REVIEW: Gotham Season One

REVIEW: Gotham Season One

Whilst I don't quite understand it myself, it's hard to deny that many are expressing excitement for the 'Snyder Cut' of the 2017 DC ensemble movie 'Justice League'. For that reason, I decided to take a look back at my review for the first season of the Batman prequel series 'Gotham'.

As controversial as this may sound, Gotham is arguably a more appealing premise than Superman's equivalent prequel series Smallville. Rather than Smallville's decision to make a young Clark Kent the central protagonist, Gotham follows one of the most iconic Batman characters Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), who at this point in time is a rookie police detective rather than a commissioner. He teams up with his partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) to solve crimes occurring in Gotham City, on behalf of the GCPD (Gotham City Police Department). Season One boasted a more episodic 'Villain Of The Week' structure in comparison to later seasons of the comic-book crime drama, and as with Agents of SHIELD's first season it didn't quite work as well as they had probably intended. I tend to think of U.S. dramas like British soaps, in that they work better with a serialised approach as opposed to the  '...of the week' format that became so apparent in the early 2000s.

There were some nice character arcs in this first season though. Barbara Kean's (Erin Richards) surprising transition from Jim Gordon's sweet fiancee to cold-blooded psychopath, for example, is a radical shift that improves her character immensely, offering more depth and pathos over what we initially saw earlier in the season. The beginning of Edward Nygma's (Cory Michael Smith) transition to becoming the Riddler was good too, playing with concepts like multiple personality disorder to convincingly portray the beginning of how this man became the iconic Batman villain we all know and love today. Robin Lloyd Taylor as Oswald Cobblepott was entertaining too in his progression from low-level thug to his 'King of Gotham' position that he inhabits the following season.

The introduction of the villains in season one is also, however, it's biggest downfall. It feels like the show introduced too many of the iconic Batman villains at once. In the first season already, you have Penguin, Catwoman (played brilliantly by Camren Bicondova), the Riddler, possibly the Joker (it's still not clear if Jerome, played by Cameron Monaghan - arguably Gotham's best child actor, is the Joker (NB: This question was answered later in the series when it is revealed that he is merely the person who inspired the Joker, rather than the man himself), and Two Face (Nicholas D'Agosto). I would rather have seen the show stand on its own two feet without Batman villains overshadowing its first season. Selina Kyle  and Oswald Cobblepott were great inclusions to the first season but Edward Nygma working in forensics at the GCPD felt forced, Jerome could have been held back for season two and Nicholas D'Agosto was forgettable as Harvey Dent.

On a more positive note, there were some brilliant narrative developments in the first season. The idea to have Jim Gordon demoted to working at Arkham Asylum was a great one and helped develop Jim's character more from his 'boy scout' image to a more interesting and flawed character. It also saw the introduction of a new love for Jim, who Ben McKenzie had much more chemistry with compared to how he appeared alongside Erin Richards as Barbara. The episode 'Rogues' Gallery' saw the introduction of  Morena Baccarin as Lee Thompkins, and was immediately much more convincing as Jim's romantic partner. It was no surprise when I later found out they were an item in real life.

Another big success for Gotham was the amazing chemistry between Ben McKenzie and Donal Logue. The two actors bounced off each other nicely throughout the season and their natural friendship was a joy to watch. It's their partnership that made season one of Gotham really worth watching, and the differences between them with Harvey's world weariness and Jim's more idealistic views contrasting nicely during the series' initial run.

The highlight of the season for me was by far Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth. I would go as far as to say he is the best screen version of Bruce's butler Alfred that there has ever been and ever will ever be. He is absolutely perfect as a more action-orientated take on the iconic character (not too dissimilar to Jon Pertwee's Doctor, actually) and was season one's unexpected star of the show. I haven't seen Batman VS Superman but I doubt Jeremy Irons is half as good as he is in the part.

Overall, the first season of Gotham was a mixed bag. It had some nice character arcs and some great character development too, but the episodic approach didn't quite work out as well as they had probably intended. The season also introduces far too many Batman villains and it would have been nice to have seen some of them held back for the second season, to give them a better chance to stand out among the others in Batman's rogues gallery. Ben McKenzie had some truly impressive chemistry with Morena Bccarin and Donal Logue however, and the first season also possesses the best version of Alfred there likely ever will be in any take on the Batman mythos.

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What are your thoughts on Gotham's first season? Let me know in the comments section.