"Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law" (2000) TV series 2000-2007

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Creators:

Michael Ouweleen
Erik Richter

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

30 December 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Superhero | Lawyer | Cafeteria | Bear | Attorney

Awards:

3 wins

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 15	12:45 AM	TOON	Mindless	#3.10
Wed. July 15	4:45 AM	TOON	Mindless	#3.10

Cast

Gary Cole	...	Harvey Birdman / ... (39 episodes, 2000-2007)
Thomas Allen	...	Peanut (33 episodes, 2002-2007)
Stephen Colbert	...	Phil Ken Sebben / ... (31 episodes, 2001-2007)
John Michael Higgins	...	Mentok The Mindtaker / ... (30 episodes, 2002-2007)
Chris Edgerly	...	Potamus / ... (25 episodes, 2004-2007)
Maurice LaMarche	...	Freezoid / ... (21 episodes, 2001-2007)

Runtime:

15 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:14A (DVD) | Canada:18+ (TV rating) | Australia:M | New Zealand:M | UK:15 | Argentina:13 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | USA:TV-14

Company:

Allied Arts & Science

Trivia:

Several episodes of the series have alternate titles. Episode 104 ("Death By Chocolate" was originally titled "The Unabooboo" while episode 106 ("The Dabba Don") was originally titled "The Sopranostones".

Quotes:

Peter Potamus: Did you get that thing I sent you?

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Stepford Wives (2004)

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.