It was clunky, but then most pilot episodes are. (Breaking Bad's pilot episode looks like a completely different show than the episodes of later seasons.)
The setting was sufficiently dark, the protagonist (Gordon) is definitely a strong character played by a good actor, and the writers have set themselves up with some decent possible story paths.
That said, they tried to cram too many things into the first episode. There was absolutely no need to introduce "Catgirl" and Edward Nigma as their presences did not further the plot of this episode.
The clunky vibe I referred to earlier was a result of trying to cram in a bunch of plot points that did not lead into each other smoothly. It seemed like the episode could not gain any momentum because we (the audience) were constantly switching directions on what were supposed to be trying to figure out.
Gordon seems like the only three-dimensional character so far, with Falcone as a possible second (but we really only saw a glimpse of him). That needs to change soon. Bullock is coward with a rude and rough shell, Mooney is an evil bitch (which is a shame because Pinkett-Smith is capable of more if she has the room to work), and Cobblepot is psychotic but doesn't have the power (yet?) to do anything with it. I want to care about what the actions of these characters will be, but so far I don't. Again, I attribute that to adding too many characters to the first episode and not giving enough time to develop it.
And why is Alfred a dick??
I usually give a new series three episodes to impress me, and I will do the same in Gotham's case. I just hope the next episode is a simple one-off case, focusing heavily on Gordon and Bullock, developing their relationship, with one scene at the end tying the episode into the season's plot arc.
