Gotham: Pilot

"Pilot" is the premiere episode of season one of the crime drama series Gotham and the first episode of the series overall. It was directed by Danny Cannon with a script written by series creator Bruno Heller. It first aired on the FOX Network on Monday, September 22nd, 2014.

Synopsis
Jim Gordon is a young police detective who comes to work for the Gotham City Police Department. The GCPD, like everything else in the city, is rife with cynicism, negligence and corruption. Nearly everyone is in someone connected to one of the major crime families led by Carmine Falcone, including the city's mayor, James Aubrey. Gordon is partnered with Harvey Bullock who, while not the worst of the lot, is symptomatic of everything that is wrong with Gotham. Bullock doesn't care much Gordon and thinks that his misplaced sense of idealism is only going to put him into an early grave and Harvey doesn't want to get dragged down with him.

Young Bruce Wayne is walking home from a movie theater with his parents. As they pass down a dark alley, a mugger wearing a ski mask appears and accosts them. A street urchin named Selina Kyle is perched nearby and watches the man brutally gun down Thomas and Martha Wayne, leaving Bruce an orphan. Gordon and Bullock are tasked with solving the Wayne murders. As Thomas and Martha Wayne were major business players in Gotham City, their deaths make headline news. Bullock wants to wrap the case up quickly, but Gordon has a personal stake in the matter. Having seen his own father murdered before his eyes, he empathizes with young Bruce, and makes him a promise that he will catch his parents' killer.

One of the more colorful personages in Gotham is Fish Mooney, who is a nightclub owner and one of the major players in the Falcone crime family. One of Fish's underlings is a strange, lanky man named Oswald Cobblepot, whom Fish always refers to as "Penquin". Bullock has used Fish as a resource on occasion, though no one is aware that Cobblepot is also a snitch, who has been leaking information about Mooney's operations to Renee Montoya and Crispus Allen of Gotham's Major Crimes Unit.

When Gordon and Bullock investigate the Wayne murders, Fish Mooney points them in the direction of a man named Mario Pepper. The two cops investigate Pepper, and the incident ultimately results in Pepper's death. Bullock is satisfied on closing the book on the Wayne murders, but Gordon discovers that Pepper was framed by Falcone.

Carmine Falcone and Fish Mooney learn that Cobblepot is an informant for Gotham's MCU. They want to make sure that this new rookie cop, Gordon, is playing on the right side, so they order Gordon to assassinate Cobblepot. Jim takes Oswald out to the pier and pretends to shoot him. Before pushing his body into the water, he warns Cobblepot to never return to Gotham. Bullock believes that Jim actually kills Oswald and is relieved to know that he is now someone that he can work with.

The Penguin emerges later, walking down a highway away from the city. This is not the last time that anyone will hear the name Oswald Cobblepot however.

Crew

 * Scott White - Producer
 * Danny Cannon - Executive producer
 * Bruno Heller - Executive producer
 * Annabelle K. Frost - Associate producer
 * Graeme Revell - Composer


 * David E. Russo - Composer
 * David Stockton - Director of photography, A.S.C.
 * Doug Kraner - Production designer
 * Daniel Gabbe - Editor
 * Thomas J. Whelan - Unit production manager

Notes & Trivia

 * Gotham was created by Bruno Heller, based on concepts originally developed by Bill Finger and Bob Kane for DC Comics.


 * This episode is rated TV-14. It contains strong language, sexual situations and violence.


 * This episode is production code number: 276072.


 * This episode aired in Canada on CTV on September 22nd, 2014.


 * The pilot episode of Gotham had a viewership of 8.21 million people in its initial broadcast.


 * This episode is included on disc one of the Gotham: The Complete First Season Blu-ray collection. The collection was released by Warner Home Video on September 8th, 2015.


 * Actor Geoffrey Murphy is credited as Geoffrey Allen Murphy in this episode.


 * Actor Justin Michael Carter is credited as Justin Carter in this episode.

Allusions

 * One of the street addresses mentioned in this episode is 4th and Grundy. This is likely a reference to the character of Solomon Grundy, who is a DC Comics supervillain and an occasional foe of Batman.

Quotes

 * James Gordon: When I was about your age, drunk driver hit our car. Killed my dad. I was right next to him. I know how you feel right now. And I promise you, however dark and scary the world might be right now, there will be light. There will be light, Bruce.

....
 * James Gordon: Why were you up on the roof?
 * Bruce Wayne: I'm learning to conquer fear.
 * James Gordon: Fear doesn't need conquering. Fear tells you where the edge is. Fear is a good thing.

....
 * Fish Mooney: Who's the friend?
 * James Gordon: Detective James Gordon, ma'am.
 * Fish Mooney: Hmm. Well, aren't you a cool glass of milk?

....
 * Harvey Bullock: Listen, kid, you got juice, do me a favor. Ask for a transfer.
 * James Gordon: Sorry, this is where the action is. You'll get used to me.
 * Harvey Bullock: Jim, you seem like a nice guy. But this is not a city or a job for nice guys. You understand?
 * James Gordon: No.
 * Harvey Bullock: And that's your problem.
 * James Gordon: You're a cynic. A slovenly, lackadaisical cynic.
 * Harvey Bullock: You're probably right. Okay, soldier boy. Let's go some roust some muggers. "Lackadaisical"? Hmm.

....
 * Harvey Bullock: You've killed people before.
 * James Gordon: That was war.
 * Harvey Bullock: This is war! We're at war with scumbags like him. Sometimes in war you got to do a bad thing to do good, right? So do you do this bad thing, or do you die and maybe your girl dies? I might be lackadaisical, but that's not a tough call.