In the Wayne study on a shelf sits a bust of William Shakespeare, the same kind used to activate the secret passageway to the bat cave in the 1960s Batman and Robin series.
Ben McKenzie stated that for inspiration for his character, he basically became the younger version of Gary Oldman's portrayal of Jim Gordon from the Dark Knight Trilogy.
Showrunner Bruno Heller stated that Gotham is not set in any time period. To achieve this effect, older and outdated technology such as rotary phones, CRT monitors, tube televisions are seen used throughout the show as well as contemporary devices like cell phones.