Pilot 

James Gordon and Harvey Bullock are assigned to track down the killer of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Director:

Danny Cannon

Writers:

Bruno Heller (developed by), Bruno Heller

Stars:

Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue, David Mazouz

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Ben McKenzie	...	James Gordon
Donal Logue	...	Harvey Bullock
David Mazouz	...	Bruce Wayne
Zabryna Guevara	...	Sarah Essen
Sean Pertwee	...	Alfred Pennyworth
Robin Lord Taylor	...	Oswald Cobblepot / Penguin
Erin Richards	...	Barbara Kean
Camren Bicondova	...	Selina Kyle
Cory Michael Smith	...	Edward Nygma
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Fish Mooney
John Doman	...	Carmine Falcone
Richard Kind	...	Aubrey James
Victoria Cartagena	...	Renee Montoya
Andrew Stewart-Jones	...	Crispus Allen
Drew Powell	...	Butch Gilzean

Storyline

Adolescent Bruce Wayne sees his doting parents shot by a mugger. Sleezy murder squad lieutenant Harvey Bullock fails to dump the case on organized crime because of eager 'rookie' James Gordon but changes his mind when they offer to take it on anyhow. The stole pearl string is found is petty robber Mario Pepper's home, but they soon suspect the mugging to be staged and the trail leads to local mob head Fish Mooney, from Carmine Falcone's 'family'. The whole affair is clouded by the devious power struggle within the mob, which proves dangerous for the detectives too.

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Plot Keywords:

mugger | adolescent | mugging | murder | switchblade | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 2014 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Primrose Hill Productions,DC Comics,Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

In his previous series, Spin City (1996), Richard Kind played the Mayor's spokesman. In this series he plays the Mayor.

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Goofs

When Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) and Renee Montoya (Victoria Cartagena) are speaking in Barbara's apartment, Barbara calls Renee Victoria.

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Quotes

Detective James Gordon: Ma'am, was that screaming we heard back there?
Fish Mooney: Yes. My boys were watching a scary movie.
Detective James Gordon: Really?
Fish Mooney: No. Actually, one of my staff has been stealing money from me, so we're beating his punk ass.

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Connections

References Commando (1985)

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Soundtracks

Funtime
(uncredited)
Written by David Bowie and Iggy Pop
Performed by Iggy Pop

User Reviews

A loaded pilot with some good aspirations

I'm going to just throw out there that there will be a fan boy rant during this review. I'm an unabashed DC fan boy even though if I chose one right now Marvel would be my pick. I'm not sure how I heard about Gotham as a show. It was probably something on Facebook my friends tagged me in or an article I read that was posted numerous times on a dozen different websites. I wasn't really on board with another show that was a superhero show without the main superhero. I sat through Smallville already. I love Superman but I stopped watching that show for the main reason 'no flight, no tights' rule. I would love to revisit that show but it just turned me off.

Gotham gets announced and I had my qualms. It was going to be a prequel to the whole Batman legacy. That was an interesting idea. There have been flashbacks in the comics and the films. But the show was going to focus on the villains mostly and a few of the heroes of Gotham outside of Batman. That concept intrigued me more. DC is focused on keeping their film and TV franchises separate. That means that the producers and writers had free range to the whole Gotham candy store. That made me want to watch the show more. I would like to see the origins of the rogues gallery. It would be cool to see what turned these people into the villainous beings that we all know.

Last night's pilot expressed many different emotions for me. The show starts off with the murder of Bruce's parents. It's was more violent than I had expected. That scream that Bruce (David Mazouz) emits still gives me chills. Then we are introduce to what could be the main characters of the show detectives Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) fresh from war and his experienced partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). They will be our main highlights through these trips inside the vivid world of Gotham. What follows is the two detectives meeting seedy beings and challenges while trying to solve this high profile murder.

I'll start off with the positives I took out from the show. It looks incredible. The muted tones clash with vivid colors making each shot look like it was lifted from the comic books. The whole tone of the show felt more gritty and noir more than shows like Arrow and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I think this show will benefit from no superheroes. McKenzie and Logue have excellent chemistry. They feed off each other very well. With McKenzie playing the straight laced headstrong cop and Logue enjoying being the guy you don't really know what side he's on. Jada Pinkett Smith shined as Fish Mooney, a villain created specifically for the show. She exudes charisma and terror. She seems to be having a lot of fun with her role. Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot was a nice start. He underplays what could be the craziness of his character until he's let unleashed. And when he does it's quite disturbing.

*Warning fan boy rant coming* I know that the creators have been given the keys to the candy store. Even more so because this show is on a prime time spot on a one of the big network channels. But there is no need to dive in headfirst and show your hand. There is so much going on anyone who knows anything about this universe will have their head spin. I'm not sure if there are that many people who don't know many of the characters introduced in this pilot. I guess they felt the need to make sure they set up for what is coming but ease people in. In this episode we are introduced to at six different high profile characters and one who could be lead to believed to be another.

That's just too much for a opening episode. I don't know if they get that sprinkling each character in maybe their own episode down the line would have gone better to hook me in. That's not even counting a few characters who eventually become big get a few lines here and there. It's a lot to take in. I am glad that they kept the concept of a "Batman show without Batman". Bruce gets three scenes and that was more than enough. It should make for good episodes down the line to see where the show goes. Many of us fans know that the city of Gotham has to get much worse in order for Bruce to think about donning the cowl and try to save the city as the dark knight.

So in the light of that we know that Gordon wants to save this city. In his plights he has to fail in order for the Batman to rise. For me, that seems like an great end game to play with. The show could do some things most normal things won't do. It can also go to place most cop dramas don't like to go to. But so far it seems this show is more about the characters and the city of Gotham than the procedural cop drama. I'm perfectly fine with that.