Gotham Tonight - Episode 4

Show transcript follows. View the video here.

• Lydia Filangeri: In the wake of the devastation that occurred in The Narrows, Gotham PD came under heavy criticism for its poor performance in preventing the terrorist plot to destroy the city. Subsequently, a series of Internal Affairs investigations, headed up by Harvey Dent, now District Attorney Harvey Dent, revealed a pervasive level of corruption throughout the department. [Pan over GPD SID file with document number 2364783290] In desperate need of a facelift, police commissioner Loeb lobbied City Hall to create an elite investigative unit, solely dedicated to solving the major crimes plaguing Gotham City. The request was granted, on the condition that the unit was to be led by an officer with an exemplary history of duty, and a proven ability to get results. That man is Lieutenant Jim Gordon.
  
  Good evening everyone, I'm Lydia Filangeri, and tonight we profile Gotham's top cop, examining his rise to power and his current command over the Major Crimes Unit. Does Gordon really have what it takes to protect this city, or will his rumored relationship with the masked vigilante known as the Batman demand the new district attorney to investigate the last honest cop on the force?
• [Caption: Gotham's Top Cop: Lt. James Gordon. Produced by Michael Fallavollita]
• Lydia: The morning after the deadly chemical attack on The Narrows that infected thousands of residents and policemen, set free hundreds of dangerous Arkham Asylum inmates, and also provoked riots that lasted for weeks as authorities fought to regain control of the island. Batman was praised for thwarting an unknown terrorist group, while the Gotham police brass were condemned for their handling of the disaster, particularly for their decision to raise the bridges, preventing safe exits off the island. Commissioner Loeb side-stepped charges of negligence by detailing the heroism of one of Gotham's finest, who valiantly led the rescue effort in The Narrows, and helped Batman stop the train that threatened to poison all of Gotham with the lethal Fear Toxin.
  
  A 15-year veteran of the Gotham Police Department, Jim Gordon was awarded citations of valor, and bumped up to Lieutenant for his efforts that night. Gotham embraced the husband and father of two as one of their own, and Gordon's family understands why.
• Barbara Gordon (Jim Gordon's wife): If he didn't feel he could keep us safe, if he didn't feel he could help this city, that he could keep himself safe, he would resign. That's the kind of man he is. He wouldn't try to do a job he didn't think he was up to do. This city needs him and he knows it.
• Lydia: Gordon's clean record and unbreakable determination make him widely considered as the modern-day Eliot Ness, generating for the first time in a long time, good press for a police force desperately in need of it.
  
  The good press quickly went south though, as then-Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent spear-headed multiple Internal Affairs investigations in the Gotham PD. Among the several indicted, and later convicted, was Gordon's former partner, Detective Flass, provoking outrage among the department.
• Gotham Police Department, Police Commissioner Loeb: I don't condone the actions of the officers convicted, but if I showed you how much the city allows me to pay them, you would understand why somebody may slip from time to time. But rather than acknowledge that problem though, Dent likes to make waves by saying the whole institution is corrupt! Well, I doubt he'd have any complaints about my decision to give Jim Gordon MCU. He's the perfect man for the job — now if you don't mind, I got a meeting to run to. Excuse me.
• Lydia: Anointing Gordon as the head of the Major Crimes Unit restored credibility to the department. City leaders brandished the new division the "incorruptible arm of law enforcement." The recent months have challenged that notion though, as Gordon and MCU have yet to solve any cases while conducting some curious investigations.
  
  Although Harvey Dent is not exploring the matter at this time, a league from his camp stated that many from MCU have been considered "persons of interest." Are those "persons of interest" hand-picked by Gordon, or Gordon himself who may or may not be working in conjunction with the Batman?
  
  Seen nßumerous times in the sky above Gotham, look close enough and one can make out the symbol of a bat. The source of the light emanates from the rooftop of Major Crimes, which some believe acts as Gordon's personal beacon to the masked vigilante. Gordon has a different explanation though.
• Gotham Police Department, Lt. James Gordon: Faulty lighting. Been trying to fix it myself. But don't tell my wife that, she's been bugging me to change the bulbs in the basement for weeks.
• Lydia: Gordon may definitely pass off his rumored alliance with the Batman, but if there's any truth to it, it's hardly a laughing matter in the light of recent murders of two Sal Maroni associates.
  
  Last Wednesday morning, two teachers and a group of second-graders discovered the dead bodies of Romeo Camera and Steve Rosolio bound, gagged, and tied to opposite ends of a see-saw. If you wanted to know where the mob keeps its money, these are the guys you want. Could the Batman, hailed by some while abhored by others, have crossed the line in waging his war against the mob? And most importantly, if Gotham's top cop's encounters with the man who remains on Gotham's most wanted list is the beginning of some sort of partnership, then the "incorruptible arm of law enforcement" may have just snapped. If that is the case, then all the city may have left is Harvey Dent.
  
  Thanks for watching. Join us again in two weeks for the first televised interview with the newly-elected District Attorney, Harvey Dent, who will answer Mike Engel's questions, and yours, about how he plans to make the streets safer for all of us. Up next week though, tune in to what will likely be an explosive debate between the head of the Falcone crime family, Sal Maroni, and commander of the police department, Commissioner Loeb. While the commissioner is now cooperating with Dent's mission to stamp out corruption within Gotham PD, Maroni contends the DA's case against him is a poor attempt to make him the fall guy for the rampant corruption that still exists. We'll find out which is the truth on Gotham Tonight. I'm Lydia Filangeri. Good night.

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