Birdgirl

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.

The delivery of these jokes is *often* too fast for most people which is why I wouldn't call this show 'laugh out loud' funny. There is very little time to actually laugh because it's always on to the next line of clever dialogue. And this show is clever. The characters are zany and extreme and the writers do a great job of depicting these qualities while moving a often pointless plot along. Think pointless like Sealab 2021 but more clever and more topical. Ridiculous that it is rated so low. For what it is it's an 8/10.

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.

What's clear fairly early on in the pilot is that Birdgirl and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (one of my all time favorite shows, period) are pretty different. The animation style, the dialogue between characters, and the general tone of the show are unique, and that takes some getting used to if you're expecting the nonstop witticism that Harvey Birdman brought.

What I really like about the show is the thing it has that Harvey Birdman didn't: heart. Our lead character, as well as her best friend/possible love interest Meredith the Mindtaker, have some pretty serious conversations, and the internal battle of Judy vs Birdgirl in the mind of the titular character is treated with respect, while still being sure to have plenty of gags.

I look forward to seeing the show separate itself further from Harvey Birdman, while also still having the silliness that gave me so many laughs.

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.