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Gotham S2 |OT| Dawn of Altruism - Mondays 8/7c

VanWinkle

Member
The art direction is just astounding. It's a mish-mash of all sorts of different styles and eras but still manages to look cohesive.

You've got 1990s technology in TV and cellphones, 1970s cars, 1930s architecture, and costumes ranging from Old Hollywood to Punk to Burlesque. Crazy how they've managed to make it all work.

It really captures that feeling of a city outside of time.
 
The art direction is just astounding. It's a mish-mash of all sorts of different styles and eras but still manages to look cohesive.

You've got 1990s technology in TV and cellphones, 1970s cars, 1930s architecture, and costumes ranging from Old Hollywood to Punk to Burlesque. Crazy how they've managed to make it all work.

The punk aesthetic reminds and Burlesque aesthetic reminds me of Penguin's gang from Returns and the street gangs from Forever. The technology and architecture feels like the Animated Series if it met Batman Begins. This show just really knows what it's doing.
 
MlTXMBV.gif
lol, this .gif can have so many uses.

Talk shit, get hit.

Banned from NeoGAF

Etc.
 

VanWinkle

Member
The punk aesthetic reminds and Burlesque aesthetic reminds me of Penguin's gang from Returns and the street gangs from Forever. The technology and architecture feels like the Animated Series if it met Batman Begins. This show just really knows what it's doing.

Yup. And I LOVE the panning city shots as well.
 

Veelk

Banned
So, how is this show guys? Havent watched any of it, but i love batman. Do they bother to even reference Batman at all?

It's actually not a batman show at all. The main character's name is Jim Gotham and he's a cop that just moved into a city called Gordon, where they have bizarre murders for no real reason.
 

~Kinggi~

Banned
It's actually not a batman show at all. The main character's name is Jim Gotham and he's a cop that just moved into a city called Gordon, where they have bizarre murders for no real reason.

hardy har har

Also you guys are shockingly hostile toward me, i was seriously just asking if this was good and holy shit you are all piling on like crazy. Seriously, get some damn perspective.
 

Veelk

Banned
hardy har har

Also you guys are shockingly hostile toward me, i was seriously just asking if this was good and holy shit you are all piling on like crazy. Seriously, get some damn perspective.

I'm just messing with you.

It's a Batman before Batman show. It has Bruce Wayne as a kid after his parents death and Jim Gordon trying to clean up the GCPD.

It's strengths are that it has a surreal atmosphere that many have described as being a live action Batman TAS, without the restrictions of not allowing to show blood and death. This show has some truly dark moments, with characters being unashamedly depraved and weird. It shows Gotham as a very fucked up and bizarre place that you can believe that it would produce a man who would want to dress up in a bat suit to go beat up criminals at night.

At times, it's hard to tell what acting is meant to incorperate the surreality of Gotham in how off it is, and what acting is just...bad. It also does a lot of interesting things with established characters, giving no fucks to comics canon if it decides that something is more interesting if done another way. I don't really consider that last bit a weakness, but some die hards go nuts if Barbara turns out to be Alfred's Niece, apparently. Some also say that the first season is extremely weak, and while it's far from perfect, I would say it's atleast on the same level of strength that the current season is, which has gotten a lot of praise. Personally, I think it was just a matter of adjustment.

As I said, it's willing to do new things with characters. For example, get ready to see Bruce as a disturbed angsty teen that draws pictures of death and listens to metal, while Alfred is a "I have no idea what I'm doing" sort of surrogate dad that has....questionable parental strategies.

I say give it a go.
 
So, how is this show guys? Havent watched any of it, but i love batman. Do they bother to even reference Batman at all?

It's a great show, especially in the back half of the first season and all of this season so far. Bruce Wayne is in pretty much every episode as a minor character. That's a double entendre. No references to actual bats or Batman yet.
 
hardy har har

Also you guys are shockingly hostile toward me, i was seriously just asking if this was good and holy shit you are all piling on like crazy. Seriously, get some damn perspective.

It's a good show. As others have said, it takes time for it really to shape into its own thing. The first several episodes of season 1 are fairly weak and feel very forced in what they try to do but as the first season moves onward, both the writers and the actors seem to accept the cheesy yet over the top nature of the show and just run with it. The art direction is superb, with beautiful set designs and great use of color. The characters develop from somewhat annoying cliches into more layered pieces with the actors embracing them and taking them to fun and sometimes gruesome places. If you're a fan of not only Batman but Gotham in comics as a whole you'll instantly love this show.
 

Platy

Member
So, how is this show guys? Havent watched any of it, but i love batman. Do they bother to even reference Batman at all?

The real answer is this show is WEIRD.
It doesn't exist in the same world with the same rules as ours. It is kinda surrealistic twilight zone world of cops vs thiefs.

Like a live action Batman Brave & the Bold without batman or any hero

If you like the weirdness you will love it, if you just find it weird ... well it is kinda my guilty pleasure xD
 

Pau

Member
Every once in a while I pop into the thread to see what's happening in the show. Do I want to know why Alfred slapped Selina? :(
 

Skux

Member
So, how is this show guys? Havent watched any of it, but i love batman. Do they bother to even reference Batman at all?

Season 1 is anything from abysmal to mediocre with moments of gloriousness depending on who you ask. It looks fantastic but has trouble juggling all of its ideas, characters and storylines. There are some terrible gimmicky non-comic villains of the week, and female characters are pretty badly neglected. Once you get about 6 or 7 episodes in it starts hitting its stride, and there are some pretty interesting arcs based on villain origins. Bear in mind that season 1 was originally planned for 16 episodes but then was extended to 22, so the last 4-5 episodes before the finale feel like a lot of filler.

Season 2 is a big improvement so far. It feels like the showrunners and writers have taken in a lot of the feedback and are realising the potential of the world they created. It's 100% serialised which lets them tell longer, better stories, and the characters are a lot more defined. The tone is a lot more consistent, and the show mostly ditches the mob storylines for more theatrical villains, which is a lot of fun to watch and separates Gotham from all the other police dramas out there.

It's a unique take on the Batman lore and I think anyone who is a fan of Batman should give it a shot.
 

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
They killed Jerome, god damn it! best actor on the show, and they do this.

finally caught up with the last 2 eps. this show is getting pretty good.


Really, a strikeforce? Led by the guy from The Shield.

okay, i see where this is going.

when do the Armenians come to Gotham?


Chiklis is playing a reverse Vic Mackey right now. kind of funny.


Zasz' "Unexpected" was great.
 

SpaceWolf

Banned
(Consider getting back into this show)

(Check back into this thread to see what's going on)

(See Gif of Alfred Pennyworth slapping young girl)

(Back out)
 

Skux

Member
(Consider getting back into this show)

(Check back into this thread to see what's going on)

(See Gif of Alfred Pennyworth slapping young girl)

(Back out)

Well of course it looks bad out of context. It makes a lot of sense in the show though.
 
(Consider getting back into this show)

(Check back into this thread to see what's going on)

(See Gif of Alfred Pennyworth slapping young girl)

(Back out)

This show is basically just child torture. Last week, they cut up some kid's neck. Before that was the episode about blowing up a bus full of schoolchildren. You should totally watch. It's really interesting.
 
So, how is this show guys? Havent watched any of it, but i love batman. Do they bother to even reference Batman at all?

Show is amazing at times.

Alfred is the best interpretation of the character, period.
Bruce has gotten much better.
Nygma is awesome, started badly then had a few redeeming scenes finally a certain scene completely flipped his character and made him one of my favs.
Penguin has been killing it from day one.
Average mob stuff was actually really enjoyable.
Heck even a bland villain like Zsasz is damn great on this show.
Dr Thompkins is also an enjoyable character so far.

Then stuff like Dr Crane's episode, Jerome, proto-Venom..... just perfect.

Not to mention the production value and look of the show, i'd say Gotham looks better than movie versions(i'd say Burton's is coolest but too out there.).

Show basically has 1 deadweight character not fixed yet and that is Selina Kyle.
 

Snake

Member
Alfred slapping Selina is a peak "holy shit alfred is terrible and that's not okay but on the other hand I'm loving this anyway" moment.

And can I just say that Penguin's comic-booky theme that plays when he's up for violence is amazing. Like, I still can't believe it's happening on a network show.
 

Raistlin

Post Count: 9999
So, how is this show guys? Havent watched any of it, but i love batman. Do they bother to even reference Batman at all?
It starts off really slow and kind of shit. Gets better and better towards the end of the season. S2 has been strong so far.

It's setting and art direction are amazing though. I don't know how it works, but it works.


In many ways the show is weird as fuck. Sometimes in a cheesy way, other times in a dark way.
 

Rymuth

Member
In many ways the show is weird as fuck. Sometimes in a cheesy way, other times in a dark way.
Its the show's biggest problem, imho, a case of identity crisis.

Show Runners cant seem to figure out if they're doing Tim Burton's Batman or Nolan Batman...and sometimes, inexplicably, elements of Adam West pop up now and again.
 
Its the show's biggest problem, imho, a case of identity crisis.

Show Runners cant seem to figure out if they're doing Tim Burton's Batman or Nolan Batman...and sometimes, inexplicably, elements of Adam West pop up now and again.

That isn't the show's biggest problem, it's the biggest strength.

It's outrageous, and gritty, and campy as fuck. All at the same time.
 
"holy shit alfred is terrible and that's not okay but on the other hand I'm loving this anyway"

This pretty much sums up how I feel about the show as a whole. The whole thing's an incongruous mess where nothing makes sense and the acting's all over the shop; however it's still really fun to watch.
 

Oddduck

Member
Its the show's biggest problem, imho, a case of identity crisis.

Show Runners cant seem to figure out if they're doing Tim Burton's Batman or Nolan Batman...and sometimes, inexplicably, elements of Adam West pop up now and again.

The show is way more Burton Batman than Nolan Batman.

From the set design, to the bizarre hair styles, to the costumes.

Selina Kyle looks like a young Michelle Pfieffer. Penguin's dad is going to be Paul Ruebens (who was Penguin's father in Batman Returns).

Some of the cop stuff may feel grounded in reality like Nolan's films, but this show's dark humor feels like it's straight out of the mind of Tim Burton.
 
Its the show's biggest problem, imho, a case of identity crisis.

Show Runners cant seem to figure out if they're doing Tim Burton's Batman or Nolan Batman...and sometimes, inexplicably, elements of Adam West pop up now and again.

why can't it be both and be on its own? I think the creators have found the direction they are going to and it works. This season has been great so far
 

VanWinkle

Member
I had to gif Theo's reaction at the journalist saying his name. Made me laugh harder than it should have.

1445203081-galavan.gif

Hahaha, that reminds me of Penguin's reaction to Jim on the first or second episode of this season.

I love this show so much. It just feels so comic book like. It has the Nolan seriousness at times, the Burton outlandishness, and some of it's own stuff, like the gore. Despite having what seems like a mish-mash of ideas, I never feel that it comes off as lacking cohesion.
 

Effect

Member
Its the show's biggest problem, imho, a case of identity crisis.

Show Runners cant seem to figure out if they're doing Tim Burton's Batman or Nolan Batman...and sometimes, inexplicably, elements of Adam West pop up now and again.

Some people keep saying things like this and I don't think is the case. This different feeling from episode to episode or from scene to scene at times is very likely on purpose. That change in tone depending on the characters, locations, etc from time to time is part of the show as it's designed. It happens far to often and consistently for it to be something they can't control. People either have to accept that is the show and how the show is being made or or stop watching. I said last season but people have to judge the show on it's own merits and not what they wanted it to be.

I also don't think the show is trying to just be like Nolan's Batman or Burton's. It's trying to incorporate all the styles into the show. I believe that's what the comics are like. One story might have one tone and another might have a different on that is lighter or darker and it can all depend on the type of villain that is being used, etc. Gotham as a TV series can play around with that in ways a film couldn't. Similar to how the various Batman TV series could play around with tone from episode to episode. The show really isn't doing anything really that different from past Batman related shows save this time without a Batman.

I actually think more comic book shows should play around with different tones depending on the episode. Why lock yourself into one time of storytelling for 20+ weeks.

However if there is a tone that they likely might be skewing toward more so then others then I would have to say it's the Burton one. Which itself wasn't locked down to just one tone when you look at Batman and Batman Returns. Or Batman: The Animated Series that modeled itself after the Burton films. The tone of those films can change greatly depending on the scene and what is being shown or within an entire scene/section itself. For example the museum scene with Joker with Prince being played and how the tone shifts from the start of that to the end when Batman shows up.
 

Penguin

Member
Yeah, I think it's the audience more than the show that has an issue with the tone.

it swings so wildly, but the show does it so often.... it can't be by accident or not understanding.

I think... and said before. Ever since I heard someone describe the show as grimcamp that's the world that sticks in my mind.

I call it the missing link between Batman Returns and Batman Forever. That stylish hammy, but moody bridge we never got
 

TheOddOne

Member
New episode today:
Season 2: episode 5 "Scarification"

Galavan and Penguin join forces with a dangerous family in Gotham. Then, as the rivalry between the Waynes and the Galavans resurfaces, Gordon struggles to maintain order in the city.
 
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