Birds of Prey (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other meanings of the term, see Birds of Prey (disambiguation).
| Birds of Prey | |
|---|---|
 Birds of Prey promo, featuring Ashley Scott as the Huntress. The text reads "Batman's little girl is all grown up." |
|
| Genre | Drama |
| Creator(s) | Laeta Kalogridis David Carson Shawn Levy |
| Starring | Ashley Scott Dina Meyer Rachel Skarsten Shemar Moore Ian Abercrombie Mia Sara |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | The WB |
| Original run | October 9, 2002 – February 19, 2003 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Birds of Prey is a live action American television series produced in 2002. The series, which was created and produced by David Carson for The WB, was loosely based on the DC Comics series, Birds of Prey. Despite initially high ratings, viewership quickly began to fall and the series was cancelled. In total thirteen episodes were produced.
Though the title of the series is Birds of Prey the term is only used in the opening narration of the show.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
- Helena Kyle/Huntress - Ashley Scott
The daughter of Bruce Wayne, Batman, and Selina Kyle, Catwoman. She is a metahuman, and possesses cat-like abilities inherited from her mother (also a metahuman in the Birds of Prey continuity): enhanced agility, strength and a sixth sense for danger, as well as the ability to shift her eyes to a feline form, granting her enhanced vision and the ability to see in the dark.
She was raised by her mother, without ever knowing who her father was, until the night Selina was murdered as an act of revenge by the Joker. After this she was taken in by Barbara, who raised and trained her.
- Barbara Gordon/Oracle (formerly Batgirl) - Dina Meyer
Shot by the Joker as revenge for Batman's dismantling of his criminal operation, Barbara is paralysed and forced to give up her life as Batgirl. To compensate she becomes Oracle, using her expertise in computer hacking and weaponry to fight crime, calling upon Huntress to handle the field work she's no longer capable of doing.
By day Barbara is a teacher at New Gotham High, but by night she fights crime from her secret lair in the New Gotham clocktower.
- Dinah Redmond/Dinah Lance - Rachel Skarsten
Also a metahuman, Dinah is drawn to New Gotham, and Helena and Barbara, by visions of the tragedies that befell them on the night of Joker's revenge. She proves herself to the two and is taken in as a member of their team, partly so Barbara can train her in the use of her metahuman abilities.
In addition to her precognitive dreams, Dinah is a touch-telepath, able to read the thoughts of anyone she comes in physical contact with and later manifests the power of telekinesis, the ability to move objects with her mind.
During the course of the series, Dinah discovers that her mother is actually Carolyn Lance, the Black Canary, also a metahuman and legendary superhero, who gave Dinah up for her own safety when she was a child.
- Detective Jesse Reese - Shemar Moore
A detective that encounters Huntress while investigating a rash of bizarre suicides. He is simultaneously drawn to her and disapproving of her disrespect for the law. Nevertheless the two are thrown together by cases involving metahuman abilities.
Reese's father is Al Hawke, head of a powerful crime family and sworn enemy of Carolyn Lane, Dinah's mother.
- Alfred Pennyworth - Ian Abercrombie
Faithful Butler to the Wayne family. In Batman's absence he transfers his services to Helena and Barbara, and is often present at the clocktower, taking care of their day to day needs. He shares a close bond with Barbara, often listening to her problems or giving her advice on personal situations.
- Dr Harleen Quinzel - Mia Sara
A psychiatrist Helena is ordered to see after being convicted of vandalism while chasing a thief. Unbeknowst to Helena, or the other Birds of Prey, she was the lover of the Joker, and has come to seek her revenge on New Gotham for what it did to her 'Mr J'.
Though she presents herself as a respectable professional, one called upon by the authorities to work with violent and dangerous felons, Quinzel is herself insane, using her contact with the criminal world to mastermind her revenge.
[edit] Plot outline
The series is set in New Gotham city, several years after it has been abandoned by Batman, with Barbara Gordon, and Helena as the Huntress, having taken over his war on crime. The two are joined by Dinah after she assists them in defeating the Scarecrow, Alfred Pennyworth, who serves Helena as heir to the Wayne estate and Detective Jesse Reese, a police officer confronted with crimes and abilities he cannot explain.
A central feature of the series is the concept of metahumans: Individuals born with powers that cannot be explained, such as Helena and Dinah. No two metahumans have the same ability (or set of abilities) and there exists a whole sub culture of metahuman society that the outside world knows nothing about.
It is this world that Detective Reese is drawn into, reluctantly teaming up with Huntress and the Birds of Prey to defeat metahuman criminals. At first he is disapproving of Helena's vigilantism, even trying to arrest her, but eventually he realises there is a need for the Birds of Prey to take down criminals the police can't handle.
During the course of the show the Birds of Prey often find themselves confronted with schemes masterminded by Dr. Quinzel, though they are unaware of her involvement until the final episodes of the series. Her attempts to discover what Helena is hiding, and the duplicitous nature of their therapy sessions together, form a large part of the series arc, beginning in the pilot episode, and being resolved in the series finale.
[edit] Episode list
- 101 - Pilot (airdate: October 9, 2002)
- 102 - Slick (airdate: October 16, 2002)
- 103 - Prey for the Hunter (airdate: October 23, 2002)
- 104 - Three Birds and a Baby (airdate: October 30, 2002)
- 105 - Sins of the Mother (airdate: November 6, 2002)
- 106 - Primal Scream (airdate: November 13, 2002)
- 107 - Split (airdate: November 20, 2002)
- 108 - Lady Shiva (airdate: November 27, 2002)
- 109 - Nature of the Beast (airdate: December 18, 2002)
- 110 - Gladiatrix (airdate: January 8, 2003)
- 111 - Reunion (airdate: January 8, 2003)
- 112 - Feat of Clay (airdate: February 19, 2003)
- 113 - Devil's Eyes (airdate: February 19, 2003)
[edit] Series History
The short-lived series was based loosely on a series of events from conflicting Batman comic series. The Huntress, as the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, was taken from the Silver Age Earth-Two comic book series, which was discontinued in 1985, following the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot. Barbara Gordon's paralysis and subsequent donning of the mantle of Oracle was from the graphic novel The Killing Joke (which has a scene very similar to one of the opening moments of the first Birds of Prey episode) and subsequent comics. The concept of Bruce Wayne giving up his alter-ego and going into seclusion after the death of a loved one is somewhat similar to The Dark Knight Returns. The destruction of Gotham City (as indicated by the constant references to "New Gotham" as the city's name) is also another recent development in the comics. One episode featured a female assassin and onetime enemy of Batgirl named Lady Shiva; in the comic books Lady Shiva is the enemy and mother of the current Batgirl, not the Barbara Gordon version.
However, the series never caught on in popularity; comic fans complained of the mishmash of timelines and "villain of the week" episodes while the overarching story arcs involving the disappearance of Batman were slow to develop. Also, the series' version of Harley Quinn, the Joker's insane sidekick who was supposed to serve as the primary antagonist, was not made clear enough to retain interest. The producers hinted that Batman might appear in the series, but the show was cancelled before this could happen.
The producers of the series were allowed to produce a final episode following the show's cancellation which allowed them to resolve at least some of the show's subplots. It was combined with the penultimate episode by The WB to form a two-hour finale movie (although the two episodes were shown separately in international markets). The finale marked the only time that Harley Quinn was shown wearing a costume resembling that seen in the comic book.
An alternate version of the show's pilot episode exists, featuring Sherilyn Fenn as Harley. She was unavailable to take a role as co-star due to her schedule and had to be replaced by Mia Sara, who refilmed Fenn's scenes. The first version of the pilot also differed in how it handled Barbara's love interest (the first pilot had her relationship ending while the aired version had it just beginning), and the first pilot is also considered to be darker in tone than the aired version.
[edit] Trivia
- This versions of The Huntress is closest to the original version of the character, though neither that character, nor the current Huntress Post-Crisis version, possess the super powers the Birds Of Prey version does.
- The characterisation of Catwoman as a metahuman, with her own set of enhanced abilities, is closer to the film Catwoman, released several years after this series, where the main character possesses super powers. In the comics, none of the women to use the name Catwoman have had special abilities.
- In France the series is known as Les Anges de la Nuit. Translated this means 'Angels of the Night'.
- The map of New Gotham is identical to one used in the Batman comic book cycle "No Man's Land", which told the story of the destroyed Gotham and is also the name of the metahuman bar in the show.
- Although Barbara, as Oracle, does not wear a superhero costume, she is shown wearing her Batgirl costume in a couple of episodes, including flashbacks and one episode in which Barbara temporarily regains the ability to walk.
- According to Warner Home Video, DVD release of the series in North America in the near future is unlikely due to the cost of licensing the music used on the program.[1]
- The program's theme song was Revolution by Aimee Allen from her CD I'd Start a Revolution If I Could Get Up in the Morning.
- The Russian group t.A.T.u.'s song "All The Things She Said" was featured in episode 13 of the series.
- There is a "Smallville" reference in the first episode, when Huntress and Oracle explain that the meteor shower was a possible orgin of metahumans to Dinah.
- There is another "Smallville" reference in the third episode, where Detective Martin starts listing off the various metahumans he's encountered. He mentions "perps who can shoot electricity from their hands, perps who can jump 10 stories straight down and land on their feet, perps who can turn into bugs." The perp landing on their feet is there to connect the situation to Huntress, but the other two were the first two villains in "Smallville".
- Mark Hamill reprised his voice talents for the Joker in the pilot episode. Hamill started providing the voice of the character in 1992 for Batman: The Animated Series. He would go on to voice the Joker in the animated shows: Superman: The Animated Series, Static Shock, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited. He also played the Joker in the direct-to-video movie Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and the theatrically released Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
[edit] Taglines
- Batman's Little Girl Is All Grown Up.
- Meet The New Batgirl.
