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Ben McKenzie

Gotham – The Complete Second Season: Darkness Rises

gotham2Oh, Gotham, how I love and loathe thee. The darkly resplendent world of Batman, Gotham City reigns supreme with nuances that outdo the likes of Metropolis or Star City when it comes to the background that births a hero. But in the Complete Second Season of FOX’s?Gotham, all hell breaks loose on the streets of the city, as villains old and new make their move to wrestle power from each other, from the police, and from the legend that will become Batman.

If you’re unclear on the premise, then consider this:?Gotham?takes place in a world where Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) is still a child, where Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) is still ‘apprenticing’ to Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), and the villains of the city have no fear for any bat. While I do truly love the depiction of the young Gordon, this series (like Tim Burton’s?Batman) will always be defined by the villains who stand in the way of justice and peace.

Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) is back in his smarmy, subversive way, to trouble the city, but to always stay just below the rough level afforded to the worst of the villains. Those are a combination of long-time legends like Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong) or newly created like Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith). But the show is also willing to blend the characters from the old version of Batman, the new TV-only version, and the in-between (Eduardo Flamingo, from the Grant Morrison era). Regardless of how the characters might have been born, in the darkness of Gotham, they all find a way to rise.

gotham3And yet, the pot is stirred by Theo Galavan (the wickedly creepy James Frain), who has ties to the Order of St. Dumas (which old school fans will know leads to all things Azrael). While the story seems to take us further and further into the dark, we see the cost to villains and heroes alike, and ultimately, we know there will be a place for Batman. But if there’s no darkness, Batman wouldn’t need to rise.

Thankfully, until he does, there’s Jim Gordon.

For folks interested in digging in beyond the twenty-two episodes, check out these main featurettes on Blu-ray:

-The 2015 Comic-Con Panel from the Warner Bros. lineup

-“Gotham by Noir Light” – the way that the camera lens allows for a darker look at the city

-“Alfred: Batman’s Greatest Ally” – an exploration of Sean Pertwee’s character, and his connection to Bruce.

-“Cold-Hearted: The Tale of Victor Fries” – a deeper look at how the good doctor devolved in pursuit of a cure for his wife.

The lore of Batman continues to grow, and FOX delivers a deeper exploration of our baddest villains.

TV Screened: Gotham (2.1-2) – When The Right Way Is The Ugly Way

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“Are you not sacrificing the greater good for the sake of your dignity and self-esteem?”– Bruce Wayne

If you’re looking for a light-hearted (mostly) take on DC superheroes, go check out?The Flash. If you’re looking for a creative reimagining of Batman’s origins with humor, panache, and deep meanings that just might critique our society today, then tune in to FOX’s Gotham.

In an explosive premiere and followup, Bruno Heller’s series focused in on the villains in a way that even the first season had not. Marketed as “Rise of the Villains,” it’s clear that we’ll see a wider variety of villain from the Batman canon … and elsewhere. Notably, we see a broader, deeper view of Jerome (Cameron Monaghan, first introduced in “The Blind Fortune Teller”), whose laugh is a dead giveaway as the introduction to Batman Enemy Number One, The Joker. But there’s also an original brother-and-sister combo, Theo (James Frain) and Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas), who intimidate their way into running a violent crew parallel to Oswald Cobblepot’s (Robin Lord Taylor) mob, enforced by Zsasz (Anthony Carrigan). Deeper and darker than even the first season proposed, this growing mass of depravity stands against any future hope of Jim Gordon’s (Ben McKenzie) fair city.

Somehow, the show tends to highlight the irregularities and issues of its villains even more intensely than it regularly shows the goodness of its protagonists. It feeds on the mentality of those who see doing evil and ‘making a mark that people will remember’ as the course of their own legacy. They are not evil because they are sick or because they hurt; they are evil because they choose to find pleasure in it. This is a mark of the latest batch of shows like?True Detective?but it doesn’t have to be all that there is to highlight the line between good and evil.

To provide a better balance, the creative team has introduced a second layer to Bruce Wayne’s (David Mazouz) mansion, and twisted the decision making that both Wayne and Gordon will take in this second season. Will they choose goodness at the expense of stopping evil, or will they wade into muddy waters at the risk of getting dirty themselves? And will?they rally people to their cause, like Alfred Pennyworth (Sean Pertwee), Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), and Lucius Fox (Chris Chalk)?

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While the most captivating scenes are dedicated to Jerome’s twistedness (throwing a series of bodies off of the top of a building to spell a clue) or Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) slowly losing his mind, I’m drawn back to the show because of the?internal/occasionally external dialogues that Wayne and Gordon bring to the show. How far would they go for truth, justice, or revenge? What does their ‘word’ really mean? What does it mean to be called to something, and what does that call cost?

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus sends his disciples out with the injunction that “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” There’s a certain degree of subterfuge, of playing the game but yet being above the game, that seems laced in these words. Ultimately, the way that each character responds seems based on what their nature?really is. Jerome is doing what he thinks he’s supposed to; Bullock returns to the force because “there’s no use fighting who you are.”

While Christians continue to argue about whether they should be in the world, out of the world, or above the world, the reality is that if we are going to create a world where the kingdom of heaven is a reality, we will have to wade into the dirty water of real life. But it’s only in those same waters that baptism occurs, right? It’s only by the purity of heart, by having faith in what is ultimately true, that salvation happens.

For?Gotham, true salvation – not that version offered by the Galavans – will only occur when the pure of heart wade in the water.

Gotham airs on Monday nights at 8 p.m. on FOX.

On The Small Screen Vol. 3 (September 8)

SmallScreen

 

In our third installment of TV-related reviews, we tackle Gotham, Madame Secretary, and Harry.

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Gotham: The Complete First Season Blu-ray & Digital HD – James Gordon, Come On Down!

Marvel has been owning the multiplex with hits on mainline titles like?The Avengers and the surprise success of lesser known characters like?Antman?and?Guardians of the Galaxy. But until recently, with the arrival of?Daredevil, Marvel has come in a distant second to DC’s line of small screen hits, like?Arrow,?Smallville, and others. Just last fall, DC released three new shows, Constantine?(meh),?The Flash?(okay),?and?Gotham, while announcing that?Supergirl?was on the way. With all of the men and women in tights flashing to the screen, there are plenty of options to choose from, but?Gotham?is the best.

Boasting a cast that includes Ben McKenzie as the central character of James Gordon, the show sprawls out through the nooks and crannies of what will one day be Batman’s city. We have villains like Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith) who are original to the show, and others, like Oswald Cobblepot AKA the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), who serve up elements of the Batman mythos. Some characters are more hinted at than announced, whether it’s Poison Ivy, or Two-Face, or Catwoman, but the darkness itself threatens to envelop young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) before he could ever get started. It’s a wonderful exploration of the way things motivate us to be who we become, the dynamics that allow evil (or good) to pass forward through the generations, and the power of those who make the decision to stand for something greater than themselves.

Special features include several featurettes about how the city of Gotham was laid out, and how the minds behind the show worked out the backstory of characters who are?well known to many. Of course, the Comic-Con 2014 will be of interest to some as it takes a look at DC?Comics latest releases as they’re presented to the most rabid fans!?

 

T?a Leoni stras as Elizabeth McCord in the new CBS drama "Madam Secretary," premiering Sunday, September 21 at 8:00 PM ET/PT.

Madam Secretary: The Complete First Season -?Elizabeth McCord Puts Her Money Where Her Mouth Is

Dr. Elizabeth McCord is our fourth female Secretary of State. Well, not really, but in CBS’ original series, Tea Leoni plays McCord as the highly intelligent ex-prof who rises to prominence while balancing her family responsibilities. While political shows revolving around men seem to deny that they have much in the way of outside responsibilities (The West Wing?was the previously most balanced show),?Madam Secretary?shows McCord’s relationship with her husband (Tim Daly) and children in a way that makes this seem more real.

Regardless of your political stance, it’s interesting to see how things might play out behind the scenes. There’s been a vacuum since the aforementioned Martin Sheen serial, and CBS has filled the void admirably with a leader and character who balances her moral being with the needs of the country. It’s not always pretty, but it’s often interesting. What we all think about politics (and especially foreign policy) is mostly done as Monday Morning Quarterback. So what would happen if all of our theories (taught, written about, or spoken about) suddenly became what the country actually did? This is a classic case of someone finally getting to put all of the theory into practice.

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Harry: The First Series -?The Best New Zealand Show You’ve Never Heard Of

Oscar Kightley plays Detective Harry Anglesea, who must return to work to clear his mind and keep the city safe after the suicide of his wife. He’s the best detective that DSS Jim “Stocks” Stockton (Sam Neill,?Jurassic Park) has at his disposal when tackling a major case that has his city in fear. While Anglesea is trying his best to keep it together, his teenage daughter, Mele (Hunter Kamuhemu), struggles with her own issues of grief and anger.

Acorn Media (RLJ Entertainment) has been pumping out stellar overseas series for years (Midsomer Murders,?Poirot, etc.) and?Harry?is a six-part wonder that will challenge what you think when considering racial tension in North America. It’s also an exploration of the drug trade in New Zealand, especially methamphetamines, and a solid reminder that we don’t know where someone is coming from or what their struggle looks like. This is heady, dark entertainment (not quite?True Detective, but…) that will serve as an alternative to reruns, waiting on network TV to resume in the fall.