Batman minus Batman

Finished watching Gotham's Pilot Episode. Will post my thoughts.

First let me start by saying that this is a Batman show WITHOUT Batman...
and yes, they do the whole Crime Alley thing on the show... Because Batman.
(Crime Alley clip removed)

The show is focused on James Gordon Before he was Commissioner Gordon. BTW, Gordon is played by a guy who VOICED Batman before... No, not Kevin Conroy... Ben McKenzie. Then there's Harvey Bullock, Grodon's Partner, played by Grounded for Life's Donal Louge. (I know he's done other stuff, but saying that vampire that died on Blade is not that recognizable... Or mention 3 Ninjas Knuckle up) who seems to be up to his neck in dirt... Since this is GCPD Pre-Commissioner Gordon, EVERYTHING is up to their necks in dirt; like the entire city.

My main nitpick is obviously that it lacks something...

I just can't quite put my finger on it...

OK, all jokes aside, I do have a few nitpicks.

Too many Bat Villains references and they managed to flub one... Poison Ivy. They had a girl called Ivy handling plants. The Inner nerd in me was yelling: "You dumb @#$%! Her name is Pamela Isley, not Ivy!! KittenGirl (not yet a cat nor a woman), Skinny Penguin and CSI Riddler... Too many characters being shown prematurely. That's not a good sign. There was a possible Joker Reference. No Batman and they're hinting the Joker already!?

Another thing that bugged me was that for a series that is supposed to be years ago, it seems a bit too present time.

Now here's the thing: Is the show good enough to stand on its feet WITHOUT the shadow of the Bat?
Yes.

I just want a Batman show... there I said it. If the CW can Pull off Batman with a Robin Hood Fetish, then a REAL BATMAN show is plausible. Or at least a show focused on Bruce Wayne's training to become the Batman. Kinda like Smallville minus the CW Dawson's Creek romance crap.

I will keep watching Gotham... for now.