HARVEY BIRDMAN: ATTORNEY AT LAW - "Shaggy Busted"

By: Chris Wyatt
Date: Sunday, July 07, 2002

When the weirdoes at Cartoon Network decided to take Space Ghost, an old Hanna-Barbera character, and stick him into a post-modern talk show environment, everyone must have thought the programming department had gone insane. But the show turned out to be a cult hit, spawning several spin-off series. It even became such a magnet that the network wound up devoting a whole night to programming that had the Space Ghost sensibility... that is, twisted absurdist comedy for older viewers. HARVEY BIRDMAN: ATTORNEY AT LAW made a few appearances during that programming block (called "Adult Swim," as in "all kids out of the pool"); but tonight is the premiere of the first full season of BIRDMAN episodes.

Like SG:C2C, BIRDMAN updates an older hero. The series has Birdman as a lawyer who specializes in cases for other cartoon heroes. He's helped Dr. Quest retain custody of Johnny. He's helped Apache Chief (from the Justice League) in a suite against a coffee shop, and tonight he represents Mystery, Inc.

The season premiere, called "Shaggy Busted," has Scooby-Doo and Shaggy pulled over for a traffic violation. The cop wants to know where they're headed and Shaggy explains that they're off to chase some spooky green monster. When the pair laughs inanely and seems to constantly have the munchies, the officer makes a logical leap and books them on possession.

Fred, Daphne and Velma insist that Shaggy and Scooby aren't stoned, they're "just stupid"; so they hire Harvey Birdman to represent the pair in court. However, Birdman's sheer legal incompetence forces the gang to go capture the green monster, thus proving Shaggy's veracity.

The series, which like SPACE GHOST, AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE and most other Adult Swim shows, lasts only 15 minutes per episode. It's astounding that so much story, and so many jokes, can be packed into such a short amount of time. It's also to the show's credit that they experiment with various media. Two scenes from "Shaggy Busted" are actually filmed on video in live action a technique that's weirdly disorienting... in a good way.

If tonight's episode is any indication of the season to come, then BIRDMAN may become one of the best shows on the Adult Swim slate... and that's saying a lot.

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