It all began with a stroll down a dark alley, a burst of gunfire, and a cry of horror. These are the events that inspired young Bruce Wayne to seek justice for the death of his parents, a quest that would transform him into the costumed crimefighter known as Batman. So deeply embedded in popular culture are the Caped Crusader's origins, even those who haven't consumed a shred of superhero media -- printed or filmed -- can recite them by heart. But whereas most of Batman's adventures take place well into his goon-clobbering career, the recent Fox series Gotham aims to bring viewers back to the past to dwell upon the cowled one's earliest, formative years.

As it comes to pass, though, Bruce's tale isn't the only one to be told, for the show also concentrates on the criminal ilk that has infested his hometown long before he came along, as well as the efforts of those brave enough to try to change things. It's a novel premise, one granting  the powers that be a ton of leg room in which to romp around and experiment with a scarcely-explored period in the Dark Knight's history. But for as often as Gotham's first season utilizes such potential, it wastes it just as frequently, thanks to such nagging plights as weak episode structure and DC references so tactlessly shoehorned into the proceedings that they come off as condescending toward the very fans the series is straining to please.

Welcome to Gotham City, a lowlife's paradise. Muggers roam the streets, mafia clans clash, and the police can be just as dirty as the crooks they're supposed to be rounding up. But through the darkness shines a beacon of hope: Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie), a recently-promoted detective in the Gotham PD. Teamed with street-savvy cop Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue), Gordon finds out fast just how deeply corruption runs behind the thin blue line, for his fellow officers turn many a blind eye to all manner of heinous activity taking place under their noses. But he aims to cease this apathy and make a difference -- starting with keeping his promise to help little Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) bring whoever murdered his parents to justice.

However, as Gordon begins his crusade, the death of the Waynes sends Gotham's criminal elite on a mad dash to grab whatever hint of power they can. Enterprising sleazebags like Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) kill and cajole their way up the underworld ladder, while stand-alone psychos like the Balloon Man (Dan Bakkedahl) and the Electrocutioner (Christopher Heyerdahl) emerge from the woodwork to wreak havoc. It's a rising tide of death and destruction that seems too impossible to conquer, but you can bet Gordon is going to give it a shot, with whatever help he can muster.

When it was announced, Gotham faced much of the same criticism as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its inaugural season. Just as fans were skeptic about a series focused upon what the Marvel Universe's "normal" people were up to while the Avengers saved the world, similar doubts were expressed at how one could make a compelling Batman show without the Dark Knight around. But these fears are a little unfounded, for while the execution is dodgy as all get-out, the creators of Gotham have the right perspective in mind when it comes to exploring the titular town's mean early days before Bruce Wayne was old enough to clean up the streets. It's essentially the same set-up as any other TV drama about one good cop attempting to keep his head above water in an overwhelmingly corrupt environment, just with Jim Gordon as our protagonist and the Mark 1 versions of DC's most wanted as the foes he's trying to take down. While some have claimed that Gordon's portrayal is too bland and stoic in comparison to the bad guys and gals he's after, the contrast isn't without its successes.

At first, our hero is almost amused by the increasingly bizarre array of threats he sees on the job, but the more effort he makes to do the right thing, the more hopelessly entangled he becomes in gangland goings-on. Each new day makes it harder and harder for Gordon to set an example not just for his department but also for young Bruce, who will go on to use the detective's refusal to back down in the face of evil as the basis for his alter ego-to-be's crimefighting philosophy. As Gordon feels responsible for keeping hope of a better future for Gotham alive in the wake of the Wayne deaths, this angle turns out to be a novel way of creating drama and working around the "Batman without Batman" problem.

Unfortunately, Gotham's cleverness and absorbing storytelling come and go in spurts that prove to be critically infrequent. When it comes to structure, nearly each episode experiences the same awkward routine of having to juggle the overarching story threads of Gordon's campaign against crime with its obligations as a "villain of the week" police procedural. This isn't as big an issue in the tail end of the season, but the first batch of installments all have an obviously tough go with seeing both sets of duties to satisfying ends. No matter what, you're guaranteed to see at least a couple subplots closed out in the most anticlimactic way possible in each episode, with the show's statements on the bleak, neverending nature of crime undercut by the villain du jour being foiled within seconds.

Gotham also has a hard time with inserting references and nods to other figures in the Batman universe. The bulk of them are delivered with as much subtlety as a battering ram to the cranium. Not only do moments like a red-haired girl standing in front of a plant and telling viewers her name is Ivy have an intensely patronizing edge, they more often than not destroy the current scene's mood and stop the story dead in its tracks, thanks to the forced, stilted dialogue that accompany them. This results in a cheesiness that comes back to haunt the show's attempts to come across all dark and gritty a number of times, although the ensemble cast members sure try their darndest to not get dragged down with it.

McKenzie has the stoic act down pat, and Logue is excellent as Gordon's lovably gruff partner, but the baddies are the ones who make the biggest impression here, as they often are in the Dark Knight's world. Taylor offers a perfect combination of weaselly and lethal as the power-hungry Cobblepot, Jada Pinkett Smith has the time of her life channeling Eartha Kitt as malicious mob maven Fish Mooney, and in a late multi-episode arc, Milo Ventimiglia is ten tons of creepy as a serial killer who sets his sights on ruining Gordon's life. With one or two exceptions (Sean Pertwee's Alfred seems a bit too angry), the performances are just fine. In fact, they make you wish the material given to the actors wasn't so sloppy and repetitive. 

Gotham has a good idea of where it wants to go, and every episode includes moments of brilliance. Still, they're surrounded by a flurry of storylines slashed woefully short, contrived comic book references, and a hesitance to get really weird with the material that's never shaken off until the last third of the season. While the first season of Gotham  exhibits enough potential to convince me to give the second season a shot, its debut line-up of adventures sure made that process as difficult as possible.

(Released by Warner Home Video; not rated by MPAA.)