I don't like to praise a show by dissing another show. I know I tend to do it a lot in some of my reviews, but it feels kind of lazy to me. More about that later. In this case, we're discussing a show that was canceled, so any of the more negative things I'd plan to say in this review about how it was choppy, how it never seemed to get its footing, and how it's awkward the way any TV show is when it's trying to talk about fantastical things like humans with superhuman powers fighting villains...these kinds of kinks can easily be dealt with and worked out over the course of time if a show is allowed to get it's bearings. For me, I'm always a little unimpressed when I see grown adults prancing around in spandex trying to battle cackling villains. Sue me. I love comics, but it's different for me reading a comic book than it is watching a television program. The comic plays out in panels on paper and lives in my imagination where its special effects have only the limits of my imagination. Most superhero movies have a big budget to wow me with special effects so when they carry out their story, even if it's fantastical, it feels more real because they have the money to make it LOOK real to my eyes. Superheroes on TV though, they always feel kind of silly to me. There, I said it. I feel like shit saying it too, because for most of my childhood I was obsessed with comics and I would have killed to be able to watch something like "Birds of Prey" on TV.
 

As for Helena Kyle, she has her own demons and her own reasons to fight. She is the daughter of Batman and Catwoman (oooh, kinky) and thus she has cool super powers like the ability to shift her eyes to cat form, which makes them look cool and also gives her excellent night vision. I remember seeing hints that Catwoman was what this show refers to as "metahuman" back when I was a kid excitedly watching "Batman Returns" on VHS and reveling in the excellent story of Catwoman there, so it was interesting to see the story of her daughter played out in "Birds of Prey." Of course, the requisite tragedy occurred here. Helena never knew who her father was until the night she watched her mother murdered in the street right in front of her. Dr. Barbara Gordon took her in, told her of her history and her destiny, and trained and raised her to fight evil. This history is dispatched to us through a clumsy opening sequence in the pilot episode and it's referenced throughout the 13 episodes of the series until we have a better sense of who Helena Kyle is and why she thinks fighting evil is her destiny.

Another interesting character of note is Dr. Harleen Quinzel or Harley Quinn (played by Mia Sara ). Harley Quinn is, of course, evil and stuff. She was the Joker's lover, and though she was once a great psychiatrist, the Joker destroyed her mind and turned her into a super villain. She's good at hiding this secret identity now though, and she's playing the part of the good doctor again, ostensibly helping the police with crimes, she's really in new Gotham city to seek revenge for what the city did to her beloved, the Joker, and she won't stop until she's had her revenge. When she's playing the calm psychiatrist she's got a normal voice, but when she's gone all evil she's got the distinctive Harley Quinn voice similar to the character I loved on the Batman cartoon I watched religiously when I was younger.

All of this gets me excited just writing it. I want to pop this show in and watch it, and I want it to be as great as I imagined it in my head when I read the comics. The problem though, is that imagining things in your head often makes them feel flat and lackluster when you watch them played out onscreen, especially when they've got the limitations of a TV budget and a network that isn't going to give the show time to grow into anything greater. That comparison I promised you earlier in this review? Watching this show, I was reminded of the show "Alias," where Jennifer Garner played an asskicking female spy with cool technology and battles against evil and stuff. Not that I liked that show, in fact, I despised it, but it developed a fan base that carried it through its awkward first season and second and so on until it had the street cred and fan base to give it staying power and a budget to create its cool effects. Even though it didn't have great ratings, the network believed they had a quality show on their hands, and they fought for it and allowed it to pile up seasons and a history and an intricate plot.

One can only imagine what "Birds of Prey" could have become if it stuck around. I mean, it did have a significant drop in ratings (or so I hear) and the filmmakers managed to wrap up the story in the final three episodes, but I can't help but think it could have become something greater if it was allowed the time to stay and grow into its ideas. I feel like I'm reviewing a really long movie, and anything I want to say about how it's not as good as it could be feels unfair because it could have become something better if it was given a chance. As it stands, it has some cool ideas and some cool fight scenes and such, but it's just not as cool as it could have been with more time and a better budget.

The show has some solid acting and some cool ideas. It's worth checking out the DVD, but be warned that the show suffers from the limitations of a TV budget and the shock of being canceled before it was allowed to really get its footing.