Gotham Season 1 Episode 1 Recap: Can There Be Light?

Forgive us, but we have to say it:

Welcome to Gotham, bitches!

Sorry. But with Ben McKenzie of The OC prominently involved in this new Fox series, it simply had to be said.

McKenzie, of course, is involved as Commissioner Detective James Gordon, as the drama is taking quite the risk by airing a Batman series... without the presence of Batman.

Yes, on Gotham Season 1 Episode 1, we were introduced to a 12-year old Bruce Wayne, once again witnessing the murder of his famous parents.

Unlike the film versions of this iconic story, however, we didn't fast forward beyond that killing. We stayed in the present day and watched as Gordon comforted the child, telling him to be strong and promising that there will be "light" to overcome the city's "darkness."

Someday.

But viewers know it will take a very long time to ever get there, as villains such as The Penguin, The Riddler, Poison Ivy and Catwoman already reside in Gotham, just as children.

The series will focus on their transformation into bad guys who will eventually do battle with Batman.

It will also focus heavily on McKenzie's Gordon and Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, a veteran cop who has a tight relationship with Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), a leading mobster in town.

But is he truly corrupt? Or he just doing what he can to survive? Or is Bullock playing some kind of long con where he bides his time and then swoops in to rescue the residents of Gotham?

Both McKenzie and Logue are perfectly case in their roles, with their partnership enough to carry this series even if it didn't have any connection to Batman.

However, it's Robin Lord Taylor who steals the opening episode as Oswald Cobblepot, the young man who will grow into The Penguin. He hates that nickname at the moment, though, as we see him try to overtake Smith's Mooney during the opening hour.

He isn't successful, but the premiere concludes with Cobblepot killing an innocent fisherman and then the camera panning to a dark Gotham City, teasing a series of dangerous events to come.

With solid performances and an intriguing concept, Gotham is one of the few fall pilots that appears to be very promising. We thought that before seeing the premiere and we think it now.

What did everyone else think?