Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law

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!

Another member of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, it features Harvey Birdman, former crime-fighter and now super hero lawyer; Avenger, his trusted falcon aid and typist; and Peanut, his multi-talented and borderline psychotic legal secretary.

Parodying many famous cartoon characters (Scooby Doo, the Superfriends, Fred Flintstone, among others) the humor is off-beat, hip and often surprisingly subtle.

Main-stream sitcom fans probably won't get it, but those with a taste for the eclectic or the campy will end up laughing out loud.

Harvey Birdman attorney at law is a mixture of sophomoric and sophisticated humor that is pure genius. I admit I was skeptical at first but once I watched the show I thought it was hilarious and I couldn't stop laughing. The idea to reincarnate Birdman and other second rate H-B characters is brilliant, its like they grew up and got real jobs. The writing is excellent, and so is the voice work, Stephen Colbert is at the top of his game playing the roll of Phil Ken Sebben and my personal favorite Myron Reducto. Another standout performance is given by John Michael Higgins as Mentok the Mindtaker. A mixture of Sophomoric and sophisticated humor may make a great show but it doesn't necessarily mean great ratings which is sad. It seems that, like its title character, Harvey Birdman attorney at law is destined to relative obscurity. But if like me you're a fan of shows like "The Critc" and "Duckman" you'll love this show.

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.

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.