Gotham

[major_clanger]

Looking at what was available on Netflix last night I watched the first episode of Gotham. Interesting premise and nicely produced - any views from people who've seen it as to how well it develops?

But good heavens, Sean Pertwee - who plays Alfred - is really starting to look like his father, isn't he? Dig out a blond wig and a cape and we could have a 3rd/12th Doctor crossover episode, subject to SP or some overdubbing actor being able to do JP's very distinctive voice.

Comments

[coalescent]

It is a daft, stylised show -- much closer to Burton and Schumacher Batman than to anything Nolan did, for instance -- some of the dialogue and continuity is awful, and I couldn't with a straight face suggest that anyone needs to watch it, but I find it surprisingly watchable. I think the cinematography is usually great, and some of the individual performances are excellent -- particularly Jada Pinkett-Smith (Fish) and Robin Taylor (Penguin). Ben McKenzie's Gordon gets a lot more interesting in the second half of the season when, among other things, he gets to bounce off Morena Baccarin for a while.

[swisstone.livejournal.com]

I presume you missed this then? SP dressed up as his dad.

http://toybox.io9.com/this-is-perfect-sean-pertwee-dressed-up-as-his-dad-for-1653637999

I heard a rumour that he even auditioned for the role when Capaldi got the part, but I can't confirm that.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

You know I think I may have briefly seen that but somehow pigeonholed it in 'things that are so cool I assume I imagined them'.

The look is near-perfect; it's the voice I think might be the problem.

[murphys-lawyer.livejournal.com]

I liked Gotham, but from reviews and other comments I feel like I'm in a very small minority.

[a-cubed.livejournal.com]

It's been renewed so it wasn't that small a minority.

[ivory-goddess.livejournal.com]

We've seen season 1 of Gotham and say it's worth sticking with. It's not like Agents of Shield, which was boring for half a season before suddenly picking up and becoming interesting, but the interest levels do go up.

Alfred & Penguin are definitely the 2 best characters. Gordon is very Worthy but a bit dull; Bruce is a good kid but still a kid. Fish is annoying throughout.

[major-clanger.livejournal.com]

I've heard AoS got good just after the point we lost interest, but annoyingly it seems to have rotated off the free list on Amazon Prime Video.

[a-cubed.livejournal.com]

I liked it. It has multiple plot threads which interweave but each has its own momentum, character development and logic. It gets somewhat gory at times, though not as bad as Daredevil IMO. Certain triggers may be set of for some people with some of the gruesome bits. As others have mentioned Alfred and Oswald (penguin) are the standout performances, but I think it's got a great cast. It's nice to see Morena Baccarin get a good part in something, too. I'd definitely recommend sticking with it for a good few episodes to see the plot lines spread out.

There's some really nice twists in the tail in a couple of episodes and in the plot arc, too.

[a-cubed.livejournal.com]

It's all in the nose.
SP is actually a good enough actor that he could probably do a passable imitation of his father if he really made an effort.

[gaspode.livejournal.com]

Gotham pans out pretty well - the early episodes are a bit uneven - but overall pretty solid show ..

[timscience.livejournal.com]

We enjoyed Gotham. It helps that most of the individual episodes work well as standalones as well as fitting in to the overall structure.

[cthulie.livejournal.com]

We liked it a lot, though I wasn't fond of the casting for Alfred and Gordon.

[gummitch.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I saw Sean Pertwee in the mid-eighties in a touring production of The Taming of the Shrew by the RSC, where I think he played Christopher Sly in the framing narrative.

(ETA: Found a cast-listing for that production. Wrong Doctor's son, it was Michael Troughton I saw in TTOFTS.)

I watched Gotham on broadcast tv (Channel 5?) until a mid-season break, and missed the re-start, so I've been doing a catch-up rewatch on Netflix. It certainly has its flaws, but its strengths outweigh them and I like it a lot. I thought episode 7 was one of the most gripping pieces of TV I saw last year. Not sure if it holds up to the end of the season, but the fact it's been renewed can be taken as a good sign.