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first thing I noticed in the script is that the series takes place
in "New Gotham City," and it's clearly marked "the
future." In some ways this may be to separate the series from
the Batman movie franchise and not cause any inconsistency; but it
also immediately will put viewers in a very different place. The closest
connections I can think of are that this "New Gotham" is
a cross between what we get in "The Dark Knight Returns"
and what is seen in the "Batman Beyond" animated series.
In other words, this is not your father's Gotham.
Things start off in flashback -- we learn about the circumstances
that changed the lives of Helena Kyle and Barbara Gordon forever.
Fans of the comic know of course what happened to Barbara, who happens
to be the former Batgirl. If you really need it spelled out for
you, in the comics, Barbara was shot and paralyzed by the Joker,
or, in the case of the TV Birds of Prey, a "man in the shadows."
Within minutes you know where everything begins -- and you even
find out where a young girl named Dinah Lance fits in.
Flash forward to seven years later. Young Dinah Lance is coming
into town, and she's befriended by what appears to be a "nice
guy." At this point we learn that Dinah knows, or knows about,
some folks in Gotham -- whether she's referring to seeing Helena
and Barbara in her "visions" at age 9, or if there's something
deeper going on that we don't know about yet, isn't revealed. We
are "introduced" to New Gotham from the persepective of
Dinah and her new friend. We see Wayne Manor, and learn a bit about
the backstory of "the biggest house any one rich wierdo has
ever lived in."
Things then cut to Barbara Gordon, now teaching computer lab at
a high school. This is where we learn that Barbara's more than just
a computer genius -- as we are introduced to a romantic interest
who just doesn't understand why she's becoming distant. It almost
seems like her "mission" might conflict with having a
social life, but Barbara would never openly admit that.
And then, finally, we meet Helena Kyle, a.k.a. the Huntress, and
possibly the most interesting and fun character of the bunch. Helena's
forced to see a psychiatrist after the courts sent her there for
"anger management" after some traffic violations and assaults.
Of course she did them while going after the "bad guys,"
but with a secret identity and all that, that part can't come out
just yet. Did I mention her psychiatrist's name is Dr. Quinzel?
The scripts describe Helena as being somewhat "feline and feral"
-- sounds just like Mom.
Now that we're introduced to everybody we get to the part with a
bad guy. What I can make of it -- and it's a little ambiguous from
reading from a script as opposed to actually seeing it on the screen
-- is that this man, somewhat like the Scarecrow, can create illusions
that bring out one's biggest fears. Dinah, with her somewhat telepathic
power, can "see" what the victims are seeing, and that's
part of what brings her into contact with the Birds. Bringing out
these fears has led most of the victims toward suicide -- which
means a "Phoenix Industries" can move in and buy the Gotham
dockyards for profit and control. When four owners of Phoenix die
by suicide, the Birds know who the next target and/or the bad guy
will likely be.
What might be the best part of the pilot script is the banter between
Helena (the Huntress) and Barbara (Oracle). While they both obviously
have very different methods, they still have an obvious respect
for each other and for the "team." Some of their dialogue
has been toned down quite a bit from the original script pages that
leaked a month ago, and I'm assuming that what Princess X reviewed
over at Ain't It Cool News may have been that version. There is
definitely darkness in the script, but apparently it has changed
along the way to make it so that at least the main characters aren't
constantly down in the dumps and can work together.
Helena's background, and of course her parentage, looks like it
will be an interesting theme in this series. At one point someone
even asks Helena why she uses her mother's last name of Kyle. Her
use of a costume -- or lack thereof -- is touched upon in the pilot,
too, and I hope it makes the final cut. Apparently whatever she
wears could work as something someone would wear in a club. Barbara,
of course, wonders why Helena doesn't at the very least wear a mask
-- especially after an encounter with detective Jake Reese.
Jake Reese is a new character for the show, someone on the police
force who will hopefully be an ally to the Birds. His partner, McNally,
thinks he's a bit crazy for being so quick to believe him. He's
very determined, and I would not be surprised if something ends
up happening between him and the Huntress.
Another familiar character shows up, if for but one scene, in the
form of Alfred, much older, but still the same old Alfred -- and
he's NOT Barbara Gordon's uncle. Hopefully he will be kept around
as a tie between the Gotham of old and the New Gotham of today.
Any complaints? I'm still not too sure I like having a 17-year-old
telepathic Black Canary. I like the age differences between the
characters... Barbara being around thirty, Huntress in her early
20's, and Dinah being even younger than that... but I'm so used
to the Black Canary being this incredibly competent, athletic superheroine
I'm still not sure. I'll wait to pass judgement until I actually
see the show in October, assuming it gets picked up. It does, however,
make the show unique and keeps it from becoming another "Charlie's
Angels" or "V.I.P." And who knows -- if the show
has a somewhat lengthy run, perhaps she'll grow into the Dinah we
all know and love. After all, there was even once a time when Buffy
the Vampire Slayer was in high school and didn't know what she was
doing.
Despite the slight change in Dinah's background, unlike the last
foray into the Batman universe, "Batman and Robin," this
stays very true to the comics continuity. Long-time fans will know
that yes, in the pre-Crisis comic books the Huntress *was indeed*
the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. And, like the AICN review pointed
out how cool is it that we're going to see a variation of a scene
from "The Killing Joke" onscreen, as Barbara Gordon is
paralyzed?
Laeta Kalogridis, the pilot's writer, has a definite knack and respect
for the characters and I think it will turn out to be a great pilot
for a great series. Not many pilot episode scripts give off that
"this will be a success" vibe, but this one certainly
does. If the WB passes on this one they will really be missing out.
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