gotham Archives - MediaMikes

Starring: Ben McKenzie, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sean Pertwee, Robin Lord Taylor, Zabryna Guevara, Erin Richards
Number of discs: 4
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: September 8, 2015

Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

“Gotham” honestly was not my favorite show starting off. The first season takes a REALLY long time to get started, I would say close to ten episodes. The only really why I stuck along with it was because I felt that Robin Lord Taylor was enthralling as Penguin. I just loved his portrayal of that character in fact he ends up stealing the entire show. In fact, “Gotham” ended up having me favoring the villains over the good guys. Everyone from The Riddler to The Joker are getting their origin story here by the end of the season and that is when I fell in love with this show. So thanks to the wonderful villains, I stuck with this series and enjoyed it overall. I did notice that the season season focuses A LOT more on the bad guys and I think I was not the only one who wanted that more! Season two starts September 21st. Can’t wait!

Official Premise: The good. The evil. The beginning. When rookie Gotham City detective James Gordon, dedicated to restoring his crime-ridden metropolis back to its decent and illustrious past, catches the case of a murdered socialite couple, he promises their shattered, surviving son Bruce Wayne he’ll find their killer. It is an obligation and an obsession that will cost him dearly – and set the stage for the gritty and exciting world of Gotham. Inspired by DC Comics characters beloved by generations, this gripping hit series from the talents behind The Mentalist, CSI, Nikita and Gossip Girl reaches deep into Batman lore to uncover the sinister layers of corruption that secretly rule Gotham City, spawning ground of the world’s most iconic villains. Delve into the circumstances created the bizarre personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker in an entirely new chapter that’s never been told.

The Blu-ray comes with a combo pack including a digital HD copy of the season. Honestly, I wasn’t really too impressed with the “Gotham” that was created for this show. It felt very small and when spanned out quite CGI but it still looks solid with the the show’s 1080p Full HD Video. The DTS-HD Master Audio for English 5.1 track also works well with the occasion action. The special features are decent but include no commentaries, which is a bit of a bummer. First off we have “Gotham Invented”, which is a three-part behind-the-scenes look into the series. “Designing the Fiction” looks more into the visuals and locations and more from the series. “The Game of Cobblepot” looks depper into Robin Lord Taylor role. “The Legend Reborn” focuses on the show’s pilot. “DC Comics Night: Comic-Con 2014” showcases shows like Gotham, Arrow and The Flash. Lastly there are Character Profiles, a few unaired scenes and a funny gag reel included.

Read Complete Article

Voices of: Anthony Ruivivar, J.B. Blanc, Sumalee Montano, Kurtwood Smith
Rated TV-PG
Studio: Warner Archive Collection
DVD Release Date: February 18, 2014
Run Time: 286 minutes

Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: N/A

After “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” although a fun show, but with the success of “The Dark Knight” series, fans were looking for something with a darker tone. Enter, “Beware the Batman”. The show has a more serious tone and a really snazzy look and feel to it. The animation style is great and Batman is quite badass. Unfortunately Cartoon Network did not give this show much love, they pulled it from their schedule back in October after 11 episodes and left two unaired. They claimed it would be back on in January but as we approach March there is still no word. Either way I really dug this show and I would recommend it to any Batman fan out there. “Batman: The Animated Series” still holds the reigns but it is quite an impressive entry for the Caped Crusader.

Batman swings into an exhilarating new age, teaming with a powerful allies old and new for a thrilling new take on the classic Dark Knight franchise in Beware the Batman: Shadows of Gotham, Season 1 Part 1. The new action-packed detective thriller incorporates Batman’s core characters with a rogue’s gallery of criminals as the Caped Crusader faces some of Gotham City’s most despicable villains. Through the show’s first 13 animated adventures of this two-disc collection, ex-secret agent Alfred and lethal swordstress Katana join Batman to takes on an array of evildoers including the likes of Anarky, Professor Pyg, Mister Toad and Magpie. This thrilling series redefines what we have come to know as the “Batman show” and is sure to excite fans with cutting-edge CGI visuals.

This Blu-ray contains all 11 episodes that official aired and the additional 2 that are still unaired. Included are “Hunted”, “Secrets”, Tests”, “Safe”, “Broken”, “Toxic”, “Family”, “Allies”, “Control”, “Sacrifice”, “Instinct”, “Attraction” and “Fall”. There are some solid villains as well in these episodes including Professor Pyg and Mister Toad, Cypher, Magpie, Anarky and Lady Shiva to name a few. I think it was a brave move to include some new and not so well-known villains. Other shows have done in the past having Joker be the lead villains and who doesn’t love the Joker but you have to give it to “Beware the Batman” for being ballsy here. I am sure if this show continued on we would see the funny man pop up surely but we did not rely on it from the beginning.

This Blu-ray comes from Warner Bros’ made-on-demand (MOD) service, Warner Archive, which produced their releases as they are ordered. I feel that this series deserves more than that but at least it is seeing the light of day. The 1080p transfer works well with the tone of the show and the killer CGI visuals. There are no special features included on this release unless you count the two unaired episodes. I hope that Warner Bros and Cartoon Network continue this series this Spring otherwise, this “Season 1 Part 1” Blu-ray will not have a “Part 2” release to complete it.

Read Complete Article

Tag: gotham

Blu-ray Review “Gotham: The Complete First Season”

Blu-ray Review “Beware the Batman: Shadows of Gotham – Season 1, Part 1”