This sounds interesting indeed. Even being on Fox.
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=109380
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=109380
Fox Developing "Gotham" Young Jim Gordon Series
- Thread starter Admiral_Young
- Start date
I don't know why they don't just adapt Gotham Central for TV. It's an existing comics property that already fits the formula they seem to be going for, a cop series set in Gotham and focusing on "normals" rather than costumed heroes.
What exactly would make that any different from any old cop show? The whole 'Gotham P.D.' thing only really becomes interesting once the Batman starts complicating things. Sounds like they just want an excuse to cast a handsome hard-body 27 year old as Gordon. What is wrong with Montoya and Bullock and (Handsome Hard-body 27 year old with a name from the comics) as the leads with Gordon as a supporting cast member?
Well to be fair a major reason why FOX canceled so many genre shows is because they were one of the few networks actually giving genre shows *A CHANCE*. You'd have the rare show here and there on the other big 3 networks, but it was pretty much lawyer/cop/doctor for a good 10+ years on those networks and only in the past few years have you seen them try genre shows more frequently (Lost being a huge factor there)
I'm surprised that this has ended up on Fox, given that Warner Brothers owns DC comics and their movie counterparts. Presumably they'll be producing it?
Oh look theres Edward Nigma CSI, The Cobblepot Casino, Isley's floral shop, and on and on. Just name dropping will not keep the fanboys watching this show. Having the cops be able to take down younger versions of the Bats foes just makes Batman look weak. Just give us a Batman or Nightwing series already.
The article at deadline.com says it was a bidding war over which network would air it, and Fox won.
Deadline.com
^Ah! I didn't read the link, as I'd seen the story elsewhere on t'internet today, but without reference to the bidding war. Thanks.
Absolutely right. Of all the broadcast networks, FOX and UPN are the ones that have had the highest percentage of genre shows out of their total scripted shows. So naturally they've cancelled the most genre shows, because most shows get cancelled, period. And it's been a decade since Firefly, and different people are running the show now. Last year, ABC, NBC, and The CW all debuted one or more genre shows that they cancelled after just a few weeks, leaving most of their episodes unaired or burning them off months later. FOX hasn't cancelled a genre show with episodes unaired since Tru Calling in 2005. So the old "FOX kills genre shows" meme is outdated. Take an honest look at the current TV landscape and it's clear that genre shows have a better chance on FOX than they do on the other broadcast networks.
But that's just it -- shows like this are not made for "fanboys," because that's not a large enough audience to sustain a successful television series. The goal with shows like this and Smallville before it is to take a property with a niche appeal and reinvent it to fit a mold that has broader audience appeal, a show that will draw in the general audience that wouldn't watch a straight-up Batman or Superman show. The reason there are so many conventional, formulaic shows on TV is because lots of viewers want them. They draw in large audiences reliably in a way that more exotic concepts like SF or superheroes generally don't. Sure, superheroes are popular now, but even the most successful superhero properties tend to play down the comic-book elements or bend over backward to rationalize them and make them feel more grounded, more accessible to the general audience that's uncomfortable with capes and tights and code names.
Not that I think this is necessarily a good idea, but I have no trouble understanding why network executives would think it's a good idea. A cop show is a safer way to go.
"In Gotham City's criminal justice system, the people are represented by three separate yet equally important groups: Batman, who investigates crime; the police, who shine the Batsignal; and the district attorneys, who ineffectually prosecute the offenders and occasionally develop homicidal split personalities. Come to think of it, only Batman is really important."
The opening credits:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh83WpX5M9Q[/yt]
And I don't know where this piece of fan art originated, but the Goddamn Batman and Lenny Briscoe is funny.
^Shouldn't that intro have closed with "Created by Bob Kane?" Even if Dick Wolf had created it, Kane would've still stolen the credit. 
I toyed with the idea of writing one of those intros in my original post, but I'm not that creative
As per the idea, I think it's a sound one, and can be really interesting. But I'm not really sure what they can do outside of having this be another procedural that just happens to be set in Gotham City.
The mashup I want to see is CSI and the Adam West Batman. If you look at the '66 show, Batman and Robin essentially functioned as the GCPD's crime lab. Commissioner Gordon would give them evidence and they'd analyze it with the scientific equipment in the Batcave. Or they'd be called to the scene to investigate something odd, like a giant umbrella or cookbook in the middle of the street, and would do science to it to determine if it was dangerous.
Maybe that's what they want. Networks love formulas, because they work. They're reliable ways to draw in large audiences. The goal is to find new twists and hooks and gimmicks to differentiate the shows without diverging too far from the formula. This procedural's about forensic scientists, this one's about a snarky medical examiner, that one's about a phony psychic, that one's about a face-reading expert, that one's about Sherlock Holmes, etc. And since there's always a market for more procedurals, they need new premises and characters to build them around.
Maybe that's what they want. Networks love formulas, because they work. They're reliable ways to draw in large audiences. The goal is to find new twists and hooks and gimmicks to differentiate the shows without diverging too far from the formula. This procedural's about forensic scientists, this one's about a snarky medical examiner, that one's about a phony psychic, that one's about a face-reading expert, that one's about Sherlock Holmes, etc. And since there's always a market for more procedurals, they need new premises and characters to build them around.
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