It’s clear that big-budget Batman franchise isn’t going away anytime soon. There’s the Christopher Nolan trilogy, which took the characters into the darkness of Frank Miller and Alan Moore’s seminal Batman comics, and 2016’s “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” which looks to do the same. In the middle we have a smaller-budget, serialized adventure in “Gotham,” which takes a look at the Batman universe through the lens of Detective Jim Gordon and the Gotham Police Department.

“Gotham” looks to emulate Nolan’s grim tone and achieves it in its own right by the end of the pilot episode. It’s a bit of a shame, honestly, that nobody has successfully revived the campiness and humor of Adam West’s Batman. Nevertheless, the pilot gives audiences several beatings, killings and action sequences, but the darkness of the city and its criminals doesn’t completely overcome “Gotham”’s comic book sensibilities, which is a relief. For instance, there’s the rooftop chase scene, which is a well-worn trope in action shows and movies; and there’s the scene where Detective Gordon (Ben McKenzie) consoles a young Bruce Wayne after his parents have been murdered. These scenes aim high and get the language and feel of the comics right, despite falling short of the writing standards of an AMC or HBO drama.

As a pilot, “Gotham” has something going for it that most new series don’t: a well-known cast of characters. Batman and his rogue’s gallery are practically folk legends at this point. All the writers need to do is drop a name like “Oswald” or “Ivy” (or a subtle nod to Solomon Grundy by way of a street name), and most fans will be able to fill in the rest. Still, “Gotham” doesn’t rest on its audience’s previous knowledge of the characters. It efficiently introduces them and more fully structures them, even in the first episode. The Penguin, aka Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor) has an already entrancing insanity about him. He’s brutal from the start, beating a man senseless to the point that even his cronies think it’s too far. But it’s his servitude of mid-level crime boss Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith, who could make the character a classic by the series end) that shows us a new side of Cobblepot. He works in service of Mooney, and it’s only a matter of time until he snaps. There are only brief mentions of other potential villains and anti-heroes. We get a glimpse of both a young Poison Ivy and a Gotham Police-employed Riddler. Selina Kyle (Catwoman), meanwhile, is featured more as audience member than participant in the action. No doubt this will change in future episodes.

In the center of it all is Detective Jim Gordon, played with grit and determination by Ben McKenzie. McKenzie had a similar, though smaller, role in the now-canceled series “Southland,” and you can see the same surety of character in his portrayal of Jim Gordon. He’s got enough drive to sell dialogue that might otherwise fall flat. “Gotham” gives us only small glimpses of the young Bruce Wayne, but they are memorable ones. When Gordon and Wayne shake hands halfway through the episode, there’s a pang of recognition. We know the great stories this partnership will create.

“Gotham” has a lot going for it already. It’s not quite a cop procedural, not quite a superhero adventure and not quite an organized crime drama. Yet it puts all these genres on the table in its pilot episode, pulling whatever it needs to make the story work. It also allows new fans to come into the universe without much backstory needed. Most exciting, however, is the tension and drama of a serialized, weekly adventure, which the Batman movies could not allow for. This element shouldn’t be overlooked. Even in its first episode, there’s plenty to keep you watching “Gotham” next week.