Fox Network Picks Up Batman-Prequel TV Series Gotham

[MovieBob]

Fox Network Picks Up Batman-Prequel TV Series Gotham

High-profile series will follow the adventures of a young Commissioner Gordon

Security is still locked down tight around the Batman universe's next movie incarnation in Superman Vs. Batman, but audiences will get a look at a small-screen vision of Gotham City much sooner: Fox Network today announced a series order for Gotham, a Warner Bros-produced police drama set in the infamous DC Comics locale years prior to the appearance of The Batman.

Envisioned as a dark crime show with comic-book overtones, the series will focus on future Police Commissioner James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) during his days as a rookie detective on the Gotham police force. He will encounter crimes and mysteries related to future Batman villains such as Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) and the recurring presence of Bruce Wayne himself, at this point still a child played by 13 year-old newcomer David Mazouz. Other notable characters (thus far) include Donal Logue as Det. Harvey Bullock, Jada Pinkett Smith as crimeboss Fish Mooney, Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth, Erin Richards as Barbara Kean and Carmen Bicondova as a teenaged Selina Kyle/Catwoman.

The possibility of more Batman/DC characters appearing has been teased, but no one else has yet been confirmed. Unlike Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, the series is reportedly not intended to share continuity with any of Warner Bros current or future feature film versions of the Batman franchise.


Source: Dealine [http://www.deadline.com/2014/05/gotham-series-order-fox-batman-prequel/]

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[Burnouts3s3]

This sort of sounds like it wants to copy Agents of SHIELD.

Could be good, could be bad, I won't hold my breath.

 

[Makabriel]

Odd..
I thought this was already an announced deal? They've been putting out press releases for the cast for a while, I thought a network already had it?

 

[evilnancyreagan]

If it's as good as Batman: Year One then it'd definitely be something worth watching.

Gordon is like Batman but, without the secret identity, financial backing and absence of accountability. So yeah, Gordon is more of a badass.

 

[Gizmo1990]

I hope people like this show I really do but to me Gotham without Batman just sounds boring.

 

[Redryhno]

Debatable on how much of a badass Gordon is, since depending on the movie/comic, he either is said badass, or kinda just there to represent the police force, and nothing else.

As for Fox picking it up, I think we all know how this song and dance goes, if it's mediocre and overall bad, it'll be there for the next twenty years, if a certain demographic overall loves it, it'll get a full season and be told halfway through it's cancelled, if they're lucky.

 

[anonymity88]

Debatable on how much of a badass Gordon is, since depending on the movie/comic, he either is said badass, or kinda just there to represent the police force, and nothing else.

As for Fox picking it up, I think we all know how this song and dance goes, if it's mediocre and overall bad, it'll be there for the next twenty years, if a certain demographic overall loves it, it'll get a full season and be told halfway through it's cancelled, if they're lucky.

Mightily cynical there. Cynical, and accurate.. -_-;

 

[Redryhno]

Mightily cynical there. Cynical, and accurate.. -_-;

Yeah, I'm kinda hoping I'm wrong with it, but I'm also hoping it doesn't work out, a Gotham without even the hint of Batman seems pretty dull to me.

I'm all for Batman stories that don't really involve him except for a handful of key points, but with this we don't even get a point to even see the shadow of the bat, unless they go with one of the alternate universes where Bruce isn't Batman, but again, sorta boring if that's the case.

 

[evilnancyreagan]

Debatable on how much of a badass Gordon is, since depending on the movie/comic, he either is said badass, or kinda just there to represent the police force, and nothing else.

See:

Batman: Year One

Very intriguing portrayal of Gordon. If I had to spin a Batmanless Gotham yarn, that would certainly be my suit to follow.

 

[Redryhno]

Debatable on how much of a badass Gordon is, since depending on the movie/comic, he either is said badass, or kinda just there to represent the police force, and nothing else.

See:

Batman: Year One

Very intriguing portrayal of Gordon. If I had to spin a Batmanless Gotham yarn, that would certainly be my suit to follow.

Already seen it, you still have Bruce starting the Batman...legacy? I can't think of the word right now I want to use and I'm too lazy to actually go rooting through my brain crevices for it. But there's the hint of Batman in it at the very least, as well as multiple scenes of him starting up. As it stands, Gotham may as well just be Blue Bloods or any other number of detective shows.

And to be honest, it followed such a damn linear storyline that you'd have to knocked in the head a dozen times with a very sturdy bat to not see it coming(pun not intended), you could slap another cop movie name on it, change Gotham to Chicago, and it wouldn't make any difference. Seriously, just watch Running Scared and you almost have the exact same movie, minus the Florida scenes and humor.

 

[evilnancyreagan]

Already seen it, you still have Bruce starting the Batman...legacy?

Even though Broose does pop his head in from time to time, Batman: Year one stands as testament to Gordon as an interesting and compelling character, strong enough to lead a story.

I can't say that I have seen any of those movies(?) that you mentioned but, perhaps that's why it worked for me. Gritty, detective noir? *yawn*, not my bag but, throw in Gordon with Gotham as the backdrop and now I'm interested. Has it been done before? perhaps but, it's new to me.

My point is that a regular guy like Gordon dealing with Batman-level problems has potential clout as a narrative. Will that potential be recognized? time will tell.

All I know is that I'm going to watch this a couple more times:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcEMFte9-ag
"It's been years since I've had to take out a Green Beret but, even so he deserves a handicap."

 

[Redryhno]

snip

Except he doesn't really deal with Batman-sized problems, he deals with the first act of a Batman story that really isn't anything and is dealt with in two pages before he sees something else from the rooftops much more dangerous than a couple corrupt cops and gangsters. I'm not calling BYO shit, but I am saying that it isn't an accurate representation of Gordon being able to deal with the same problems.

Even that snippet you linked, Gordon is only dealing with one guy,even though said one guy is also mentioned as being a Green Beret,he's still mostly just a bully that beats on kids for fun who really doesn't stand up to anyone willing to put up a real fight and catches him by surprise as well as probably being drunk(I think he was in the four-parter, can't remember though)

Again, as it stands, I have yet to see anything about Gotham that will actually make for a good series that couldn't just be name-changed and not set in the DC universe. Everything's about being before the Bat-era, including the criminals, so how exactly can it seriously be called a part of the Batman Mythos?

Hell, people have done nothing but complain about Arrow because it takes the completely outlandish parts of the comics and twists them to actually be...believable? Again not the right word, but I think I'm getting my point across. So why does Gotham get a free pass as it stands? Because all we know is that there's not going to be the hint of a sliver of the bat, and no Rogue's Gallery due to the article stating that Cobblepot won't become the Penguin until after the arrival of Batman, so you're taking two of the three things that make Gotham what it is as a city character. The third of course being the overabundance of crime and corruption, but pretty much every city in the DC universe has that to some degree.

 

[evilnancyreagan]

Except he doesn't really deal with Batman-sized problems

He deals with the notorious cesspool of crime and corruption that is Gotham City (degeneracy so systemic that even Batman is disillusioned in the struggle with it) and Gordon doesn't have a mask to hide behind. It's not a matter of whether or not Gordon is actually capable of tackling Gotham on his own but, rather the fact that he is the face that's bound by duty and honor (not vengeance) to take responsibility for it.

It takes a Batman and all his powers to fight the good fight for Gotham but, there's something to be said for the regular man who holds the line.

To take it to a base level and ask "who's gonna win in a fight?" is a moot point as the answer is obvious. However, undeniably it takes bigger balls to do what Gordon does.

 

[Tireseas_v1legacy]

I hope people like this show I really do but to me Gotham without Batman just sounds boring.

Read Commissioner Gordon's tale in The Black Mirror compilation. It details him trying to figure out if is son, clearly a psychopath, is a serial killer (because his life isn't fucked up enough). It is probably one of the most gripping stories I've ever read.

In short, it can be done. Hell, if they just took the movie No Country for Old Men and put that in a city, you've got 99% of what you need right there: a mystery done from the perspective of the officer trying to come to grips with criminals he just doesn't fully understand.

 

[Gitty101]

I just hope they don't try to cram in origin stories of all the Bat's major bads, that's already been done to death. Something akin to Gordon's development in Year One with elements of organised crime from 'The Long Halloween', I'd be totally down for.

Not that I'm holding my breath mind.