I always dread having to review the DVD releases of the animated shows that come out of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Not because I don’t like them mind you… oh no. I love them. BUT… trying to describe any of them to readers who have never seen them is like trying to describe he color blue to a blind person. I've tried it before with my reviews of "Sealab 2021", "The Brak Show" and 'The Venture Brothers" and while some may applaud my efforts, I doubt non-watchers will understand anything I wrote. This time, I'm taking a shot at the 2nd season DVD review of "Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law" and am at a loss for how to begin. It wasn't until about three years ago that I first tuned in to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. I didn't even know what Adult Swim was at the time, but it turns out that it was created by the channel as a late-night block of animated shows geared towards (as the title night suggest) adults.

It was often recommended that the 'kids should get out of the pool.' All of the shows were extremely irreverent, but it was a kind of hit-and-miss proposition as to whether you’d see something really funny or just downright stupid. The Ones I got hooked on usually starred characters from shows I grew up watching.

Like a good number of the other shows in the Adult Swim library, "Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law" based itself on an older, very popular cartoon. In this case it was a take-off of the Hanna-Barbera's, "Birdman and the Galaxy Trio", which aired way back in the late 60's. I was about seven years old back then so I watched the series and read the few comic books that were released. Back then Birdman was joined by Vapor Man, Meteor Man and Gravity Girl in a never-ending battle against evildoers. Admittedly it was a mediocre show, much like "Space Ghost", but to my seven year old brain it was awesome.

Jumping forward more years than I would care to count, the creators of "Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law " have taken the character, given him a first name and turned him loose in a war against crime… as a lawyer. He works with other Hanna-Barbera stars like Blue Falcon and Peter Potamus as each episode pits him against a veritable treasure trove of villains… in court. Some of the characters from the original show are also brought into this new series, including Birdman's arch-villain Reducto who is now an obsessive compulsive attorney.

What makes the show so entertaining is that the style and stories are so incredibly absurd. Just to give you an example, season two serves up an episode where the Jetsons travel 'back' in time to sue the people of Earth for messing up the planet. When they arrive in Harvey's office, it takes them days to walk from the door to his desk, being used to moving walkways (see what I mean about describing it… doesn’t read funny, but the scene is hilarious). Another episode finds Harvey defending Grape Ape in a steroid use case. And yes, even wins a botched Botox case against… Droopy. If this doesn’t give you and idea of what to expect… well… would you believe… Captain Caveman brings a case against his son's school for not teaching evolution?

Along with these (and other gripping episodes), the new DVD of the 2nd season from Warner Brothers also offers up commentaries on 9 of the episodes from the cast and crew, including Gary Cole…. Yes… THE Gary Cole, who does the voice of Harvey Birdman. As for the rest of the featurettes, they are as flippant as the series itself. There are bizarre deleted scenes, nightmarish footage of a live action Harvey Birdman Stripper, a Behind the Scenes Making of… (sort of) featurette and a scene from the series re-animated to make the characters naked… all the time.

I mentioned irreverence when it came to most of the shows on Adult Swim, but "Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law" takes it to bizarre heights. The humor flies fast and furious and you really have to pay attention to catch every joke… and as the promos used to tell you before the episodes aired… get the kids out of the pool. The humor is not for the little ones. It's not in-your-face raunchy (which is a credit to the writers), but cleverly suggestive or not, you'll find yourself doing a lot of explaining to Junior.

Episodes:
Back to the Present
Blackwatch Plaid
Grape Juiced
Peanut Puberty
Gone Efficien...t
Droopy Botox
Guitar Control
Booty Noir
Harvey's Civvy
X Gets the Crest
Birdgirl of Guantanamole
Beyond the Valley of the Dinosaurs
Evolutionary War

Starring (the voices of): Gary Cole, Stephen Colbert, Peter MacNicol, paget Brewster
Extras: Commentary On 9 Episodes Featuring Gary Cole, Stephen Colbert, John Michael Higgins, Peter Macnicol, Paget Brewster, Chris Edgerly And Others, Unaired Scenes, Clothes-Less Animation Pass: A Harvey Birdman Scene Reanimated To Be All Naked All The Time, Birdman Stripper – Footage Of Live Action Stripper Dressed As Our Favorite Winged Attorney , "Hey Mr. Passerby" Music Video, A Behind The Scenes Look At The Making Of The Series And The Evolution Of A Scene, Cool Harvey Promos, Fun With Audio Segments
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 10/14/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
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We'll give Harvey Birdman: Volume 2 an A.