by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
Welcome to Cross-Platform Partners. In honor of a movie coming to theaters and/or streaming services, I have selected a TV show to watch to pair with the movie. Think of it as a way to get hyped for the new movie, a preview of things to come, a means to tide you over if the movie won’t be released where you live for a little while, or a change of pace if you’ve run out of related movies or sequels.
In honor of The Batman being released in March, I watched a TV show about Batman. There were a lot to choose from, especially considering Batman’s considerable cross platform strength. The Batman world lends itself to a lot of amazing stories, whether it’s about Batman himself, his allies or friends, or the villains. Batman has arguably the best rogues gallery in superhero history, many different iterations that keep the legend going, and a backstory almost everyone knows by heart by now. I considered a few different options from older shows like the original Batman series from the 1960s to more recent iterations like Batwoman. There were animated options as well like Harley Quinn. Naturally, I considered Batman: The Animated Series, the greatest of all time for Batman TV shows. For this series I wanted a challenge and something I haven’t seen before. So in the end, I ultimately settled on the TV series that ran from 2014 to 2019, Gotham.
Gotham flips the Batman focus and instead shifts perspective to rookie detective James Gordon, (The O.C. alum Ben McKenzie). Gordon is paired with Harvey Bullock, played by “hey, it’s that guy from that familiar thing” actor Donal Logue. Together, Gordon and Bullock tackle crime, ranging from robberies to assaults to murder. They deal with petty criminals, mafia bosses, and deranged psychopaths. They also encounter Batman’s impressive rogue’s gallery in their earliest days. Gotham features an impressive who’s who of career criminals from the deepest pages of Batman lore. It’s what I loved about the show, how deep the war chest goes for all the great villains that make an appearance. It begins like most traditional Batman-esque stories, with the murders of Martha and Thomas Wayne. The pearl necklace falls, which now feels like a requirement for even Batman-adjacent shows. Bearing witness to his parents murder is a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz), who now falls under the care of his butler Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee).
Gotham’s lead character, Gordon, toes a fine line between the law and whatever his perception of justice is. Gordon’s not perfect. He often makes mistakes, has an anger issue, and resorts to tactics that would get himself into trouble. In the pilot, Gordon makes a choice that sets the tone for the entire series. In later seasons, he doesn’t make the same decisions because Gotham City is consuming him. He tries to resist it to the best of his abilities, but he sometimes gives in to his vices. Gotham addresses Gordon’s flaws and hypocrisies well enough and often enough for viewers to be reminded that although Gordon is a great detective and wants Gotham City to be a good place, he also has a heroic complex and possibly even a death wish. Gordon also has to rely on Gotham’s criminal underworld to get what he needs. Whether it’s information, supplies, or even favors, he makes bad decisions a lot by trusting the underworld elite of Gotham. Sometimes he even gets double crossed or tries to walk back certain decisions that can’t be walked back anymore. McKenzie does a good enough job of showing his vulnerabilities and humanity, while still showing Gordon has flaws.
Paralleling Gordon’s flaws are that of Bullock, who might go down as one of my favorite characters in Gotham because he evolves the most from where we first met him in season one to where he ends up in season five. Jaded and part of a corrupt system, Bullock turns into a reliable, dependable, and trustworthy friend of Gordon. Their relationship has its shares of ups and downs, but ultimately they both have the same goal: uphold the law in Gotham. This is an impossible task for them, but their diligence for this mission is admirable.
At first, I was not a huge fan of Bruce Wayne’s story arc. They probably could have left him on the bench for a season or two before bringing him back into the fold. I had to remind myself that he was just a boy and though his story seemed a little trite, it blossomed powerfully into one about someone looking for, and ultimately fulfilling, their destiny. What I found powerful about Bruce’s story is his relationship with Alfred. This is not your stuffy butler who occasionally assists with chores around the house. Alfred is a warrior, and he teaches Bruce how to fight and how to protect those around him. This is an Alfred I can get on board with, and I greatly appreciate this as a way to show how close the two are. Alfred is more than a butler to Bruce — he’s also family. It makes him vital, and his impact is definitely felt throughout the show.
Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova) also proves to be a useful ally to Bruce in a number of ways. Whether she’s helping Bruce navigate Gotham or learn more about its criminal syndicate, Selina is an extremely helpful friend. They don’t always see things eye-to-eye, they fight a lot, and even go through stretches where they don’t talk to one another, but the progression of their relationship is one of the better ones of the series. Selina is a complicated character and has times where she’s up front and center and times where she’s absent for long stretches. At the core of their relationship, they care for one another and have each other’s backs no matter what. They have a few moments that are devastating and we can see the pain in each other’s eyes when something happens and it affects them both.
With such a rich history to pull from, Gotham’s biggest problem is the sheer amount of characters. There are some characters that the writers do a disservice by not making a decision on how to handle them. This is prevalent with Barbara Keane (Erin Richards), Dr. Lee Thompkins (Morena Baccarin), and Ivy Pepper (Clare Foley, Maggie Ghea and Peyton List). Ivy Pepper in general is probably the biggest culprit of this because of the constant recasting. This is an issue due to where Ivy turns up in earlier seasons and where the show wants her to go. I understand why they did it that way; however, it still felt a little exploitative and unnecessary. Barbara and Dr. Thompkins’ characters are all over the place. Barbara’s character makes a swift turn at the end of season one and struggles to find her footing for the remainder of the show. Dr. Thompkins has a similar issue where something happens in the middle of season three and some decisions she makes after that are puzzling. I’m not sure I understand why they both ended up where they did when the series ends, but I definitely wished they had done a better job with them in particular. I felt the same way about Captain Nathaniel Barnes, (The Commission alum and perpetual cop Michael Chiklis). He had a strong start, but the choices they make with him, particularly at the end of his story arc, were not normally within his character.
The villains are the main feature in Gotham. It’s what makes Batman such a compelling hero, his impressive rogue’s gallery. Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), and the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith), are arguably the two most prominent villains in Gotham. They’re compelling characters that have a wide range of changes and progress. The Riddler in particular has the more interesting arc because the viewer sees his complete descent from GCPD forensics analyst to feared criminal in Gotham. They’re both over the top and they’re both masters at manipulating others and scheming to get what they want. There’s a scene in the last season where they’re both about to stab each other in the back, but both end up resisting because they realize they need each other and their success is hinged together. The most compelling villain for Gotham is Jerome Velaska, played expertly by Cameron Monaghan. This is partially due to Monaghan’s performance, but also his storyline is just terrifying. His introduction in season one was chilling, but he progresses into the most terrifying villain not just for Gordon and the GCPD, but for Bruce as well. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Jeremiah reveal because Jerome was such a compelling character. It may have been one of the biggest what-if moments for the show if they had left Jeremiah out of the equation altogether.
Batman’s rogue’s gallery has some heavy hitters, and I found myself wondering why some are used the way they were during the series. Beyond Penguin and the Riddler, it was nice to see some villains I wasn’t as familiar with get some more spotlight. Professor Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong) and Jervis Tetch (Benedict Samuel) were both terrifying villains and ones who kept creeping up around Gotham City. Other the villains are used sparingly and felt forced into the show. How often will there be a need for a villain who can turn things into ice or a villain with a flamethrower? Gotham attempts to give them storylines that connect to the main cast in hopes that we pseudo care about them. The end results for that are dicey at times. Villains come and go frequently and some don’t get enough time to fully showcase what they can do. Jonathan Crane (Ozark alum Charlie Tahan) is an example of someone whose short storylines were cut off at the worst times. Victor Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan) might have been my dark horse favorite villain due to his comedic timing and his ruthless nature. He is relegated to the henchman role, but I wanted to see more of him throughout the series.
Gotham doesn’t follow the comic books, but rather takes bits and pieces from prominent storylines. It didn’t bother me that they were taking liberties with comic book canon because I felt the story worked for what they wanted to ultimately make of it. It’s messy, but it’s a fun series that takes an interesting spin on the Batman mythology. This helped me get excited for The Batman because I’m fairly interested to see how Matt Reeves and company will make this Batman series their own and distinguish it from other interpretations. I love Jim Carrey’s Riddler in Batman Forever, but I’m interested to see what Paul Dano can bring to the table as a ruthless and sadistic Riddler. Gotham is a fun show that has a lot of Batman Easter eggs for fans and a lot of drama and action for the casual viewer.
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