Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *
Cast: Ruby Rose, Camrus Johnson, Rachel Skarsten, Meagan Tandy, Nicole Kang, Dougray Scott, Rachel Maddow, Sam Littlefield, Elizabeth Anweis, John Emmet Tracy, Christina Wolfe, Allison Riley, Gabriel Mann, Brendon Zub, Greyston Holt, Ava Sleeth, Sean Kuling, Brianne Howey, Sebastian Roche, Gracyn Shinyei, Alex Zahara, Nathan Witte, Rachel Matthews, Nicholas Holmes.
For a series that had the mantra of diversity supposedly at its very heart, the much publicised Batwoman seemed almost obliged to focus on the continual, rather than opening itself up to a greater variety of choice than it often alluded itself to.
A truth of Graphic Novel heroism is that you have to care about the hero, to identify with their struggle, to put yourself in their shoes for a while and be willing to join them on their quest of self-discovery; however, the reader and the viewer in turn must also be willing to understand the psychological fury and rage in the villain that dwells underneath the surface of us all, the beast we must refuse to let loose.
Too much tipping the balance in either direction leaves the on-looker feeling that the odds have been skewed, that whilst for example the popularity of Batman is such that the reader cannot wait for the feral side of the hero to show, in Superman the sense of the perfect portrayed has left the character, for many, a turn off. It is the moral ambiguity that sets a hero and villain apart, and unfortunately in Batwoman there is no crossover to tilt the scales, just simply cordial amiability, and for that the whole premise sinks into dull routine.
There are few plusses to be found across the entire series, but in anything, a nugget of interest may be found, and in this instance that rare gem comes in the character of Alice, Kate Kane’s sister, and psychopath. Whilst the figure is hampered by being the only villain of any note, gone it seems are the days when any self-respecting criminal mastermind could waltz through Gotham and simply take over the streets and demand that any member of the Bat entourage should defy them, there is a sense of the bi-polar genius/madness within the woman who was left behind to rival that of several of the former antagonists who once featured so heavily across any of the Batman stories.
Time moves on, and so does diversity, a concept we should demand wholeheartedly of television makers, and yet we must also accept that by doing so, it can water down the expectation of what is finally placed before us. The world of Graphic Novel villainy and hero alike does not depend on the small-scale concerns and sidetracked insertion, the force of perpetual understanding, and it is to that end that the first, highly publicised, series of Batwoman is unyieldingly lacking in the truth of the Graphic Novel adaptation, something it seems that is inherently to be seen in many of its television outings.
It can only be hoped that the second series, now without Ruby Rose donning the black cape, might seek to open the closet door on danger just that little wider, to dare to venture into the realm of the Bat to which is all the fan ever asked for. A poor showing, the crusade against crime has become pedestrian.
Ian D. Hall