Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law

Another interesting late night cartoon short. I first saw the episode that was the dual Flinstones/Sopranos parody. Hanna Barbera keeps throwing out great material, and much of it, like this, will never have a wider audience. That's kind of sad, but at the same time, kind of good, too. It makes it more special, to know that only a small group of people are watching this.

I'll admit not everything on adult swim tickles my fancy. I first stumbled upon it with friends on a Friday night in a hazy state of mind half way through an episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force. We believed to be a genuine cartoon and laughed hysterically. Needless to say the next week, stone cold sober, meatwad didn't quite have the same appeal. Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law, however, is downright hilarious. It has underhanded satire similar to a 'Family Guy' flashback. I believe this type of camp, sarcastic, pop humor only appeals to a limited audience, however if you don't find at least portions of this show amusing or clever then you're an empty cold shell of a human being.

The great appeal of the show is the cameo appearances of your favorite childhood cartoon stars. I guess I love to see Harvey Birdman ruin that childhood image. As I write this I picture the Jetsons overnight struggle to get to Harvey's desk without the aid of their futuristic travelators, half way through their plight Astro collapses and pleads with the rest of the family to go on without him. Besides, who doesn't want to see Shaggy and Scooby get busted? Hauled to jail because of the damning evidence in the Mystery Machine of empty pizza boxes and clips? Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law is definitely the best thing on adult swim, my only complaint is the episodes aren't long enough and it's not on DVD yet.

I am a big fan of the Adult Swim line up, and Harvey Birdman makes me laugh the most, which is what I look for on Sunday's Adult Swim. This attorney takes on the oddest cases involving prior famous cartoon stars, and they go to court, and is set up as a sort of spoof on a soap opera that is insane and makes no sense. These anecdotes are made of antics that are just for laughs, and it completes that task in such an impressive manner. If you are looking for a show that you want to take seriously, this isn't for you. And if you like Space Ghost, you will like this, and vice versa.

I first came across Birdman while on holiday in Majorca when I was 13. I remember vividly watching it with these 2 hot German twins and laughing whenever he shouted 'Bi-ii-irdMAN'. It was really, really corny. But this was back in the day when Cartoon Network didn't have much to show other than the really old-fashioned 1960's and 70's stuff. The last thing I ever imagined is that Birdman would come back in the 21st century to be re-invented as Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law at the Sebben and Sebben law firm.

He's a bit of a dunderhead. And a bighead and a sociophobe and rude but you can't help but love him. Avenger is still his sidekick (only cuter than he was previously) and his boss is Phil Ken Sebben, a one-eyed ladies man. Among the various, random people who work for the firm are Peanut (a Birdman wannabe), Peter Potamus, Reducto and a big cuddly bear who always seems to be smiling (and applauding all on his own at inappropriate moments). My fave character has to be Judge Mentok the Mindtaker (OOOOO-EEEEEE-OOOOOO-EEEEEE!!!!), he just really, really funny.

Harvey's typical cases involve him defending the likes of Shaggy and Scooby, Fred Flintstone, Boo-Boo and George Jetson. Getting in the way of cases going smoothly are and abundance of rapid-fire jokes that come at you from all angles and will probably disorientate you if you're not sure where they're coming from. Sometimes you might have to watch an episode twice as the the dialogue is usually delivered very quickly and you might lose your place among the cryptic references and wildly outlandish humor.

In truth, it's a show for Adults. Even though the jokes are only mildly suggestive there is no way a child could fully understand everything that is going on unless they are an uber-uber-geek. This is a show made for people who love stuff like Family Guy, not Spongebob Squarepants.

Oh, and I love that theme song. They must release some kind of soundtrack CD for this show. Why? Because Mentok WILLS it so!

Many of my all time favourite TV shows haven't been the ones hyped to death, but the obscure ones that you "discover" for yourself. 'Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law' is a case in point. I don't know if it achieved any kind of audience in the US, but it suddenly appeared out of nowhere here in Australia and was shown at an odd time slot with little fanfare. A friend caught the Scooby Doo episode and when he described it to me, I knew this was a show I just HAD to see! So I managed to catch the "Unabooboo" episode, then the one where Jabbajaw and The Neptunes are accused of plagiarism, and last night I watched the Flintstones/Sopranos episode, which was pure genius! I am now hooked for life! For anybody who hasn't seen the show it features Birdman the 60s Hanna Barbera cartoon character reinvented as Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law. Each episode he defends a cartoon client accused of some crime e.g. Shaggy and Scooby Doo for dope, Fred Flintstone for racketeering. Plus there are lots of strange gay in-jokes and surreal bits and pieces which make it one of the most demented things I've seen since vintage 'Ren and Stimpy'. My favourite characters are Reducto and Birdman's nutty eye-patch wearing boss. This is an utterly brilliant show and I can't wait to see more episodes!