Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (2000–2007)

Third-rate superhero Harvey Birdman gets a new lease on life when he becomes a lawyer.

Creators:

Michael Ouweleen, Erik Richter

Stars:

Gary Cole, Thomas Allen, Stephen Colbert

3 wins.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Gary Cole	...	Harvey Birdman (40 episodes, 2000-2007)
Thomas Allen	...	Peanut (35 episodes, 2002-2007)
Stephen Colbert	...	Phil Ken Sebben (33 episodes, 2001-2007)
John Michael Higgins	...	Mentok the Mindtaker (30 episodes, 2002-2007)
Chris Edgerly	...	Potamus (25 episodes, 2004-2007)
Maurice LaMarche	...	Apache Chief (24 episodes, 2001-2007)

Storyline

Harvey Birdman, the superhero formerly known as Birdman, is now practicing (and dimwitted) lawyer. His cases always involve legal disputes between cartoon characters. Past cases involve custody of Jonny Quest, a copyright infringement case between the Chan Clan and Jabberjaw, and Fred Flintstone's possible mob connections.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | superhero | legal | fight | lawyer hero | 

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Taglines:

Who's the man in the suit? Who's the cat with the beak?

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Adult Swim Adult Swim [uk]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Harvey Birdman

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Arts & Science, J.J. Sedelmaier Productions, Turner Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

15 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Shoyu Weenie episode, Seiko speaks Japanese to the crowd. She says, "It's pretty, I think. I'm Seiko. What is your name?"

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Quotes

Harvey Birdman: [upon learning that he's George Jetson's great-great-great-great-great-grandfather] Then that means... that I'm your... This means I finally get to have sex!
[shouts]
Harvey Birdman: With a woman!
George Jetson: No, there are other ways.

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Connections

Spun-off from Birdman (1967)

User Reviews

Along with Family Guy, one of the funniest shows

I was a huge fan of Space Ghost Coast to Coast when it was introduced back in 1994 (it has lost a lot since 2000). It was hilarious to see these 60's characters making references to their past incarnations (which were awful) and how they made fun of them. It was great to see Space Ghost believe he was greater than he actually was. I consider this aspect and the idea of the talk show with live action stars to be not only creative but also one of the most original and funny concepts ever.

Now we have Harvey Birdman, based on the same principle as Space Ghost C to C, but expanding on the "let's make fun of all the crappy Hanna Barbera animations of the 60's" concept, which is simply great.

The series were introduced in 2001 when Cartoon Network launched Adult Swim, but after a few episodes it disappeared. Thankfully, it wasn't because of low ratings but because they were making more episodes, and each one is even funnier than the one before.

The constant reference to old cartoons and characters is just amazingly funny and, contrary to what some people have posted here, I am well under thirty but I have seen all the re- runs from the original shows in CN, so I believe that it has a larger audience than some people give it credit for.

All the characters are great, starting with Birdman himself. I just finished watching one where the judge is Mentok. That character is hilarious. He is constantly trying to show how great his mental control powers are. It's crazy.

If somebody hasn't seen it yet, please give it a try. Cartoon Network has probably one of the funniest lineups with shows like this and Family Guy, all great and edgy animated sitcoms.