Comic fans will be of two minds. On the one hand, we want
to prove to Warner Brothers that a live-action version of
anything other than Superman or Batman will work. We also
don't want to rabidly devour just any crumb they throw our
way. Even though the spirit of the Bat still hangs over Birds
of Prey, for the average viewer it's a laudable risk.
But if the pilot is any indication, superhero fans may be
only taking a couple of bites before walking away.
Set in the near future, the show follows a set-up similar to the comics. Barbara Gordon (Dina Meyer), the former Batgirl, has established herself as Oracle. Rendered paraplegic by an attack from The Joker seven years before, she fights crime by the light of computers in her clocktower in New Gotham City. Fighting on the streets on her behalf is The Huntress (Ashley Scott), herself the illegitimate daughter of Batman and Catwoman.
For new purists, this actually goes back to The Huntress' original origin. While Helena Bertinelli wears the costume in current continuity, pre-Crisis she was Helena Wayne, stalking the streets of the Gotham City of Earth-2. The big difference now is that Helena Kyle (let's call this one The Huntress of Earth-TV) is a metahuman, like her mother. You can tell because every time she fights, the soundtrack starts bringing in the subtle sounds of a big cat snarling. And she hops around a lot like Spider-Man, only with cat's eyes.
Despite making no real effort to disguise herself, no one seems to have connected Helena with the mysterious vigilante leaving crooks tied up on the steps of the police station. Why should they? Well, Helena has been court-ordered into therapy for rage management after destroying property in pursuit of a thief. That might look a little suspicious. And the only difference between Helena the quick-tempered bartender and The Huntress lies in a Bat-choker.
That court-ordered therapist, by the way, is Dr. Harleen Quinzel, played in the original pilot by Sherilynn Fenn, but replaced for broadcast and the series by Mia Sara. If you have no idea why this character would be significant, let the veil of darkness remain until the last few minutes of the show.
But of course you have noticed three heroes listed for Birds of Prey. At the same time that The Joker paralyzed Barbara and left Helena without a mother, young Dinah Laurel (eventually Rachel Skarsten) awoke from a precognitive dream in which she witnessed the crimes. Seven years later this dream takes her to New Gotham, where she searches for new meaning.
Eventually she crosses paths with Oracle and The Huntress, and her psychic powers come in handy when the crimefighters encounter a meta with powers much like The Scarecrow. Except he isn't The Scarecrow, so don't get your hopes up.
Along the way there's a lot of bickering between Barbara and Helena over their destiny, which often feels like forced melodrama. Rather than let the tension build over time, the pilot drops us in on the tail end of their conflict. Actually, we see the end of a couple of conflicts; Barbara breaks up with a boyfriend, for no apparent reason other than she wants to suffer. To add to the frustration, Helena keeps referencing more colorful adventures they had in their past. It all gets resolved too quickly without letting us really see how they got there.
Never mind the WB mandated pop soundtrack. It fits on Smallville, because at least the main characters are teens. Here it just feels intrusive.
The cast works fairly well. We may never find an actress who fits the role of Barbara Gordon as perfectly as Meyer does. Both in the wheelchair and the flashbacked Batgirl costume, this is a steely hero. Scott might turn out to be just as effective as The Huntress, but right now her character comes off as just bratty.
For those who like the addition of Dawn on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Skarsten will work as Dinah. Despite fan insistence and comic continuity, the producers insist that Dinah is not Black Canary. A rumored upcoming episode will actually feature that heroine as someone who knew Barbara in her Batgirl days.
Other major figures lurk in the background. Ian Abercrombie does a nice turn as Alfred Pennyworth, awaiting the return of Bruce Wayne and the chance to welcome Helena into the family. Serving as a voice of reason, he gets little to do in the pilot but does have a lot of charm. (Allegedly, the broadcast version will have opening narration by him.) As a little something for the ladies, former soap star Shemar Moore poses as GCPD Detective Jake Reese, the only cop who believes that there really is a mysterious vigilante.
It's a conceit lifted out of Batman comics that seems kind of stupid on film. From the opening, we know that the public knows about The Joker, and indeed, Arkham Asylum has a featured appearance here. From an off-hand remark by Helena, we can also infer that Superman exists. And only one cop believes that there are weird things happening after dark in New Gotham?
Some of these problems appear to have been corrected for broadcast. Aside from Alfred's narration, scenes will appear of Barbara in her day job as a teacher, a concept utterly absent from the original pilot. From comments by Meyer, it's also likely that a lot of the bickering between her and Helena has been cut.
But the concept still exists in a weird twilight between hardcore fans and casual viewers. Both sides will be waiting for the reappearance of Batman, who went into exile after possibly killing The Joker. Assumedly, he does not know that he had a daughter. Of course, just as Smallville would end the moment Clark puts on the cape, so would Birds of Prey be over once Batman reappears. Unless the show really needs a ratings boost.
Casual viewers may be put off by just how much inside continuity still exists. Though Smallville drops inside references all the time, most of them have nothing to do with the plot. In that case, though, all most viewers know are the names Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. The re-envisioning of that relationship doesn't muck with anyone's heads.
Here, one crucial name is missing. Nowhere does Birds of Prey acknowledge Robin (hey, the only actual BIRD), not even in flashback. Messing with what little everyone knows can be dangerous. And eventually even fans will start asking that question.
The show has potential, and my fingers are crossed that improvements have already been made on the pilot. Give it a shot Wednesday night, remember that it runs 70 minutes, and then we can all meet up back here to decide.
