TV Show of the Week: Pennyworth – Series 1, Episode 1

 I will admit, I had an opinion about this before I even watched it. Was it necessary to make a TV show about Alfred Pennyworth’s life? But I realised that question was just as unnecessary, if not more so, because if there is a comic book character, there’s either going to be a movie or a TV show about them at some point. And, strictly speaking, we only know Alfred as Bruce’s butler. Gotham did explore what his life was like with the young Bruce Wayne, and every iteration of Batman in comic, TV, and film, have explored life with the adult Bruce Wayne whilst he patrols the city as Batman. This TV gives Alfred’s character a change to be more fuller than he usually is, and so I gave the first episode a watch, and was pleasantly surprised.

The production value being decent was immediately apparent, and the acting bounced off the screen the moment the first words were spoken. Being a former SAS soldier, Pennyworth (played brilliantly by Ben Aldridge) in this show is essentially no different to who we see in the comics, which is a smart move on the show runner’s move, because it gives the audience something familiar to cling onto within an unknown TV show. We know who Alfred is, so there need not be any gradual introduction.

The first episode also established his connection with Thomas Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s father. Being a fundamentally important character within Batman’s lore, Pennyworth appearing out of nowhere on Thomas’ doorstep hoping to secure a job as a butler doesn’t sound comic-book-like to me, so deepening their routes before becoming the beloved butler also makes sense.

What I certainly wasn’t expecting however, was the violence and swearing throughout. It did take me aback slightly. It was then I realised I had become too accustom to the Arrowverse TV shows, where they’re more family-friendly orientated. DC has always been – for lack of a better phrase – nitty gritty, and so I just had to adjust to this show’s tone or fail to enjoy it to its full affect. The violence and swearing is essential to the story and character within the show, so it’s not there purely to be different, there is context.

What also surprised me was who was playing the main villainess, Bet Sykes. I’ve only known Paloma Faith as a singer, not an actress, so seeing her do an absolutely stunning performance was an eye-opener, but certainly a welcome surprise and I would love to see her more in the series.

Pennyworth appeared out of nowhere and I’m glad I gave it a go. I do definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Batman comics, because the first episode certainly does the character of Bruce Wayne’s Butler, Alfred Pennyworth, justice. I, for one, will be fascinated how the show runners will work the story to eventually becoming said butler, but I do hope is story before that is a long one because I don’t want this show going away any time soon.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)