3. Don't Make It Cheesy Like Arrow
Arrow is great superhero show that's doing a lot of stuff right. Before the
Gotham pilot was ordered, a lot of people called it the closest thing we'd ever have to a Batman TV show. But there's one thing holding it back from being an amazing show. Cheese. I want to grate
Arrow over a plate of nachos. I want to grill it between two buttery slices of bread. I want to melt it into a fondue pot, dip skewered pieces of sourdough in it, and pair it with a dry Cabernet.
Arrow is a very, very cheesy show. This is aided in part by the CW's ironclad rule that every single person on all of their shows must be unbelievably attractive. In the universe of the CW, ugly people simply do not exist. Gotham City on the other hand is a very ugly place, full of people with faces made of clay and stuff. But it's not just the casting.
Arrow's entire production design is just really cheesy, from the leather-on-leather-on-leather costumes to the sets. If you've watched the show, you've been inside of Oliver Queen's nightclub Verdant. That nightclub. I... I can't. The problem here is that Starling City just doesn't seem like a real place. Everyone and everything in it just seems too polished and faked. Gotham City needs to feel real, lived in, full of people that are believable. So far none of the cast members look like Abercrombie employees, so we're on the right track.