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GOTHAM: World of The Batman Returns to the Small Screen on FOX

Gray Oldman The Dark Knight

Fox wins bid to air series set in Gotham City. Fox Television will be airing Gotham, a series that will focus on the evolution of James Gordon, future commissioner of Gotham PD, and other peripheral characters in the world of Batman. The project, from Warner Bros. Television and The Mentalist creator, Bruno Heller, launched a bidding war almost upon announcement, with Fox emerging the victor and securing a series commitment.

Gotham will be the first TV series set in the world of Batman since Birds of Prey, and like that series, will not feature Batman, himself. Its origins may be traced to the comic series Gotham Central, by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, which revolved around the ordinary cops and detectives of the G.P.D.

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It would not be the first attempt to bring Gotham Central to network television. Supposedly, plans for an adaptation were made as far back as 2003, on the WB network but these were ultimately scrapped after the failure of Birds of Prey.

Ed Brubaker on Gotham Central‘s TV prospects:

‘The book is actually more popular now than when we were doing it. There’s been talk of ‘Gotham Central’ on TV since when we were doing the comic even (in the mid-2000s). Everyone at Warner Bros. really loved it. Chris Nolan after they did ‘Birds of Prey’ had asked them to just please not do any Batman-related stuff until he was done with his trilogy — looking at ‘Birds of Prey,’ you can see why. It was not the world’s greatest pilot.’

Gotham will be developed alongside another Warner Bros. TV comic based project, Flash, for the 2014 fall schedule.

On James Gordon:

Commissioner James “Jim” Worthington Gordon is a fictional character, an ally of Batman who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Gordon made his debut in the first panel of this comic, making him the first Batman supporting character to be introduced.

In most incarnations of the Batman mythos, James Gordon is the Police Commissioner of Batman’s home of Gotham City. He shares the hero’s deep commitment to ridding the dark and corrupt city of crime. In Golden and Silver age comics and on the 1960s Batman television show, Gordon fully trusts, and is even somewhat dependent on Batman. In most modern stories, he is somewhat skeptical of Batman’s vigilante method but recognizes the necessity of Batman and the two have a mutual respect and tacit friendship. Gordon’s relationship with Batman as his contact in the police is comparable to the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade. He was the husband of Barbara Kean Gordon and, after his divorce, of Sarah Essen Gordon. Gordon is also the father of James Gordon, Jr. and the father or adoptive father, depending on the continuity, of Barbara Gordon, the first modern Batgirl and later Oracle and then Batgirl again.

Gordon is an important part of the Batman mythos and has appeared in most other media adaptations of the character. This has included video games, animation, and the live-action films. Gordon has been played by Lyle Talbot in the serial film Batman and Robin, Neil Hamilton in the television series Batman, Pat Hingle in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher film series and Gary Oldman in the Christopher Nolan film series. In 2011 James Gordon placed 19th on IGN’s Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.

Leave your thoughts on Fox bringing Gotham to the small screen below in the comments section. For more Gotham photos, videos, and information, visit our Gotham Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, or “like” us on FacebookGotham has no air date yet.

Source: Deadline, Wikipedia (1, 2), Uproxx

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Sam Joseph

Sam is an Avid consumer/observer of Geek culture, and collector of Fanboy media from earliest memory. Armchair sociologist and futurist. Honest critic with satirical if not absurdist­­ wit with some experience in comics/ animation production.
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