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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
A misguided but valiant comic adaptation, September 4, 2008
Length:: 3:40 Mins
DC's "Birds of Prey" got their close up in this series, but sadly it didn't last. And small wonder, that. While the show was fun and watchable, it was not at all the Birds I (or anybody else who's read the comic) wanted to see. Comic fans were turned off by the lack of faithfulness to the source material, cheesy music (think Avril Lavigne and Maroon 5), and girls' bonding theme and anybody who would enjoy that angle would be turned off by the bad superhero costumes and sci-fi aspect. Way to fail both prospective audiences, guys. But I've come to (sort of) praise "Birds", not bury it. The show did a lot of things right, it just needed a nerd's touch.
Each episode begins with a lame voiceover sequence by the Dark Knight's famed butler Alfred Pennyworth (who is great in this show) where he sums up the premise. Helena Bertin...err Kyle (sorry about that) -aka Huntress- is the secret daughter of Batman and Catwoman. It describes Catwoman as "the queen of the criminal underworld" which is cheesy at best and also downright wrong. Catwoman was a mercenary thief who worked alone, not an organized criminal, but I digress. Anyhow, during Batman's final confrontation with The Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime sent a lackey to stab a retired Selena Kyle/Catwoman to death (yeah, right) in front of a young Helena while he himself paid Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) a visit, leaving her permanently wheelchair bound. How Joker knew who Batgirl or Catwoman even were is not explained. During the flashbacks we are treated to a line of Joker dialogue delivered by Mark Hammil himself, whose greatest non-Star Wars role was voicing Mr. J in the immensely popular Batman - The Animated Series. So Batman vanishes, Barbara Gordon -now a master hacker and general master of cyberspace- adopts Helena Kyle and the two fight crime together, then teenage psychic runaway Dinah Lance shows up and our synopsis is complete.
The show takes on a "crime of the week" format, usually revolving around what are referred to as "metahumans". These are people born with superpowers. In the comic it doesn't come up often, but it's run into the ground here in an attempt to borrow themes from more popular comic heroes like the X-Men. In addition, we're introduced to the requisite police officer/love interest. Because it's never good enough to focus on the main characters, you've always got to have a lame "normal person" to overreact to all of the crazy superhero stuff that happens. Groan. "Birds of Prey" seems to have been made with a literal checklist of genre cliches and standards firmly in hand. The biggest disappointment of all is the (mis)handling of Dinah Lance -the tough-as-nails Black Canary in the comics. Instead of a major bada$z martial-arts espionage agent with vocal cords capable of wiping out a tank with her Canary Cry, we get a lame angsty little teen with high school problems that can read thoughts with a touch. BOOOOORRRRRING!!!!!! Who on Earth approved this stuff?
Okay, hatey time is over for now. Here's the good. Ashley Scott is all sorts of hot and her attitude suits her character (Huntress/Helena) well. It's not the Huntress from the comics, but there is very little room to complain regardless, even if she does crib most of her moves from The Matrix. Dinah Meyer is a matronly-yet-sexy Barbara Gordon aka Oracle. I miss the short temper and chip on her shoulder she sports in the comics, but again there isn't much to complain about. This is another better-than-solid performance. Rachel Skarsten: also gorgeous, also solid in her portrayal of impetuous teen Dinah in spite of the writers' awful handling of the character. Mia Sara portrays a great ruthless sociopathic criminal mastermind. Too bad they opted to make that mastermind Joker sidekick Harley Quinn. It just doesn't gel. At all. I understand the need for more Batman connections, but completely demolishing everything we know about another well-established character was way out of line. A positively bubbly Lady Shiva drops by later to settle an old score which further irritates any connection to comic fans the show was trying to establish. "Birds" begins to pick up steam after Dinah's mother, the original Black Canary shows up. While this is closer to the character done right their portrayal of the Canary Cry is an epic fail. The more you watch it, the more horrifically corny it looks. But still, it rings in a less annoying Dinah and she slowly begins to resemble the character she should have been in the first place. At the end of the day, the strong cast repairs a lot of the damage that the writing does to this show.
One more season could have seen this show become something very cool, but it wasn't to be. Nightwing as a non-lame love interest for Oracle? Denied. Dinah developing a less embarrassing Canary Cry than her mama? Uh uh. The return of The Joker or more of Gotham's classic rogues? Not happening. Less romance and high school garbage and more tail-kicking badness? Sorry. As off-putting as "Birds of Prey" was for comic fans, it built up some serious potential for possibly darker, cooler storylines in the future. But new shows are not known for taking chances and it killed this one. Why this was made as an extremely loose live-action adaptation when DC has had so much success with animated properties that stay true to the source material is beyond me. Come on, DC's animation team; you have already given us flawless representations of Huntress and Black Canary in the Justice League Unlimited series along with Barbara Gordon as Batgirl in the Batman series. It only takes one bullet to turn everyone's favorite crime-fighting librarian into The Oracle and there you have it. PLEEEEEEEAAAASE!?!?
The special features forgo the usual snooze-worthy interviews and commentaries for a real treat. "Gotham Girls" was an internet spin-off animated by some of the team behind the previously-mentioned Batman cartoon. We get three seasons (about 30 minutes for each season) of amusing cartoon shorts starring the likes of Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Batgirl along with some other familiar faces as you remember them. The animation is cheap and so is the humor, but it is still a fantastic treat for fans of the old show. Also included is the original BOP pilot which is an alternate version of the first episode.
"Birds of Prey" is a series I'm pretty conflicted over, but it's worth a peak so long as you aren't allergic to cheese. Hot girls kicking supervillain tail gets a pass with me most any day of the week and overlooking the baggage of being adapted from a much better comic, this show is very watchable if not outstanding and should have been given more room to grow. Check it out and if you likey and even if you don't, have a look at the real Birds of Prey and see just how cool this show should have been.
3 stars for the show itself with extra credit for including "Gotham Girls", which could have been a 3-star DVD in and of itself for a grand total of 4 stars.
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 Birds of Prey: The Complete Series B000SMNL92
Ashley Scott
Warner Home Video
Birds of Prey: The Complete Series
Movies & TV
A misguided but valiant comic adaptation
See video on Amazon.com DC's "Birds of Prey" got their close up in this series, but sadly it didn't last. And small wonder, that. While the show was fun and watchable, it was not at all the Birds I (or anybody else who's read the comic) wanted to see. Comic fans were turned off by the lack of faithfulness to the source material, cheesy music (think Avril Lavigne and Maroon 5), and girls' bonding theme and anybody who would enjoy that angle would be turned off by the bad superhero costumes and sci-fi aspect. Way to fail both prospective audiences, guys. But I've come to (sort of) praise "Birds", not bury it. The show did a lot of things right, it just needed a nerd's touch.
Each episode begins with a lame voiceover sequence by the Dark Knight's famed butler Alfred Pennyworth (who is great in this show) where he sums up the premise. Helena Bertin...err Kyle (sorry about that) -aka Huntress- is the secret daughter of Batman and Catwoman. It describes Catwoman as "the queen of the criminal underworld" which is cheesy at best and also downright wrong. Catwoman was a mercenary thief who worked alone, not an organized criminal, but I digress. Anyhow, during Batman's final confrontation with The Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime sent a lackey to stab a retired Selena Kyle/Catwoman to death (yeah, right) in front of a young Helena while he himself paid Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) a visit, leaving her permanently wheelchair bound. How Joker knew who Batgirl or Catwoman even were is not explained. During the flashbacks we are treated to a line of Joker dialogue delivered by Mark Hammil himself, whose greatest non-Star Wars role was voicing Mr. J in the immensely popular Batman - The Animated Series. So Batman vanishes, Barbara Gordon -now a master hacker and general master of cyberspace- adopts Helena Kyle and the two fight crime together, then teenage psychic runaway Dinah Lance shows up and our synopsis is complete.
The show takes on a "crime of the week" format, usually revolving around what are referred to as "metahumans". These are people born with superpowers. In the comic it doesn't come up often, but it's run into the ground here in an attempt to borrow themes from more popular comic heroes like the X-Men. In addition, we're introduced to the requisite police officer/love interest. Because it's never good enough to focus on the main characters, you've always got to have a lame "normal person" to overreact to all of the crazy superhero stuff that happens. Groan. "Birds of Prey" seems to have been made with a literal checklist of genre cliches and standards firmly in hand. The biggest disappointment of all is the (mis)handling of Dinah Lance -the tough-as-nails Black Canary in the comics. Instead of a major bada$z martial-arts espionage agent with vocal cords capable of wiping out a tank with her Canary Cry, we get a lame angsty little teen with high school problems that can read thoughts with a touch. BOOOOORRRRRING!!!!!! Who on Earth approved this stuff?
Okay, hatey time is over for now. Here's the good. Ashley Scott is all sorts of hot and her attitude suits her character (Huntress/Helena) well. It's not the Huntress from the comics, but there is very little room to complain regardless, even if she does crib most of her moves from The Matrix. Dinah Meyer is a matronly-yet-sexy Barbara Gordon aka Oracle. I miss the short temper and chip on her shoulder she sports in the comics, but again there isn't much to complain about. This is another better-than-solid performance. Rachel Skarsten: also gorgeous, also solid in her portrayal of impetuous teen Dinah in spite of the writers' awful handling of the character. Mia Sara portrays a great ruthless sociopathic criminal mastermind. Too bad they opted to make that mastermind Joker sidekick Harley Quinn. It just doesn't gel. At all. I understand the need for more Batman connections, but completely demolishing everything we know about another well-established character was way out of line. A positively bubbly Lady Shiva drops by later to settle an old score which further irritates any connection to comic fans the show was trying to establish. "Birds" begins to pick up steam after Dinah's mother, the original Black Canary shows up. While this is closer to the character done right their portrayal of the Canary Cry is an epic fail. The more you watch it, the more horrifically corny it looks. But still, it rings in a less annoying Dinah and she slowly begins to resemble the character she should have been in the first place. At the end of the day, the strong cast repairs a lot of the damage that the writing does to this show.
One more season could have seen this show become something very cool, but it wasn't to be. Nightwing as a non-lame love interest for Oracle? Denied. Dinah developing a less embarrassing Canary Cry than her mama? Uh uh. The return of The Joker or more of Gotham's classic rogues? Not happening. Less romance and high school garbage and more tail-kicking badness? Sorry. As off-putting as "Birds of Prey" was for comic fans, it built up some serious potential for possibly darker, cooler storylines in the future. But new shows are not known for taking chances and it killed this one. Why this was made as an extremely loose live-action adaptation when DC has had so much success with animated properties that stay true to the source material is beyond me. Come on, DC's animation team; you have already given us flawless representations of Huntress and Black Canary in the Justice League Unlimited series along with Barbara Gordon as Batgirl in the Batman series. It only takes one bullet to turn everyone's favorite crime-fighting librarian into The Oracle and there you have it. PLEEEEEEEAAAASE!?!?
The special features forgo the usual snooze-worthy interviews and commentaries for a real treat. "Gotham Girls" was an internet spin-off animated by some of the team behind the previously-mentioned Batman cartoon. We get three seasons (about 30 minutes for each season) of amusing cartoon shorts starring the likes of Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Batgirl along with some other familiar faces as you remember them. The animation is cheap and so is the humor, but it is still a fantastic treat for fans of the old show. Also included is the original BOP pilot which is an alternate version of the first episode.
"Birds of Prey" is a series I'm pretty conflicted over, but it's worth a peak so long as you aren't allergic to cheese. Hot girls kicking supervillain tail gets a pass with me most any day of the week and overlooking the baggage of being adapted from a much better comic, this show is very watchable if not outstanding and should have been given more room to grow. Check it out and if you likey and even if you don't, have a look at the real Birds of Prey and see just how cool this show should have been.
3 stars for the show itself with extra credit for including "Gotham Girls", which could have been a 3-star DVD in and of itself for a grand total of 4 stars.
trashcanman
September 4, 2008
- Overall: 5
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Location: Hanford, CA United States
New Reviewer Rank: 156
Classic Reviewer Rank: 1,025
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