BWW Preview: Holy Origins! GOTHAM Introduces Young Villains, Comm. Gordon

Seasoned detective Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) offers James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) some honest advice in episode number one of the new series GOTHAM. "Listen, kid. You seem like a nice guy, but this is not a city or a job for nice guys."

Who wants to guess Gordon makes it anyway?

You would have to find a pretty remote corner of the globe to find someone who could not answer the question, "Where does Batman live?"

GOTHAM is the place where the hero known as the Caped Crusader has faced a rogues gallery of wild and crazy opponents since his debut in "Detective Comics" in 1939.

Now, DC Entertainment, Primrose Hill Productions, and Warner Bros. Television brings audiences a new series for FOX that takes us back to the days when Bruce Wayne was an orphaned rich kid, Jim Gordon was new to the GOTHAM Police Department, and the Batcave was just a hole in the ground.

FOX has produced a preview video, "A LEGEND REBORN" that offers insights to the premise of GOTHAM, information about the cast and how the series will fit into the history of the brooding hero we know as Batman.

Bruno Heller (ROME, THE MENTALIST), writer and executive producer of GOTHAM, described the impetus of the new series as taking a new approach to get into the DC Comics mythology; focusing on the city and characters known from the comics and many other incarnations.

"Gotham is a show very much about the origin stories of some the greatest super villains in the DC (Comics) mythology."

This prequel to the Batman mythos really started with a question. "What the show looks at is why does a town like that eventually need a vigilante to help them," offered Danny Cannon, director and executive producer. "What makes a town so crazy, what makes a town so out of control that villains start to where costumes?"

All the favorites are present and accounted for, according to the cast. GOTHAM features young, pre-super villainy versions of Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Penguin, the Riddler, "possibly the Joker," teased Ben McKenzie, who stars as Detective James Gordon.

"You see all of these legendary characters but you are seeing them at a point in their lives which has not really been explored before."

The creators promise they are not just trying to regurgitate a comic book. "We need to elevate it," explained DC Comics chief creative officer Geoff Johns. "We need to make it something it's never been before while being true to the DNA" of the comic.

Heller said the series pays "due homage to everything anyone knows about GOTHAM in the past and gets crazier and crazier."

At the center of the craziness is GOTHAM City police department's newest detective, James Gordon. The rookie is partnered with Det. Harvey Bullock to investigate the high profile double murder of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Wayne. Gunned down by an unknown assailant in the streets of Gotham, the Waynes' murder leaves their young son Bruce an orphan and in the care of the family's butler, Alfred Pennywise (Sean Pertwee).

Having Gordon be one of the COPS investigating the Wayne's murder and interacting with the orphaned Bruce serves as a "what if?" situation, Heller said. "Once you make that connection between those two iconic characters, the story kind of rolls on from there."

Viewers will see Gordon connect with young Bruce Wayne as never before. And as he digs into the investigation, Gordon finds corruption and DARK SECRETS in nearly every corner of Gotham.

McKenzie first gained notice as Ryan Atwood on THE O.C. On the NBC/TNT police drama SOUTHLAND McKenzie co-starred as Officer Ben Sherman. Playing Jim Gordon is not his first time working in Gotham, however. For the 2011 animated DVD BATMAN: YEAR ONE, McKenzie voiced Bruce Wayne/Batman. (The video also featured a multiple Emmy winner as Commissioner Jim Gordon: Bryan Cranston!)

Heller described McKenzie as bringing just the right quality to the series. "Ben McKenzie is perfect for the role of Gordon because he has a kind of natural integrity and strength and old fashioned set of values that really shines through his performance."

Gordon's partner, Harvey Bullock, is truly ripped from the comics. "Harvey Bullock is a detective in the comics. He's never been realized in live action" in films, tv or animation, according to Johns. "Donal Logue is the first person to play him and he's absolutely perfect for the role."

Logue said Bullock has been around GOTHAM so long, in order to survive "he has developed his own brand of morality."

Logue is known for such titles as SONS OF ANARCHY, VIKINGS, TERRIERS, and COPPER.

Gordon's relationship with Bullock is very complex, offered McKenzie. "Harvey's been whittled down to expect very little of the city." but it is a city the older detective will help reveal to his fresh-faced partner.

And GOTHAM has much to reveal, especially the once-and-future villains before they get custom fitted for their infamous wardrobes.

As explained by GOTHAM's creators, the earliest history of the iconic villains has never really been explored in other Batman media. Johns said, for example, "We've never really seen where the Penguin comes from or why he does what he does, or the Riddler, or even Catwoman."

Maybe these super villains started out just like regular people, Cannon elaborated. "Why on earth would this real person turn into this crazy psychopath."

One of the psychos in training is Oswald Cobblepot played by Robin Lord Taylor (ACCEPTED, ANOTHER EARTH). As fans know well, Cobblepot later embraces the persona of the Penguin, known for his formal dress, top hats and killer umbrellas, as well as his distinctive birdlike walk and squawking laugh.

In the new series, viewers will meet Cobblepot working for a new character to the DC universe, Fish Mooney, played by film and television veteran Jada Pinkett Smith (THE MATRIX films, THE NUTTY PROFESSOR, and executive producer and star of HAWTHORNE for TNT).

Heller sees Fish Mooney and Smith as bringing an intelligence, sharpness and ferocity to the series. "And a way of looking at people that is both seductive and devouring."

Smith described her character as "an up and comer in the criminal world of GOTHAM. And she has a mind to take over Gotham."

A betting person would say Mooney will find herself crossed by rookie Det. Gordon throughout the series.

The show will also introduce the younger version of Selina Kyle who famously slinks around GOTHAM in later years as the felonious and feline Catwoman. For GOTHAM, actress Camren Bicondova is Selina. Bicondova, boasting only a few credits thus far, is 15 years old and will be the youngest actress to play Selina Kyle.

Bicondova is not the only child in the dark drama. David Mazouz (TOUCH with Keifer Sutherland), age 15, plays young Bruce Wayne. Even younger, at the ripe old age of 9, is Clare Foley who portrays the youngster who grows up to be the botanical menace Poison Ivy.

Another of the famous villains shown in their early years is played by Cory Michael Smith as the quizzical Edward Nygma, a.k.a. the Riddler.

The creators promise to unveil other pre-Batman villains - Scarecrow, Harvey Dent/Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, and the Joker - as GOTHAM unfolds in the sixteen episode arc of season one.

GOTHAM is scheduled to premiere on September 22, 2014 on Fox.

Every week, join us at BWW-TV for recaps of each exciting episode; and be sure to chime in on what you think about the show and how and where you think the show's going. You can leave your remarks in the comments below, or you can follow me on Twitter at @jeffwalker66.

Photo Credit: Fox

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