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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

Riddler

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

ben-mckenzie-gotham

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

Batman Earth One

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.

About the author

Nick Doblovosky