 Adult Swim is a strange beast- ranging from anime to reruns, mainstream to ultra bizarre, there is something to like- and to hate- all in the same block. Rarely does one thing appeal to all, and, probably, Harvey is in that same boat. But if one show were to have the widest appeal, I would bet that show would be Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law... it's just edgy enough to appeal to attract those looking for something different, and the throw-backs to Hanna-Barbera of the '60's are sure to pull in those in, well, my generation. |
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 From the moment I heard the premise of this show, I thought I would like it. Harvey Birdman has given up on the super-hero gig and hung out his shingle as a practicing attorney. Specializing in cartoon cases, of course. And from this, we get all kinds of questions we have always asked answered. Like what would a cop thing if he ever pulled over Shaggy and Scooby... or what exactly is Race and Benton's relationship? All of the Hanna-Barbera Universe is fair game in Harvey's world, and some of the most unexpected guests turn up, well, unexpectedly.
 Something like this can only work if it is done well- really well. Someone just throwing HB characters together would end up with a mess of a show. Luckily, the folks at J.J. Sedelmaier Productions must be big fans, because these shows are rich. This is a great candidate for DVD- there are a lot of places you need to go back over to see what you missed, or see if you saw what you thought you saw. And the stories are fun- Fred Flinstsone as a Mafia don, Speed Buggy as a drunk, Harvey as a tanning-lotion addict, and more.
 But it isn't enough to just throw a bunch of old Hanna-Barbera characters together. This show also gets the style of each character right. The characters from Jonny Quest have the trademark dark shadows that Doug Wildey introduced, and which set the series apart from any other animation. Other characters are drawn in their correct style, too, no matter what scene they are playing. Voice recreations are good to excellent, too.
 The DVD contains all 13 episodes of season one on two disks. Sound is stereo. Nice, easily navigable menus with (and this is nice compared to Universal Season sets) episode list and synopsis in the slip case. Not a lot of extras, but can you expect on a 15 minute show? There are few episodes with commentaries, which are almost as much fun as the shows themselves. A very fun set! On my scale of avoid, rent or buy, this is a renter- definitely worth seeing. |
A review by Dave Koch
First Published
on April 4th, 2005