First Look: 'Gotham'
Gotham airs in the US in September
I must admit I'm sceptical of anything DC/Warner try to do these days. Nine times out of ten, they'll go along with whatever Marvel have done because it's tried and tested. Their Man of Steel too, regardless of however many records it broke, and the moolah it made, was in my eyes one of the most disappointing superhero films in recent times.
So when this was announced I let out a huge sigh and thought 'Oh I see what you've done here — it's Marvel's Agent's Of S.H.I.E.L.D strategy where they have a TV series tying in to the Avengers/Marvel universe.'
Upon viewing the trailer however, I must admit, any doubts I had seem to have been put to rest. Fox's take on the DC's fictional city of Gotham, which recounts the Batman story from James Gordon's (Who goes on to become Commissioner Gordon) eyes, looks gripping, moody, sombre and dark and focuses on a few principal characters as opposed to a range of them (one of my main complaints with Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — it's far too overstuffed).
The story is told through a younger Gordon's eyes, in the build up to the origin of the Batman, with a younger cast playing characters that go on to become several of The Dark Knight's dreaded nemeses.
I thought casting Benjamin McKenzie (yes him, The O.C. poster boy Ryan), was an unlikely choice for Gordon, but he seems to pull off the part in the initial trailers, and his acting doesn't appear as wooden as it did in the smash hit American teen drama television series which aired way back in 2003.
In addition to McKenzie, Gotham also stars Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney, David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, Robin Lord Taylor as Penguin, Cory Michael Smith as Riddler, and Carmen Bicondova as Catwoman.
Fox has announced that they are officially giving a full 22 episode season order to Gotham, and the first episode will air (in the US), September 2014.
Official Synopsis: Gotham
Everyone knows the name Commissioner Gordon. He is one of the crime world's greatest foes, a man whose reputation is synonymous with law and order. But what is known of Gordon's story and his rise from rookie detective to Police Commissioner? What did it take to navigate the multiple layers of corruption that secretly ruled Gotham City, the spawning ground of the world's most iconic villains? And what circumstances created them – the larger-than-life personas who would become Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler, Two-Face and The Joker?
"Gotham" is an origin story of the great DC Comics super villains and vigilantes, revealing an entirely new chapter that has never been told. From executive producer/writer Bruno Heller (“The Mentalist,” “Rome”), "Gotham" follows one cop's rise through a dangerously corrupt city teetering on the edge of evil and chronicles the birth of one of the most popular super heroes of our time.
Growing up in Gotham City's surrounding suburbs, James Gordon (Ben McKenzie, “Southland,” “The O.C.”) romanticized the city as a glamorous and exciting metropolis where his late father once served as a successful district attorney. Now, two weeks into his new job as a Gotham City detective and engaged to his beloved fiancée, Barbara Kean (Erin Richards, Open Grave, “Breaking In”), Gordon is living his dream – even as he hopes to restore the city back to the pure version he remembers it was as a kid.
Brave, honest and ready to prove himself, the newly-minted detective is partnered with the brash, but shrewd police legend Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue, “Sons of Anarchy,” “Terriers,” “Vikings,” “Copper”), as the two stumble upon the city's highest-profile case ever: the murder of local billionaires Thomas and Martha Wayne. At the scene of the crime, Gordon meets the sole survivor: the Waynes' hauntingly intense 12-year-old son, Bruce (David Mazouz, “Touch”), toward whom the young detective feels an inexplicable kinship. Moved by the boy's profound loss, Gordon vows to catch the killer.
As he navigates the often-underhanded politics of Gotham's criminal justice system, Gordon will confront imposing gang boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith, The Matrix films, “HawthoRNe,” Collateral), and many of the characters who will become some of fiction's most renowned, enduring villains, including a teenaged Selina Kyle/the future Catwoman (acting newcomer Camren Bicondova) and Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor, “The Walking Dead,” Another Earth).
Although the crime drama will follow Gordon's turbulent and singular rise through the Gotham City police department, led by Police Captain Sarah Essen (Zabryna Guevara, “Burn Notice”), it also will focus on the unlikely friendship Gordon forms with the young heir to the Wayne fortune, who is being raised by his unflappable butler, Alfred (Sean Pertwee, "Camelot," “Elementary”). It is a friendship that will last them all of their lives, playing a crucial role in helping the young boy eventually become the crusader he's destined to be.
"Gotham" is based upon characters published by DC Comics and is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Heller wrote the pilot, which will be directed and executive-produced by Emmy Award nominee Danny Cannon (the “CSI” series, “Nikita”).
Are you looking forward to Gotham?
Character Posters: Gotham
Trailer: Gotham
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