I am a Batman fan. Check that: I am a Batman freak. I was never much into comics when I was a kid, but there was something different about Batman. He was endlessly interesting, layered in ways the best literary characters were. Plus, he was just cool.
So it probably goes without saying that I am beyond juiced for Gotham, the new Fox series that debuts Monday night (Sept. 22). It’s exciting to see a new take on the Batman story, this time dealing with the genesis of Batman and the events that turned Bruce Wayne into The Dark Knight and everyday thugs into infamous supervillains.
The casting of Gotham seems particularly inspired. Ben McKenzie should make an interesting Jim Gordon (Gotham City’s eventual police commissioner), and anyone who saw him in the late, great Southland knows he can bring a seething intensity to his character. Fans of Batman: The Animated Series have to be happy with Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, as he seems to embody the look and feel of the gruff detective. I’m really looking forward to seeing McKenzie and Logue play off of one another.
As for the villains, well… let’s just say that’s the one part of the series that gives me pause.
Oswald Cobblepot looks promising, but he waddles around like a penguin in one of the previews and it just makes me worry he might be more silly than menacing. Fish Mooney, played by Jada Pinkett-Smith, is an entirely new character who’s supposedly a vicious gangster. Pinkett-Smith seems like an odd choice for the role, but maybe she’ll surprise.
And then there’s the promise that the show will eventually introduce The Joker while providing plenty of red herrings over the course of the season. I hope that the writers don’t try to get too cute with that setup, because you simply can’t mess up The Joker. You just can’t.
As excited as I am for this show, I can’t seem to shake Patton Oswalt’s famous routine about the Star Wars prequels: Why should I care about Batman as a kid? It’s going to be tough to pull of a Batman show without Batman, but the characters of the Batman universe are interesting enough to keep me watching.
I want to see how Edward Nygma turns from forensic investigator into The Riddler, I want to see young Selina Kyle become Catwoman, and I want to see how young Bruce Wayne channels his feelings of rage and helplessness into becoming Batman. I want to see them introduce new characters as the series goes on. I want to find clues to future characters and feel smart about finding them. Mostly, I really just want Gotham to work.
And if it doesn’t, I can always just watch Batman Begins again.
