fung0 "Birds of Prey" was a show that could have been little more than a guilty pleasure. But it turned out to be one of the best live-action comic-book adaptations ever done for TV. (Maybe *the* best - it's not exactly a competitive field.)The mix of characters was obviously formulaic, but that's not a bad thing. The post-Batgirl Oracle, for example, made an interesting den-mother for the other ladies. Dina Meyer was barely up to the task, but she definitely looked the part, and in comics appearances are 90% of the job. Ashley Scott, as The Huntress, was the real star, and turned in a commendable performance in her more-complex role. Best of all was the older Mia Sara as Dr. Harleen Quinzel. The idea of a mad-as-a-hatter psychologist was clever, and Sara played it to the hilt.The dark look of the series was perfect, and the writing was surprisingly strong. You never forget this is a comic book, but there are lots of neat plot twists and emotional surprises. Once you get used to it, the idea of focusing on the second-tier superheroes - like the Black Canary - is really intriguing. None of them is cosmically over-powered, making for much stronger dramatic possibilities.The main thing working against the show was the whole Earth II setup. I'll admit, I hadn't followed the Huntress storyline in the comics, so I was as baffled as anyone, at first. If this is Gotham, where the heck is Batman? I did catch on eventually, but the average TV viewer might feel a bit challenged by the parallel-universe thing. Not to mention disappointed at the absence of familiar big-name superheroes. None of this is ever well-explained; it's a daring approach, but one with definite risks attached.Nonetheless, it's worth sticking with this series. After a few episodes, you get caught up in these characters, and the backstory becomes a non-issue. I'd have loved to see a lot more Birds of Prey, but what we have is a really worthwhile piece of work - a reasonably true reflection of the higher-caliber mainstream superhero comics of the 1990s and 2000s.

Dingbat13 Birds of Prey is a wonderful fantasy show for those who wish to believe in superheroes or at least heroes without superpowers. As a child I grew up reading all of those comics-Batman, Batgirl, Superman and Supergirl. All those classic comics are nothing like the new ones except the current ones are more harsh looking with no soft lines. Thus when I saw the advertisement that Birds of Prey was coming on the show, I was elated since it is so rare to see a few super female heroes on TV. It has been mostly male heroes and still is nowadays. I still have the VHS tapes of Birds of Prey from most of the episodes. I missed a few thus I would love to buy a complete set of VHS/DVD of "Birds of Prey" for my collection. Amy

darren wright i only watch it a few days ago and at first i thought that it had a lot of cheesy lines and that you could well tell that Helena and Jesse would get together and that the storeys went way to fast first of all the story of Dinah coming coming to new Gotham just because she had a vision about ten years ago to see if Helena and Barbara were fine thats not a good start off and the acting was not brilliant but it was okay but when i was the hole season then i thought that it was getting better and i was surprise that this got cancelled compare to other so like first of all Roswell i really like that show but the first season had i a lot for cheesy line line the first episodes and Mutant x when you watch the fight scenes in mutant x you can tell that they aren't hitting each other and they got over 1 season at least and there's a lot for other show that got more than 1 season when they were even worse

WheelerClown Another reviewer put down Birds of Prey as not being faithful to source material (DC Comics) while Smallville is. Come on...show me anywhere in the Superboy/Superman comics where Smallville is practically destroyed by a meteor shower bringing Kal-El (aka Clark Kent) to earth. Or a story in the comic books about humans getting super powers )and always going evil with them) from Kryptonite (called green meteorite rock in the first season or two).My point is, it's not necessarily following source material that makes or breaks either show. Smallville (which survived the cut) is about teenager Clark coming to terms with his superpowers and trying to be a normal teenager. And it works.Likewise Birds Of Prey was mainly about Huntress (aka Helena) who was also struggling with growing up and trying to deal with a loving mother violently taken from her at an early age and a father she never knew and resents but whose shoes she is now called on to fill. I thought the show was great and was very disappointed that it wasn't given at least the chance of a few seasons to make a go and gain a loyal following, as Smallville has. I liked Birds of Prey from the start. I didn't like Smallville from the start, but it grew on me. Why? Because I forgot about how it butchers the Superboy myth and just enjoyed it for what's there. Birds of Prey, with it's excellent cast (particulary Ashley Scott who created a superbly three dimensional character in Huntress). My only complaint was never getting to see "HarlyQuinn" in costume. And the episode where they had to make Oracle walk to defeat an old foe. You don't have to be able-bodied to be a hero(ine).It's probably too late, but come on WB. Bring back what was one of your better shows. (Much better than some of the ridiculously stupid comedies that lasted three seasons or more).