If there is one genre that has been time and time again proven successful on television, it is the hour long police drama. Another presence that has been successful on TV is that of the DC superhero, Batman and Superman have had some type of presence on TV for virtually the last 40 years. So I figured why not combine the two.
Pulling from probably the best known fictional police force in comics, I’ve put together a fancast for what’ll be known as GCPD: The Series. One stipulation I made when putting this together, I would only use actors and actresses that have had recurring roles on TV, as opposed to a lot of A-List actors whose work has almost solely been in movies. I would need actors that would be willing to sign a TV contract.
The series itself would deal with not only external battles on the streets of Gotham City, but also dealing with internal struggles and conflict of a police force with both good and corrupt cops. The masked vigilantes of the city would have a presence, mostly unseen, with the Gotham Police force dealing with the less-fantastic criminals of the city. It’s not out of the picture for some of the Arkham-esque villains to show up; in fact as the series progressed some would have rather major roles in the series.
The bulk of the series would focus on the officers of the Major Crime Unit, with the occasional CSI team cropping in when appropriate. Commissioner Gordon would be a part of the series, while not in every episode, he would at least have an occasional recurring role.
The first season would focus primarily on establishing the characters, their motives and whose side they were on, with the bad guys being primarily organized crime elements of the city, including the Falcone Family, eventually leading to a few more run ins with the meta-villains of the city.
Onto the cast.
Commissioner James Gordon:
The head of the Police force in the city, the person that everyone answers to. As I stated, he’s not going to be a regular cast, but more of an occasional recurring role. Of course one of the most important elements of Commissioner Gordon is the ability to rock a mustache like a pro. Someone who has been playing a cop with a powerful mustache for years in almost every role he’s ever been in, someone who could exude professionalism and experience, someone like Tom Selleck.
Captain Maggie Sawyer:
The head of the Major Crimes Unit, Maggie Sawyer would be a regular, the person everyone answered to. She would also have to be believable as someone who could look corrupt cops in the face and never flinch, willing to get her hands dirty when the time came. There would be no casting some pretty face who we are supposed to pretend holds this power, no it would be someone who wouldn’t evoke a large amount of suspension of disbelief. Linda Hamilton, the original Sarah Connor, has the worn look of someone who has seen tough times, and has still fought her way to the top.
Lt. Winston:
The very definition of corrupt cop, Lt. Winston would sell out in a heartbeat if it meant that he would garner more power. Not a fan of Captain Sawyer or Commissioner Gordon, he believes that he should be running things, because he has accepted the fact that the criminals run this city, and all these people who believe otherwise are idiots. Part of him claims that he has the city’s best intents, but in the end he is just an angry man that wants his due. Danny Glover can play grizzled cop to a tee, see his turn in any Lethal Weapon and it’d be hard to deny.
Detective Harvey Bullock:
A grizzled and bitter cop who has been around the block more times than any man should have had to. Detective Bullock has seen the worst, accepted it as status quo and finally accepted the fact that in the end the bad guys will probably win, he was once a good cop, but cynicism won out, erasing the naiveté that came with being a rookie. There’s still a lingering of goodness inside him that has kept from completely selling out to the bad guys of the city, but at times it’s a struggle to not give in. John Goodman has the girth, look and attitude, as well as acting ability to pull off the struggle of someone who at times just wants to give up.
Detective Crispus Allen:
A new transfer to Gotham City, Detective Allen views himself as a father and husband first and a cop second. He’s not a fan of the city’s dependency of masked vigilantes, but is smart enough to know that, for now, it’s necessary. He has been known to hesitate when it comes to making hard decisions, and would do what’s necessary, no matter what, to keep his family safe. Some criminals of the city think they can use that to their advantage. Boris Kodjoe (one of the best parts of the Resident Evil series), looks identical to Allen, which was probably the primary reason that I chose him to begin with, and therefore he’s my choice for one of Gotham’s newest detectives.
Detective Renee Montoya:
You can’t have Crispus Allen (or a GCPD series period) with his partner, Renee Montoya. Apart from Gordon, Montoya is arguably one of the best known members of Gotham PD, someone who is one of the good cops of the city and who eventually became the hero known as The Question. Here Montoya is a relatively new member of the Major Crimes Unit having recently been promoted from beat cop to Detective by Commissioner Gordon (planted as spy to help in weeding out the corrupt cops). For the casting I decided to choose someone who has the physicality that the part demanded, and who is also openly bisexual (that way no straight pretending to be gay). She may not have been the most popular addition to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but maybe it’s because Iyari Limon was meant to play Detective Montoya not Kennedy the potential Slayer.
Detective Marcus Driver:
Marcus Driver, along with Renee Montoya were Detectives recruited specifically by Commissioner Gordon, with confidence that he had a few genuinely good cops in the MCU. He is partnered initially with Charlie Fields and the two maintain a fairly cooperative relationship until Fields is ultimately killed by one of the city’s Meta-Humans, leaving a somewhat bitter taste for superheroics in the Detectives mouth. Always by the book, Driver doesn’t always approve of the city’s dependency on vigilantes, something that he and Detective Crispus Allen often agree on. Mark Paul Gosselaar, TV’s Zach Morris, has been making the rounds in as a cop as of late on TNT’s “Franklin and Bash,” not to mention an uncanny resemblance.
Detective Charlie Fields:
A Detective with Gotham’s MCU, initially cast as a major character (including an opening credit place), but is killed by a Meta-Human (specifically Mr. Freeze) within the first few episodes. Ty Burrell, from ABC’s “Modern Family” and also as Doc Samson from “The Incredible Hulk,” just needs to sign up for a few episodes before passing on.
Detective Josephine MacDonald (Josie Mac):
After Charlie Fields death Josie Mac is assigned as Detective Driver’s new partner. She is actually a Meta (unknown to the other Officers) with the ability to communicate with inanimate objects, and chooses to keep her abilities as secret. Her is innate ability to be able to find things, she attributes to dumb luck, though several of her closest co-workers slowly start showing some suspicion, primarily Detective Montoya who Josie Mac eventually confides in (as does Montoya to Mac about her sexuality), but requests her keep it secret from Detective Driver, due to his distrust of Metas. Tatyana Ali has the looks and attitude to convey Gothams Meta-Detective.
Detective Jim Corrigan:
Detective Corrigan is a corrupt member of the CSI team, known for making a pretty penny off the criminal underworld by altering or hiding evidence at Crime Scenes, also keeping other members of the various crime investigation teams on his payroll to keep himself in a comfortable position, if the criminals can’t match his fees, he assures them conviction, therefore maintaining a semblance legitimacy to his job. Geoff Stults of “The Finder” was just great in the short-lived series, and therefore I would love to see him maintaining a TV presence, this time as an alcoholic Detective who works for whoever keeps him in his comfortable,
and drunken, lifestyle.
Stacy:
A temp at Gotham Central who eventually acts as civilian administrator to the MCU, one of the few allowed to operate the Bat Signal (in case the GCPD wants to appear to have distanced themselves from the Bat-Family). I cast Renee Olstead primarily on the fact she seems to have the least amount of Cop-show experience, and would pass as the younger civilian on staff that focuses more on having a crush on the Batman than taking in the city criminals.
Slam Bradley, PI:
A Gotham Private Investigator who once served with the Gotham Police Department, but backed out over the extreme amount of corruption in the ranks (also the fact that many were trying to oust him anyway), who does on occasion cooperate with the MCU when their paths run parallel, eventually offered a position within the ranks, but chooses to decline. When I think PI’s, I think brawler, someone who scours the dregs of society to find what he’s looking for, and with a name like Slam Bradley you’d need someone that could convey that attitude. For that I chose Christopher Meloni, formerly of Law and Order: SVU, who often kick pedophiles’ faces in on that show just because they deserved, and frankly he just looks like he could handle himself in a fight or ten.
Of course you can’t have a show about Gotham City PD without a handful of Crime bosses with the occasional run-in with a Meta-Human every now and again. Unlike a lot of Police Procedurals, there would be an over-arching plot with recurring villains as opposed to one-offs who are arrested and never seen again. The main antagonists would be Organized Crime Families (and corrupt cops) as opposed to Arkham regulars.
Carmine Falcone:
Head of the Falcone Crime Family, you’d need someone with the gravitas to play the head of a mob family. Why not have someone who has played the good side of the field awhile, give him a chance to play the flip-side. As such I chose Burt Reynolds.
Rupert Thorne:
A Billionaire with a lot of time on his hands, and a grudge against the Bat-Family and the GCPD. I chose Ray Winstone, mostly because Thorne isn’t a small guy and they definitely need someone who could fill out those broad shouldered suits.
Sal Maroni:
Head of the Maroni Crime Family, yet another big fish in the criminal underworld with a rivalry with the other large crime family, the Falcones, thought at time an uneasy alliance has fallen between the two. For the role I decided to pull someone from the annals of my TV series viewing, I chose Geoff Pierson (from “Unhappily Ever After” and more recently “Castle”) to play a slightly older version to Maroni to have him believably heading a large crime family.
Of course you can’t have Gotham without some Super-Villains, and I decided to stick with a couple who could plausibly work in a TV series on occasion.
Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy:
Primarily cast for later appearances, with future seasons taking elements from “No Man’s Land,” despite the fact that it doesn’t actually mesh with the timeline of the Gotham Central Series, plus a light green skinned woman who wears nothing but leaves always should have a place on TV, just to show that this isn’t a real-world city. Laura Prepon is tall, long and looks great as a red-head…so that’d be my Poison Ivy.
Victor Fries/ Mr. Freeze:
How can he take out Charlie Fields if he’s not there with a freezing ray? So no Arnold-esque Freeze, no campy Freeze (ala Adam West’s Batman series), instead a cold calculating Freeze more in-line with TaS, and for that you’d need someone who could play a cold, calculating villain, and for that person I chose Xavier himself, Patrick Stewart, sure he’s not the youngest pup on the planet, but he could bring some seriousness to Mr. Freeze…minus the lame ice puns.
Selina Kyle/Catwoman:
A cat burglar seems plenty appropriate with the tone of the series, not to mention that Selina Kyle may or may not be Carmine Falcone’s daughter. I chose Ashley Scott as Selina Kyle, she played Catwoman’s daughter in the “Birds of Prey” series, so this time I figured she could play her mom this time around.