Birdgirl

I've written reviews for the two seasons of "Birdgirl" but now it looks unlikely that the show will return I thought I'd put something here, against the shows main page.

Unlike a lot of reviewers, I had no previous relationship with "Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law", so didn't spend any time comparing this show to that one. Judged on its own merits I found an initially giddy series that eventually settled down into one I was rather enjoying by its end.

Judy Sebben (Paget Brewster) inherits her late fathers' multinational business, a task she seems ill-equipped for. The transition is complicated further by the fact that Judy is, in fact, Birdgirl, vigilante masked crimefighter. Judy struggles to balance the two roles with the help of her friends and co-workers, Meredith (Negin Farsad), Charlie (Lorelei Ramirez), her assistant Gillian (Kether Donohue) and office masseur Paul (Tony Hale).

I liked the animation style of "Birdgirl". It's similar to the classic Hanna-Barbera style, but digital and a touch less line heavy. The movement in the animation often apes that style too, in a way that pleased me. I liked the vocal performances also. Particularly Brewster, and a turn from John Doman that is a lot of fun.

I can understand anyone shook off by the first episode, it's a chaotic blend of ideas and moments and does little to introduce who the characters are. To say the show is called "Birdgirl" it's not as interested in that side of Judy's life as it is the business - and changes at Sebben and Sebben make up most of the six plots in this first run. The second episode, which I seem to recall was the "all nighter" episode, rather than the "Sharebear" one was much better, and as I settled into to the reveals about who the characters are that came across the six episodes, my enjoyment increased exponentially.

Though I can't see a confirmed cancellation anywhere, it does look increasingly like this is the end of the run for "Birdgirl" and, to be honest, I think maybe that's for the best. I would still like to investigate "Harvey Birdman", which is also on the Channel Four streaming service in the UK, so it is available to me at the moment.

Adult Swim cancelled The Venture Bros. And Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, two of the funniest, cleverest shows ever to grace the small screen. So what do they give us to replace them? Birdgirl.

In the Woke tradition Birdgirl is not funny, clever, witty etc... but it has girls. Most of the characters are female (with male characters portrayed as effeminate, weak and pathetic). Birdgirl tries hard and fails hard. It succeeds in being nonsensical without being absurd. It tosses 'jokes' at the viewer in rapid succession but none of them are funny.

This is the cartoon version of the female Ghostbusters movie. Weak sauce all around. Adult Swim going Woke is Adult Swim sinking to the bottom of the lake with concrete shoes on. Their pretty faces are already in Hell.

Why did they make this if they couldn't work off the main premise of Harvey Birdman? Lawyering for Hanna Barbera characters! Half the humor from the old show was taking those characters and subverting their place in a modern setting. Instead it's just a weird office with Birdgirl in it and no other relationship to the original show. Like, if they couldn't use those characters, why not try to use more modern cartoons like Dexter or Cow and Chicken or Ed Edd and Eddy, THEN add the familiar fast, non-sequitur humor.

Got bored, found HBAL on HBO and watched that again instead.

If you can seperate it from its original show, it's a half decent laugh. Most of the pilot's enjoyment comes from Birdgirl's delivery, and when the slapstick hits right- which unfortunately isn't too often. The B-plot feels like a bit of a waste, and it is a shame they're backing away from the use of Hannah Barbara characters, but it could be worse. It could be MORE girl bossy. It's following the new adult swim trend of having an emotional moment maybe once an episode, and it could use a stronger supporting cast for Paget Brewster, who's pulling a lot of the leg work voice wise.

That dog with a bucket hat was the only other laugh I got, but it's just the pilot. We could see more cartoon icons to come, assuming their absence isn't an issue with legal licensing this time around.

On it's own, it really is just OK.

I enjoyed the first episode. I hadn't watched much of the original series, and I can understand why fans of that would find this cynical and unappealing. I actually thought it was fairly funny, and it subverted some of my extremely low expectations. It may turn, but it's not garbage.