Robin Lord Taylor as the Penguin

Gotham was a Fox crime television show developed by Bruno Heller that aired from 2014 to 2019. It followed James “Jim” Gordon, as played by Ben McKenzie, a new detective at the Gotham City Police Department, with his cynical partner Harvey Bullock, played by Donal Logue. It also follows David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, developing the skills and convictions that would turn him into Batman, as well as his young friendship with Camren Bicondova’s Selina Kyle and his relationship with his butler and guardian Alfred Pennyworth, played by Sean Pertwee, as well as Oswald Cobblepot’s rise through Gotham’s criminal underworld to become the crime boss the Penguin, as played by Robin Lord Taylor. It ran for five seasons and an even 100 episodes. The question, however, is: is it good?

If you ask me, I would say yes. It is a fun, wacky time that gets crazier as it goes. The first season is set up like a normal police procedural, with more fantastical elements while folding in characters and themes from the greater Batman mythos. The last season, while an absolute mess of storytelling, is absolutely insane, adapting the No Man’s Land storyline from Batman comics. I think, overall, the show definitely has problems. Like, a lot of problems. But, if you know me, you know that the overall quality of a tv show or movie doesn't normally affect my enjoyment of it if it’s fun enough, and my God, Gotham is so fun. 

This show has legitimately some of my favorite adaptations of a lot of Batman’s rogues gallery, whether they be cool, interesting, or downright creepy, as so many of them are. I already mentioned Robin Lord Taylor’s Penguin earlier, but he is conniving, skeevy, and slimy in a really fun way in this show. He is uncompromising in his want to become the kingpin of crime in Gotham, and in his love for his mother. Often paired with him is Corey Michael Smith’s Riddler, who starts as the nerdy, awkward forensics scientist for GCPD, who develops a psychotic and confident split-personality. And somehow, they aren’t even my favorites in this show. 

One of my favorite actors, Cameron Monaghan, plays both Jerome Valeska and his twin brother Jeremiah Valeska, who are both interpretations of the Joker. For some reason, DC had an embargo on the names Batman, Joker, and Harley Quinn appearing on TV, no doubt to the DCEU that was still going strong at the time. And so, Jerome and Jeremiah aren’t technically the Joker, but they totally are some of the best interpretations of the character by far. Jerome Valeksa plays the more crazy, anarchist, funny guy Joker, whose Joker laugh rivals that of Mark Hamill and Jack Nicholson, while Jeremiah Valeska, plays a more menacing, sardonic, and flat Joker, that is still not without his funny moments. Your mileage may vary on which Valeska you think is the better Joker, but are such fun characters in my opinion.

This show also adapts lesser known villains well. The two best examples are the Mad Hatter and Professor Pyg. Mad Hatter is a supremely creepy character, with an unnerving infatuation with his sister, Alice. After Alice dies, he calls pretty much every female character Alice. Professor Pyg is a different type of creepy. Pyg is one of the most fun and theatrical villains in the show, being a serial killer who sings a rendition of the Cell Block Tango from the musical Chicago. 

Overall, Gotham is maybe a 6/10 show that makes up for that score with some absolutely insane decisions, leading to a show that’s overall hard to describe, especially by season 3 after all of the Hugo Strange and Indian Hill stuff. If you like Batman, give season one a watch, and if you liked it, great, there’s four more seasons that get crazier as it goes. If you don’t like season one, perhaps stick to shows like NCIS or Criminal Minds.