Gotham

Batman fans bemoaning the current gap between Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and the upcoming Ben Affleck–powered Superman v Batman film will take interest in Gotham, a new series from Fox. Similar to what Smallville did for the Superman universe, Gotham takes an intimate look at the world of Bruce Wayne before he became the caped crusader.

The series opens with a familiar event: the back alley murder of Bruce’s parents. Future police commissioner Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is only a detective here but vows to Bruce that he will bring the murderer to justice. Gordon’s quest to deliver on his promise drives Gotham’s narrative and brings Gordon and his acerbic partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) into contact with Gotham’s most infamous (future) criminals.

Most interesting among them are Oswald Cobblepot, the future Penguin, and his boss Fish Mooney. Jada Pinkett Smith has a great time as Mooney, an ambitious crime underboss created by Gotham’s writers. She has a freewheeling relationship with the detectives, giving them valuable information one scene then ordering their deaths the next. Robin Lord Taylor is also excellent as the neurotic and vicious Cobblepot. His villainy has a Cormac McCarthy–esque flavor about it; he stammers out continuous gratitude at being picked up while hitchhiking, only to cut the driver’s throat when he jokes that Cobblepot walks “like a penguin.”

Though its production values are high and its cinematography arresting, Gotham has trouble escaping the conventions of a typical network detective series. Most of the Gotham police force outside of Gordon and Bullock are stereotypes, from the overweight, bumbling beat cops to the masochistic lieutenant. An unexpected lesbian subtext involving Gordon’s fiancée feels like typical faux-edginess from the suits at Fox to make up for an otherwise dull character. All this makes Gotham more likely to be embraced by fans of prime time crime drama than the Batman faithful, who may be spoiled on Nolan’s powerful films.

There’s fun to be had in Gotham; just keep the expectations TV-high.