I am back nominating another favourite cast member from Gotham for April’s Dc Worlds Hall of Fame. Morena Baccarin has extensive amount of acting credits to her name and i have seen most of what she has appeared in.
Morena Baccarin is Brazilian / American, born in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. Morena moved to New York USA when she was seven years old. Her father got a job as an editor at Globo Tv’s headquarters. Morena attend Public School 41 and New York Lab School for a Collaborative Studies. Later Morena attend Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Of Music, Art and Performing Arts before she entered the theatre program at Juilliard School.
Firefly was Morena Baccarin’s first television series (2002) and reprised her role of Inara Serra in the film Serenity. Morena is no stranger to the Dc Universe as she prodvided the voice for Black Canary in multiple episodes of the animated series Justice League Unlimited. May 2009 Morena made her Off-Broadway debut in Theresa Rebeck’s television satire Our House at Playwrights Horizons in New York City.
ABC’s series “V” ran from 2009 -2011 for two seasons. Morena was cast in lead role of Anna as the leader of the Alien visitors. As soon it was cancelled Morena joined the cast of television drama Homeland, which she received critics praises for her role as the conflicted wife of a former prisoner of war. In 2013 Morena was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Primetime Emmy awards. In 2016, Morena appeared alongside Ryan Reynolds in the hit movie Deadpool a Vanessa Carlyle.
Doctor Leslie Thompkins first appeared in Detecive Comics #457 March 1976 and created by Dennis O’Neil (writer) and Dick Giordano (artist). Doctor Thompkins was a close friend and medical colleague of Thomas Wayne. Leslie serves as a surrogate parent to his son Bruce after his parents are murdered and later she becomes a confidant in Bruces crusade as Batman. Leslie also dedicated her considerable skills helping Gotham City’s less fortunate.
So why have I nominated Morena Baccarin character Doctor Leslie Thompkins? Well she is one of Gotham’s good people. As much as I love the villains in this show it is great to watch a woman with brains with a sense of humour and has a profession that can actually inspire people. Leslie or Lee as she likes to be called arrived in Gotham in season 1 episode 11 “Rogues Gallery.” Jim Gordon has been demoted from the GCPD and working as an officer at Arkham Asylum. I instantly liked Lee’s wit towards Jim whilst she was checking the health of an inmate. He asks if Lee works there her answer “well I am not an inmate.” Lee commented on how famous Jim was as the ladies from the maternity ward were talking about him. Lee proved more very useful in helping Jim find the person who was electrocuting the inmates. At one point Lee herself looked like a suspect in a clever twist. They soon became a couple and Lee took the job going at the GCPD as chief medical examiner. Harvey warned Jim about dating someone at work but their dating / working relationship did work as Lee was just as keen to help investigate some of the cases together which impressed Jim.
The only time Lee looked a little uncomfortable around a suspect is the episode a The Blind Fortune Teller which is where we meet Jerome Valeska for the first time. Jim knows he is responsible for killing his mother and Lee is shocked at the change in his personality when he admits that he did.
Lee also can handle herself in a fight. Barbara had escaped from serial killer The Orge, she wanted Lee’s help as a psychologist to talk about what she went through but there was a different motive as Barbara wasn’t happy about Lee dating her ex Jim and decided to try attack her with a cake slice. Lee thinking she was safe from Barbara being locked up in Arkham at the beginning of season 2 she still managed to verbally attack her over the telephone. Lee wanted to move away from Gotham with Jim and start a new life elsewhere and soon came face to face with Barbara and Jerome again at the children’s hospital fundraiser, where Barbara tied Lee to a spining wheel which a knife thrower would use. One highlight for Lee at the fundraiser she did get chatted up by Alfred who didn’t know she was dating Jim. At one point she was tempted because Alfred knew the headchef at a top restaurant.
Lee has never been afraid to demand the truth from Jim and I always thought she was actually good for him and made him question his moral judgment. Lee announced her pregnancy to Jim just before he was going to team up with Penguin and take down Galavan. It was a emotional rocky road ahead after finding out Jim did pull the trigger on Galavan, then Jim being set up by Edward Nygma for the murder of Officer Pinkney. With serving time in Blackgate prison Jim told Lee not to contact him move away with their unborn child. This left Lee ultimately devasted and she had a miscarriage. With starting a new life down south Lee met a fell in love with another Doctor also a surgeon. Dr Mario Cavali (James Carpinello) is also the son of Don Carmine Falcone. Lee and Mario moved backed to Gotham, Lee took back her old job at the GCPD and also had to work with Jim again after he finished being a bounty hunter. Lee was upfront with Jim about who she was marrying but there was a sense of unfinished words as they had not even talked about the loss of their child. Jim in his own way excepted that Lee had moved but when Jervis Tetch kidnapped Lee and Valerie Vale, Jim had to choose who Tetch should shoot. Jim tells Tetch to shoot Lee, but Tetch shoots Vale as he knows that Jim still loves Lee. The interesting twist in this tale is that Jervis Tetch manages to infect Mario with the Alice Tetch virus, which doesn’t bring out the good in people. In Mario it brought out his jealousy. As Lee still cares for Jim but is wanting to marry Mario it was still raged inside of Mario that Jim still does love Lee. On the day of Lee and Mario’s wedding Jim could not prove that Mario was infected as he had used medication to block the blood tests. Jim managed to find the location of where Lee and Mario were on honeymoon. Jim arrived in time just as Mario was going to stab Lee in the back as the virus had taken hold of him. With Jim shooting and killing Lee’s new husband, Lee grieved, quit the GCPD and decided to take the Alice Tetch virus herself. In season 3 of Gotham we certainly saw a different side to Lee as the virus worked she kidnapped Jim and buried him alive in a remote area. Lee visited the GCPD to tell Captain Bullock what she had done with Jim and the only way out alive for Jim was either to be found in time before he ran out of oxygen or take the Alice Tetch virus that had been left with him in the box he was buried in. Time did run out so Jim took the virus but he managed to gain control as Lucius found the antidote from Professor Hugo Strange. Lee wanted to leave Gotham with Jim on a train but Jim managed to inject Lee with the antidote and himself. With a love letter to Jim, Lee left Gotham.
One of the stand scenes that still remains my favourite is between Lee and Jerome when he comes back from the dead when he has his face missing. Jerome takes Lee hostage in her medical room at the GCPD and wants to know what’s been happening since he died. It’s weird but a great catch up between these two characters as Jerome was hoping that they had dated. With Jerome being disappointed that Lee and Jim had broken up, Jerome gags and ties Lee up so he make his escape to go and find his face.
The Narrows has been a focal point in season 4 of Gotham and Cherry’s fightclub has a new Doctor. Lee has returned to Gotham and the first person to recognise her was Edward Nygma. Ed delighted to discover Lee as just being defrosted he needed her medical skills to help him to become smart again. Ed questioned Lee why had she returned to Gotham? Lee felt guilty about what damage she did with the Alice Tetch virus and the effect it had on the people of Gotham especially the people in The Narrows. So with helping out fixing the up the fighters Lee gets to run her own clinic caring for the people of The Narrows. When she finds out that Cherry doesn’t care about The people of the Narrows and she was going to hand Ed over to Penguin, conveniently The Sirens had turned up to make sure Ed was handed over to Penguin, Barbara shoots Cherry. As Lee fixes up Grundy, Ed informs Lee she is the new Queen of The Narrows.
With help from Ed, Lee running The Narrows had its problems but with her people skills and determination to make it a better place for them to live. Sofia tried to take control but Lee put her in a coma after she tried to kill Jim. Ed now being The Riddler could not suppress his feelings for Lee and she encouraged him with a riddle to admit his feelings. The next interesting instalment of Doctor Leslie Thompkins is yet to be unveiled but I have a strong felling that the recent kiss could lead her into a dangerous game. But Lee is smart so is Ed, Lee definitely knows what she has got herself into.
To vote in the April hall of fame, checkout the hall of fame page on the website, and share around to get your favourite into the hall of fame final for 2018!
