2012-08-21 GBC Studio C, 7:41 PM

The screen cuts from black to helicopter footage of smoke and flames billowing from the twentieth floor of Wayne Towers. Music - synthesized minor brass chords punching under high strings like a siren over a half-mechanical, half-world music percussive bed - hits hard and then dips as a voice announces, "Gotham City burns."

Other images of disasters, crime scenes and racing police vehicles cut and dissolve in, security camera footage from a robbery at the Gotham Savings and Loan among them. It's like a whole year of Gotham's bad new compressed into a few seconds of montage as the announcer continues,"Robbery. Drug trafficking. Human trafficking. Murder. Crime runs the streets, and the police are powerless to stop it--" file footage of the Commissioner looking harried at a new conference dissolves to courtroom footage of the most recent trial of a corrupt GCPD officer "--or worse. But is this--"

The music drops to just the percussive bed and a low bass pulse. The screen cuts to a grainy black, out of which swims (in what clearly looks like cell-phone footage) pixels that resolve themselves into a shape, then a black-caped figure. "--the answer for Gotham? Whose answer is it?"

The music kicks up again, modulating to major as a fast dissolve reveals Vic Sage at the GBC news desk, his name in a caption below as the over-the-shoulder insert shows more grainy, captured footage of costumed figures. Vic continues (demonstrating that it was his voice announcing the spot), "That's what we'll be asking, because *you* should be the first to know. I'm Vic Sage. Join me in September as we take a hard look at crime, corruption and 'costumed crusaders'--" The image flashes through white to the "Vital Questions" caption and logo above the "Crime, Corruption and Crusaders" title as he finishes "--here on Vital Questions - exclusively on GBC."

There's a fast fade to black as the music drops to silence. Five seconds pass, and then the screen comes to life again as studio sounds are heard. Vic has turned and is watching something out of the camera's view. After a few seconds he scowls, shakes his head, and says, "Ah, damnit, Larry, where's the push? I said to push in on me while we come up to the desk." Something that may be a muffled voice is heard, and Vic snaps, "Well, I can't be running the camera and sitting in front of it at the same time, so just get your shit together. We should have had this spot done thirty minutes ago." The voice answers, and Vic shakes his head. "Whatever, bud. Just get it right."

He straightens and faces the camera, and the screen goes black. After a moment his voice is heard. "Alright, go in three-- two--." There's just a beat for "one," and then the screen cuts from black to smoke and flames as the music kicks up again.