After watching Birds of Prey, I take back everything bad I ever said about Smallville. Birds of Prey isn't completely crap, just sub-standard. In it's defence, it's probably the best super-hero show besides Smallville. "The Flash" was really bad. Besides animated series, it seems super-hero series just don't work. Suddenly Clark Kent getting all mushy with Lana in Smallville doesn't seem so annoying. Don't get me wrong, Birds of Prey wasn't terrible. It was just very ordinary and is probably not gonna blow you away. The show tries too hard to be cool, the stories are kinda lame, there're lots of really cheesy one-liners and the characters (maybe except Helena) were not very believable especially Black Canary, Lady Shiva and Dinah. Maybe the show would have been better if Huntress was a more popular hero. I doubt I would have watched this show at all if She wasn't Batman's lil girl.
124 Reviews
I wanted to like this...
dataphasia24 August 2004
When the WB started showing teasers for this show, I looked forward to it and expected great things. I thought it would be a decent superhero show, in light of the success of Smallville. What I saw instead was a show consisting of bad acting (with the exception of Dina Meyer), corny story lines and a lame attempt at entertainment. Even then, I kept watching, hoping that the writing/acting would improve -- they did not. The action sequences were VERY well done, but it seems they concentrated more on trying to wow audiences with imaginative martial arts than with good script writing. It is sad, because as with so many other projects, a good staff of writers might have made all the difference -- However, there would still be that fact that while Ashley Scott and Rachel Skarsten are both beautiful women, they sadly couldn't seem to get their acting skills working in this series.
a new breed of superheroes
disdressed124 August 2008
i had high expectations for this series,and as soon as it arrived on DVD,i went out and bought a copy of it.even though i don't feel it was quite as good as i had hoped,it is still a pretty good series.it takes place sometime in the future in New Gotham.Batman does not make an appearance in this show,though he is alluded to a few times.this show is about the next generation of crime fighters who try to make the city safe.the three main characters are all women,and there is also a supporting character,played by a women.all the female characters are well defined and strongly written.at least i thought so.the series itself is pretty good,although i found a few of the episodes sort of mundane.i also thought some of the fight scenes looked a bit too stagey,and the there is some repetition in the show.i won't get int specifics on that point,but if you watch the show,you'll see what i mean.otherwise,i enjoyed it,and would recommend it to others.7/10
A great series that should have stayed.
ksveit2 April 2004
I liked this show. It's too bad it didn't last very long. I liked the matrix-like action sequences, the dialog, the twists and turns that each episode took. It's a bummer that the last episode was such a cliffhanger (of course they usually are). It's true the meta-human thing was a bit unrealistic, but they had to play with things a little to make it so that it wasn't too much a copy of other Batman stories. I would have liked to see Dina's character more developed as she discovered her abilities. I would have liked to see Oracle get the use of her legs back if possible. It would have been neat to see if the Alfred character would develop further. Of course the Huntress character had a lot of development options. I wish they'd bring this show back. I don't care what all of the negative people might say, I liked it and miss it a lot. I wish somebody could do something to bring it back.
Not bad adaptation
dave13-113 April 2012
Based on a long running DC comic title (recently canceled after 15 years) this show had a such a short run (about 3 months) prior to its cancellation that it was only just beginning to gather a little industry buzz when it went off the air for good. I was curious to see the show, since I am a fan of the comic book, but the strong female characters and sharp writing of the book are not as evident here. Ron Koslow, one of the main writers of Beauty and Beast, executive produced the series and the show had some similar elements: a slick looking urban fantasy setting, an underground of 'freaks' (in this case 'metahumans') hidden from the eyes of normals, and slightly cartoonish villains, with every episode following a mystery-adventure formula as the main characters try to discover the identity of this week's creep, while taking time out every so often to agonize over their life choices. Somehow the formula works less well here. The mystery villains are often a little too obvious, the well-choreographed fight and stunt scenes get a little repetitive, and the progress of the character arcs is so terribly slow that little happens from week to week. Clearly the producers envisioned a 3 to 5 year run and worked to keep things in check early on, but the slow arc makes things a bit tedious. Plus the early cancellation meant that the series cut off in the middle of nowhere, which made the overall structure of the piece just that much worse. Still, the main actresses (Ashley Scott and Dina Meyer) are good and the whole production is attractive to look at, so it's an okay time-waster provided expectations are kept low. Buffy it's not, but it's not bad. Rates about 6.5/10...
They should have let it last longer
Bored_Dragon31 January 2018
Years after Batman left Gotham, trio Birds of Prey takes over his role. They are Huntress - daughter of Batman and Catwoman, Oracle - former Batgirl put in wheelchair by Joker and Dinah - girl with telepathic abilities whose true identity and full potential are to be revealed later. There are also Alfred - Batman's old battler, Jesse - young inspector in love with Huntress, Harley Queen who tries to step in her old boyfriend's shoes and bunch of meta-humans. Show keeps Batman atmosphere while trying to distinguish itself from Batman story. It's not particularly original, but it's fun and holds attention. Acting is quite good and leading girls are beauties. Unfortunately, show is cancelled after first season, but it doesn't end with cliffhanger so I recommend it to DC fans who look for good entertainment.
7/10
7/10
So much (wasted) potential
kosmasp8 April 2009
A friend of mine (a very serious comic book/graphic novel aficionado) watched this series with me. He could give background trivia about the characters and their history. About this other dimension where Batman disappeared and so forth ...
With all this information, it was quite a delight watching the show. The actors were great (and good looking might I add) and the actor who played Alfred was spot on. Unfortunately many things/themes seem rushed or not well thought through. The fact, that the show got axed after (not even) one season, might play a big part in this, but even the original idea has quite a few flaws. Still a fun ride and quite entertaining, if you let yourself loose and enjoy the silliness (and gloss) of the show
With all this information, it was quite a delight watching the show. The actors were great (and good looking might I add) and the actor who played Alfred was spot on. Unfortunately many things/themes seem rushed or not well thought through. The fact, that the show got axed after (not even) one season, might play a big part in this, but even the original idea has quite a few flaws. Still a fun ride and quite entertaining, if you let yourself loose and enjoy the silliness (and gloss) of the show
Had Potential
Clay-Pigeon15 March 2007
This series really had a lot going for it. Too bad they couldn't hire better writers. If you saw the first episode then that's all you needed to see because every episode after it was exactly the same. They basically kept recycling the same script over and over again. Introduce lame villain-of-the-week (trust me, they were lame), one of the three girls develops a personal vendetta against the villain, against everyone's wishes she sets out to kill villain on her own, other girls swoop in and save the day, girl with personal vendetta learns her lesson (teamwork and justice not revenge and blah, blah, blah). Lesson learned until the next episode when the exact same thing happens all over again but with a new bad guy. It all got very tiring, very fast. Nothing new ever happened and character development was practically non-existent. Another flaw was that due to pressure from the teen-friendly WB network, the producers were forced to replace one of the characters from the comics with a new teenage character who was so full of angst that you wanted to smack her. She was also worthless. Think Dawn from "Buffy" only more annoying. Based on the premise alone, I really wanted to like this show but I was never given a good enough reason to like it. A wasted effort.
Really Really Good
gohmifune27 November 2004
There is a lot to say about this show, there really is. I remember watching this show when it first came on, the premise had intrigued me, and I was a comic book fan, so I was really alienated by watching a show with barbara gordon, it really is like watching Batman Beyond or the TAS or even the movies when comparing to the comics, but this is by no means a bad thing. Just as every reviewer has, the plot is about Batman and Catwoman, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle's child and her affiliation with her mentor/ best friend Barbara Gordon who is now Oracle and the new addition to the team Dinah Lance, which so far it feels like an Elseworlds BOP comic, and that is exactly how it plays out. It revels in the mythology, but adding or taking anything away from it. For instance, the Catwoman and Batman portrayed are obviously Batman Returns material, which by all means isn't bad. Unless you're a fan of the mythos as presented in post-1986 DC, then you may have to adjust, for in reality it is an assembly of many things, No Man's Land's Earthquake for instance, but none of this bad, by all means it is far from it.
As a show, this is where things get interesting. It has a strong plot, good acting and writing, just about everyone agrees that Barbara Gordon is played very faithfully by Dina Meyer and so is Ian Abercrombie's Alfred Pennyworth. The show boasts a solid soundtrack, very solid in fact, the opening song "Revolution" and the final one'd "All the Things She Said" and "A Sorta Fairytale" are more than perfect fits. Visually it very dark leather clad everything in black cg Gotham which isn't bad, it has more of a cinematic touch for its 40 minute episodes.
The cast is great, actors and characters, but all in all, any good story has a fantastic ending, and boy does this show deliver, it delivers more than any show I have ever seen in fact, great pacing, and circular storytelling that is nowhere near trite, you easily you begin to believe in, cheer on for these character. You begin to love and hurt along with them.
I would actually be remiss not to point out the performance of both Harley Quinns, Mia Sara is fantastic, very visual and has a look, and Sherilynn Flynn who most likely would've been subtle, which may have worked equally as effective.
In the end, Birds of Prey was a great show, not just a good one, but a great one, maybe someday, we'll get to see what happens next to Batman's little girl all grown up.
As a show, this is where things get interesting. It has a strong plot, good acting and writing, just about everyone agrees that Barbara Gordon is played very faithfully by Dina Meyer and so is Ian Abercrombie's Alfred Pennyworth. The show boasts a solid soundtrack, very solid in fact, the opening song "Revolution" and the final one'd "All the Things She Said" and "A Sorta Fairytale" are more than perfect fits. Visually it very dark leather clad everything in black cg Gotham which isn't bad, it has more of a cinematic touch for its 40 minute episodes.
The cast is great, actors and characters, but all in all, any good story has a fantastic ending, and boy does this show deliver, it delivers more than any show I have ever seen in fact, great pacing, and circular storytelling that is nowhere near trite, you easily you begin to believe in, cheer on for these character. You begin to love and hurt along with them.
I would actually be remiss not to point out the performance of both Harley Quinns, Mia Sara is fantastic, very visual and has a look, and Sherilynn Flynn who most likely would've been subtle, which may have worked equally as effective.
In the end, Birds of Prey was a great show, not just a good one, but a great one, maybe someday, we'll get to see what happens next to Batman's little girl all grown up.
Loved the original airing and the DVD (except for the musical substitutions)
vitalessenc323 July 2008
I would have rated this show higher except that now, watching the recent DVD release, I am utterly jaded by the musical changes made on the DVDs.
The most annoying ones are the theme song itself being swapped and in the final episode the removal of the apt-fitting "All the things she said" by TATU with some other song that I found jarring.
The actresses did well with what they were given although a couple of the episodes were rather eye-roll inducing but I've seen that in many series that were given more of a chance than BoP was.
Overall, it was an enjoyable series with characters that were more flawed and human in their behaviour than typically expected of "superheroes" and that's part of the draw of this far too short-lived series.
The most annoying ones are the theme song itself being swapped and in the final episode the removal of the apt-fitting "All the things she said" by TATU with some other song that I found jarring.
The actresses did well with what they were given although a couple of the episodes were rather eye-roll inducing but I've seen that in many series that were given more of a chance than BoP was.
Overall, it was an enjoyable series with characters that were more flawed and human in their behaviour than typically expected of "superheroes" and that's part of the draw of this far too short-lived series.
In a word "stupid"
JetBlast21 December 2011
Just watched this. The best part of this show was Ashley Scott in her little Huntress get-up. The rest of it kinda sucked. I mean come on. This should be the handbook on what superheroes don't do. First no secret identity. Then don't make any friends (aka collateral damage/targets). The best part is the mantra repeated through the series "super heroes don't kill". First, sure they do, second let's review. No the superheroes (using the term loosely here) in this series didn't kill however through there actions the people they knew either suffered or were killed. Batgirl said people close to you dying is a hazard of the job. So what she's telling us is protecting the general public is more important than protecting the people closest to you. Yea OK. Batman was written as a very capable superhero. If Huntress is his daughter I want to see a paternity test because I just don't believe it!!! The characters were just written as too dumb to be good superheros. They simply were not good at their job. Not in protecting their identity and not in the choices they made. The show was written very poorly in my opinion. More like a soap opera, a badly done one at that.
Tons of potential, sadly WB did not give this show the attention it deserved!
voyager1000022 August 2022
Hey folks,
This show maintains a spot in my top 25 favorite TV shows list.
The characters were interesting and had solid backstories even if they did deviate from the comics a bit in some instances. Dinah had a spunky can do attitude with powers to back it up and also had occasion to learn first hand she needed guidance. Barbara was a faithful adaptation, with the exception of being a teacher instead of a librarian, who showed she would never give up. Helena was a genuine badass who learned to soften up a little to mentor Dinah and balance her team out a lot. Alfred was SPOT ON, he had the proper balance of snarky father figure and shadow operative accomplishing things behind the scenes. Harley did need a little work though, but she maintained a nice menacing presence if some things were a bit over the top.
Some of the episodes needed better bad guys, but they were properly scaled to what the Birds of Prey could handle. Every episode did have decent moral dilemmas and promoted solid ideas on superpowered crimefighting.
New Gotham was a cool setting with a ton of potential for the series to explore over the extra seasons it deserved. There was even an offhand mention to Smallville and a crossover episode would have been awesome!
I loved the campiness of the show even with some of the bad CGI problems in it.
If only the WB had started out with a 4 or 5 season plan this show would have risen in the ratings to justify keeping it on the air.
Long live the Birds of Prey!
This show maintains a spot in my top 25 favorite TV shows list.
The characters were interesting and had solid backstories even if they did deviate from the comics a bit in some instances. Dinah had a spunky can do attitude with powers to back it up and also had occasion to learn first hand she needed guidance. Barbara was a faithful adaptation, with the exception of being a teacher instead of a librarian, who showed she would never give up. Helena was a genuine badass who learned to soften up a little to mentor Dinah and balance her team out a lot. Alfred was SPOT ON, he had the proper balance of snarky father figure and shadow operative accomplishing things behind the scenes. Harley did need a little work though, but she maintained a nice menacing presence if some things were a bit over the top.
Some of the episodes needed better bad guys, but they were properly scaled to what the Birds of Prey could handle. Every episode did have decent moral dilemmas and promoted solid ideas on superpowered crimefighting.
New Gotham was a cool setting with a ton of potential for the series to explore over the extra seasons it deserved. There was even an offhand mention to Smallville and a crossover episode would have been awesome!
I loved the campiness of the show even with some of the bad CGI problems in it.
If only the WB had started out with a 4 or 5 season plan this show would have risen in the ratings to justify keeping it on the air.
Long live the Birds of Prey!
What Went Wrong
ayamisr14 July 2016
we have a super hero with daddy issues in Ashley Scott's Huntress, we have a super hero on wheel chair and a desire to have a normal love life in Dina Meyer's Barbra Gordon,
we have a good coming-of-age story in Rachel Skarsten's Dinah Lance,
Mia Sara's Harley Quinn is amazing and set a really high standard for any future portrayal of the character (namely the Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad),
Shemar Moore's Reese showed the police/vigilante conflict very well, Shawn Christian's Wade are showing the human side of Barbra very well, and Ian Abercrombie's Alfred is the annoyingly lovable parental figure we all know and love,
so what went wrong? anyway, I have request for the people who work on comic book based projects or have ideas for such projects, please be careful with our super heroes, and be extra careful if the main characters are female super heroes.
we have a good coming-of-age story in Rachel Skarsten's Dinah Lance,
Mia Sara's Harley Quinn is amazing and set a really high standard for any future portrayal of the character (namely the Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad),
Shemar Moore's Reese showed the police/vigilante conflict very well, Shawn Christian's Wade are showing the human side of Barbra very well, and Ian Abercrombie's Alfred is the annoyingly lovable parental figure we all know and love,
so what went wrong? anyway, I have request for the people who work on comic book based projects or have ideas for such projects, please be careful with our super heroes, and be extra careful if the main characters are female super heroes.
WB's cheapest move to date.
m-4782617 September 2020
The show was cancelled so fast, you wonder if it wasn't meant to be a mini series, to fill the gap between new projects. As far as I remember, a lot of WB shows first episodes, left a lot to be desired, and some of it made you wonder, how they could've recovered from it. Which they eventually did, only because they were given time to. Birds of Prey wasn't. And the channel's favorite show either, when they were self-interested enough to release it on DVD. Only without the original soundtrack. I never understood why, as buyers, we should force ourselves to get products editors were not invested in releasing. Wait for the reruns. As far as the show is concerned, it was clearly following the super heroine trend, and Smallville's early seasons success. I could even picture both shows sharing crossover episodes, had it been kept long enough. It didn't, and only more than ten years later, its main heroine made a cameo appearance on one of WB's current popular series, that stopped interesting me after its first year. Like I said earlier, it was Buffy, Charmed and Smallville, wrapped in a neat little package. With that WB series pull, we love so much. Even though few episodes stood out, and some of the writing was lazy. The characters interactions, were what made it so appealing. And what I was mostly looking forward to, from a longer run release. Another thing I thought was weird, was the fashion. Some of the actresses wore unflattering outfits, near the end. Especially Rachel Skarsten, whose wardrobe looked too masculine for her physique. I don't even remember it being fashionable back then. So maybe they tried inventing new trends, but they should've just stuck to those that already exist. Some of Ashley Scott's haircuts, left a bad impression too... All of this to say how, even in that department, the network gave the show's crew the cheapest means they could. And that is one word to describe it, cheap. And one can only imagine why it was cancelled so early. WB had no faith in it. And the fact that the brand still uses it, on their current shows mythology, is tacky. And insulting to people, who enjoyed the show twenty years ago, and wished for renewal. Maybe they could revive it somehow, but I'm not holding my breath for it either. If you love WB fantasy series, this is definitely for you. But like I said, don't give these greedy people your money. Wait for reruns, just in case you get to hear the original song selection, that is far superior to the one on the DVDS.
A good show cut down before it had a chance.
highman7326 October 2003
While not a dead on comic adaptation,and far from ideal effects and stories,Birds of Prey set out to give viewers a good comic related action show and was succeeding,as the Thousands of unhappy and protesting fans that wrote and emailed the WB prove. While not without its flaws,the show had good action and good plots for the medium.Enjoyable acting ,fast pace,and effects consistent with tv action/fantasy.As to the comic fans who are rabid over the differences:while we'd all love to see it,no comic based movie or tv show has ever been a perfect adaptation.File it away to alternate realities if you must,but be open minded.Just because Star Wars Episodes 1-3 Made most of it's "history" bunk doesnt mean Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire books were any less enjoyable The WB and Fox both owe their very existence to shows that didnt take off immediately,Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Married With Children come to mind and they are not the only ones.Yet in recent years both networks have developed a "better ratings now" philosophy that insults viewers and television industry people alike.Any show that isnt cookie cutter crap or an instant hit with whatever demographic they are aiming for is quickly eliminated,almost unerringly,giving no time to grow a large and loyal fanbase(like the aforementioned shows did).But fanbases do exist for these shows and are kept alive via the internet,and word of mouth.Given another year for people to tune in and a little tweaking this show could have been another Buffy like hit,but sadly it wasnt to be.So remember kiddies:tape those first runs,the show might not make it to reruns
Deserved better than it's treatment
JoeB13125 July 2009
The problem with TV networks is that they get something that works, they want more of the same. This is why we have four Law and Orders, three CSI's and now two NCIS. Something works, let's make it work again. And Again.
The now defunct WB network had a hit with Smallville, so they figured, why not do another comic book TV series. Can't do "Batman the Early Years", that would be too derivative. I know, let's do a Batman series without Batman. Or the Joker. Or any of the cool villains we might want to use in a movie! (Come on, they have to forgive them for George Clooney's Kevlar Nipples eventually!)
So they took the spin off comic book, "Birds Of Prey" and did a series based on that. And it flopped after 11 episodes.
Now some things I didn't care for. Harley Quinn as a criminal mastermind? Come on! But the interaction of the core trio of heroes was pretty interesting...
The now defunct WB network had a hit with Smallville, so they figured, why not do another comic book TV series. Can't do "Batman the Early Years", that would be too derivative. I know, let's do a Batman series without Batman. Or the Joker. Or any of the cool villains we might want to use in a movie! (Come on, they have to forgive them for George Clooney's Kevlar Nipples eventually!)
So they took the spin off comic book, "Birds Of Prey" and did a series based on that. And it flopped after 11 episodes.
Now some things I didn't care for. Harley Quinn as a criminal mastermind? Come on! But the interaction of the core trio of heroes was pretty interesting...
A live action TV series about Batman's daughter fighting crime with the former bat girl.
talarisw28 May 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This is a short lived TV series that aired on the WB network(now the cw)in 2002. This is the first live action TV series based on the iconic batman comics since the classic 60's TV show. The producers of the great WB show Smallville produced this show. I used to watch this show and I eventually got it on DVD. I feel like this show had a lot of potential but was a miss opportunity. I'm a huge batman/comic book fan so I have a lot to say. First,the show is loosely based on a spin-off comic series of the same name, with the former bat-girl working with two female heroes, huntress and black canary. Which sounds like a great idea for a fresh take for a batman TV series. But the show made some good and bad changes. In the show "the huntress" is the daughter of batman & catwoman, this is the original origins for her in the comics but was quickly changed to the huntress having no connection to batman & catwoman. Barber Gordan was the original bat girl & daughter of commissioner Gordan but in a 1988 comic book she was shot by the joker and paralyze from the waist down and became "Oracle", a professor x like mentor to the huntress & black canary. They stayed pretty true to her in this show. Black Canary is one of the few batman characters that have a super power, a sonic scream. But she only appears in one episode, but her daughter of the same name took her place in the show. The show then added something unique, that batman left Gotham city, so it's just the girls. The show starts off strong with a great back story prolong in the pilot episode. Batman's butler Alfred tells the story of a war between Batman & the joker that brought down joker's empire, he got his revenge by killing catwoman, who batman was in love with and paralyzed bat girl, which caused batman to leave Gotham in guilt. The best part of the entire show is this prolong which featured a cameo by Mark Hamil as the voice of the joker, saying the world's creepiest knock-knock joke and his best joker laugh ever. And the main villain of the show is Harley Quinn, the joker's girlfriend & henchwoman, out to avenged the joker. This is all a great set-up & premise for a new batman show, so went wrong? Despite, a great premise you need good episodes to keep you involved. First the star, the huntress played by Ashley Scott, could'eve been a better character then she was. Scott didn't do a bad job but they should'eve made her more like the comics with her purple outfit and cross-bows. Her back story was good but it was weird that she wore no costume and wore no mask, she just had a black duster. The writers tried to make her tough & rebellious like in the comics but I felt the writers could never find the right balance for her, she came off as too unlikeable at times. The best part of the show was Diana Meyer as Oracle, she looks just like a older Barber Gordan and played the part perfectly. She was smart, logical everything Barbra should be. They also have the watchtower base Oracle operates from. Rahel Skarsten as Diana Lance but despite having the same name she was not Black Canary. "Canary" appeared in episode 6 as Diana's mom and as a possible set-up for Diana to take her mom's place. But she did not have the canary's power, her power was to see into a person future by touching them. It would'eve been a lot better to just make "the canary" like how she is in the comics. Here she's a little too much like the annoying little kid who wants to be in the action but told to stay "here". I like seeing Alfred as a regular and it's a good connection to batman. The biggest problem is that the show didn't draw more from the comics, the villains were mostly created for the show and not that great, like one guy can turn into water. It would'eve been better to see the riddler,bain, scarecrow, & others as villains then the new ones they created. Mr. Zsasz, a villain too violent for the cartoons but would'eve been great to see here. Lady Sheiva, from the comics, appears, but just OK here. Harley Quinn played by Mia Sara came off as too serious not wacky like in the comics & cartoons. But I still like the way Mia played her and it was nice to see a live action version of one of my favorite villains, Harley, as the main villain no less. But the worst thing are the plot holes. They made the season finale knowing they wouldn't be coming back but failed to fill these holes.The final episode showed that Clayface killed catwoman but no mention of the joker or how he found out about batman & catwoman or how Joker knew bat girl's identity. Harley Quinn reveals her self as the main villain but how could Oracle or Alfred not know who she is when they fought the joker. And they never explained how she escaped jail time after her crimes with the joker. The season finale really had nothing too do with previous episodes and tied no lose ends. But I enjoyed watching Mia Sara finally act wacky as Harley Quinn. But they should'eve had her wear her court jester costume, that would'eve been great! The show had a great premise but the weekly episodes should'eve been better.
Too bad it didn't last.
aramis190018 July 2008
Warning: Spoilers
Despite some random plot lines, this show had potential. There are some great guest appearances (Joker, Black Canary, Clayface), and the first season really made you feel like something was building, that Harley Quinn was planning something that would come to pass in season two had it stayed on the air. If you're a Batman fan, you'll like this show. If you like Batgirl, here is a chance to see her done RIGHT. Sorry to Alicia Silverstone but she is the last person that should have been cast as Batgirl. If you like Smallville, you'll like this show. Especially considering the crap that is on Smallville nowadays. The DVD also featured the unaired pilot with Sherylenn Fenn as Harley and the entire Gotham Girls webisode series.
Fair, for Cheese TV
judge-gideon15 August 2010
Costumes: Fair to Poor - Nothing original or extraordinary. Helena/Huntress bustier boob squishers, port-hole tops (Ahoy mateys!), and leather fetish outfits which seem to be the modern equivalent of spandex
CGI/SPFX: Fair to Good - gravity-defying jumping, animated iris mods, computer interfaces, chroma-key backgrounds, etc.
Set Design & Filming: Exceptional detail, lighting, and intricacy with a considerable budget involved, yet realism is exchanged for a cartoonish ambiance
Location: Filmed entirely on the WB Studio Facilities...feels very synthetic. Perhaps this was the intent...to create a comic-book feel.
At times it seemed as cheesy as Power Rangers, but had some serious moments.
The final scene of each episode was predictable: All is well, corny anecdotes, good-guy (gal) comradery and witticisms, a Kumbayah segment at each episode end.
Overall impression: Not bad, but cannot compare to Smallville. I'm totally OK with the concept of retelling comic stories, embellishing the characters, histories, and plot. I'm not a die hard comic fan and can care less about the "Golden Age Huntress" inaccuracies, etc. etc. I like good entertainment as well as most people, yet this series isn't geared toward the average TV viewer. Most folks who are into DC comics will either like it or hate it because of the gross inaccuracies.
CGI/SPFX: Fair to Good - gravity-defying jumping, animated iris mods, computer interfaces, chroma-key backgrounds, etc.
Set Design & Filming: Exceptional detail, lighting, and intricacy with a considerable budget involved, yet realism is exchanged for a cartoonish ambiance
Location: Filmed entirely on the WB Studio Facilities...feels very synthetic. Perhaps this was the intent...to create a comic-book feel.
At times it seemed as cheesy as Power Rangers, but had some serious moments.
The final scene of each episode was predictable: All is well, corny anecdotes, good-guy (gal) comradery and witticisms, a Kumbayah segment at each episode end.
Overall impression: Not bad, but cannot compare to Smallville. I'm totally OK with the concept of retelling comic stories, embellishing the characters, histories, and plot. I'm not a die hard comic fan and can care less about the "Golden Age Huntress" inaccuracies, etc. etc. I like good entertainment as well as most people, yet this series isn't geared toward the average TV viewer. Most folks who are into DC comics will either like it or hate it because of the gross inaccuracies.
Birds of Prey - WOW!
Dingbat136 February 2007
Birds of Prey is a wonderful fantasy show for those who wish to believe in superheroes or at least heroes without superpowers. As a child I grew up reading all of those comics-Batman, Batgirl, Superman and Supergirl. All those classic comics are nothing like the new ones except the current ones are more harsh looking with no soft lines. Thus when I saw the advertisement that Birds of Prey was coming on the show, I was elated since it is so rare to see a few super female heroes on TV. It has been mostly male heroes and still is nowadays. I still have the VHS tapes of Birds of Prey from most of the episodes. I missed a few thus I would love to buy a complete set of VHS/DVD of "Birds of Prey" for my collection. Amy
Series Ahead of Its Time
lance-lee9 February 2019
In light of the popularity of all the comic book TV series and movies, Birds of Prey was ahead of its time. Perhaps a redo of this series will someday come, adjusted for the various universe changes which have now taken place in the various series and movies, such as Gotham, Flash, Supergirl, Arrow, and any others.
Lots of untapped potential
alexanderkominek30 August 2007
The pilot episode of Birds of Prey showed lots of potential for the show to become an interesting series. Unfortunately, the show didn't live up to this potential and instead fell into a Smallville-style "freak of the week" formula.
Harley Quinn's plots are simply evil for evil's sake, with no real human motivations behind them. The show's emphasis on "meta-humans" is too similar to other (better-executed) comic book adaptations, and completely unnecessary to furthering the characters' stories.
The casting, however, is very good. It's too bad that the actors had to work with writing that usually takes the easy way out instead of genuinely exploring the characters in a meaningful way.
I'd love to see this show in more capable hands, but as it stands, I can see why it was cancelled so early in its run.
Harley Quinn's plots are simply evil for evil's sake, with no real human motivations behind them. The show's emphasis on "meta-humans" is too similar to other (better-executed) comic book adaptations, and completely unnecessary to furthering the characters' stories.
The casting, however, is very good. It's too bad that the actors had to work with writing that usually takes the easy way out instead of genuinely exploring the characters in a meaningful way.
I'd love to see this show in more capable hands, but as it stands, I can see why it was cancelled so early in its run.
It Was Excellent, Bring It Back!!!
troublelady89-112 August 2006
This was an amazing show. It was always interesting to watch. I know of no man or woman who does not believe that this show deserves more than 9 stars.
The only issue I can bring up that points out something negative is the actress who played Dinah. For whatever reason I truly disliked her performance, but that was only a small detail. Maybe if the show had more time I would have grown to like her better.
I thought it was a very entertaining show and I would like to see it come back. Now would be a perfect time because audiences are becoming in love with comics again. If they started planning for it now, by the time it would air the "Batman 2" hype would be in full bloom.
If they do bring the show back, I would strongly recommend that they keep the actresses Ashley Scott and Dina Meyer on as well as the actor Ian Abercrombie. I thought they were excellent casting.
The only issue I can bring up that points out something negative is the actress who played Dinah. For whatever reason I truly disliked her performance, but that was only a small detail. Maybe if the show had more time I would have grown to like her better.
I thought it was a very entertaining show and I would like to see it come back. Now would be a perfect time because audiences are becoming in love with comics again. If they started planning for it now, by the time it would air the "Batman 2" hype would be in full bloom.
If they do bring the show back, I would strongly recommend that they keep the actresses Ashley Scott and Dina Meyer on as well as the actor Ian Abercrombie. I thought they were excellent casting.
An Honest Review
generationofswine14 October 2019
A lot of shows recycle, if anyone watches The Rookie, you see the same houses, the same sets in almost every episode. Unfortunately Birds of Prey recycled too, only they seemed to recycle plots. Like in cartoon, each episode was kind of a stand alone and didn't seem to lead anywhere, it didn't seem to move us to a more over-arching plot.
Which is kind of a shame, given that Birds of Prey was an exceptional comic in the 80s... but in the 80s the stories actually went somewhere.
And then the other problem was , well, it got WB, and in this era CW too fast and quickly, insanely quickly lost the focus and quickly resorted to Daswon's Creek with superheros... you know, it turned into Smallville, only with a darker and grittier background that didn't exactly fit the stories they fell back on telling halfway through the first season.
It was one of those shows that you got really excited about, but then realized what network it was on.
Which is kind of a shame, given that Birds of Prey was an exceptional comic in the 80s... but in the 80s the stories actually went somewhere.
And then the other problem was , well, it got WB, and in this era CW too fast and quickly, insanely quickly lost the focus and quickly resorted to Daswon's Creek with superheros... you know, it turned into Smallville, only with a darker and grittier background that didn't exactly fit the stories they fell back on telling halfway through the first season.
It was one of those shows that you got really excited about, but then realized what network it was on.
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