Forgive the pop culture moment here, but I know there are some folks who have followed Erick’s comments on certain superhero-themed shows, one of which was Gotham. The premise of the show was an origin for the background of Batman’s story: the corrupt police department vs. a young Jim Gordon, young villains who will grow up to be the supervillains Batman will face, Robin Lord Taylor proving somehow he can make Penguin awesome again, etc.

So, I happened to catch the trailers for the new season of Gotham, which will feature, among other things, a lot more Kid Joker, Edward Nygma becoming The Riddler, and apparently Mr. Freeze (for some reason).

I had some reservations about the show after the season finale, particularly in how they handled the individual episodes:

Now, while that long game was great, the individual episodes frankly left a lot to be desired. As a typical crime procedural, the show sucks. Law & Order, its spin-offs, and other notable procedurals have the benefit of a wide-range of investigative forces, so you’re not looking at the same 2-3 characters solving everything every week. Likewise, the development of mini-arcs, like the relationship between Gordon and Thompkins, didn’t develop well enough because there were too many focal points. I know a few critics complained that there was no chemistry between the two actors, and that was a direct result that Attention Deficit Disorder style of story-telling.

One has to wonder if they’ll keep doing that crime-of-the-week style and, if they do, will they at least be a little more focused in their storytelling? If they learned anything from last year, I hope so. Frankly, the season finale was the only thing to really write home about (it saddens me to no end that Jada Pinkett Smith will not be returning, because Fish Mooney was arguably the best long-running character there), but there were some high notes.

Several of the actors who play the eventual villains did a great job. Kid Joker looks promising, if the trailers are anything to go by.

The success of the second season will be dependent on whether or not the Gotham team learned anything from last year. Given how the industry works, they probably believe they can get by on nostalgia and nerdgasms alone… and they’re probably not wrong in that regard, either.