Gotham: Season 2 [DVD]

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from season one, but no major season two giveaways+++The second season of Gotham picks up shortly after the events that ended season one. Oswald has taken over Fish's empire after killing her, Jim has been fired from the GCPD and is now working with Oswald while trying to get reinstated, and several of the villains from season one are locked up in Arkham, including Barbara Keane and Jerome Valeska (whom the series is still playing coy about whether he is The Joker). Two new antagonists are introduced this season, including James Frain who plays Theo Galavan a billionaire industrialist who is secretly the heir apparent of the Order of St. Dumas, and his sister Tabitha (played by Jessica Lucas from the short-lived series Life as we Know It). Michael Chiklis (from The Shield) plays a no-nonsense captain, Nathaniel Barnes, who is brought in to clean up the GCPD.The series mostly consists of several serial story arcs that go throughout the season and overlap at various points. There are also stories-of-the-week which are one-off stories that are used as filler material for the serial arcs. The big serial arc this season involves Arkham asylum and shady work being done by Hugo Strange, played by BD Wong, which is not revealed until the very end of the season. The season ends not so much on a cliffhanger, but with a big reveal that is sure to be one of the big story arcs in season three.For those who get the blu-ray set, the A/V quality is great once again. A big part of the show is the look of the city, and the cinematography is wonderful making the city look gritty and run down during the day and dark and imposing at night. The extras include several short clips from throughout the season which are used to introduce a plot line or character, then there is a 16-minute portion of the show's 2015 Comic-Con panel, a 25-minute featurette that discusses the look of Gotham, a 20-minute featurette devoted to the character of Alfred, and a featurette on the character of Victor Fries, who is another villain given an origin story this season. So, not a ton of bonus material, but what is included is good.Overall, the season continues to be strong. The large ensemble cast is balanced well, and while Gordon is the main character in the series, the writers do a good job of giving all the main characters compelling storylines. This is especially important because David Mazouz is still quite young, and a long way from being physically imposing so he really cannot get involved in action sequences that are too intense. He is still honing the skill that will eventually allow him to become Batman (and there is a nice clue in the season about how he gets the general idea for Batman) but he is definitely not there yet. Cameron Monaghan does a great job again as Jerome and definitely leaves you wanting more of the character. Of course, he was splitting his time between Gotham and the series Shameless so he was only in a handful of episodes, but he stole pretty much every scene he was in. Ultimately, if you liked season one, and are okay with the fact that this is not a show about Batman, you will probably like season two.

In a season full of surprises, Detective Jim Gordon continues fighting the corruption that is part and parcel of life in Gotham but it's not long before he finds himself neck deep in trouble.He has to make some morally questionable decisions, his captain is killed, the bad guys have their hooks in almost every facet of government, and their influence is so great that Gordon winds up as little more than a security guard at the Arkham Asylum. It gets worse: He later winds up in jail, his girlfriend tells him she is pregnant, and his partner quits the police force to work as a bartender.This is not a season without hope, however. It arrives in the form of a new captain: Nathaniel Barnes (played with perfection by Michael Chiklis) is a straight arrow who cannot be corrupted and he is just as determined as Gordon to clean up the streets.This season marks a departure from the first in that it has a lengthy storyline involving billionaire Theo Galavan, who appears (on the surface) to be someone that can save the city because he is too rich to be bribed and is too powerful to bow to pressure. Played nicely by James Frain (who "Orphan Black" fans will recognize as the evil Ferdinand Chevalier), Galavan is not the savior he appears to be, however, but a man with his own twisted agenda.The tone of "Gotham" remains dark and moody: It seems as though there is never a sunny day in the city. In my opinion that's necessary to help tell the story although I recognize that many people will find it depressing. The acting is sometimes over the top but this is a series about comic book heroes and villains so I'm prepared to forgive that fact.The final verdict: I like the Galavan storyline and some of the new villains and I like the situations that the writers have thrust Gordon into so I give this season 5 stars with one proviso - at some point, things have to start going right for Gordon and his allies.

Very well written--both in character development, dialogue, and plot. Love the clever use of music or dark humor (think INTJ humor and you've got it) to lighten the horror of villains or the grimness of the brutal life that is Gotham. I like how we can see Bruce becoming what will one day be Batman a piece at a time--sometimes it is through what he experiences himself, sometimes it is through the effects of others on his world. (IE: His fascination with watching Azrael move cloaked through the shadows above and seeing the fear it invokes in the watchers below, will help him choose his future costuming. Alfred's realization that he will lose Bruce either to death or someone else if he doesn't start teaching him to fight, begins Bruce's training in earnest. Etc.) There are a lot of nods to the comic series, so if you know the Batman stuff, this series just really deepens out nicely. Sure, this is a violent series--that should be expected as this is about Gotham not Metropolis, the darkness that creates the future Dark Knight. But it is handled in a comic book way--almost villainously picturesque, not straight up Walking Dead style, if that makes sense. And I really love how all the moral or philosophical questions of the Batman series is present here--which really adds to the feeling of a growing hero story. Sure, there is some cheese, it is tv, but it is fun anyway.

Parfait

Encontré esta versión americana en Amazon México.Estaba a mejor precio que la nacional.Esta edición es más bonita que la mexicana ya que contiene un slipcover y un librito con la guía de episodios.

De lo mejor que puede haber ahora mismo de DC en televisión. Esta fantástica edición en Blu-ray viene con idiomas: Español, Inglés, Francés. Subtitulo en Español, Francés, Holandés, Inglés. Audio DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 en la versión original y Dolby Digital 2.0 para el resto y algún que otro extra ideales para los más fans.

Une bonne série.

Just as listed.