Birds of Prey
Oct. 27th, 2003 03:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustThe first episode premiered on Channel Nine on Wednesday night. I had modest expectations, being aware that the show had been cancelled after only thirteen episodes, but since many excellent shows have met with similar fates, I was hoping to find something worth watching.
Okay, I'm biased. Or maybe spoiled. But I tend to think that even if I didn't have Witchblade to compare it to, I would find Birds of Prey somewhat lacking.
I saw the poster ad about a year ago, when Birds of Prey was airing in America. It was an arresting image - Huntress, all in black, her long cloak flowing behind her, standing atop a gargoyle high above Gotham City. (Yeah, very similar in style to the more recent Underworld poster ad, which caught my eye because it looked so familiar.)
Anyway, I thought that ad was way cool. The premise of the show, when I found out about it, also seemed interesting enough. But unfortunately the execution isn't quite up to scratch.
It's harder to pin down why a show doesn't grab me than why it does. 'Rough-edged' is probably the best description in this case. The exposition was heavier than it needed to be - for example, Alfred's introductory voiceover, which narrated the backstory as it played out on the screen, felt clunky and unnecessary.
Some of the lines of dialogue felt laboured, like they were trying to be witty rather than genuine. Helena's "Oops" at being told she had possibly brainfried the villain of the episode seemed shockingly flippant.
The style of direction and the atmosphere of the show weren't particularly distinctive. An exception was the final confrontation inside Helena's mind, which was all in greys soft as sepia and looked lovely and surreal.
I liked Barbara. I like the idea of a Batgirl who has had to give up her former life of action and has to deal with living in a wheelchair. Helena was cocky and rebellious, but I can take that because it's probably the way she's meant to come across. Dinah was a little annoying - she was unreasonably insistent about being included (I can't believe they let her go down to the docks by herself, after what happened earlier), and that head-tilting, hair-tucking thing she kept doing...!
I still plan to check out the next episode, to see whether the rough edges have been smoothed out any. I'm not hugely optimistic, but I'm hoping to be surprised.
Okay, I'm biased. Or maybe spoiled. But I tend to think that even if I didn't have Witchblade to compare it to, I would find Birds of Prey somewhat lacking.
I saw the poster ad about a year ago, when Birds of Prey was airing in America. It was an arresting image - Huntress, all in black, her long cloak flowing behind her, standing atop a gargoyle high above Gotham City. (Yeah, very similar in style to the more recent Underworld poster ad, which caught my eye because it looked so familiar.)
Anyway, I thought that ad was way cool. The premise of the show, when I found out about it, also seemed interesting enough. But unfortunately the execution isn't quite up to scratch.
It's harder to pin down why a show doesn't grab me than why it does. 'Rough-edged' is probably the best description in this case. The exposition was heavier than it needed to be - for example, Alfred's introductory voiceover, which narrated the backstory as it played out on the screen, felt clunky and unnecessary.
Some of the lines of dialogue felt laboured, like they were trying to be witty rather than genuine. Helena's "Oops" at being told she had possibly brainfried the villain of the episode seemed shockingly flippant.
The style of direction and the atmosphere of the show weren't particularly distinctive. An exception was the final confrontation inside Helena's mind, which was all in greys soft as sepia and looked lovely and surreal.
I liked Barbara. I like the idea of a Batgirl who has had to give up her former life of action and has to deal with living in a wheelchair. Helena was cocky and rebellious, but I can take that because it's probably the way she's meant to come across. Dinah was a little annoying - she was unreasonably insistent about being included (I can't believe they let her go down to the docks by herself, after what happened earlier), and that head-tilting, hair-tucking thing she kept doing...!
I still plan to check out the next episode, to see whether the rough edges have been smoothed out any. I'm not hugely optimistic, but I'm hoping to be surprised.
