TV Crime Log: Gotham, Dead

Of all the caped and cowled guys, Batman’s got the most richly varied supporting cast. Which is just as well, because Gotham is a Batman show without The Bat. It’s a prequel, in which Bruce Wayne is still a nipper – the first episode is about the murder of his parents – and the protag is Police Detective Jim Gordon sans ‘tache.

Catwoman turns up as a young girl and Oswald Cobblepot, who goes on to become The Penguin, and also Edward Nygma, who becomes The Riddler. Harvey Dent, the unfortunate district attorney, turns up later. But there’s no sign, as yet, of the amusing guy with the capacious neck tie and purple suit. Young Master Wayne hovers on the sidelines, looking increasingly preoccupied.

I, for one, am a sucker for this kind of stuff, and ratings for Gotham have been plenty healthy in the US so it looks like it could stick around. It’s a beguiling idea, but one wonders how long it can run before it ties itself up in complicated contextual knots, as Gotham fills with assorted supervillains and psychopaths. Check it out at 9pm before Channel Five ruthlessly dumps it after midnight.

If you’re thinking of watching Gotham it may mean you’ll have to record the first episode of The Walking Dead - you could, of course, do it the other way round, don’t for a moment think I’m being prescriptive. Anyway, in the final episode of the last season, our long suffering band of survivors had been locked up by the sinister citizens of Terminus. Some zombies will turn up soon enough, and then everyone’s day will go to shit, just you see. The Walking Dead - no doubt wedged between some annoying aftershave bumpers – is on FX tonight at 9pm.

And that’s it. You may take the rest of the week off from the telly if you wish. Go for a walk, read a book. It’s entirely up to you.