepot getting called Penguin every few minutes, and Selina saying "My name is Cat" way too many times. They should be dropping small hints and references about the Batman stuff because after all, the show is in Gotham.. But instead they just keep hitting the audience over the head with it, and it's absolutely annoying.

I do like the Gordon/Bullock dynamic though, it's pretty fun to watch. And the show improved a bit so hopefully it keeps doing that.

Pilot was all kinds of terrible. Stopped watching and recording it after that. If I hear good things once the season is over I might someday go back and watch it, but at the moment it doesn't seem worth it - especially considering I already have enough to watch.

I'm enjoying it so far. Only problem is if the general populace continues to watch it. It's a hard sell for non Comic book hero fans to get into

Definitely

The atmosphere changes when he is on screen.

I'd rather not waste my time on something that's crap. I trust my friend's opinion enough to base whether I waste an hour of my life or not. One went so far as to describe the events of the episode to me, and it does not appeal to me at all.

The only issue i have is with this Gotham series is catwomen appearance during the start of the first ep, how come no one mentioned that catwomen was there when Bruce parents were murdered and she was a eyewitness to his parents death?

Because shitty plot device.

I think Gotham is a great show. Been watching every episode, so far i likes it !

At first I wasn't really feeling it but then I started watching it like it was the Saturday morning animated series and I started to enjoy it. That Balloon Man episode could have been an episode from the animated series. Gotham just feels cartoony with reality type violence. It's like a mixture of old Batman movies and a touch of Dark Knight movies. So far I'm enjoy it.

It's been getting pretty great reviews actually, very well received. I'm not surprised. I haven't watched it yet but I'm looking forward to it.

I thought the pilot episode was decent, but the show is only doing just enough to see where they are going with this. I'm rolling my eyes quite a bit in each episode. I plan to watch the next episode but I'm not totally excited..

Cobblepot is easily my favorite character of the show. I don't see them doing anything useful with Bruce anytime soon other than when the show needs to go back to the Wayne family. I'm wondering what how they could possibly put effective use to Bruce Wayne outside the scope of his dead parents and their wishes. I don't see it.

*Spoilers*

Going back to Monday night's episode, probably my biggest gripe of the show so far. Fish Mooney wanted a "weapon" and her idea is this: "Let's have two women think they're singing when actually they don't yet realize what I really want is an assassin and have them fist fight each other and I'll take the winner under my wing. She said she'll do anything for me and I'll take her word for it because I told her to seduce me."

Ugh, STUPID!

The lesbian stuff feels cheap and exploitative. Wasn't digging it at all.

Everything but the penguin in this show is shit. Gordan's wife pretty much being a super model ex-lesbian druggy? Fish Mooney? I feel like we're being trolled.

I'm really loving watching Gordin have to deal with all the corruption and trying to keep his wife in the dark about everything as well and trying to hold himself together in the process. I feel like the show is coming along nicely. The first episode did seem to hurry things along a bit too much with Bruce's family being murdered in the opening moments of the show, but the pacing has evened out, and watching Gordin's reaction when Oswald showed back up showed how tense he truly is inside.

Hmm. Not really like the old Batman movies (as in Burtons). His movies where fantastical beyond even the animated series, especially Returns. He went ape-shit. It's awesome, but I'm not even sure it's even a Batman movie.

It's enjoyable and it's finally starting to get out of that "completely unrelated show where they used known characters to attract views" vibe.

Oh well if someone else determines your interest then by all means believe him. But if you've read this thread at all.....seems most do like it. But hey don't check it out for yourself. Doesn't matter to me in the least.

Seems to matter a little bit, you took the time to respond not only once, but twice.

I think it's the weakest out of four current DC shows, but it's still fun. What's more, it's steadily improvng week by week. It's pretty bizzare concept, so it will take a while to iron the kinks out, so I'm happy Fox extended the order to full season.

For now what I like the most is how sure and confident the style is. It's neither Nolan-realism or Burton-craziness. Instead they aimed for Animated Series feeling, with world being gorgeous mix of retro and new. It makes it feel very unique and they also keep the villains this way. Plus they already introduced superpowers, and possibility of them not being there was my biggest concern. Now I know we'll get real Mr.Freeze and plants-controling Ivy sooner or later.

So overall, decent start and huge potential for more. I think by the time the show hits half of it's first season it will transform into something truly great.