De eerste afleveringen van Gotham was episch, de sfeer, de karakters en de verwijzingen naar superhelden en villains was super. Maar na verloop van tijd werd het een saaie politie serie die zich toevallig in Gotham afspeelde en het verbaasde mij dan ook dat er een tweede seizoen gaat komen, want de kijkcijfers die kelderen liegen er niet om. Nu heeft de website Topless Robot dit artikel geschreven met tien punten waar de show weer interessant door kan worden, dingen zoals:

4) The Villains Should Stand Out

Batman has THE BEST rogue's gallery because his obsessive villains have unique MOs that hold up a mirror to Batman. Gotham wasted no time cramming a bunch of notorious crooks into its first episode, but because this is set about two decades pre-Batman they couldn't be fully formed supervillains. So how do you have the GCPD defeat notorious newbie ne'er-do-wells without making Batman look unnecessary? The mob war running throughout the season was the most consistently good storyline, although mobsters aren't that exotic on TV. They've had a few one-off gimmick villains that were bland (mostly because they weren't given enough time for characterization), which is exactly what you don't want in this city. What's the point of adapting an obscure foe like the Ogre if you're not going to give him an ape sidekick with a penchant for graffiti?

Towards the season's end, Edward Nygma was set on the path of becoming the Riddler when he stabbed the his unrequited crush's abusive boyfriend to death in a fit of pique. Barabara Kean became 1,000 times less boring when she became stab-happy too. ("Psychotic bisexual ex-girlfriend" is tropey but I'll allow it because he character was pointless before and anyone who's seen her episode of Misfits knows Erin Richards plays homicidal well.) The problem with these developments is we've already got Oswald Cobblepot sadistically shanking anyone who provokes him. Mr. Zsasz excels at both stabbing and shooting folks too. Both gunplay and stabbings are so common in both reality and TV that Gotham doesn't stand out by making its antagonists fit the same profile found in countless police procedurals. It should be taking advantage of its roots by making them unlike pedestrian perps and unique from each other.

It's not as if the show doesn't have any experience with this. My favorite example of them getting it right was the Balloonman, a disheartened social worker who killed people poisoning the city by handcuffing them to weather balloons. Now plenty of people outright hated this episode, but it seems like they missed the point. The Balloonman felt like a goofy Silver Age villain taken to his logical, horrifying conclusion by having his victims freeze to death in the atmosphere. Now that's a novel means of murder! (How the balloons stayed in orbit over the city for days is a different issue.) Not only that but his cynical vigilantism was a dark reflection of what Gordon and Bruce Wayne could be. Even if I still haven't convinced you he was a worthy villain you'll have to concede he's at least a memorable one.

So, let's see the Riddler's next crimes be less rage murders and more calculated mind games. How about finally giving his assistants, Echo and Query, some mass media exposure? The next time Penguin skewers or shoots somebody it should be with an umbrella. Kingsmen: The Secret Service reminded folks how cool tricked John Steed brollys could be, so don't leave Cobblepot in the lurch. To make Barbara more compelling, give her a more idiosyncratic insanity. I wouldn't even mind if they redeemed two birds with one stone by making her the genderswapped version of Killer Moth, Crazy Quilt, or Spellbinder. If they apply themselves, the writers can even transform Barbara into a top notch supervillainess!