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Ben McKenzie takes on a young Commissioner Gordon in Gotham

SINGAPORE — The geeks — specifically the ones in the DC camp — are fogging up their glasses in excitement about new TV series Gotham, which premiered last week.

SINGAPORE — The geeks — specifically the ones in the DC camp — are fogging up their glasses in excitement about new TV series Gotham, which premiered last week.

A prequel to the familiar Batman stories, the show’s first episode introduces Bruce Wayne as a child who has just witnessed the murder of his parents, and introduces many of the villains who will later come to be his nemeses.

But baby Batman isn’t the protagonist in Gotham. Instead, it’s a young and idealistic Detective James Gordon, played by Ben McKenzie, whose foil is the not-so-straight-laced Detective Harvey Bullock, played by Donal Logue (Grounded For Life, Sons Of Anarchy).

Although his most memorable role might still be that of the troubled teenager in The O.C., McKenzie is no stranger to sleuthing, having played a cop in the series Southland. The actor revealed that Gotham’s creator Bruno Heller, who also created hit shows like Rome and The Mentalist, had written the part with him in mind. “Bruno and I really like working together and we have a good shorthand,” McKenzie said.

His character, who, of course, will later become Commissioner Gordon, is “an honest guy who is trying to make sense of the world”, he said. “Jim Gordon is the last hero — or the last good man — in a city that’s falling apart. We reference a place similar to 1970s New York in the sense that nothing is working quite the way it should. Everyone is on the take. Cops are a little corrupt, the judges are corrupt and politicians are corrupt, so there are lots of villains around — and a lot of potential villains coming into the story.”

In keeping with the dark quality of the DC franchises, Gotham has a grim sensibility, which McKenzie was drawn to. “This isn’t a fairy tale and it’s not exactly for kids,” he said. “I wouldn’t recommend children under a certain age to watch the show because it’s intense. Personally, I love that about it.”

Was he worried about taking on such an iconic role? “Yes, for sure,” the 36-year-old said. “You don’t want to mess something like this up! The fans are really intense about this universe and I completely understand why. I would be, too. You want to do it right.”

For that reason, playing the role is “like a very weird dream, but it’s cool,” he said. “It feels like the train has left the station … I bought a train ticket and I don’t know where I’m going, but it’s going to be an interesting ride. Hopefully, it’s going to be a long one, too.” Transcript courtesy WarnerTV

 

Catch Gotham on Thursdays at 9pm on WarnerTV (StarHub TV Ch 515).

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