Jada Pinkett Smith Could Kick Batman's Butt

[Primetimer]

And other reasons Gotham might be great.

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[rollacoaster]

I am totally stoked for this show! But, Fish Moody? Really?

[swimmyfish]

I am looking forward to this show for a lot of reasons too, although mine are mostly "Ben McKenzie".

I really, really hope Gotham doesn't turn into some ponderous, wheel-spinning nonsense. I hope it has a sense of fun with its characters that is genuinely entertaining rather than showing off how clever it can be. And OMG, I didn't even realize how much I'm looking forward to Jada Pinkett Smith kicking asses all over town until you mentioned it, but I really, really want to see it.

[MarkBlankenship]

Yes, swimmyfish! I want this show to be fun and not a lot of cheap philosophical statements and brooding looks.

[Kromm]

The idea of Lucy Liu being on Gotham is brilliant.  It won't happen (because she's committed to Elementary and CBS), but we can dream.

There's even an appropriate role she could have played--Lady Shiva. They WOULD have to reconfigure the character's timeline like they have several others though--because in the comics she seems to be somewhere around Batman's own age, although admittedly it's hard to tell for sure. But if Penguin and Riddler can both now be about a dozen years older than Batman... so can Lady Shiva (she'd probably still be called Sandra Wu-San at this point, so we probably should keep checking the guest character lists for names like that to see if Shiva shows up, played by someone non-Liu-ish, no doubt).

Edited August 27, 2014 by Kromm

[MarkHB]

I'm not sure if TPTB over at CBS would let Lucy Liu free from Elementary to have any kind of a serious arc in Gotham.

 

Also, it's Fish Mooney, not Fish Moody.  But I'm eagerly looking forward to it as well. Matt, will you be covering it for Ptv?

[Tenshinhan]

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to a "fun" Gotham.  Entertaining, certainly, but not fun.

 

Also, I don't think you can compare an ongoing television series to a film or series of films.  On TV, you get the chance to tell different types of stories than you can in film, because of the pacing and structural differences.

[mizminnie]

Ehhh .... I would have rather watched Ben in another Season of SOUTHLAND.

I think this show might turn out to be the biggest dissapointment of the new season.

They are already trying too hard to hype it. The concept might look good on paper, but trying too much to anchor it in reality, trying to make it a gritty cop-drama while introducing some of the zaniest villains from the comics might not go together all that well.

And Jada's involvement is actually one of the big points that makes me want to not watch it. I have yet to see her in anything where her presence was not grating.

[dr pepper]

"Fish Mooney" is just strange. "Fish Moody" works as a villain, but only if she's fighting Dick Tracy.

[Tenshinhan]

They are already trying too hard to hype it. The concept might look good on paper, but trying too much to anchor it in reality, trying to make it a gritty cop-drama while introducing some of the zaniest villains from the comics might not go together all that well.

 

This is what I have a problem with as well.  I think a gritty cop-drama would work fine.  It's when they bring in Riddler, Penguin, Ivy, et al that it becomes silly.  They can borrow from the books without getting foolish.  Especially since this show doesn't involve Batman himself. 

[Actionmage]

while introducing some of the zaniest villains from the comics

But they aren't . The show is showing us people who will choose to become villainous. We are going to see some very Bad folks, like Fish, who aren't really zany. We are getting folks who are Bad now and aren't zany in the least. Yes, a guy named the Riddler or a woman who will call herself Poison Ivy are a bit zany, especially when they wear spandex and commit crimes so one spandex-clad  vigilante can catch them is zany. That isn't what the show is going to give us though. This is sort of, Bad Guys Begin,  or Jim Gordon: Year One, to nod at DC.

 

The little bits I've seen do not seem anywhere near as campy as the 60s show, but neither is it going to be so ploddingly dour as the last Batman movies.  I think it's going to be a nice mix of dark humor, action, procedural, snark, and a side of philosophy. 

 

I am just excited at the prospect of Donal Logue and Jada Pinkett-Smith showing up on my tv on the reg!

 

 

"Fish Mooney" is just strange.

Actually, it was covered in the Fish Mooney thread, but short version: In keeping with the animal-based villains of the comics, Fish is named after an actual fish, the moonfish, aka the opah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opah).  Fish's outfits and hair are based on moonfish traits. (At least the outfits that have been shown.)

Edited August 28, 2014 by Actionmage

[Happytobehere]

My concern with the JPS character is that because she is not cannon, she is entirely expendable. I don't want to get attached to a character just to have her written out.

Also, when all the named cannon characters make appearances in this show, it tampers with the actual Batman mythos. If Bruce is still a little boy, how is he actively engaging these characters when he is in his thirties and forties?

[MarkHB]

I don't see either the Riddler or the Penguin as being particularly physical characters in and of themselves, so if they're 10-15 years older than Bruce by the time he starts swinging from rooftops it won't bother me.  Penguin particularly, with his pot belly and receding hairline, has always looked older.

 

So far as Fish Mooney goes, I agree with you as far as her expendability.  My prediction is that at some point, whether in the S1 finale or later in the series, Cobblepot will take her out and assume control of her organization.  That may partly be driven by how much of a series commitment JPS is down for.

[Trini]

My concern with the JPS character is that because she is not cannon, she is entirely expendable. I don't want to get attached to a character just to have her written out.

You never know; Harley Quinn is cannon now, but she was originally created just for the Animated Series. And a few ideas/characters from Smallville have made it into the comics for Superman.

Also, when all the named cannon characters make appearances in this show, it tampers with the actual Batman mythos. If Bruce is still a little boy, how is he actively engaging these characters when he is in his thirties and forties?

It really helps to look at this show as unconnected to any previous Batman continuity.

But I agree that having so many of the iconic characters (especially the villains) here and so early is problematic. I don't like it either, but I'm willing to give the show a chance.