Stylish 'Gotham' has a lot to build on

Gotham

Fox, Monday, 8 ET/PT

* * * out of four

Whose story is this, anyway?

There is much to admire in Gotham (* * * out of four; Fox, Monday, 8 p.m. ET/PT) a heavily stylized, surprisingly violent DC Comics extension of the Batman brand — but little to provide an answer to the question that will probably decide its fate. Because as well-told as a story may be, if it's not a story people want to hear, they tend not to listen.

Which leaves one to wonder what exactly creator Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) has in mind here. If this prequel, which introduces us to a 12-year-old Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) at the moment his parents are murdered, is the origin story of Batman, Catwoman (Camren Bicondova) and Poison Ivy (Clare Foley), then the show may be in trouble, because those characters are all children whose fame and infamy are a long way off.

If, instead, the show is about the transformation of Oswald Cobblepot into The Penguin, then Gotham just bought itself a great deal more time. Because as the clearly deranged Oswald, Robin Lord Taylor folds up tonight's episode, sticks it in his back pocket and runs away with it.

But if, as the episode seems to indicate, Gotham is really going to focus on the career path of young detective James Gordon (Ben McKenzie), then it may have trouble getting past the "so what?" barrier. We're being asked to follow the efforts of a young, idealistic cop to clean up a collapsing city — an effort we know will fail, at least for the next decade or so. And as hard as Gotham works to make Gordon a suitable hero, those who are not deeply immersed in the Batman universe may wonder whether the energy is well-spent. No one ever left The Wizard of Oz hoping for a sequel called Uncle Henry.

Almost needless to say, this Jim Gordon is as far away from the 1960s ABC series' hapless commissioner as this dark, grim Gotham is from the bright '60s pop of Gotham City. He's a tough, honest ex-soldier paired with a not-so-honest partner (Donal Logue), working in a city on the verge of chaos — and always, apparently, on the verge of rain. By day he battles a mob led by Carmine Falcone (John Doman) and under-boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith). At night, he turns to a fiancée (Erin Richards) who is keeping secrets of her own.

And in the background, there's Bruce and Alfred (Sean Pertwee) and E. Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) — who will turn into The Riddler, and represents yet another "origin story" waiting to be told.

Assuming the show goes there, and you're still around to follow.