TV Corner - Gotham

For those who don't know last night saw the debut of the much anticipated Gotham made its debut in the UK on Channel 5 last night.

Its very much "Batman: the early years" centering mainly on Batmans associate Jim Gordon this series looks to examine Gordons start as a cop in the city of Gotham as well as establishing how Batman got started as well as some members of his rogue gallery. There were a fair few sightings of Batman characters last night from the well known Jim Gordon. Catwoman and Penguin to the perhaps lesser known Harvey Bullock, Carmine Falcone and Renee Montoya which would no doubt have kept the fan girls and boys happy.

Starting off with a bang we actually got to see a version of the event which created Batman, the mugging and murder of his parents. Complete with the trademark shot of pearls hitting the floor this was an impressive start not only foreshadowing the eventual coming of the Bat but giving Jim Gordon and Harvey Bullock their first case as partners. Ben McKenzie plays Jim Gordon straight as the honest man in a city and police department that is corrupt but the stand out performance for me was Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock who puts in a scene stealing performance. He's clearly the Avon to Gordons Blake and has the makings of a highly quotable character. On the acting front Robin Lord Taylors performance as the Penguin also deserves a mention.

This was a potentially very tricky episode as it had so much to do, establish the story, introduce the characters and give us a story in the episode itself. Everything was handled brilliantly, from cameo appearances and deciding which characters would get screen time to giving us a good solid story to get things started. I like the fact the show started with putting across the mob and corrupt gangster style that is associated with early Gotham. Let the masks and capes come later, I really enjoyed the fact that despite the potential to focus on some super villains this opening episode felt grounded.

I seriously can't recommend this show enough, from the first ten minutes I was hooked and knew I'd be in for the duration. If you missed it try and look out for a repeat as Gotham looks like its going to become must see TV.