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Gotham TV (Vol. 2)


Quoth

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I just watched the latest episode and y'all are right. The Fish/Dollmaker story is just idiotic. Why would he keep her alive? Makes no sense. And I'm so over her royal bearing and imperious hand gestures. I really like Jada P. Smith in other roles, but ugh, this one is horrid.

Definitely. Her story keeps getting more and more idiotic. I wish they'd just kill her and get on with the show.

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Probably mostly had to do with getting Jada. Back before this show premiered, she was the name the producers hung their hats on. It was a movie star doing a TV show, something we're seeing more of lately. Ultimately, it was stunt casting. And, who knows, maybe the initial plan was to have her as an ongoing character, but because not many seem to enjoy her, and the show has found its feet without her help, the showrunners can leave her contract -- I'm sure she's probably the highest paid actor on the show by a lot.

Is she seriously that big a name? I'm looking at her filmography, and at her quite brief list of awards and nominations, and feel seriously underwhelmed. Before consulting Wikipedia and IMDB, I recognized her name from those two crappy "Matrix" sequels. Now, surprisingly, ditto. OK, she was in "Collateral", but that was also a few years ago. Not exactly Kevin Spacey, her.

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Is she seriously that big a name? I'm looking at her filmography, and at her quite brief list of awards and nominations, and feel seriously underwhelmed. Before consulting Wikipedia and IMDB, I recognized her name from those two crappy "Matrix" sequels. Now, surprisingly, ditto. OK, she was in "Collateral", but that was also a few years ago. Not exactly Kevin Spacey, her.

Yeah but she's married to Will Smith

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  • 4 weeks later...

Except for the Fish plot line enjoyed the ep. Selina's final act. Whoa! Noble reasons, but I suspect that'll color lil' Brucies world view.



And I loved the case of the week (ummm. two weeks?) Ogre (was that Peter from "Heros"?) is not a canon Batman villian, correct? I think they should throw more of such into the mix. And wrapping him around a plot by the Comish, or vice versa, was good, I thought.


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That’s really the problem with the show in a nutshell you can tell a new story within already established boundaries or you can just do an endless round of fan service but you can’t do both. The problem with this show is its never quite decided which it wanted to do for every really cool thing that happens there is one more that is unnecessary either too much time spent telling you crap you already knew or not enough time telling you the interesting stuff. I would have stopped watching the show after about the 10th episode but there are some standouts in an otherwise standard cast that keep me coming back.



The first on the list is Donal Logue who needs more dialog and plays an excellent grizzled veteran of the GCPD who has done this all before and seen this all before and is only annoyed by Gordon because he used to be Gordon. I don’t know who Logue is outside of the show but I fully intend to look up other stuff with him in them and check them out.


Followed closely by Robin Lord Taylor who plays an excellent little sociopath pitting various factions of organized crime against each other so he always comes out on top (mostly). I feel a certain degree of kinship with how he is portrayed, crazy, brutal but also strongly loyal to those he considers his friends. The characters tendency to lash out when hurt is going to be the thing that upsets all of his careful plans. If the acting thing doesn’t work out he should go into audio book narration I’d pay to hear him read the phone book.



I knew John Doman from the Wire and he makes an excellent Carmine Falcone whereas Fish Mooney would tell you what she would do to you if you crossed her Falcone would politely give you a warning and call one of the many people on his payroll who does nasty things to people. Unless you are some poor girl who was being groomed as a weapon against you then he is going strangle you with his own hands. The line from the pilot about “you can’t organized crime without law and order” really says a lot about what the old guard of any era is up against. God Jim you think I’m bad? You better pray I live to 90 because if things are bad now how bad will they be when there is no control left?


Most of the rest of the cast doesn’t register on the emotional scale at all but to be fair this isn’t really their fault it’s a problem with the concept of the show and I knew that coming into it. Its more plot armor then anything else certain things have to happen because in the batman universe the good guys always win and that’s just all there is to it.


Take David Zayas I like the idea of Sal Maroni but he is forced by convention to do what Italian mobsters always do arrange to kill people in a complex fashion that always fails, talk in an exaggerated fashion like James Cagney and always be eating pasta for some inexplicable reason. You could do this with any mobster character on the show



And that is a large step up from what most of the other people on the show have to deal with


Harvey Dent?


Ivy Pepper? Why were they here nothing was done with them? Oh right fan service its going to kill this show.



Which bring us to all the other people that are there because fuck its Batman and they have to be around


Would be great if Nygma were given anything to do other then spout riddles or if Alfred were ever given anything to do besides getting stabbed in the chest and make Bruce’s lunch.



Oh yeah Bruce almost forgot if David Mazouz has some problems its for the basic reason that no one anywhere can write dialog for young actors that is in any way convincing. At worst they are condescended to and at best the character exists as the maiden on the railroad track to be bailed out of a given situation. Not that I can blame the actor who wouldn’t want to be Batman? Without the car, cave or ability to fight crime…..but still. Will never have a chance to grow as a character because on the rare occasions when they let Bruce out of Wayne Manor it is in the company of



Selina Kyle who suffers from all the same problems as the Bruce character does with the added hilarity of thinking she is so criminally savvy but having most of those plans blow up in her face. Although at least last episode she took care of the heavy lifting for Bruce



As for James Gordon and Fish Mooney well those two are just sort of hanging around as tempting as is to constantly bitch about Jada Pinkett Smith and compare her to a female version of Syndly Whiplash I don’t find Ben Mckinzie particularly convincing as the moral compass of Gotham but we are stuck him with for another 22 episodes and maybe things will improve. The best part of the character arch so far was his thought that because he became president of the Union Gotham would be cleaned up overnight. Jim don’t be so stupid next time listen to your friend Harvey.


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Finally managed to watch this show (and then find this thread....I really miss "My Content")



Basically everything and anything I wanted to say has been said. A mostly lackluster, dull, crammed episode. Milo was great. *shrug* On to next week (tomorrow...lol) I guess.


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While the show does feel stuck in a holding pattern at least tonight it didn't have any Fish.



The GCPD stuff is always pretty interesting but the rest of the stuff that was offered was utterly underwhelming. I have cause to hope though penguin was holding a machine gun in the previews for next week.



Although the photo thing would be a pretty cool way to get rid of Barbera judging on the general reaction of this board to the charecter I don't think anyone would care.



At least they gave Nigma something to do.


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