To anyone out there who actually follows my work through this site, you'd know that I'm no stranger to Batman. I love Batman; the character was among the first to introduce me to the art of film. "The Dark Knight"is my favorite movie of all time. It blew my mind and turned me into a complete Bat-nerd. I was never the same person after I saw that movie. Almost everything in my teenage years relied on Batman. Buying a new game? It looked similar to Batman. Checking out a new movie? Looked like "Dark Knight" so it must be good. You kind of get the idea.

When I first heard that Fox was developing a Batman TV show about Gotham City before Bruce Wayne donned the cape and cowl, I was ecstatic. The summer before college began I researched who was playing who, the hype train was rolling. Then I watched. At first, I was a little confused. It deviated so far from what I knew Batman to be from the comics that I almost gave up entirely. I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't. "Gotham" is a strange show, for sure. The writing is bizarre, the acting is all over the map, and it's pretty much bonkers. But I'd be lying to say it's not a ton of fun.

It's such a creative and unique show. Plus, everything about it feels so genuine and you can tell that everyone involved is having a blast. There's almost nothing like it out there on TV. No other show, especially one based on a comic book property, has the guts to do the stuff Gotham does. Faces get cut off, there's stabbings, realistic shootings, blood, gore, and all manner of violence that any parent group would shun at. My point is that the show isn't afraid to get its hands dirty and that's very commendable since so few shows do. Fox has a pretty good track record with letting cable shows get away with a lot of stuff that shouldn't fly on other networks.

There are other DC TV shows, in fact, if you look on the CW practically all of their marketable and successful shows are DC Comics properties. "Arrow," "The Flash," "Supergirl," "Legends of Tomorrow," and an upcoming Black Lightning show have put CW on the map as the superhero cable TV cream of the crop. These shows are good, don't get me wrong, but "Gotham" knocks them out of the park. Here are 20 reasons why. Also maybe check out the show, could be your next Netflix binge.

14. Child Actors.

Whenever a show features child actors in serious leading roles that require some good acting chops, it can really go one of two ways. Meaning, the show could either be brought up by strong performances that audiences get to follow through the years or it could shoot the program in the foot. Thankfully, "Gotham" opts for the former approach. Giving the child actors, such as David Mazouz and Camren Bicondova, enough to do without demanding too much in season one and working their way up. By the end of season 3, you can see how much they've both grown into their roles and it's fantastic.

13. It's not Afraid to be Different.

As I said earlier, "Gotham" doesn't shy away from some extreme and crazy ideas. If something is cool and fits in with the established story, it'll happen without question. You'll likely be disgusted one minute, then drawn in. I hate to make this show sound like a gore fest because it definitely isn't, I'm just saying that the fact that it doesn't shy away from that sort of stuff should be appreciated more.

12. The Score.

So few shows have awesome scores anymore. Think back to the last time you saw a TV show with a really exemplary soundtrack, one that pops out at you and gets stuck in your head for days. There's so few out there, right? All I can think of is "Breaking Bad" and maybe "Better Call Saul." Every other show, including the CW superhero programs, have the same generic hero and villain themes. If you listen close enough, every character in "Gotham" has a theme song and some of them get stuck in your head for days. The Penguin's theme song, in particular, is always a top pick of mine. Can't beat the main theme of the show either.

11. Abandons Batman Lore.

One of the biggest gripes people have with Gotham is that it practically throws the Batman canon it's based on out the window by the end of season 1. To hardcore Bat-fans, these changes feel like a desperate attempt to make the story work. If you ask myself and many others, abandoning the Batman lore actually makes the show better. It makes it more original and allows for more interesting storylines and characters. Bruce Wayne and Jim Gordon are now more at risk in a show that doesn't care about comic lore. Anyone can die, even if it makes nerds mad, characters can still get axed. It's very gutsy and I love it for that. That's something the CW shows lack. Everything fits nice and tight in a comic accurate bow. At a point, everything becomes predictable and each episode can feel samey. Plus, where's the fun if you already know the comic storylines? It's basically just regurgitating what you already know back at you.

10. Every Episode feels Different:

It's important to have a consistent tone in a TV show. Different directors and writers take the helm and it can sometimes be a difficult task to accomplish. This was a pretty significant problem in "Gotham"'s first season. Despite the handicap though, "Gotham" manages to make every episode memorable on some level. Even if some moments mesh together when rewatching, a lot of the show's scenes stick with you.

9. Never Gets Repetitive.

If there's one thing you can say about "Gotham" whether you love it or hate it is that it never falls into a routine and gets boring. Since the writers are always experimenting and throwing new ideas at the wall, there's always something new to look forward to. One of my favorite moments in the series so far comes midway through season 2. A villain is stringing Jim Gordon along for an episode and in the end, it all turns out to be a trick. The villain wins and Gordon has to spend the next few episodes correcting that mistake. Just when the formula gets stale, "Gotham" finds a way to fix it. Even the first season knew how to do this despite feeling disjointed and all over the place. Whenever the writers put themselves in a corner they almost always know how to get out. With the other CW shows, every episode is written the same and never takes any risks. Sure, the episodes look awesome and cool stuff happens but for the most part, episodes are pretty interchangeable.

8. Not trying to connect to an established universe

This one kind of goes hand-in-hand with my point about deviating from Bat-lore. The CW shows often try to connect themselves to each other, one by one. These shows are basically like the Marvel Cinematic Universe on TV where each show is connected to one another and they all coexist in a grand, ever-growing DC universe. This is one of the main flaws of "Arrow" and "Flash." The writers tend to spend so much time focusing on connecting their show to other shows like it that they fail to create a strong identity for the one they're writing for. "Gotham" doesn't need to do that and it's very refreshing. Virtually all of media is trying to connect itself together and you need shows like "Gotham" that don't care and never try it. You'll never see Flash show up on "Gotham" and it's for the best that it stays that way.

7. Top notch Production Values.

Another perk of being a part of Fox's line-up is the higher budget and better production values the series gets as a result. "Gotham" has never shied away from great set-pieces. By having a better budget they can create new iconic Batman moments while borrowing from old ones. Bruce fighting Jerome (who we'll get to soon) in the Hall of Mirrors made for such an iconic and well-made sequence. A lesser show would just have the pair fight on a rooftop or a previously used set to cut costs. Even outside of the fight, the episode itself features an amazing circus set that I couldn't have even imagined on a show like this. When the producers need to go all-out, they go all-out and it definitely shines through.

6. Cinematography.

There are so few shows now that have really exemplary and beautiful cinematography. You'd think in the golden age of TV that it'd get more focus. There are shows like "Better Call Saul" that handle it with care but for the most part, awesome TV cinematography is pretty rare. Every shot in "Gotham," to some extent, is memorable and beautiful. The colors pop, the gothic tone and dark composition blend together so well. Danny John Cannon, the show's director of photography, often posts shots of upcoming episodes on Instagram and some of them are stunning. This is one of the few shows you can watch with no sound and still enjoy it for the look alone.

5. True to the tone of Batman.

Let's compare "Gotham" and "Arrow" for a second. Both of these shows are about a billionaire coming to terms with tragedy and becoming a hero out of the ashes. If comic fans want to get technical, "Arrow" is basically a Batman show in all but name. The show copies some of the lesser known Batman tales and even turns the lead character of Oliver Queen, who's meant to be a wise-cracking fighter for the common man, into a Batman clone. "Gotham" does every character in the established canon justice. Even if they're not showing up where they're meant to, this show still has one of the best Bruce Wayne portrayals ever put to screen, their interpretation of The Riddler is deliciously evil and true to the character at heart, even The Joker (who we'll get to later) gets an amazing true-to-roots interpretation that feels new and familiar all at the same time.

4. Character Progression.

Again, let's look back to Arrow. Oliver Queen and his merry band of partners in vigilante justice often go through the exact same arcs. Loss, betrayal, the usual suspects. "Gotham'"s character progression is gradual and lets you see it ever-so-slightly as time goes on. Jim Gordon starts an idealistic young cop looking to clean up "Gotham." At this point, he's reached his lowest point and he's just trying to get his life back. Bruce Wayne started as a scared little kid and is now holding his own against killer circus ringleaders and street thugs. When you go back and watch season 1 not only do you see how much younger the characters are you also see how different they are. The characters in the CW DC shows, as well-made and cool as they are, don't really progress. I recently rewatched every CW superhero pilot and each character is practically the same at this point in the series as they were when it started.

3. No Melodrama.

The CW is notorious for providing melodrama and angst where none is really required. For years, it's been the teen girl soap opera network that only moved out of that territory because of Supernatural and Arrow. It's still trying to keep true to their network identity, hence why romance and cluttered romantic dialogue take up so much of "Flash" and "Arrow." Yeah, you could say it's sweet but most of it comes off as forced. "Gotham" doesn't waste time. The relationships feel real to an extent and when bad things happen to these characters you understand the stakes and why they're reacting the way they're reacting. It's no "Breaking Bad" but it's still pretty well done. This season the show has decided to tackle the complexities of a potential gay couple. Both are established Batman characters but the show does it anyway. The way it's done doesn't feel forced or poorly done to any capacity, either. It all fits the larger narrative and you it never feels pointless.

2. Villains.

Every show like this has to have a villain format. "Gotham"'s format has evolved from the show's beginning. In season one, each villain was an obscure freak-of-the-week style villain who would keep Gordon and the GCPD busy while Bruce Wayne trained or The Penguin vied for control of Gotham's mob. Even the more ridiculous villains and encounters were a ton of fun to watch. By season 2, the show decided to dedicate multiple episodes at a time to a specific villain with another antagonist pulling the strings throughout half the season. Season 3 simply decided to organically weave the villain into the story and keep him around until a new one was needed. All three approaches work great and every lunatic that's gone up against the GCPD has been a blast to watch.

1. It's a very well-made Batman origin story.

As I said from the start, I love "Dark Knight." I love it mainly because anyone, even someone who barely knows anything about the 70-something years of Bat-canon can get really into it and enjoy every second. "Gotham" is no different. Anyone can enjoy this show, and it doesn't require any prior knowledge or willingness to learn new facts the gate. From the first episode, you know that the show is going to be absolute insanity. Whether or not you're on board is your call. Personally, I think it's pretty great. A lot of others do too.

BONUS (Jerome):

I'm a sucker for a good Joker performance. At this point in the show, the character is yet to make an official appearance but any Shameless fans out there will recognize a Clown Prince of Crime in the making. Needless to say, he gives an amazing performance and is worth watching the show just to see it evolve alone.