Top 6 Reasons To Look Forward to Gotham

Gotham, the new Fox series by Bruno Heller, is set to premiere on September 22nd. The show will take place before Bruce Wayne became Batman, so at first it sounds similar to Smallville. But, this is Gotham City we are talking about. Bruce’s life is filled with tragedy, so the show will not be nearly as lighthearted as Clark’s show. This list seeks to show the top 6 reasons why people should look forward to this new series.

In no particular order:

6. Edward Nygma will work for the GCPD

Edward Nygma, known to any Bat-fan as The Riddler, will be portrayed as a forensic scientist for the Gotham City Police Department, and will be played by Cory Michael Smith. This is a direction that I have wanted for the character in a live action series. One has to assume that he will eventually become The Riddler, hopefully not too soon, since it seems that the series will act as an origin story for many of the characters. Though I have always wanted a show that begins while most of Batman’s rogues are already well established, this direction should create conflict and drama by spending time showing just how his villains come to be. It worked well for Batman: The Animated Series, and it should work here. After all, Batman’s villains are great because of their tragic nature. Showing the characters as they were before they became supervillains will make it more powerful when they eventually fall.

 

5. James Gordon is the protagonist

Gordon is an often underappreciated character who is almost always overshadowed by Batman. This is understandable, but this show will give him his time in the spotlight. He’s to be played by Benjamin McKenzie, who had previously voiced Batman in Batman: Year One. It will be interesting to see how the character grows during his quest to catch the man who murdered Bruce’s parents, as well as being mentored by Harvey Bullock.

 

4. Bruce Wayne will be a child

Played by 13 year old David Mazouz, Bruce Wayne will be mentored and protected by his butler, Alfred (played by Sean Pertwee), and detective Gordon throughout the first season. While some stories focused on Bruce’s upbringing to show how he became the Dark Knight, such as in Batman Begins, this show will have much more time to develop that kind of story. Being raised by Alfred and cared for by Gordon is a good story in and of itself and it will be interesting to see how Gotham portrays this.

3. Villains that are not supervillains

Ever wonder why Batman Begins was much better than The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises? One of the reasons for this is the lack of supervillains (and no, Ra’s al Ghul doesn’t count because the film grounded him in “reality”). The first film of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy focused mostly on Bruce Wayne becoming Batman. That film needed him to fight (mostly) normal criminals, such as gangsters. That direction showed Gotham in a light that is not shown enough these days; a Gotham before supervillains. Yes, the supervillains will appear at some point, such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman (as Catwoman and not simply as Selina Kyle), the Joker, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, and more, but the focus on gangsters, such as Maroni, will allow Gordon and the other cops to have their time in the spotlight for the time being.

 

2. David Zayas was cast as Salvatore Maroni

If you have ever watched Dexter then you are probably fond of the character Angel Batista, who is played by David Zayas. The problem is that a show named Dexter obviously had to focus on the character of the same name much more than the supporting cast members. This casting will give David his time to shine. Best case scenario is he kills it and the viewers love to hate his character, or just straight out love him. Best BEST case scenario is (SPOILERS Dexter Season 8) The Dark Knight Rises is re-released with Bruce Wayne escaping the bomb’s blast during the finale and it is revealed that he is not dead, and not at Alfred’s favorite restaurant, but is actually working as a bearded lumberjack somewhere in the wilderness. At least that’s what I want.

 

1. Harvey Bullock will be a main character

If you have ever read a Batman comic or have watched Batman: The Animated Series then you know that Harvey Bullock is a very entertaining character. In a city run by a corrupt police force he is one of the dirtiest, though he is unlike those other cops. He is dirty because he cares about helping his city and is willing to break some rules to do it. Played by Donal Logue, from Sons of Anarchy, he will work greatly to contrast against his partner, the idealistic Detective Gordon.