So I watched this show called Gotham. It's the back story of many of the Batman characters; including Jim Gordon, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler and Batman. The problem with the show is that you know where the characters end up. Gotham becomes crime ridden. Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. Selina Kyle becomes Catwoman. This makes the show an example of a foregone conclusion. Foregone conclusions are stories in which you go in with the ending already known. The challenge is how to keep a story interesting if the ending is known. For that reason, I will analyze what makes a successful story with a foregone conclusion and how some stories with foregone conclusions don't work.
Please note, I was going to talk about backstories, as they are a type of story that have foregone conclusions by their nature. However, I'm including (500) Days of Summer and How I Met Your Mother. Those particular foregone conclusions do not tell the backstory to a familiar story.
The first element of a good foregone conclusion is interesting characters. If you are doing a back story make sure the character is iconic. One example is the Star Wars prequels, which is the back story to what is arguably cinema's most iconic villains. This is a problem with the Darth Plageius novel. Darth Plageus is not even seen on film. He is only referenced. Gotham is an interesting example. Catwoman and Batman are iconic. While I like Jim Gordon, he is not the most iconic character in the Batman franchise.
Even if the character is not iconic, we should identify with him. This is why I like How I Met Your Mother. It is easy to connect with someone who just wants to get married.
Another question is whether there is is some type of change. In Bates Motel, Norman Bates changes from a caring kid to a not job. How I Met Your Mother and (500) Days of Summer work on a basis of change. 500 Days of Summer starts out by letting you know that the guy does not get the girl. How I Met Your Mother starts out by letting you know that the guy will get married and letting you know it won't be a particular girl. However, both stories involve drastic change in the protagonists. How I Met Your Mother involves more change because it is a television show and can get more stories in.
This gets into another criticism of Gotham. Jim Gordon starts out as a good cop. Gotham starts out with a good bit of crime. The show should start with Jim Gordan being different than the character we know and Gotham should be peaceful. The murder of the Waynes should not have happened until later in the show. Then we see Jim Gordon become the character we love and Gotham slowly become crime ridden.
James Tuttle
