Gotham

So this is apparently going to be a thing.

A soap opera that serves as a prequel to the Dark Knight movies, starring Bruce and his comic book enemies as twelve year old kids.

Sounds like a really really really bad idea to me. What say you?

edited 14th Jan '14 10:41:29 AM by Eagal

I would rather it wasn't on Fox. I foresee contract troubles and intra-company fights between Fox and WB.

Good actually. The sooner WB buries this crock of shit, the better.

It doesn't say anything about it being related to any of the movies, or new ones, in fact, it implies the opposite.

I preferred the original concept (prequel about Gordon), and this feels unnecessary, but I'll refrain from any judgement until I see anything concrete (either interviews that explain their plan in more detail, or the show itself).

Honestly, if someone really wants to make a show about pre-Batman Bruce Wayne, I don't see why people don't focus on his time travelling the world and all the stuff he dabbled in.

I read that and thought "a show about Bruce travelling through time before becoming Batman? That sounds awesome!"

Well there actually is a canon storyline regarding Bruce Wayne travelling through time and being Batman in different eras.

I honestly feel this show would be much better received if it was just a straight Gotham Central adaptation.

I can already tell that this will just end up as Smallville: Batman Edition, especially being a Fox project.

It was kind of obvious but DC confirmed that Gotham will be in a "separate universe" from Arrow and Flash. Don't know about Constantine, iZombie, and Hourman yet.

I think Hourman is in the same network as Arrow & Flash, so it seems like a safe bet to me that his show will be part of the DCTVU. For the rest, no idea.

iZombie will also be on CW if it gets picked up same with Arrow, Flash, and Hourman.

Hourman is confirmed not to be apart of the same universe as Arrow and Flash.

Constantine is on NBC but it is going to be produced by David Goyer.

It's confirmed not to be? I didn't know that.

This is literally Smallville set in Gotham. I'm not too optimistic.

How is Hourman going to be in a separate universe? I thought that that was why they've been setting up Miracuru (Miraclo).

Some casting news.

Ben McKenzie has been cast as Jim Gordon.

Casting news for the following: Erin Richards has been cast as Barbara Kean. Robin Lord Taylor has been cast as Oswald Cobblepot. Sean Pertwee has been cast as Alfred Pennyworth. Zabryna Guevara has been cast as Captain Essen.

Donal Logue has been cast as Harvey Bullock.

I could be negative, and crank up the stigma that Smallville has left on these kinds of shows.

So let me be positive. On one hand, a "pre-insane Joker, Riddler" or "Penguin prior to becoming a big shot" storyline could be interesting. The problem is, how long do they want to run it? It's kind of heavy-handed to have characters like those become recurring, because the audience already knows what's going to become of them.

If it were me, you'd have an episode with a guy named "Joe Kerr" and set him up to be Joker, but end the episode without really saying it. Later, we meet "Jack" and try to be more subtle about it, showing him playing cards or something.

ntroduce characters with subtle context clues. Don't make an episode where Gordon walks in on Selina Kyle and they suddenly have a relationship... because Selina Kyle is Batman's love interest, not Gordon's. Don't start shipping wars. "Oh will Gordon end up with Pamela Isley/Vicki Vale's mother/Andrea Beaumont's mother?"

Supposedly this show will be split up between the daily adventures of young Bruce and Detective Gordon. Gordon already has a story arc, namely searching for the killers of Bruce's parents, but what will Bruce be doing? He's got to be either in school, or mourning, or traveling the world.

Maybe it won't start directly after the murder, maybe the first few episodes will be the start of the Myth Arc, with the Waynes having a connection to some criminal organization. Bruce's dad had quite a few adventures if Wikipedia is to be believed.

Like most series, I think they could pull it off and tell their share of unique, emotional stories, perhaps by adapting the storylines from Gotham Central. They just have to know their limits, and not take the series away from Gordon to talk about Bruce in Japan, or try to wedge in Lady Shiva or Deathstroke, or try and force crap like saying Bane was a drug dealer in Gotham before he became a drug-fueled crime boss.

They're already got a line-up of workable characters: Psychiatrist Jonathan Crane (Scarecrow), failed prop comic or maybe right-hand mafioso (Joker), any slew of criminals from Gotham's underbelly (Falcone), an entire mafia, District Attorney Harvey Dent (age him a bit). That's the Nolan films. the Question, Renee Montoya, Bullock, The Squid, etc.

edited 16th Feb '14 1:59:26 PM by FOFD

If they're going to give the Joker an origin story, they should give him multiple. Provide several characters throughout the show who might become the Joker. Never say which one did, if any.

edited 13th Feb '14 7:44:52 AM by TobiasDrake

Yeah, I was just gonna say that. Stand-up comic, mob hitman, and Red Hood. One of them becomes Joker, but it's left up to individual audience members to decide for themselves which one.

edited 13th Feb '14 12:45:36 PM by kalel94

If it's based on The Dark Knight, then one should also be an embittered soldier.

This is tangential, but my own personal favorite TDK theory is that both of the versions of his origin he told were true, as he was scarred in two separate incidents. When speaking to Batman at the end, he was going to say "You want to know how I got these scars? I got them from my loved ones. They made me who I am."

Those are both awesome theories.

The soldier one is inspired and very Nolanesque.

edited 14th Feb '14 3:11:01 PM by zam

Jada Pinkett Smith has been cast as Fish Mooney.

As previously reported, low-level psychopath Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin (to be played by Robin Lord Taylor) will be in Fish Mooney’s employ.

Donal Logue talks conflict and character development in Gotham.

David Mazouz and Camren Bicondova has been cast as Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle respectively.