I’m not going to lie, I was a bit worried before reading the first reactions to Fox’s new Batman prequel series, Gotham. I’m incredibly excited for the show, and seriously hope that it lives up to its potential. However, one could easily see where the series could go horribly, horribly wrong, and many were left skeptical by its first trailer.
Sure, it will be great to see a Batman show on television, but the series runs the risk of falling into typical prequel tropes, and spending too much time winking at the audience instead of telling good stories that fully utilize the Gotham-before-Batman concept.
Well, if these early reactions are any indication, we have nothing to worry about, because Gotham appears to have delivered on its promises and established a great foundation for what we hope is a stellar season. The pilot episode was screened for critics in New York and Los Angeles a few days ago, and once the credits rolled we saw a wave of positive feedback hit the internet, filling my geek heart with joy.
Gotham stars Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, Jada Pinkett Smith, Robin Lord Taylor, Sean Pertwee, Sarah Essen, David Mazouz, Camren Bicondova, and Erin Richards. It will air on FOX on Monday nights at 8:00 pm PST.
Check out the reactions, and a plot synopsis, below and let us know what you think.
Cannot get over how great the cast of #Gotham is — not a false note among them. Jada Pinkett Smith in particular just kills it.
— Laura Prudom (@LauInLA) June 13, 2014
Just caught an advance screening of the #Gotham premiere. Loved it. So good. Excited for @ben_mckenzie and the rest of the cast.
— Alicia Rancilio (@aliciar) June 13, 2014
Really dug the pilot of Fox's superhero origin story Gotham. Solid crime drama with many tantalizing hints of the mythology to come.
— Steven Zeitchik (@ZeitchikLAT) June 13, 2014
Fox's new TV series #Gotham topped expectations. Love it when new shows raise the bar. Fans will be very pleased.
— Tiffany Vogt (@TVWatchtower) June 13, 2014
Rest assured, #GOTHAM is everything that you want #GOTHAM to be. And .@robinlordtaylor is fantastic as Oswald Cobblepot (aka Penguin).
— Christina Radish (@ChristinaRadish) June 13, 2014
#Gotham is fantastic. The trailer doesn't do it justice. Definitely at the top of my list for this fall.
— Sandrine Sahakians (@sosandrine) June 13, 2014
Loved the screening of @Gotham @ben_mckenzie and @donallogue are the ultimate bad ass team. Can't forget @jadapsmith and Fish. This fall.
— Phyllis Thomas (@Phyllis_Thomas) June 13, 2014
Saw the #Gotham pilot tonight. Builds really well, and Robin Lord Taylor is a revelation as Penguin. Excited for what's next!
— Alex Zalben (@azalben) June 13, 2014
Loved seeing #Gotham on the big-screen. Gorgeous show, and Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue make great on-screen partners. Excited for ep 2!
— Marisa Roffman (@marisaroffman) June 13, 2014
The thing about #Gotham is it's great. But you already knew that.
— Chris E. Hayner (@ChrisHayner) June 13, 2014
I can’t shake the feeling that there are a lot of unfulfillable promises in #Gotham. But… good pilot.
— Daniel Fienberg (@HitFixDaniel) June 13, 2014
It’s well-cast, top-to-bottom, and the production values play higher in context than they have in the trailers. #Gotham
— Daniel Fienberg (@HitFixDaniel) June 13, 2014
The proof will be in the Ep.7 or Ep.9 or E.11 of it, but FOX’s #Gotham is a really solid, well-made pilot.
— Daniel Fienberg (@HitFixDaniel) June 13, 2014
Before there was Batman, there was GOTHAM. Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world’s greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon’s story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker? GOTHAM is an origin story of the great DC Comics Super-Villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told.
From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”), GOTHAM follows one cop’s rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil, and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time. Growing up in Gotham City’s surrounding suburbs, JAMES GORDON (Ben McKenzie, “Southland,” “The O.C.”) romanticized the city as a glamorous and exciting metropolis where his late father once served as a successful district attorney. Now, two weeks into his new job as a Gotham City detective and engaged to his beloved fiancée, BARBARA KEAN (Erin Richards, “Open Grave,” “Breaking In”), Gordon is living his dream – even as he hopes to restore the city back to the pure version he remembers it was as a kid. Brave, honest and ready to prove himself, the newly-minted detective is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend HARVEY BULLOCK (Donal Logue, “Sons of Anarchy,” “Terriers,” “Vikings,” “Copper”), as the two stumble upon the city’s highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes’ hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, BRUCE (David Mazouz, “Touch”), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship.
Moved by the boy’s profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer. As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham’s criminal justice system, Gordon will confront imposing gang boss FISH MOONEY (Jada Pinkett Smith, “The Matrix” franchise, “HawthoRNe”), and many of the characters who will become some of fiction’s most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged SELINA KYLE/the future CATWOMAN (acting newcomer Camren Bicondova) and OSWALD COBBLEPOT/THE PENGUIN (Robin Lord Taylor, “The Walking Dead”).While the crime drama will follow Gordon’s turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain SARAH ESSEN (Zabryna Guevara, “Burn Notice”), it also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, ALFRED (Sean Pertwee, “Camelot,” “Elementary”). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he’s destined to be.GOTHAM is based upon characters published by DC Entertainment and is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Executive producer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist”) wrote the pilot, which was directed and executive-produced by Emmy Award nominee Danny Cannon (the “CSI” franchise, “Nikita”). John Stephens will serve as an executive producer on the series.