Customer Reviews

Birds of Prey: The Complete Series

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

After five long years of fans begging and pleading, the way too-short TV series Birds of Prey is getting a complete DVD release! The news is truly worth shouting about.

Loosely based on DC Comics and a variety of other sources with a touch of Marvel's the X-Men thrown in, the series continues the legend of The Batman.

We enter the future, dark and fantastic world of New Gotham City. Long after The Batman has driven himself into exile, his legacy lives on in the form of the Birds of Prey - Black Canary, Oracle, and the Huntress.

From the creators of the CW hit Smallville, Birds of the Prey was produced in 2002 for the now defunct WB, but had only 13 episodes before cancellation. Since then, its devoted fan base worked tirelessly to have the series released on DVD. It was a really exciting action show, breaking new ground because ALL of the lead characters were women.

This boxed set collects all 13 episodes and a never-collected-on-DVD before Flash-animated series "Gotham Girls."

Awesomely, it also includes the unaired pilot, which featured Sherilyn Fenn (Twin Peaks) in the role of Dr. Quinzel. Mia Sara was later cast as Quinzel in the series. She also appeared in the AIRED pilot. Interestingly, all of the scenes featuring the character in the AIRED pilot were reshot with Sara, word-for-word.

Also of note, the aspect ratio of the episodes in the set will be full frame, but will have dark bars on top and on bottom to mimic widescreen.

While normal citizens slept, the Birds of Prey flocked together to fight crime on the streets of New Gotham City. Several years after the city was abandoned by Batman, the awesome threesome of Huntress (Ashley Scott), Oracle (Dina Meyer), and Black Canary (Rachel Skarsten) was formed. Huntress is the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, and can smell danger from miles away. Black Canary has the gift of clairvoyance and Oracle leads the team through her cyber experience, despite being wheelchair bound by Batman's nemesis, the evil Joker.

When the series opens, we learn that New Gotham's Batman has disappeared leaving behind a daughter from his long-time love Catwoman. Her name is Helena Kyle, who transforms herself into the mysterious superhero known as "The Huntress." Helena has hypersensitive senses and agility, but uses her gifts selfishly. Fate brings her face-to-face with her choices as well as a wheel-chair-bound Barbara Gordon, the hero Oracle, who befriends her but agrees to train her only if she uses her powers for good.

She teams up with Barbara, who had been "Batgirl" prior to being paralyzed by the Joker. By day, Barbara is a teacher at New Gotham High, but by night she fights crime from her secret lair in the New Gotham Clock Tower.

The two meet a determined Dinah Redmond, a young woman who was drawn to New Gotham to learn more about her powers. Dinah is a touch-telepath and psychic who had terrifying dreams about Batgirl's brutal incident that resulted in her paralysis. The Huntress resists working with Dinah, but Oracle convinces her to give the younger woman a chance. Now, they must learn not only how to work together as New Gotham's protectors, but also as a family.

Special recognition goes to Mark "Star Wars" Hamill who briefly reprises his award-winning voice role as the Joker from the iconic classic, Batman: the Animated Series. In Birds of Prey, "Mister J" on-camera is portrayed by actor/stuntman Roger Stoneburner but Hamill's voice was dubbed over Stoneburner's performance.

During the course of the series, the women are often confronted with schemes masterminded by the Joker's on-and-off girlfriend, psychiatrist Dr. Harleen "Harley Quinn" Quinzel (Mia Sara), but they always prevail and eventually beat her at her own game.

Other characters of note are: Alfred Pennyworth (Ian Abercrombie), who serves Helena as heir to the Wayne estate, and Police Detective Jesse Resse (Shemar Moore), confronted with crimes and abilities he cannot explain.

A central feature of the series is the concept of metahumans: Individuals born with powers that cannot be explained. No two metahumans have the same specific ability (or set of abilities) and there exists a whole sub culture of metahuman society that the outside world knows nothing about.

It is this world that Detective Reese is drawn into, reluctantly teaming up with Huntress and the Birds of Prey to defeat metahuman criminals. At first, he is disapproving of Helena's vigilantism, even trying to arrest her, but eventually he realizes there is a need for the Birds of Prey to take down criminals the police can't handle.

Episodes in this four-disc collection are: the Pilot; Slick; Prey for the Hunter; Three Birds and a Baby; Sins of the Mother; Primal Scream; Split; Lady Shiva; Nature of the Beast; Gladiatrix; Reunion; Feat of Clay; and Devil's Eyes.

Very popular theme song "Revolution" was performed by Aimee Allen.

Despite the many liberties it took with DC mythology, Birds of Prey displayed a boat load of promise, but sadly got the axe before it had the chance to grow into something special. The story revolves around Helena Kyle, AKA The Huntress (Jericho's Ashley Scott), who just so happens to be the daughter of Batman and Catwoman. She joins forces with the wheelchair-bound former Batgirl Barbara Gordon (Dina Meyer), and the telepathic Dinah (Rachel Skarsten) to fight crime in Gotham City when Batman mysteriously disappears. Other familiar faces from the Batman world appear also throughout the course of the series, including trusty butler Alfred (Ian Abercrombie), Harley Quinn (Mia Sara), and even the Joker (played by Roger Stoneburner with the voice of Batman: The Animated Series' own Mark Hamil!), but there were often times when the show just felt as if it wasn't sure of what it was. Granted though, Birds of Prey never came off as cheesey and sugar-coated as Smallville, and by the time the series came to an end, things were just starting to really pick up. Despite it's flaws though, Birds of Prey always managed to entertain. Who knows what might have been, but the fact is Birds of Prey was never given the time and opportunity to grow, which is a crying shame. Its great that WB finally had the good sense to release the series on DVD, which has been long overdue to say the least.

By the time they finished airing the new episodes I was sad to see it go. This was a show that would eventually build on the character driven stories to show some fine performances by the leads. The interplay between the characters was well balanced and entertaining. The addition of Mia Sara as Harley toward the end of the series was fantastic. Great villians make for great heros. Nice casting.

I waited a while to see a decent program with Dina Meyer as a lead. This was that show for me. Ashley and Rachel both seemed to dive into their parts with some flair. With Alfred and the detective rounding out the regulars.

My one criticism was that (especially on my recorded tapes) the sound volume seemed to be very low at times. Not so, with other shows I had recorded. I had to rewind and turn the volume up to catch a joke spoken "under the breath" more than once. Worth the effort, but not something I would expect the casual viewer to go through.

The start was a bit slow, but the series did grow on me. I hope to view the performances again, maybe in a better format. Give those ladies (and gentlemen) their wings once again.

Okay, I just picked up the 'Birds of Prey' DVD set.
It looks and sounds fine, but here are a couple of things that you will probably want to prepare yourself for before buying it, so you won't be dissappointed.

1) Though it is in the original 'widescreen' aspect ratio, IT IS NOT enhanced for widescreen televisions (anamorphic widescreen). What does this mean? Well, if you have a standard TV, you will have a black border at the top and bottom of your screen. If you have a 16:9 TV, you will have to blow the picture up to fit the screen (which means a lower picture quality) or else you will have a black border surrounding the entire picture.

note : Oddly enough, the 'Unaired Pilot' IS enhanced for 16:9 televisions. Hmmm....

2) A great deal of the music that was on the show at the time that it originally aired (including the original theme song by Aimee Allen) has been replaced for the DVD (most likely to keep down the cost of the licensing to include it in on the DVD). (In the finale, the TATU song that played during the big action scene is most notably gone.)

note : Though the Michelle Branch song has been replaced at the end of the 'Unaired Pilot', it is still there at the end of the 'Aired Pilot'.

BUT...

I am glad that they released the set. It looks better than my VHS-taped off of TV copied with all of the station logos blocking portions of the picture. I do wish that the entire DVD was 16:9 enhanced. And I do wish they would have been able to leave the great theme music during the titles.

I'm a sucker for any/all permutations of the Batman mythos, and BOP provides a fresh take on the happenings in Gotham. Featuring three strong female characters and CSI-meets-X Files stories, it's truly a wonder that the show didn't succeed. Dina Meyer is absolute perfection as Barbara Gordon/Oracle--one of the very best casting choices in all of the Batman movies/shows. Kudos also to Mia Sara. Her Harley Quinn is a scheming mistress of evil, not the airhead comic relief of Batman:TAS.

WB and the creators of "Smallville" caught lightning in a bottle for 13 episodes. There may never be another live-action Batman series, but I'm glad we have BOP to treasure. It's a must-have for Batfans with with open minds.

Just a quick statement. I am very happy "Birds of Prey" is on DVD. Even though it is "Standard" (though still widescreen)... I can "zoom" in and it is no problem. With my set up, I experience no picture cut off. What is ridiculous is when I viewed the unaired pilot...IT IS ANAMORPHIC! In what world does this make sense? Great Series... gone too soon.

Used to love this show. Just as it's building up steam and collecting a following, the WB cancels a show that was fun and exciting. The women in this series were great to Watch, loved the action and the fight scenes. Would love to see a movie made with these characters on the big screen!

Only 5 years waiting for this series to hit DVD? It felt like every bit of 10 years! Seems like everytime they hit on something really original and great it's canned. I'm really happy to be able to see these 13 episodes again. Of course, if I had my way it would be in it's sixth season on tv right now with all my five seasons of DVDs at home!

Birds of Prey was a series I made sure to watch when it was on tv. But when I always find a TV series I love, it is CANCELLED!!! Please release it on DVD. It is so much better than Smallville which has six seasons available on DVD. But then again I have always preferred Batman to Superman. Darker is way better than goodie goodie (and far sexier!!!).

I've been waiting for this show to come out on DVD for quite some time. After a frantic, into-the-wee-hours viewing of the entire series, I have to say that, as a fan of both comic books and female-centric drama, I am truly disappointed that "Birds of Prey" was canceled during its initial 13-episode run. This was a show rife with potential and promise because it mixed together many interesting elements. It takes liberties with, but very much draws on, the DC universe and the Batman mythology specifically. It has essentially three leads, each with their own tragic backstory and complex motivations. And I think it was really trying to be satisfying for both comic fans and drama fans.
As you can imagine, writing an hour-long television show with this many elements can lead to pitfalls, and I think the first few episodes of the show are a case-in-point. Simply, there were many things in terms of storytelling that needed to be ironed out. In the first few episodes, there is just a little bit too much camp. Also, and this is partly because her character has the largest arc due to being the youngest and most guarded, but Dinah seems to be either lost, or just slightly annoying, early on. The action, while sometimes good, lacks a certain level of dynamism. Finally, the writing, largely following the "Big Bad of the Week" format, is inconsistent at times, with villains who are sometimes less-than-interesting and predictable plots.
So, you're probably asking why you should watch this show, and why I gave it four stars. The first, and probably biggest reason, is that the cast is mostly fantastic. Ashley Scott is pitch-perfect as Huntress: broody, complicated, complex, sexy. Really, she's everything Jessica Alba thought she was on "Dark Angel." Dina Meyer, in addition to really being startlingly beautiful, showcases her acting chops by playing the often thankless "mentor/information guru" role of Oracle with presence and total ownership of the character. Shemar Moore is also great on this show, and I love how he breaks out of his usual "hunk" role and turns in quite an interesting piece of acting as Reese (not to mention his steaming hot chemistry with Scott). Ian Abercrombie is probably the most archetypal actor ever to play Alfred, and his presence is delightful (though, and this is another problem, he's utilized more for voiceovers than anything else, which makes very little sense). Finally, Mia Sara, best known for playing Ferris Bueller's girlfriend, gives a menacing reading of everyone's favorite Joker sidekick, Harley Quinn. You might notice I didn't mention Rachel Skarsten, who plays Dinah. This is because, and I really don't mean to be harsh, but I feel that she was miscast. Perhaps this is due to the lack of focus on her character's development by the writers, but there were very few moments when I felt like the character of Dinah rang true. Dinah plays the role of the bratty little sister for awhile, and then a major change in her life about halfway through the series causes her to do a complete, and not-quite-believable, 180. I'm sure Skarsten had trouble connecting to her character because of this lack of focus, but she is really overpowered by the rest of the cast.
Besides the (almost) perfect cast, the other reason I count myself a "Birds of Prey" fan is because the show gets exponentially better as it progresses. If you stick with it, you will see that the storytelling gets better and better as the stakes are raised for the characters. The themes and presentation become more defined, and the show finally settles into this really nice groove.
From what I understand, the show was doing quite well in terms of ratings, especially among the prized 18-34 demog. Besides the fact that maybe the show was just too expensive to produce, I'm not really sure why it wasn't given more of a chance. The last third of these 13 episodes is, for my money, more interesting and well-acted than anything the graying "Smallville" has been able to churn out during its seemingly 35-year run on television. Thankfully, the producers were informed of the cancellation before the last 2-3 episodes were made, so they were able to at least wrap up the storyline as best they could given the time constraints.
So there you have it. Not a perfect show, but an interesting one worth watching. Take a chance. Give it time. Do what those evil television executives failed to do.