Gotham Central

[The NZA]

 

Gotham Central (comic thread), for those less familiar with it. Basically, it was about Gotham PD, specifically a major crimes unit handling supervillain cases. Rucka & Brubaker tore it up, writing-wise - said unit knew they were often up against more than they could handle, and had until nightfall to solve cases, creating this tense relationship with Batman. Focusing on them and less on Bats made him much more mythic, like an urban legend the city quietly worked with but couldn't acknowledge - even going so far as to hire a non-city employee to light the signal, for liability purposes.

 

i'm not doing the book justice here, but imagine a great crime drama with focused character stories and really dark, realistic looks at some of the horrific villains gotham coexists with, as well as the dichotomy inherent in a PD that knows it needs the bat, but moreso because of its own corruption than anything else.

 

Point of this thread is that with Birds of Prey having made it one season (seemingly popular; i never saw any of it), i'm still amazed this hasn't been picked up. before, idve thought it a good choice for FX (post Shield) but really, AMC and a lotta other channels are finally cashing in on quality, and i can't help but think with the rightful popularity of the recent films, this'd really stand a chance at getting noticed/raking it in.

for those that haven't read the book: follow my first link, then do so. for those that have...let's hear your thoughts/casting call!

[Iambaytor]

I don't think they could ever get the licensing and Birds of Prey ONLY lasted a season, the best you could hope for would be some Smallville for adults BS on the WB/CW/whatever (You will recall that Warner Bros. owns all the rights for DC properties)

[Lycaon]

There was a reason it only lasted a season.

[The NZA]

well, have either of you read the book? my thing is, its a property that's already very well known to people (granted, that was prolly half the pitch for birds of prey, but...), combined with a cop drama which seems to do well.

show could be done on the cheap, too...based on the arcs anyway, there's not a lot of expensive-y things that need to be done to convey the story.

[Iambaytor]

well, have either of you read the book? my thing is, its a property that's already very well known to people (granted, that was prolly half the pitch for birds of prey, but...), combined with a cop drama which seems to do well.

show could be done on the cheap, too...based on the arcs anyway, there's not a lot of expensive-y things that need to be done to convey the story.

 

It's not a matter of cost, it's a matter of passion and effort. WB will not put either of those things into a TV show, and while the series is semi-well known to comic fans (I would argue a lot more people have heard of it than actually know it) the rest of the world is just going to recognize that it's Batman's city and maybe watch a few episodes before realizing that Batman isn't a big part of it and watching something else. They're going to snag some bargain basement actors with maybe a couple people who were really famous in the 80s or early 90s, hire a screen-writer whose only credits consist of early Law and Order episodes and film it in Hi-Def with bleached out lighting and way too much shaky cam during actual action sequences. There will be pointless subplots (most of them romantic) to give it a more "mainstream" appeal and of course since it's WB they'll have to find a way to market it to the tweens so expect it to be as trite and bullshit as possible. Now if we were talking FX I'd say it might be okay but you'd probably get some bullshit like the Witchblade series or the Birds of Prey series or the Beastmaster series or... you know what. This is just a shitty idea. Maybe if you got some people who were passionate about the project and weren't just going to try and cash in I would say it has potential, but WB will never do that. Not to mention, the last thing we need right now is another cop drama, even if it's from a new angle.

[The NZA]

...at no point did i mean to imply WB was anywhere near my top 10 formats for this. id take Fox first, if even just to get half a decent season out the door.

 

the rest of the world is just going to recognize that it's Batman's city and maybe watch a few episodes before realizing that Batman isn't a big part of it and watching something else.

 

yeah, this is a very likely possibility. then again, idve thought smallvile would've been shitcanned years ago.

i dunno, i know there's CSI shows a-plenty but there hasnt been a good cop drama ive seen/heard in a while, Gotham PD still seems like a fun angle. the cast has to be grown into but christ knows the supervillains they're up against are more than well known, should be a decent hook id think.

[Jables]

This book stands out as something I still gotta get to, and now that I'm happily pirating all my books I'll queue this up. Much as I like the idea of this as a series(Baytor pretty much described the Shield there, so I'd be rooting for FX), it pretty much runs the same footrace as a possible Powers series(there's differences, but y'know...) and I'd hate to not have that brought to TV, so I guess what I'm trying to say is Fuck Gotham PD.

[The NZA]

yeah, but Powers is a done deal, i just think this would make a good property.

 

its not that long a series, as i recall. check it out post-haste and if you think it'd not transfer well, by all means, say so...it just felt like a no-brainer to me.

[Jables]

I didn't know Powers was a done deal, and refuse to get my hopes up more than they are until I see a pilot. Being objective, this'd be a more attractive premise to producers/casual viewers because if done right, on face value it'd be a cop drama with a twist, and a fan service to the Cheetos crowd.

 

But yeah, new netbook arrives tomorrow hopefully, and once I'm done reading the expanded Secret Invasion & Siege events this'll be next.

[The NZA]

...you're gonna want some of your life back after SI. just a heads-up; you can read the main book or you can wiki it and walk away better for it.

[Mr. Hakujin]

...at no point did i mean to imply WB was anywhere near my top 10 formats for this. id take Fox first, if even just to get half a decent season out the door.

yeah, this is a very likely possibility. then again, idve thought smallvile would've been shitcanned years ago.

i dunno, i know there's CSI shows a-plenty but there hasnt been a good cop drama ive seen/heard in a while, Gotham PD still seems like a fun angle. the cast has to be grown into but christ knows the supervillains they're up against are more than well known, should be a decent hook id think.

Agreed about CW being the worst place for this show. I can only imagine how cool this show would be on HBO or Showtime. Hell, even AMC, USA, or FX these days. I seriously can't understand how the fucknuts over at DC & WB are not lkilling Marvel in the film & TV racket. Hopefully Walking Dead & Powers will be gigantic successes and we can see DC enter the fray with shows for Preacher, Hellblazer, Y, Gotham Central, etc.