The night of September 22 saw the premiere of two anticipated series, FOX’s Gotham and CBS’ Scorpion. To keep it short and simple, they were both dull and disappointing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d1zpt6k5OI
Gotham
Hardcore Batman fans were skeptical about a show with a young Bruce Wayne but the caped crusader couldn’t have saved this pilot. _Gotham _focuses on the origin story of commissioner James Gordon (portrayed by Ben McKenzie) and his early days in the extremely corrupt and violent Gotham city (which was so dark it often resembled a video game). The episode opened by throwing us right into the night of the murder of the Waynes, Gordon’s initial naive passion for justice and his ultimate disappointment.
There’s a young Catwoman lurking in the shadows and stealing milk for street cats; the Riddler; and was that the Joker as Penguin was getting his ass whooped by Fish Mooney? — there are already too many characters. _Gotham _could have taken a cue from _Once Upon a Time _and introduced each character at a slower pace because most of it felt rushed and dull.
From an ignorant “new boy” with all the right intentions to becoming skeptical and analytical of his surroundings, Gordon went through an apparent transformation in just roughly 40 minutes. Jada Pinkett Smith as Mooney was cool if you like over dramatic mob bosses but it is based on the DC Comics afterall. We all wanted to see more of Bruce Wayne and less of the awkward dialogue and pauses.
Cheesy moment of the night: When the top mob boss, Falcone, tells Gordon, “You can’t have organized crime without law and order.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU_hJscvdXU
Scorpion
Tied together by a simple waitress, a group of geniuses are failing as a power group until the government comes in and sweeps them off to save the world. Based on the life of child prodigy Walter O’Brien (who is also a producer of the show), the first episode of _Scorpion _introduces us to a world of flowery tech language that may or may not mean anything to an audience without the ability to comprehend it. It’s still nice to listen to but if you are anything like me you’ll find yourself dozing off until someone grabs a sports car and presents some “real” action.
Elyes Gabel is O’Brien in a sincere portrayal of someone whose intelligence gets in the way of their emotional skills. Katherine McPhee comes in as Paige Dineen, the waitress and mother of a young genius. Dineen works in the diner that the team uses in their attempt to land airplanes after their communication system crashed. The ridiculous amount of moments devoted to McPhee and Gabel staring at each others’ eyes might explain why they allowed her to be involved in a government operation. (But The Big Bang Theory might really be the one to blame for the heavy waitress/nerd dynamic.) Even with the smartest people in the world serving as the main characters, the episode managed to produce some evident plot holes and stereotypes. The technical engineer is a fiery Asian woman… hooray for diversity.
Cheesy moment of the night: O’Brien offers Dineen a spot on his team because, “You translate the world for us.”