Fox Developing "Gotham" Young Jim Gordon Series

[JD]

This could be interesting. Although I think it would have been a lot more interesting if they had just done a Gotham Central adaptation. That way they could have already had all of the villains active, and would be able to drop the occasional reference to Batman.
My only issue with this that if they want to have the familiar villains then they will have the cops dealing with them before Batman was around. I was under the impression that Batman's excitance was part of what drew all of the super villains out. And like someone else said up thread, doesn't it make Batman a little unnecissary if the cops had already been dealing with the villains for years.
Now if this was in an alternate version of Gotham where Batman never exists, but all of his villains still do, that could be interesting.
Having said that, I admit I'm still

 

[Allyn Gibson]

^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.

If I were the one who made it, that credit would have read "Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger & Dick Wolf."

I do know, though, that DC and Warners will never acknowledge Bill Finger as Batman's co-creator. That's really unfortunate.

 

[bigdaddy]

Too bad NBC didn't get it, they could have called in 'Law and Order: Gotham City'

"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."

And this show won't have Batman as a main player.

This isn't a sci-fi / fantasy show, it's a cop show. All Fox has now is cop shows, Bones, Sleepy Hollow, The Following, Almost Human and comedies no one watches..

 

[Nerys Myk]

I hope it's not a procedural. (slim chance). I'd rather see a drama focused around Gordon as he comes to realize the depths of corruption in Gotham and the steps he takes ( along with the compromises) as he tries to fight it.

 

[Aldo]

Too bad NBC didn't get it, they could have called in 'Law and Order: Gotham City'

"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."

And this show won't have Batman as a main player.

We know Batman won't be in the show, we're just having a bit of fun.

 

[Christopher]

^I think he was responding to my "only Batman is really important" and suggesting that, as a result, a show without Batman would be pointless. But of course I was just riffing on the extant version of the concept. It's conceivable that a Jim Gordon solo series could work, if handled well. He's a rich enough character that he could potentially anchor a show.

Here's a thought: what if the pilot established that this was an alternate reality where Bruce was killed along with his parents, or else where the Waynes were never killed at all and Bruce just grew up to be a rich, shallow dilettante? But Gotham still descended into the mess it became, and so Gordon has to try to clean it up himself. Maybe with Harvey Dent as his ally, since he doesn't become Two-Face in this reality, but still has a darker side he keeps hidden. With no Batman, there's no Joker per se, but the gangster he was before the accident (known only as the Red Hood?) is still a dangerous psychopath. And so on. You could have a lot of the same bad guys, but not going the costume route because there's no Batman to counter. Thus you can "cape-proof" the concept and make it more accessible to the general audience, but also provide a simple explanation that would make sense of the premise for the comics audience: it's an Elseworlds story about a world without Batman.

 

[Dream]

WB already tried doing a Gotham series without Batman. Birds of Prey didn't last long...

 

[sidious618]

I hope it's not a procedural. (slim chance). I'd rather see a drama focused around Gordon as he comes to realize the depths of corruption in Gotham and the steps he takes ( along with the compromises) as he tries to fight it.

That could definitely be interesting. I don't watch any network shows at this point and I can't see myself watching this if it's a formula show but there is a chance for this to be quality even if I don't think it'll go there.

 

[bigdaddy]

WB already tried doing a Gotham series without Batman. Birds of Prey didn't last long...

This is exactly my point.

I like the Law and Order joke. It's also how you have do a cop show, you have cops, sometimes lawyers and then the bad guys.

This show takes place in Gotham, yet Batman won't be there? Might as well be every other cop show ever made.

 

[sidious618]

I would absolutely watch if they made the villain of the show King Tut.

 

[Dream]

Just give us a Batman or Nightwing series already.

We won't be getting a live action Batman series any time soon as long as the Batman movies continue to be so successful. Doing a live action Batman show and movie at the same time dilutes the brand too much, and would case the movies to make less money.

But we will keep getting new Batman cartoons since they are cheap to make, and can exist alongside the movies without impacting their profits.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Here's a thought: what if the pilot established that this was an alternate reality where Bruce was killed along with his parents, or else where the Waynes were never killed at all and Bruce just grew up to be a rich, shallow dilettante? But Gotham still descended into the mess it became, and so Gordon has to try to clean it up himself. Maybe with Harvey Dent as his ally, since he doesn't become Two-Face in this reality, but still has a darker side he keeps hidden. With no Batman, there's no Joker per se, but the gangster he was before the accident (known only as the Red Hood?) is still a dangerous psychopath. And so on. You could have a lot of the same bad guys, but not going the costume route because there's no Batman to counter. Thus you can "cape-proof" the concept and make it more accessible to the general audience, but also provide a simple explanation that would make sense of the premise for the comics audience: it's an Elseworlds story about a world without Batman.

I like that idea and would be interested in seeing that play out, but I think the idea is far too creative and away from the beaten path of Batman for the likes of Fox and DC as a television series.

 

[Aldo]

Just give us a Batman or Nightwing series already.

We won't be getting a live action Batman series any time soon as long as the Batman movies continue to be so successful. Doing a live action Batman show and movie at the same time dilutes the brand too much, and would case the movies to make less money.

That didn't cause the Star Trek movies to...oh wait, never mind

 

[Captaindemotion]

^
Here's a thought: what if the pilot established that this was an alternate reality where Bruce was killed along with his parents, or else where the Waynes were never killed at all and Bruce just grew up to be a rich, shallow dilettante? But Gotham still descended into the mess it became, and so Gordon has to try to clean it up himself. Maybe with Harvey Dent as his ally, since he doesn't become Two-Face in this reality, but still has a darker side he keeps hidden. With no Batman, there's no Joker per se, but the gangster he was before the accident (known only as the Red Hood?) is still a dangerous psychopath. And so on. You could have a lot of the same bad guys, but not going the costume route because there's no Batman to counter. Thus you can "cape-proof" the concept and make it more accessible to the general audience, but also provide a simple explanation that would make sense of the premise for the comics audience: it's an Elseworlds story about a world without Batman.

Hmm, I like it. Can you imagine an opening with the Waynes leaving the cinema, little Bruce pretending to be Zorro and Joe Chill shadowing the family? Then, the familiar mugging gone wrong - except, this time, Chill fires three shots and kills Bruce as well as his parents.

Cut to credits, then after the credits, a rookie Jim Gordon arriving on the scene, his first case as investigating officer.

Can't see them opening with something this shocking, but it would certainly grab attention!

 

[Christopher]

WB already tried doing a Gotham series without Batman. Birds of Prey didn't last long...

Reposting what I said about that in another thread:

I don't think that's a good example. That show had a number of more fundamental problems, like trying to do a Burton/Schumacher-style superhero show at a time when that style was starting to give way to something more sophisticated, or evidently being under network pressure to be a Charmed clone rather than just a Batman-family series. (I don't know for sure that such pressure existed, but the show sure felt to me like it was trying to imitate Charmed.) So it's not really evidence that a Gotham-without-Batman show can't work, any more than Elektra or Catwoman is evidence that a female-led superhero movie can't work. A bad (or at least fatally flawed) movie or show doesn't invalidate its whole genre.

I think if any non-hero DC character could anchor a show, Jim Gordon is a likely candidate. He's been a lead character before, in Batman: Year One (which was really more Gordon's story than Batman's) and Gotham Central. He's well-regarded as a heroic figure in his own right, and he's got a memorable narrative as the one honest cop who cleans up the corrupt GCPD.

But on the other hand, it's kind of like having a show about Watson without Holmes. Gordon works best as a counterpart to Batman. And having Gordon take on formative versions of Batman's rogues seems like it could be an awkward idea.

You know what, I take it back. The one DC character I'd most like to see as the star of a solo series is Lois Lane. I think her character has grown to the point where she can stand on her own as a solo heroine without needing Superman to save her all the time (as demonstrated in the great Tales of Metropolis with Lois Lane short on DC Nation), and her adventures as an intrepid reporter could be pretty cool. It might be nice to see a prequel series about how she establishes her reputation as the Daily Planet's star investigator.

But we will keep getting new Batman cartoons since they are cheap to make, and can exist alongside the movies without impacting their profits.

Whatever gave you the idea that animation is cheap? Sure, the actors don't get paid as much, but it's a very, very time-consuming and technically intensive process and a great many people are involved in making it. I mean, think about it: essentially, an animated production is 100 percent visual effects.

 

[Vendikarr]

I think this could be a fun show, but how well it would work depends on the Gordon's supporting characters. I could see A.D.A. Harvey Dent continually frustrated by the fact that too many of his organized crime cases fall apart due to police incompetence or corruption, but he notices the cases he gets from Gordon are solid, and get him convictions. He pressures the mayor to set up a special task force headed by Gordon to work focus on organized crime, and cleaning up the GCPD.

Gordon would basically form his own version of the Untouchables, the cleanest cops in a dirty department. Maybe add rookie Renee Montoya, and detective Harvey Bullock, a rough around the edges dick who, while he may short cut procedure from time to time, gets the job done.

Oswald Cobblepot would run the Iceberg Lounge, and be a leading organized crime figure.

I would make Edward Nygma a P.I., obsessed with solving crimes, as if they were puzzles or crimes. He would compete with Gordons squad in solving crimes. Sometimes they would win, other times he would. His turn to villainy would come when the Batman comes along, and he can't solve crimes before the crusader, and his focus becomes solely to beat the bat.

Selena Kyle would be a cat burglar. She wouldn't be a costumed villain, but perhaps dress in all black with a mask. A camera catches her in the act at one time, and while they cannot make out any details, they can definitely tell she is a woman, and is nicknamed the Catwoman by police.

Add in many of the mobsters from the comics and you have plenty to play with.

And perhaps... Batman won't appear, but who says Bruce Wayne won't?

 

[Gaith]

Here's a thought: what if the pilot established that this was an alternate reality where Bruce was killed along with his parents, or else where the Waynes were never killed at all and Bruce just grew up to be a rich, shallow dilettante? But Gotham still descended into the mess it became, and so Gordon has to try to clean it up himself.

Until, that is, Bruce Wayne and his father go boating in international waters, and their ship goes down, and he's marooned on an island for five years, and things back home continue to get worse, until he's rescued, and returns to Star - I mean, Gotham City, and picks up a bow and arrow, and...

 

[Turtletrekker]

The original Deadline article says that the shows Gordon "has yet to meet Batman". Does this mean that Batman is out there doing his thing, and he just hasn't crossed paths with Gordon yet, or is it pre-Batman all together?

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ I think it's pre-Batman altogether, with Gordon much younger than we've usually seen him (well, maybe about the age he was meant to be when Bruce's parents were killed in Batman Begins). But I don't think anyone knows for sure yet.

 

[A beaker full of death]

I hear the next plan for a series focuses on Earl Cubby. For those who don't know, he's the janitor who mops the 38th floor corridor at the Daily Planet. He's often mystified by the abandoned suit of clothes he finds in the janitor's closet. The show will follow his adventures chasing down that suit of clothes and trying to scrape that last bit of chewing gum from the floor outside Mr. White's office. He's pretty sure that Olsen kid spat it out there, but he can't prove it.... yet.