It is a strange thing, this Adult Swim. Once upon a time, somebody at Cartoon Network had the idea of resurrecting the lame-o Hanna-Barbera super hero Space Ghost for a faux animated talk show to be broadcast late at night. The episodes were 12 (or so) minutes long and were rife with absurdist humor and bizarre interviews with B (or C or D) celebrities. The impetus of Adult Swim can be found in the success of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
In this tradition, Hanna-Barbera had insight enough to allow Cartoon Network to license a bevy of their less obscure cartoon characters for use in Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, which recasts Birdman as a workaday lawyer under the employ of Sebben & Sebben law firm. Birdman’s caseload involves defending various Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters caught up in the legal system for whatever (silly) reason.
For those of you who haven’t yet wet your feet with a little late night Adult Swim, you should first know that they like their comedy absurdist. Space Ghost, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and Sealab 2021 are perhaps the best examples of a natural evolution to shows like Saul of the Mole Men and Tim and Eric Awesome Show: Great Job!, which push the absurdity to, well, absurd levels.
Birdman, on the other hand, is a well-crafted satire of the American fixation on political and social issues. There is much Simpsons-esque skewering of ripped-from-the-headlines hot-button social issues such as animal rights, sexual harassment in the workplace, gay marriage, frivolous lawsuits, etc. Happily, executive producers/creators Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter and their stable of crafty writers and animators don’t provide soap-box commentary on any given issue, but instead milk it for every gag possible, then leave it off at the end of the episode with complete ambivalence, having brought up the subject solely for the purpose of making fun of it.
This, the third and last DVD collection of the Birdman series, covers episodes that began airing on Adult Swim in late 2005 up until the final episode, which aired in late July 2007. We find Birdman in familiar territory: continuing to juggle a docket full of minor takes on larger issues while trying to keep his arch enemies at bay and struggling with not just his own ineptitude, but that of his boss, Phil Ken Sebben, his aide, Peanut, his new unwanted sidekick Judy/Birdgirl, and the entire legal system as a whole. Whew! Although, not much happens in the way of a traditional serial narrative storyline, the good people at Adult Swim do try to tie up any loose ends in their own way, bringing a conclusion to the plight of Birdman and his cohorts in the final episode
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