Nate Discavage @DiscavageSavage

While fans of the caped crusader mourn the loss of Christian Bale’s incarnation of Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy and prepare themselves for the upcoming Ben Affleck portrayal, they can help the grieving process by checking out Fox’s new TV show Gotham.

The show debuted on Monday with its pilot episode.  Director, Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) decided to take a different approach to the series.  The show is set in modern day; however, the focus is on police officer Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie).  While the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents is shown, Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) is more of a background character in the episode.

The episode begins with the murder of Wayne’s parents.  Gordon and his partner, Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), are assigned to investigate the murder.  Throughout the investigation, they have to deal with mobsters, rival law enforcement, and violent criminals.  Gordon is forced to question his own morals as he discovers underground connections linking the mob and the police.

Robin Lord Taylor (Accepted, Another Earth) stole the spotlight with his portrayal of Oswald Cobblepot, the notorious “Penguin.”  Cobblepot seems like a quiet individual with something dark brooding inside of him.  He seems ready to snap at a moment’s notice.  There are a few scenes where we see his suppressed ruthlessness slip out.

Other highlights include the brief debuts of Edward Nigma (Cory Michael Smith) and Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova).  Kyle is shown in the opening scene stealing milk to feed her cat.  Bicondova will attempt to take on the role of Catwoman like Anne Hathaway and Halle Berry before her.  Nigma, although originally working with the police, is set to become the Riddler.

To see more of this unique show, tune in on Mondays at 8:00 on Fox.  It will be interesting to see where Heller takes the Gotham from here.