Monday, November 23, 2009

GOTHAM: The Premiere Episode

We've anticipated it for months and now it is here. You can watch the premiere of GOTHAM below. Let us know what you think? Who do you think the mystery voice overs were? Byrne previewed they are future cast members. What other teases did you notice in this first episode that intrigued you? Sound off in the comments.

19 comments:

  1. What I saw, I liked.

    I don't really have any complaints specifically to Gotham as much as I have specifically to webseries. I really don't buy this whole "webseries is the future of soaps" thing that has been mentioned alot lately. I need the time to watch characters and storyline and romances develop and webseries just doesn't give you that time.

    Like I said, this is regarding webseries as a whole, I have no doubt that I will feel the same way about Venice.

    Wed-Locked works because it is just snippets and scenes, there is no storyline and for this media it seems the most appropriate.

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  2. As I understand Byrne's reasoning, this is really about showing a concept. She is using it to interest mainstream media. Thus, this is more of a "pilot" or "promo"...

    What I saw here was definitely intriguing...modern, but when Byrne and Park's eyes locked, you could also see there was some classic soap in this.

    It didn't look remotely shoestring.

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  3. The first episode was a launching point. There were tons of clues packed into these few minutes. The voices on the phone with Richard are hints at upcoming characters (played by popular actors). There were other hints as well. You'll see episodes a bit longer moving forward. Radio soaps and the first TV soaps were all 15 minutes so the genre was built on shorter episodes. I sometimes wonder if the current daytime hour soaps wouldn't be better off at half an hour these days.

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  4. Even 15 minutes is enough. 3-6 minutes is awfully short to get hooked at least for me.

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  5. I think it is SO cool that Lisa Brown and Chris Marcantel are involved -- that makes me SO, SO, happy!

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  6. I liked it. A great tease. There will be more coming. This was more of a teaser than an "episode" so to speak. It's clear that much has been put into this and I look forward to the second episode. Martha is an amazing actress and, from what I can tell, a smart business woman. I can't wait for episode two!

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  7. On Richard's phone, I recognized one of the message voices. The one male voice I recognized I think is the voice of Paulo Seganti (Damian, ATWT).

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  8. Greeneb2 - I also thought it was Paulo. Also, during the live chat - we got out of Martha that Kin Shriner would be on the show eventually. So I assume that he was one of the "mystery voices". Now, you probably shouldn't quote me; however, her clue about the "bee pollen", we all thought was clearly linked to Kin.

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  9. Loved it! One of the voices I recognized was Elizabeth Hubbard.

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  10. after a few repeat viewings i have to say i really liked it. i'm adding it to my ipod.

    the music was surprising at first but it's a welcome change from what the daytime soaps use.

    the cast have good chemistry.

    KUDOS to Martha Byrne!

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  11. Mmm, I would give this a "C" right now. The show is called Gotham, but it seems to be set in the burbs. Maybe they should have called it Greenwich instead.

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  12. Love it, Martha Byrne, i do miss her a lot on ATWT, not watching that CBS soap anymore since she is not there.
    Good luck with Gotham, and who knows? It can easily replace 'Let's Make a Deal' any day.

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  13. Intriguing start, but it's not yet living up to its expectations.

    Found some of the edits to be too snappy and quick, not giving enough exposé to the story. I know it's the first ep and all and more of a teaser than anything, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more of the characters. Hopefully the second ep will give us that.

    Also, not really impressed with the production values so far. It's a webshow, but even webshows need to be of a certain quality and this looks like it needs a lot more tweaking to get it right. Luckily, they'll be shooting the next 4 eps in December, so it's not all doom and gloom for Gotham.

    I wonder who Sheila is, am anticipating Maeve Kinkead's appearance and can't wait to figure out who's going to play Rachel. I'll stick around indefinitely if it's Meredith Hagner!

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  14. I also thought I recognized Margaret Reed as the "sexy voice" that left a voicemail for Richard in the beginning. I couldn't place the "haughty mother" voice (it didn't sound like Maeve Kinkead), but someone here mentioned Elizabeth Hubbard. That may just have been her! I also noticed Martha's husband, Michael McMahon, playing the "photographer" when Richard got out of the SUV. Plus, Martha and Michael's house made a cameo as the party location. NICE!

    I have to agree that I was a left wanting a little bit at the end of the episode. It wasn't QUITE enough to make me say, "what's happening with that?!" but I'll definitely be tuning in for more. I also agree that I'm not sure that even 5-minute episodes are enough to keep my interest. I might be cool with 5 minute episodes if they had a new one 5 days a week. That's 25 minutes--close to what Roger suggested the current broadcast soaps should be doing these days.

    I love Martha, so I'll be watching whatever she's doing.

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  15. I had to look up Chris Mercantel to verify he was Tim Werner on GL all those years ago!

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  16. As someone who's drifted in and out of the soap opera viewing audience, I think this concept has a great deal of potential. With daytime TV soaps being a full hour every day, I feel that I lose interest in second characters/storylines if they're not attached to the "bigger picture." Soap opera casts are bloated because you have to fill the five hours a week somehow---I get that. Following a common thread with a core group of characters is much easier.

    That being said, it's hard for hard-core, long-time soap fans to have an emotional connection to what they're seeing on the screen if episodes are so short. It's going to take some snappy dialogue and the ability to really think about and share each character's "story" to make it work, and Martha Byrne seems like the perfect person to do that. I'm at least intrigued to see where it goes. I think 15-20 minutes a week could do the trick, honestly.

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  17. I like it - a good start and as someone said 'tease' - will watach future episodes, but hope they are longer in the future. Soaps were only 15 minutes long when they began - and when you think about the 22 (or more) commercial minutes in the one-hour shows today. . . I think if it's done right a lot of story can be squeezed into 15 minutes.

    Keep at it!!

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  18. The mother was Elizabeth Hubbard (Lucinda ATWT), Sheila was definitely Margaret Reed (ex-Shannon ATWT)I'd recognize her voice anywhere, and the threatening man was, I think Paolo Seganti (Damian, ATWT)
    Lisa Brown the director...ex Iva, ATWT, I believe.
    It's like an ATWT reunion!! :)

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  19. I'm really looking forward to the next episode - I hope it's longer! I'd like it if Martha B sang in one - awesome voice - but not if the episode is only a few minutes long.

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