Birds of Prey series coming to DVD!

[Yodazone]

Finally!

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Birds-Prey-The-Complete-Series/9302

:D

[DarkCrisis]

Man that show was hidious.

[WorstThingUS]

Finally!

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Birds-Prey-The-Complete-Series/9302

:D

Does anyone remember the April Fool's announcement of this a few years ago? That was hysterical.

But this show...crap. Redeeming factor? Dina Meyer not just as Barbara Gordon, but in full Batgirl wear. The rest? Crap.

http://ffmedia.ign.com/filmforce/image/birdsofprey-meyer.jpg

[Mon-el]

I've had them on dvd for quite awhile now. I doubt I will be purchasing the real dvd's. I think their was about 3 good episodes in the whole bunch. I really wished they would have Lori Loughlin as Black Canary than the girl that played Dinah, Sins of the Mother was one of the episodes that I liked.

[Yodazone]

The episodes i've seen on youtube are pretty cool.

I wonder if this set includes the original "Pilot" episode with original Harley Quinn actress before she backed out.

:evilsmile

[DonC]

I've had them on dvd for quite awhile now. I doubt I will be purchasing the real dvd's.


Yeah, I don't know about this either. The DVDs I have includes the unaired pilot. Getting the "Gotham Girls" shorts would be cool, but I don't think it would be worth buying the entire set just for them.

[GodzIllinois]

This better not be an April Fools joke, as sh*tty as the show was I still want it on DVD - I've actually been looking into buying bootlegs of it online the past week. Weird coincidence. Hey, sh*tty superhero shows are better than none I guess, it wasn't all bad anyways-Huntress was hot.

[DonC]

Tvshowsondvd.com has a No April Fool's policy. If they ran it, they think it's real.

[filthysize]

I won't buy it, but I'll definitely rent it to see the whole show in one sitting. Might be fun. I remember I was somewhat entertained by its ridiculousness, and Dina Myers was an awesome Oracle.

AWKWARD MARK HAMILL DUBBING FTW!

[The Xenos]

The show was painfully bad watching it on broadcast TV for free. No way in hell am I buying a DVD of it. I will admit that Meyer was a good Oracle and.. well.. actully, that was just about the only good part of the show.

It wasn't even a good Batman show in general. When it was first announced, it had so much promise. I thought of a smart spy show like Alias with the power of Batman characters. It was more of a bad Mutant X ripoff than a Batman show. I place it a few pegs above Halle Berry as Catwoman or even Batman & Robin. It was one series of dumb ideas after another. From New Gotham to Dead Zone teen age Dinah to metas being mutants from X-men to whatever version of Huntress that was, it was a giant mess.

This better not be an April Fools joke, as sh*tty as the show was I still want it on DVD - I've actually been looking into buying bootlegs of it online the past week. Weird coincidence. Hey, sh*tty superhero shows are better than none I guess, it wasn't all bad anyways-Huntress was hot.

No. They're not. I'd rather not have a TV show than a shitty one that gets everything wrong.

Sure Ashley Scott was hot, but she was a horrible Huntess because that wasn't any version of Huntress. That was some generic Dark Angel / Mutant X stock character.

The story told on this show didn't even deserve a mini-series set in another reality, nevermind a TV show that costs millions of dollars.

[Captain Jim]

Well, I'm in the minority who loved this show, so I'll be first in line. At the time it was airing, the main complaint I saw on the message boards was from young fanboys who couldn't get over Huntress being Batman's daughter. People who had obviously never read any of those old Earth 2 stories. Hey, it wasn't perfect, but what TV adaption is? I loved the premise and thought it was quite well done.

[AndersonT]

I must be living under a rock because I've never even heard of this damn show, and by reading the press release, at least two people I know personally should have seen the show. 0_o.

[BoosterBronze]

Too many group hugs (IIRC the pilot ended with them all holding hands and saying 'if we beleive in eachother, we can beat the bad guy") and the relationship between Huntress and the metro-sexual cop dude was cringe-inducingly bad.

[WorstThingUS]

Well, I'm in the minority who loved this show, so I'll be first in line. At the time it was airing, the main complaint I saw on the message boards was from young fanboys who couldn't get over Huntress being Batman's daughter. People who had obviously never read any of those old Earth 2 stories. Hey, it wasn't perfect, but what TV adaption is? I loved the premise and thought it was quite well done.

Given the basic premise of the show is that Batman left Helena to be raised by Barbara, there's ample reason to hate it from jumpstreet. Then came her having super-powers, demonstrating not just an ignorance about the characters, but typical adaptation arrogance about what they could and should change. You can be true to the spirit of a character without following it to the letter. This was so bad it makes Smallville look like Battlestar Galactica in comparison. Again, the best you can say is the women were attractive.

Oh, here's the Wizard April Fool's joke from a few years back:

BIRDS OF PREY: THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES -- You cried in anguish when Warner Bros. canned this live-action series, but take heart: All 13 episodes will be collected on this three-disc set, packed with extras such as "Why three hot chicks in tight leather can't sell a show" featurette, the never-before-published set story by WIZARD Associate editor Jesse Thompson and commentary from a guy who says he knows Dina Meyer (a.k.a Oracle)! (April 1)

[DonC]

More info. (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Birds-Prey-The-Complete-Series/9320) The big thing is that it is confirmed that the unaired pilot is not part of the set.

[ponset]

LOUSY SHOW.
Only good part was Dina Meyer as Barbara. :cool:
I don't this DVD set because of BOP but I may get anyway because "GOTHAM GIRLS" cartoon shorts are being included as an extra.

[torippu]

Hmm, wonder where they got the idea for the DVD packaging:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0804/04/birdsofprey.jpg

UNDERWORLD, maybe?
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41P3BAXDSVL._SS500_.jpg

[WorstThingUS]

More info. (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Birds-Prey-The-Complete-Series/9320) The big thing is that it is confirmed that the unaired pilot is not part of the set.

I have no knowledge of this. Is it particularly interesting?

[Utility Belt]

I have no knowledge of this. Is it particularly interesting?

No, it's not. The only difference is that Harley Quinn is played by Sherilyn Fenn instead of Mia Sara.
Also, in response to the above post where it is implied that Birds of Prey copied their artwork from Underworld, it's not so. Birds of Prey was first and I remember that image of The Huntress as part of their ad campaign back then.

[torippu]

Has it been so long since this was on TV? If so, then my bad. Guess I have more love for Underworld than I did the BOP series and didn't think to see which came first.

[DonC]

No, it's not. The only difference is that Harley Quinn is played by Sherilyn Fenn instead of Mia Sara.

What he said.


Also, in response to the above post where it is implied that Birds of Prey copied their artwork from Underworld, it's not so. Birds of Prey was first and I remember that image of The Huntress as part of their ad campaign back then.


Yeah, the talk at the time was that Underwold stole the idea from Birds of Prey.

[AndersonT]

Harley Quinn is played by Sherilyn Fenn instead of Mia Sara.

That's funny, because I don't think either of those actresses have the chest-armor to play Harley Quinn. [~just saying.]

[Agent_Torpor]

Hmm, wonder where they got the idea for the DVD packaging:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0804/04/birdsofprey.jpg

UNDERWORLD, maybe?
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41P3BAXDSVL._SS500_.jpg

Points for Huntress wearing better boots than Kate Beckinsale.

Mmmmmrrr.

[The Xenos]

Hmm, wonder where they got the idea for the DVD packaging:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0804/04/birdsofprey.jpg
UNDERWORLD, maybe?
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41P3BAXDSVL._SS500_.jpg

To be fair, Birds of Prey had the poster first. As shitty as the show was, their poster came out first.

[Kristofer]

That box looks too thick to hold only 13 episodes.

I watched the show, from beginning to end. It wasn't all that great.
Alfred does explain that with all of the weird characteristics of heroes and villains...that evolution took its toll on offspring and they became "metahumans."
However, that doesn't explain how Helena was a metahuman. Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were both just regular humans wearing costumes, nothing "meta" about them, aside from their minds.
New Gotham, No Man's Land bar...they very frequent shots of Joker shooting Barbara Gordon...
I guess the #1 thing that bugged me....why couldn't Oracle make the connection to Helena Kyle's therapist being Dr. Harleen Quinzell? I mean, seriously....

[Agent_Torpor]

To be fair, Birds of Prey had the poster first. As shitty as the show was, their poster came out first.

And you are correct, sir. Thieving bastards. And it was a crappy movie, too.

http://www.dangerousuniverse.com/2003/04/posters/index.asp

[Captain Jim]

However, that doesn't explain how Helena was a metahuman. Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were both just regular humans wearing costumes, nothing "meta" about them, aside from their minds.


I always thought that the Catwoman being referenced here was the Catwoman of the Batman Returns movie--who did indeed seem to have metahuman powers, IIRC.

[Kristofer]

I always thought that the Catwoman being referenced here was the Catwoman of the Batman Returns movie--who did indeed seem to have metahuman powers, IIRC.


I guess...being thrown from a window and nibbled on by cats...

Been a while since I've read the Earth 2 comic where Bruce and Selina have the baby, I don't recall if she was some kind of magical cat goddess then, either.

[Captain Jim]

I guess...being thrown from a window and nibbled on by cats...

I didn't say it made a lot of sense, but it seems to me only a metahuman could have done what she did in that film. I figured that the producers of BOP probably imagined that this would be the version of the character the general public was most familiar with.

Been a while since I've read the Earth 2 comic where Bruce and Selina have the baby, I don't recall if she was some kind of magical cat goddess then, either.

Naw, she was normal.

[filthysize]

I didn't say it made a lot of sense, but it seems to me only a metahuman could have done what she did in that film. I figured that the producers of BOP probably imagined that this would be the version of the character the general public was most familiar with.

I'm most certain that this was the case. In the show's continuity, Catwoman was a metahuman.

Retroactively, I believe her powers on the show were also the same as those of Halle Berry's...

[The Xenos]

Welp. That's another thing that ticked me off, they used the Burton and Halle Berry Catwoman as the basis for this show. Then they mixed in Earth 2 Huntress.. somewhat. They they tossed in other stuff. Made up more stuff. Yeah, like I said, the show seemed like a huge mess.

[Utility Belt]

Most of the posts in this thread have been saying that the show was horrible, and I'm not going to say otherwise, it was bad.
However an explanation is needed, I believe, to make clear as to WHY the show deviated so much from the comics and the answer is: Because DC Comics said so. They simply didn't want anything to interfere with the Batman movie franchise.
In an interview I read with one of the shows writers he states that DC put severe limitations on what characters and themes could and could NOT be used on the show. For example Gotham city was not to be used, so we had New Gotham. Any mention of Batman was to be kept to a bare minimum, so we had a Batman show without Batman. Also all the major characters were forbidden so we had no Joker, Riddler, Penguin, etc. All that we got was a lame-ass version of Clayface. Harley Quinn was not part of the Batman movie franchise so she was included, albeit much different. The list goes on. So you see, the show was doomed from the start but it was not entirely the fault of the makers of the show.

[Captain Jim]

Welp. That's another thing that ticked me off, they used the Burton and Halle Berry Catwoman as the basis for this show. Then they mixed in Earth 2 Huntress.. somewhat. They they tossed in other stuff. Made up more stuff. Yeah, like I said, the show seemed like a huge mess.

I dunno, from a marketing (as opposed to fan) viewpoint, I think these decisions made a fair amount of sense. I do believe that the movie version of Catwoman is the one that the majority of potential viewers would be familiar with. And the whole "daughter of Batman and Catwoman" concept has an appeal to it that the Helena Bertinelli character completely lacks. (I've never thought the current version of the character is even half as interesting as the original.)

[Agent_Torpor]

Most of the posts in this thread have been saying that the show was horrible, and I'm not going to say otherwise, it was bad.
However an explanation is needed, I believe, to make clear as to WHY the show deviated so much from the comics and the answer is: Because DC Comics said so. They simply didn't want anything to interfere with the Batman movie franchise.
In an interview I read with one of the shows writers he states that DC put severe limitations on what characters and themes could and could NOT be used on the show. For example Gotham city was not to be used, so we had New Gotham. Any mention of Batman was to be kept to a bare minimum, so we had a Batman show without Batman. Also all the major characters were forbidden so we had no Joker, Riddler, Penguin, etc. All that we got was a lame-ass version of Clayface. Harley Quinn was not part of the Batman movie franchise so she was included, albeit much different. The list goes on. So you see, the show was doomed from the start but it was not entirely the fault of the makers of the show.

Eh, regardless of this, the scribes still churned out some laughably bad scripts.

[WorstThingUS]

Points for Huntress wearing better boots than Kate Beckinsale.

Mmmmmrrr.

I disagree. Combat boots are much hotter on a woman who's there to kick ass. High heels stink of fetish fantasy.

[GodzIllinois]

...High heels stink of fetish fantasy.

you say that like it's a bad thing?

[Agent_Torpor]

High heels stink of fetish fantasy.

And this is bad how???

Sorry, it's more viscerally pleasing to have a hot chick kicking ass in a pair of stiletto boots than a paid of mannish doc martens. We're all instinctual primates here, why fight the baser instincts? These are comics, I could care less about form following function. If that was the case, outfit them all in Crocs footwear, comfortable and impervious to anything - and ugly as all hell.

If sexy footwear was good enough for Wonder Woman, it's good enough for all the superheroines after her to follow suit.

[alabama assassin]

i loved this show. ashley scott is beyond hot and the opening song still fires me up.

you can see the opening here
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AiBOluPbOrk

[The Xenos]

you can see the opening here
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AiBOluPbOrk

Well like.. what.. five seconds of that got the characters right, namely the Babs part, and the rest were totally off no matter what Earth it was in.

Theme song would have been nice for an actual Birds of Prey show.

Oh dear crap. They ended the show with a fight to a song by Tatu? Wow. I guess I did give up on this show before seeing the end. I think having Babs WALK was a final straw.

[WorstThingUS]

And this is bad how???

Sorry, it's more viscerally pleasing to have a hot chick kicking ass in a pair of stiletto boots than a paid of mannish doc martens. We're all instinctual primates here, why fight the baser instincts? These are comics, I could care less about form following function. If that was the case, outfit them all in Crocs footwear, comfortable and impervious to anything - and ugly as all hell.

If sexy footwear was good enough for Wonder Woman, it's good enough for all the superheroines after her to follow suit.

I disagree. I think the contrast of the totally practical boot against the hot babe makes her even sexier. I've no interest in hooker warriors. No one brought the ass-kicking sexy better than Sarah Connor.

And the latest issue of Wonder Woman even has a joke about her not wearing heels.

[The Xenos]

I've no interest in hooker warriors.

Frank Miller thinks you're a punk. :rolleyes:

[WorstThingUS]

Frank Miller thinks you're a punk. :rolleyes:

I'm sure he'd slap my face and question my masculinity.

[The Xenos]

Most of the posts in this thread have been saying that the show was horrible, and I'm not going to say otherwise, it was bad.
However an explanation is needed, I believe, to make clear as to WHY the show deviated so much from the comics and the answer is: Because DC Comics said so. They simply didn't want anything to interfere with the Batman movie franchise.

Let me correct you on that. Because AOL Time Warner said so. DC Comics is the bitch of a giant media company. DC didn't have say as to what was in Batman Begins, Birds of Prey, Catwoman, Batman & Robin, Superman Returns. None of them. Don't fool yourself that DC itself was the one calling the shots.

[DonC]

Good news! The unaired pilot will be on the DVD set. (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Birds-Prey-Update/9454) I don't really grok their Spock about the aspect ratios, though.