Gotham Season 2 Brings Joker To The City

Fanghawk

New member
Feb 17, 2011
3,861
0
0
Gotham Season 2 Brings Joker To The City

Gotham's second season will see Jerome Valeska fully transform into Batman's greatest nemesis - The Joker.

Gotham's first season <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/12313-Gotham-on-Fox-Pilot-Review>could be hit-and-miss at times, but the good episodes <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/12937-Gotham-Review-Season-1-Episode-14-The-Fearsome-Dr-Crane>set a fantastic tone for the cops vs. supervillains Batman prequel. Now Fox is upping the ante with a "Rise of the Villains" Season 2 story arc. Outside of returning antagonists like Penguin and the Riddler, Gotham is finally fleshing out Batman's greatest villain: The Joker himself.

Gotham already introduced Jerome Valeska (played by Cameron Monaghan), a carnival employee and minor villain in a Season 1 episode. But the episode also teased that Valeska himself would become the Joker, and Gotham's Season 2 teaser absolutely backs that theory up.

While the teaser is short on specifics, it appears the Galavan siblings, Penguin, and other villains have formed a new alliance to take Gotham's streets back from an emboldened police force. Valeska is seemingly added to their number following a jailbreak, where his newly-adopted maniacal persona makes him a useful agent. Of course, if Valeska is the Joker, he has ambitions of his own - but still gleefully takes part in the Galavan plots, up to and including an assault on Gotham's police station.

[gallery=4578]

At the very least, Gotham Season 2 should raise the stakes and leave the city looking like a place that needs a Batman. The new season premieres on Sept. 21, 2015.

Source: GamesRadar

Permalink
 

CardinalPiggles

New member
Jun 24, 2010
3,226
0
0
Oh man I gotta finish season 1 still. Loving it so far.

Watching characters like the Penguin transition from lowly street criminal to villainous mastermind is incredibly indulging. It's exactly what a prequel should be like.
 

Travis Fischer

New member
Feb 1, 2012
126
0
0
Introducing The Joker to Gotham is the absolute last thing the show should do. Tease it. Hint it. But never actually do it.
 

Kenbo Slice

Deep In The Willow
Jun 7, 2010
2,706
0
41
Gender
Male
Meh. The bad far outweighed the good in season 1. The only interesting characters were Penguin and Bullock. Everyone else was so fucking bland it was like watching paint dry.
 

Flippincrazy

New member
Jul 4, 2010
154
0
0
I suppose this can be interpreted as either a desperate attempt from a subpar show to drum up views or an interesting premise to explore in the coming second season, depending on your thoughts on the show so far.

Personally I've found the show bland at best and downright offensive at its worst, so I can't help but view this development in a pessimistic way.
 

Silentpony_v1legacy

Alleged Feather-Rustler
Jun 5, 2013
6,760
0
0
And just think we're only 20 years away from anything interesting happening. Because we know that they all survive and aren't captured. Because we're 20 years away from the main story.

How is Gotham a good show again? Its like having a World War 2 show take place in the 1920s. Bold and new, sure. But 20 years away from the plot.
 

Kenbo Slice

Deep In The Willow
Jun 7, 2010
2,706
0
41
Gender
Male
Silentpony said:
And just think we're only 20 years away from anything interesting happening. Because we know that they all survive and aren't captured. Because we're 20 years away from the main story.

How is Gotham a good show again? Its like having a World War 2 show take place in the 1920s. Bold and new, sure. But 20 years away from the plot.
It'd be a lot better if it was just about Gordon (and played by a better actor) dealing with a crime riddled Gotham without them going "HEY, HEY! THIS IS A FUTURE BATMAN VILLAIN! GET IT? HE'S THE RIDDLER BECAUSE HE TELLS RIDDLES!"
 

RavenTail

New member
Oct 12, 2010
55
0
0
Kenbo Slice said:
Silentpony said:
And just think we're only 20 years away from anything interesting happening. Because we know that they all survive and aren't captured. Because we're 20 years away from the main story.

How is Gotham a good show again? Its like having a World War 2 show take place in the 1920s. Bold and new, sure. But 20 years away from the plot.
It'd be a lot better if it was just about Gordon (and played by a better actor) dealing with a crime riddled Gotham without them going "HEY, HEY! THIS IS A FUTURE BATMAN VILLAIN! GET IT? HE'S THE RIDDLER BECAUSE HE TELLS RIDDLES!"
The whole series just reminds me of that old Patton Oswald comedy bit where he's talking to Lucas about the Star Wars prequels. Only with Batman

"Hey you like Poison Ivy?"
"Oh hell yea, she's hot with the plant powers."
"Well in this series you get to see her as a little kid."
"... Does she still have her powers?"
"No, her dad's a thug and she's real sad."
"..."
 

Zontar

Mad Max 2019
Feb 18, 2013
4,931
0
0
RavenTail said:
Kenbo Slice said:
Silentpony said:
And just think we're only 20 years away from anything interesting happening. Because we know that they all survive and aren't captured. Because we're 20 years away from the main story.

How is Gotham a good show again? Its like having a World War 2 show take place in the 1920s. Bold and new, sure. But 20 years away from the plot.
It'd be a lot better if it was just about Gordon (and played by a better actor) dealing with a crime riddled Gotham without them going "HEY, HEY! THIS IS A FUTURE BATMAN VILLAIN! GET IT? HE'S THE RIDDLER BECAUSE HE TELLS RIDDLES!"
The whole series just reminds me of that old Patton Oswald comedy bit where he's talking to Lucas about the Star Wars prequels. Only with Batman

"Hey you like Poison Ivy?"
"Oh hell yea, she's hot with the plant powers."
"Well in this series you get to see her as a little kid."
"... Does she still have her powers?"
"No, her dad's a thug and she's real sad."
"..."
Well the show is conceptually a bad idea when you think about it. It wants to be Batman Year One without Batman. It really should have just been a few years before Bruce comes back to Gotham, with a second or third season starting with his return and the season(s) after that point having hints of a man or a monster which looks like a bat taking care of crime. Honestly that would be more entertaining then what we got: a show I couldn't get past the first half of due to the constant melodrama of characters who I can't come to care about since we already know who's going to live and who's going to die, and what their relationships when it's all over are going to be.

I also hate how they mix eras way to much. Someone brought up the 1920s for its feel, but it has way too much 70s aesthetic mixed with modernity. The different periods the show has coexist just don't mesh well.
 

The_Darkness

New member
Nov 8, 2010
546
0
0
Zontar said:
SNIP

Well the show is conceptually a bad idea when you think about it. It wants to be Batman Year One without Batman. It really should have just been a few years before Bruce comes back to Gotham, with a second or third season starting with his return and the season(s) after that point having hints of a man or a monster which looks like a bat taking care of crime. Honestly that would be more entertaining then what we got: a show I couldn't get past the first half of due to the constant melodrama of characters who I can't come to care about since we already know who's going to live and who's going to die, and what their relationships when it's all over are going to be.

I also hate how they mix eras way to much. Someone brought up the 1920s for its feel, but it has way too much 70s aesthetic mixed with modernity. The different periods the show has coexist just don't mesh well.
Wow. That idea is genuinely awesome. It's the sort of thing that would have had me actually signing on with Gotham and it's mythology. To see Gordon tackling Gotham at its absolute worst, then to see Batman's arrival and influence from the outside... damn. Excuse me while I just find some money to throw at the screen... :p

Meanwhile... The Joker? Really?! I mean... how? Why? The Joker's whole schtick is that he's Batman's polar opposite, with a multiple choice history that somehow always involves the Bat. So to have him show up here, when Batman himself is still only about 12... and then to explain the Joker's origin on screen... I do not get the thinking that led them to decide to do this. Well, actually, I do - it's all done for the ratings - but I really wish that I didn't.
 

Redryhno

New member
Jul 25, 2011
3,077
0
0
Uggggghhhh, as much as I like Monaghan and I'm glad he's getting more roles, I've never liked when they decide to put a solid face and name to Joker...takes away alot of his mystery and force of nature-like status. Nygma, Dent, hell, even maybe Grundy I could get behind being around, but not him.

Zontar said:
I also hate how they mix eras way to much. Someone brought up the 1920s for its feel, but it has way too much 70s aesthetic mixed with modernity. The different periods the show has coexist just don't mesh well.
And this right here is part of my biggest problem with Gotham. It's got older-style suits, everyone uses typwriters, but they've got cell service! There's cars that haven't been made in the shapes shown for nearly thirty years, but then there's things like modern science explanations. There's TOASTERS that haven't been made in a LONG time in apartments because they had a below average use life, but there's IKEA...a company that wasn't really all that well known in the states until the last decade or so...

The other would be taht everyone already knows how these characters end up, so unless they're gonna pull a "THIS IS ACTUALLY EARTH-XXXX" crap, there's really no mystery for anyone but the people that don't know Batman, who aren't going to be watching the show to begin with.
 

Fanghawk

New member
Feb 17, 2011
3,861
0
0
Zontar said:
I also hate how they mix eras way to much. Someone brought up the 1920s for its feel, but it has way too much 70s aesthetic mixed with modernity. The different periods the show has coexist just don't mesh well.
Remember, Batman: The Animated Series did a similar thing (cars and gangsters look they're stuck in the 30s, TV tech is from the 50s, futuristic robots show up at various points) and that was a smash hit everyone loved. Mind you, it's easier to get away with in animation, but not impossible to pull off.
 

Zontar

Mad Max 2019
Feb 18, 2013
4,931
0
0
Fanghawk said:
Zontar said:
I also hate how they mix eras way to much. Someone brought up the 1920s for its feel, but it has way too much 70s aesthetic mixed with modernity. The different periods the show has coexist just don't mesh well.
Remember, Batman: The Animated Series did a similar thing (cars and gangsters look they're stuck in the 30s, TV tech is from the 50s, futuristic robots show up at various points) and that was a smash hit everyone loved. Mind you, it's easier to get away with in animation, but not impossible to pull off.
Yes but the Batman Animated Series used elements from different eras which meshed well and had a constancy to them which made you think that in an alternate universe where technology developed along a different line it could have been the outcome where their present had theses technologies which to us where created at different times, while in Gotham it's just too large of a gap in too many things without any real consistency to it all. While it's true that it's easier for animation, Gotham isn't animation, and it didn't pull it off well. Instead of looking like a different world where things are different, it looks fake.
 

Fanghawk

New member
Feb 17, 2011
3,861
0
0
Zontar said:
Fanghawk said:
Zontar said:
I also hate how they mix eras way to much. Someone brought up the 1920s for its feel, but it has way too much 70s aesthetic mixed with modernity. The different periods the show has coexist just don't mesh well.
Remember, Batman: The Animated Series did a similar thing (cars and gangsters look they're stuck in the 30s, TV tech is from the 50s, futuristic robots show up at various points) and that was a smash hit everyone loved. Mind you, it's easier to get away with in animation, but not impossible to pull off.
Yes but the Batman Animated Series used elements from different eras which meshed well and had a constancy to them which made you think that in an alternate universe where technology developed along a different line it could have been the outcome where their present had theses technologies which to us where created at different times, while in Gotham it's just too large of a gap in too many things without any real consistency to it all. While it's true that it's easier for animation, Gotham isn't animation, and it didn't pull it off well. Instead of looking like a different world where things are different, it looks fake.
It strikes me more as a stylistic choice than an alternate universe thought experiment. Because if they did, connecting Batman with Superman: TAS and Justice League creates the exact same problem Gotham has. The only difference is you don't notice because the styles don't appear in the same show.

That's not to say Gotham's mix is pleasing - pretty much anything from the 70s has to be handled with care after all. ;)

All I'm saying there's a precedent for this in Batman that has nothing to do with being technologically consistent.
 

Christian Neihart

New member
Jan 29, 2012
71
0
0
I was hoping for Gotham to have run its course after the first season. That and I am just tired of Batman at this point.
 

Redryhno

New member
Jul 25, 2011
3,077
0
0
Fanghawk said:
Zontar said:
I also hate how they mix eras way to much. Someone brought up the 1920s for its feel, but it has way too much 70s aesthetic mixed with modernity. The different periods the show has coexist just don't mesh well.
Remember, Batman: The Animated Series did a similar thing (cars and gangsters look they're stuck in the 30s, TV tech is from the 50s, futuristic robots show up at various points) and that was a smash hit everyone loved. Mind you, it's easier to get away with in animation, but not impossible to pull off.
Yeah, but that's the thing, they were mashing it together. In Gotham it's more like smashed together in that the things appear at weird points and there's no attempt to make it all appear as a part of a whole before they disappear again. There's shiny stuff, and there's rusty stuff, but it's both supposed to be around the same era. TAS had a somewhat set color and tech tone in that the futuristic stuff was still very 50's.
 

Scrythe

Premium Gasoline
Jun 23, 2009
2,367
0
0
I'm guess this is in no way connected to Suicide Squad, because I don't think anyone wants to see the "...and then Joker got himself fitted with a Mike Jones grill and cholo tattoos" origin story.
 

Remus

Reprogrammed Spambot
Nov 24, 2012
1,698
0
0
0:09 Black DD.....errr massager. Girls need to learn how to lock their doors in Gotham. I wonder how that conversation went down. "Ok I want you to look menacing at the camera like you're planning an evil plot, oh and you'll be holding this in your right hand."
 

Shamanic Rhythm

New member
Dec 6, 2009
1,653
0
0
Zontar said:
Well the show is conceptually a bad idea when you think about it. It wants to be Batman Year One without Batman. It really should have just been a few years before Bruce comes back to Gotham, with a second or third season starting with his return and the season(s) after that point having hints of a man or a monster which looks like a bat taking care of crime. Honestly that would be more entertaining then what we got: a show I couldn't get past the first half of due to the constant melodrama of characters who I can't come to care about since we already know who's going to live and who's going to die, and what their relationships when it's all over are going to be.
When I first saw the pitch for this show, I was imagining that it was going to be something like what you've described. I still think it could have been a good premise if they had stuck to the following:
- Absolutely no Batman/Bruce Wayne etc. Seriously, that Bruce Wayne bildungsroman barrel cannot possibly be scraped any harder, and it's not much of a show if they need Batman as a crutch.
- Instead of flooding the show with almost all the canon villains in the first season, they should have come up with some characters who are 'proto-villains' who maybe have parallels to the canon villains but whose fate is less certain. If the audience knows exactly where the characters are going to end up, it's kind of boring.
- The Gordon narrative should be about a cop who witnesses a city descend to the point where Batman has a purpose. Instead, we got a narrative about a city that is more or less already as bad/freaky as when Batman subsequently emerges.
-As you mentioned, a better defined aesthetic. The whole 20s vibe really irritated me.