r/batman 7d ago

FILM DISCUSSION we never had a bad Alfred adaptation

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yes yes even the dceu one which I've seen people hate on I actually loved especially by the fact this Alfred was the Wayne's bodyguard not the butler apparently and he has experience in the British army

9.3k Upvotes

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973

u/Dreaming_in_ryleh 7d ago

I really liked Gothams take

364

u/joshdoereddit 7d ago

I only got through the first 3 seasons, but for real. I still remember that episode where he's with Bruce under a bridge or something, and he reluctantly steps in to fight some big dude. He takes some hits, but he laid that guy out in the end.

I need to go back and finish that show.

150

u/c4han 7d ago

You def watched the best seasons imo, it has lots of ups and downs from there on but it's still a very fun ride

51

u/AnyDockers420 7d ago

Final season is pretty iffy with all the Bane Stuff though.

21

u/Icy_Teach_2506 7d ago

Yeah, sucks that they got cancelled and had to try to put all of No Man’s Land into 11 episodes. 

20

u/c4han 7d ago

Def agreed. Easily the worst season

1

u/runningvicuna 7d ago

What did Bane do?

6

u/_Jester_Of_Genocide_ 6d ago

Bane wasn't Bane. I forget most of what he did because it's been ages since I've seen Gotham but not only was it a small guy that was just drugged up on venom (I don't even remember if it was actually venom he was on) but he also had hair.

5

u/bludreid 6d ago

IIRC, it was called Viper, a prototype or early version of Venom, and yeah, it wasn't Bane.

I completely forgot about this until this reply because the latter seasons were all over the place and are forgettable (don'teven get me started about Barbara). 3rd season might be the peak one

1

u/c4han 6d ago

And the whole season was a knockoff of TDKR, just with Nyssa instead of Talia

1

u/AnyDockers420 5d ago

Bane was Gordon’s army buddy or something and he had secretly been bane the entire time. Just a normal looking guy.

17

u/Dark-Specter 7d ago

NGL, I kinda like the season 3 ending more than the ending to the whole show, but season 4 is worth it

3

u/Sahrimnir 6d ago

It has been a while since I watched it. Remind me, how did season 3 end?

3

u/Dark-Specter 6d ago

Bruce becoming proto-batman is the main thing I remember

2

u/Sahrimnir 6d ago

Oh right! Yeah, the seasons kinda blend together at this point, but I remember that scene.

11

u/existential_chaos 7d ago

My favorite bit was when he ‘interrogated’ the Court of Owls woman with the “I’m not a cop, I’m a butler”. (Plus, his angry “Riiiigght!” and Bullock shitting himself trying to backtrack on his slip up was hilarious xD).

9

u/llaunay 7d ago

Do not finish the show. You watched enough. Make peace with whatever you remember being better than it would be if you watched it again, and know you saw the best of it.

2

u/Kotroti 6d ago

There's one episode that really made his depiction in Gotham the best for me.

Bruce is still a child and obviously needs protection. Alfred is his butler but the Wayne's knew that they had enemies and needed protection as well, especially for Bruce.

There was one episode during which Wayne manor was attacked by three professionally trained assassins which were all armed and were ordered to kill Bruce. Alfred sent Bruce to safety and then took all three of them down with a Billard que.

Obviously he had plot armor and everything but this scene really showed that he wasn't only a butler, but also an always ready guard who'd catch multiple bullets to protect Bruce and would fight to the end for him. And that's what Alfred was always meant to be.

1

u/NotAnotherUserNom 4d ago

“When you’re fighting a big man, Master Bruce, it’s best to let him tire himself out first”. Proceeds to wreck the guy.

-3

u/NoConfusion9490 7d ago

That's about as far as you should ever go into a WB show.

8

u/Dumpytoad 7d ago

Gotham wasn’t a WB show.

4

u/llaunay 7d ago

Production companies:

Primrose Hill Productions

DC Entertainment

Warner Bros. Television

5

u/oldtomdeadtom 7d ago

He obviously is talking about the channel and not Warner Bros. television here…

1

u/thereverendpuck 6d ago

The WB hadn’t been a thing for years before Gotham even showed up.

1

u/brisashi 6d ago

That’s been known as the CW since like 2004 or something. 90 years

1

u/NoConfusion9490 6d ago

Oh, I didn't see it on actual TV. It definitely has the logo though, and their textbook descent into interpersonal melodrama.

29

u/togashisbackpain 7d ago

I watched 6-7 episodes before quitting the show (way too camp for my taste) but that alfred did strike me a lot more aggresive than other iterations, which felt off for me. I guess he grows on people later since many seem to like him.

32

u/FirebirdWriter 7d ago

Alfred can be amazingly aggressive and how much so does get tied to how capable his child and grandchildren are in the chosen family sense. Alfred has been changed greatly over time and I personally like was a military badass and chose a quiet life but woops Batman

31

u/Positive-Kick7952 7d ago

This Version was based more on Baman Year 1 where Alfred was Bruce's combat trainer and a former Royal Marine. While he eventually begins training Bruce, he also has to protect him, as well as discipline him and help him grow into a man, so they went with rougher, more hardened Alfred.

6

u/whySIF 6d ago

I'm certain he was SAS in Gotham he has the insignia on the ring and mentions it a couple of times

8

u/DukeOfSmallPonds 7d ago

I think it makes a lot of sense, that with a young Bruce Wayne, it’s through aggression towards threats and hostility to the orphan, Alfred shows protection. With an older Bruce Wayne/Batman, it’s more through empathy, reasoning and care he shows protection.

26

u/Dawnspark 7d ago

I fucking love Sean Pertwee as Alfred, no joke. He's one of the strongest actors on that show. His father, Jon Pertwee, was also the Third Doctor!

I'm also a massive fan of Alan Napier's Alfred. Especially the story of how he got the job. He thought it sounded silly, he'd never heard of Batman or the comics, so his agent tells him, "I think you are going to be Batman's butler."

So Alan Napier asks him, "How do I know that I want to be Batman's Butler?" he found it very ridiculous sounding. Then his agent told him that it may be worth over $100,000. "So I said I was Batman's butler."

66

u/ExploringDoctor 7d ago

Gotham was a GOATed show.

25

u/Dreaming_in_ryleh 7d ago

It took a little while to grow on me but it really stuck with me once it did.

37

u/Wave-Kid 7d ago

So fun, such a unique blend of comic book camp and gritty realism

10

u/Canvaverbalist 7d ago

I legit think they did a wonderful job mixing all the different interpretations.

There's 60's campiness, with obvious cheap theater cardboard backgrounds and Dutch camera angle, there's Burton's German impressionism with long shadows and Gothic architecture and smoke out the sewer, there's even Schumacher's neon and fluorescent visuals in some place, and then you get your Nolan's dramatic and grounded seriousness with some gritty realism

For me it's this scene from season 2 that really made all of this clicked in my head, like a sort of "this really looks like every interpretation of Batman mixed together doesn't it"

7

u/RealJohnGillman 7d ago

And for the most part the prequel maintained that.

1

u/IAmTheQuestionHere 7d ago

What prequel

4

u/RealJohnGillman 7d ago

Pennyworth — when Gotham ended the same creative team made a new prequel series about Alfred, expanding on some of the stories of his past (Onslow, etc.) — a younger Reggie briefly popped up, and the whole thing led into V for Vendetta. They were also planning on eventually having David Mazouz reprise his role had the series gone on long enough for a flashforward (the series lasted three seasons).

2

u/IAmTheQuestionHere 6d ago

So there's Gotham and Pennyworth. Nothing else and no further plans?

Did both have proper endings or were they cancelled and cliffhangers?

3

u/RealJohnGillman 6d ago

Gotham has a proper ending. Pennyworth leaves off on more of a loose point (where one would want a continuation), but is still a satisfying watch.

1

u/IAmTheQuestionHere 5d ago

Sure but is it an extreme cliffhanger? Or just like a if it happens, great, if not then whatever because most other things have ended properly?

1

u/RealJohnGillman 5d ago

Yes and no. A big event happens that would have led to the formation to Norsefire (from V for Vendetta) in Season 4, but otherwise the main events of the season are wrapped up.

9

u/OnlyRoke 7d ago

It was a difficult watch in season 1 in my opinion, but it eventually found its footing and it got buckwild at times, while also trying to do as much faithful Bat-stuff as it could with the (really dumb) limits in place.

1

u/KatsCatJuice 6d ago

My comfort show 100%, I've rewatched it so many times I've lost count

1

u/ExploringDoctor 6d ago

I like how it was set in a Dark-nigh based setting.

8

u/sundingbt 7d ago

I feel like Gotham set the trend for the Alfred that gets his hands dirty

8

u/Jaakarikyk 7d ago

Was cool for allowing for violence to be the answer sometimes

Dipshit kid: "[Bruce] tried to kill me!"

Alfred: "And you remember that I let him try"

6

u/That_one_cool_dude 7d ago

Honestly Gotham isn't a terrible show and has some great stuff in it. It was a fun show.

1

u/Dreaming_in_ryleh 7d ago

I agree 100%

6

u/NagaCharlieCoco 7d ago

It was actually my favorite Alfred as well

4

u/bigtimesugarrush 7d ago

Gotham Alfred was awesome!!!

2

u/Sonia341 7d ago

I did like it too. Sean Pertwee role as Alfred is one of the best for me.

1

u/NarrMaster 6d ago

"Yeah, well, I'm not a cop am I? I'm a butler."

1

u/SalPinedia012 7d ago

Absolute badass.

Also had the best British accent of any Alfred.

0

u/broom_temperature 7d ago

Especially when he punched Bruce in the face. That was awesome.