Gotham Review - Pilot (S1, E1)

One of the most eagerly anticipated American dramas of this year has finally hit UK shores and what a great year to start the show off. In the year of the 75th anniversary of Batman. Now my understanding is that Gotham is mean't to be building upon the success of Smallville, this time having a focus on the Batman universe, taking place during Bruce Wayne's childhood. So let's see if this lives up to expectations:

So the episode begins with the death of Bruce Wayne's parents who were both mugged and shot by a masked criminal with shiny shoes and all of that was witnessed by a young Selina Kyle (played by Camren Bicondova). rookie detective James Gordon (played by Ben McKenzie who also did the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman in the film adaptation of Batman: Year One) and his corrupt and brutish partner Harvey Bullock (played by Donal Logue) are called onto the crime scene where Gordon talks to Bruce before his butler Alfred Pennysworth (played by the son of Doctor 3, Sean Pertwee) takes him home. The duo decide to pursue in finding the main suspect Mario Pepper, but is he the real killer or not?

As the first episode of what looks like to be a promising series, I thought it was very good. It did everything that a pilot should do in regards to establishing the characters and the world (having a bit of a modern twist in there too) and while Bruce Wayne may not be the main focus of the show, I just feel its good to explore a world without Batman in much more detail than just a few pages of a graphic novel or a scene that's either a few minutes or less. Its great. 9/10