'Gotham' puts Batman spin on cop series
NEW YORK — Gotham is the Batman show that TV deserves, but is it the one fans need right now?
It's an August afternoon, and luggage-toting guests are tromping through the lobby of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, likely unaware that Fox's origin series Gotham (Sept. 22, Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT) is shooting just a few steps away in plain view.
In a grand ballroom overlooking the lobby, extras dressed to the nines have gathered to shoot a scene from an upcoming episode set at a black-tie charity event hosted by Wayne Enterprises. A 12-year-old Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) arrives with butler Alfred (Sean Pertwee) in tow, only to flee quickly when a deranged citizen sabotages the event.
Detectives James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) attempt to apprehend the lanky wrongdoer on the hotel rooftop, but as new recruit Gordon promptly learns, Gotham City police are often no match for the villains who populate the city's underbelly.
"What we're striving for is a modern gothic fairy tale," says creator Bruno Heller (The Mentalist). "It's dark and scary and disturbing in some ways, but at the same time, it's not heavy. It's a tough balance to hit."
The episodes are framed by crime-of-the-week cases for Gordon and Bullock to investigate, but explores the ongoing saga of Batman nemeses Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith), Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), aka the Penguin, and Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova), the future Catwoman, among others.
"Jim comes to Gotham with a set of ideals and values that will be tested almost immediately by the corruption and greed in the city," McKenzie says. "How does he produce justice in an unjust world?"
Although Gordon is the show's central player, "he's always checking in with Bruce," McKenzie says. "He's the little prince. He's the prince that holds the fate of the world in his hands. That's a terrible power to give to a 12-year-old."
Gordon meets Bruce in the first episode, moments after his parents are murdered in front of him. "He starts searching for any reason for his parents' death and takes matters into his own hands because he doesn't feel the cops are doing enough," says Mazouz, 13. "Over the course of the show, it's my job to show his journey from being a regular rich kid to Batman."
Unlike other comic-book series CW's The Flash and NBC's Constantine muscling their way into the fall lineup, those tuning in to see the Dark Knight in action may be disappointed, as Batman won't appear until the end of the series — which Heller hopes will extend for five to seven seasons. In the meantime, Gotham will satiate fans' appetites with Easter eggs in each episode, which "may pass by the larger audience, but they're there for those people," Heller says.
Tackling such sacred property on network TV has proved intimidating, McKenzie says, but as DC Comics chief Geoff Johns advised him, " 'You got to make it your own. Anything you do is going to be criticized, (so) don't go to the message boards.' "
It's also been a tricky balancing act for the writers, who are tasked with serving "two audiences equally well: the vast audience that likes Batman but is not a Batman freak, and the audience of fans that have a genuine devotion to the world," he says. "Everyone involved understands the depths of people's passion for these characters and I want them to know that we're doing the best we can with the utmost respect for their expectations."
One person unfazed by fan chatter is Mazouz, sitting on the steps of the ballroom in a T-shirt and shorts before he suits up for the shoot. A lifelong Batman fan who's grown up watching the Christopher Nolan franchise, he compares the show's solemn, ominous tone to that of the Dark Knight trilogy and says he's looking forward to the upcoming Batman vs. Superman movie.
And though he may not actually get to don to the Batsuit, playing young Bruce does have its perks, Mazouz says: "I'm excited to know that I'm going to grow up to be Ben Affleck."
Contributing: Gary Levin