For whatever reason, I did not watch The WB’s Birds of Prey when it initially aired in the fall of 2002. Seems like a pretty glaring omission for someone who’s all about TV featuring strong female characters and The WB’s lineup as a whole in the early aughts. But alas, this short lived series aired and disappeared before I ever got the chance to check it out.
As a result, Birds of Prey has been on and off my radar for years, popping up on random streaming services like the CW Seed and Tubi only to vanish again. I suspect it may have spent some time behind the DC Universe paywall, but I don’t know for sure. However, its inclusion in the Arrowverse’s Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover in 2019 reignited my interest in sampling the series.
Which brings me to now, almost twenty years after its original debut, I can finally say I’ve seen Birds of Prey. And after watching all 13 episodes over the course of a weekend or so, I have A LOT of thoughts.
The Cast was Stacked!
I knew Ashely Scott (Helena Kyle / Huntress) was one of the leads. I recognized her from all the promo art for the show I’d encountered over the years (plus, I loved her on Jericho), but the rest of the cast was a complete and utter surprise to me.
Rounding out the regulars was Dina Meyer (Barbara Gordon / Batgirl / Oracle), Rachel Skarsten (Dinah Redmond – Daughter of Black Canary), Mia Sara (Dr. Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn), Shemar Moore (Detective Jesse Reese), and Ian Abercrombie (Alfred Pennyworth). All of which I guarantee you’ll recognize from something or somethings you’ve seen over the last couple of decades.
Rachel Skarsten was a particularly delightful discovery for me because she’s the resident antagonist on The CW’s Batwoman, another female centric series set in Gotham. And let me tell you, she absolutely kills it in that role, so it was a lot of fun to see a younger her play in a similarly fictional sandbox. Obviously Birds of Prey is not a prequel to Batwoman, but some of the parallels were both uncanny and amusing.
Overall, I really enjoyed the main cast’s chemistry, especially among the three female heroes. Their bond immediately felt natural and it was nice to see them lean on each other, learn from each other, and even occasionally annoy each other. There was never any unnecessary drama or jealousy between the trio.
Photo Source: The Mary Sue
Shemar Moore was a nice foil for our vigilantes and an equally likable romantic interest for Huntress. Meanwhile, Mia Sara’s Harley Quinn may have been fairly understated from what we more commonly expect from the character, but she remains one of the most empowered depictions to date.
The guest stars were likewise highly recognizable (or were after a quick IMDB search). The likes of Aaron Paul, Mark Hamill, Lori Loughlin, Kristoffer Polaha, Autumn Reeser, and more all made their way to New Gotham.
The Plot and Storylines were…
Look, any series that is based on an existing property probably shouldn’t require a minute plus opening exposition sequence. But that’s exactly what happened before every episode of Birds of Prey. This show really seemed to suffer from trying to do too much. I was onboard with the season-long Harley Quinn arc, but the bad guy of the week storylines were very hit or miss. The series did seem more sure of itself towards the end, but by then it was too late. The cancellation order had already been issued.
Birds of Prey was also unable to fully reckon with Barbara Gordon’s disability in a satisfying, non-ableist, manner. For as much as the voice over tried to persuade us that she “now fights crime a different way,” the series increasingly “technobabbled” her into being able to walk again when an old foe reappeared or when more reinforcements were necessary. Ultimately, it was an unfortunate betrayal of the show’s premise that heroism isn’t always about physically fighting the bad guys.
Major gripes aside, I do have to give the show props for a few story beats that I did found particularly refreshing, even by today’s comic book-based TV standards:
When Barbara, and by proxy Helena, agreed to take Dinah in, it was with the condition that she attend high school. And the show actually follows through with it, more or less. I was surprised because most teen superheroes pretty quickly dispense with the notion of actually attending class.
Dinah wasn’t the only one encouraged to lead a normal life either. Helena and Barbara often struggled, but tried, to find balance between their day jobs and nighttime vigilante-related activities. While neither outright succeeded, I applaud the series for preaching that balance was something worth striving for. None of this, “I don’t get to have nice things” crap. Dates, vacations, dances, high school reunions, etc were all encouraged and they routinely held each other accountable.
Therapy was also depicted as a mostly positive and healthy thing to do, even for superheroes. (Minus the whole having an evil mastermind for a therapist that is.) Kudos to Birds of Prey for showing us that there’s more ways to work through feelings than with fisticuffs.
And perhaps the best bit of all, was the conversation regarding whether or not Helena even really had a secret identity because she didn’t wear a mask. When your super friends are roasting you for your disguise, or lack thereof, it’s never not funny. Seriously, probably the only reason her identity was even remotely a secret was because social media didn’t exist yet.
Oh, Early 2000s Fashion
To be honest, my first instinct was to absolutely drag this series for its fashion choices (think Charmed). But I can’t do that because it’s clearly a product of its time. And for 2002, all of their outfits were envy-worthy despite being mostly cringe-worthy today.
When the show originally aired, I would have been about the same age as Dinah and she was dressed straight out of the Delia’s catalog. Which was in fact every teen girl’s dream. From the preppy first day of school argyle sweater ensemble to the graphic tee and Adidas-style track pants for training, it was spot on.
And to be completely fair, I did dig all of their leather coats. Barbara’s motorcycle jacket was my favorite of the bunch, but they’re all timeless pieces. And I’d be remiss to not mention the excellence that was the 90s Tim Burton Batman, Joker, Batgirl, and Catwoman costumes that appear in the flashbacks.
Licensing Issues Mangled the Original Soundtrack
Strangely enough, its music may have been the biggest victim to time. Not because it was bad, but because the original licensing agreements clearly ran out on a number of crucial tracks, including the theme song.
The song I heard over the opening credits while watching the series on Tubi was eye roll inducing to say the least, but lo and behold, that was not the original version. Thankfully so. Although whoever picked the replacement did Birds of Prey dirty. The original song was “Revolution” by Aimee Allen. However, an uncredited song called “My Remedy” is now used in its place on both the DVDs and on streaming. You can listen to both songs here. Prepare yourself though, it’s a complete tonal whiplash. They could not be more dissimilar.
The theme song wasn’t the only casualty of legalities. Based on the episode track lists found on TuneFind, it was obvious that a fair number of other recognizable songs were swapped out for lesser known ones. Oasis’ “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” and Michelle Branch’s “All You Wanted” were still featured in the pilot, but the climactic fight scene in the finale was without t.A.T.u’s “All the Things She Said”. Thankfully you can still watch it, as it was intended, on YouTube.
I was bummed by this discovery. Certainly Birds of Prey is not the only show from this era to suffer from an auditory rewrite, but it does dampen the viewing experience.
So with all that being said, would I actually recommend that you watch this incarnation of Birds of Prey? Well, it depends. If you’re a DC Comics completionist or up for a hell of an early 2000s nostalgia trip, sure, why not. Cue up this WB deep cut and set your expectations accordingly. It may not have become the next Smallville, but I still enjoyed this quick throwback binge watch.
