Gotham: The Complete Series Blu-ray review

Dec 02, 2019- Permalink

Batman fans all know the origin story of Batman but what was Gotham like before the Caped Crusader donned his disguise? The WB series Gotham explored the mean streets of a city that the U.S. government essentially ceded to the bad guys over five seasons and 100 episodes. The series tracked the early police career of Jim Gordon and introduces us to Bruce Wayne and the misfits who would become Penguin, Ridder and Catwoman among others. Warner Bros has now released Gotham: The Complete Series on Blu-ray and DVD and we had a chance to review the Blu-ray version. As WB likes disclaimers, please note that while Warner Bros Home Entertainment provided us with a review copy of the product, the opinions contained below are mine alone.

The 1080p AVC-encoded transfer is in the series’ original 1.78:1 aspect ratio. The video presentation is crisp and detailed bringing out every dirty environment in the city gone to hell. The colour palette is muted, but when needed the colours can pop. Skin tones are realistic and the black levels are nice and deep. There is no real worries with digital noise or compression artifacts.

On the audio side, there’s a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, while subtitles are available in English SDH, French and Spanish. The soundscape is immersive, placing you in Gotham action so well that you’ll ask to vote there. The low frequencies get a workout during gunshots and fights, while dialogue is clear, centred and properly prioritized.

The extras are spread across the discs of the five seasons. Besides a digital code, viewers get the usual collection of gag reels, behind-the-scenes looks at the show, its production and design, featurettes giving us additional back stories on the characters and DC Universe and various panel and Comic-Con appearances.

Whether your a fan of the series or a newcomer looking to delve further into Batman’s past, the excellent video and audio presentation will make Gotham: The Complete Series a worthy addition to your DC collection.