Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | |
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Created by | |
Based on | Birdman and the Galaxy Trio and other characters by Hanna-Barbera |
Written by |
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Directed by |
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Voices of |
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Theme music composer | Reg Tilsley |
Opening theme | "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law", performed by Erik Richter |
Ending theme | "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law" (Instrumental) |
Composer | Michael Kohler |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 4 |
No. of episodes | 39 (and 1 special) (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers |
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Editor | Jon Dilling |
Running time | 12 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network |
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Release | December 30, 2000 – July 22, 2007 |
Release | October 12, 2018 |
Related | |
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American adult animated television sitcom created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. The first season of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is the first adult animated production to be produced by Cartoon Network Studios. A spin-off of Space Ghost Coast to Coast , the series revolves around Harvey Birdman, originally a superhero from Birdman and the Galaxy Trio , and his new career as an attorney, defending characters who had originally been featured in past Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
The pilot first aired as a sneak peek on Cartoon Network on December 30, 2000. [1] The series officially premiered on Adult Swim on September 2, 2001, the night the block launched. [2] It ended on July 22, 2007, with a total of 39 episodes, over the course of four seasons. The entire series has been made available on DVD, and other forms of home media, including on-demand streaming. A special, entitled Harvey Birdman: Attorney General , premiered on October 15, 2018, and a spin-off, Birdgirl , premiered on April 4, 2021.
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law features ex-superhero Harvey Birdman of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio as an attorney working for a law firm alongside other cartoon stars from the 1960s and 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series. Harvey's clients are also primarily characters taken from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series of the same era.
Many of Birdman's nemeses from his former cartoon series appear as attorneys, often representing the opposing side of a given case. Harvey usually fills the role of a criminal defense attorney, though he will act as a civil litigator or other similar roles when the plot calls for it.
The series uses a surrealist style of comedy, featuring characters, objects, and jokes that are briefly introduced and rarely (if ever) referenced thereafter. Because the series relies heavily on popular culture references to classic television animation, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law constantly delves into parody, featuring clips of these series or specially created scenes which mimic the distinctive style of the animation being referenced. [3]
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is the first Williams Street cartoon to maintain continuity through the entire series. Various episodes reference Harvey's (or another superhero's) former crime-fighting career. The episode "Turner Classic Birdman" serves to bridge the gap between Birdman and the Galaxy Trio and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
Much of the humor is derived from giving superheroes and supervillains more eccentric qualities, such as transforming mad scientist Dr. Myron Reducto into a paranoid prosecutor. Several of the plots revolve around popular myths about classic Hanna-Barbera characters, such as Shaggy and Scooby-Doo being recreational drug users.
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law creators Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter were originally writers for Space Ghost Coast to Coast , which is where the titular character made his debut. The show was Adult Swim's most expensive original series at the time, and is the most expensive spin-off of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
Although the first season was animated using digital ink and paint, the remaining seasons were animated using Adobe After Effects. The reason for the switch was that the animation studio was having difficulty maintaining the fast pace of the show, and thus the production of episodes slowed down due to constant retakes.
By animating the later episodes at Turner Studios in Atlanta with Adobe Flash, not only were problems corrected more quickly, but production costs were much lower. [4]
In Canada, Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law previously aired on Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block [5] and later G4's Adult Digital Distraction block. [6] The series currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim. [7] [8]
In 2009, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law was named the 91st-best animated series by IGN. They called the concept of the show "wonderful" and the show as a whole "especially clever." The review summarized that "Harvey Birdman worked as both a parody and homage to these animated characters we know and love, with plenty of funny, surreal jokes along the way." [9]
DVD name | Release date | Ep # | Additional information |
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Volume One | April 12, 2005 | 13 | This two-disc box set contains the first thirteen episodes of the show ("Bannon Custody Battle" through "High Speed Buggy Chase") in production order, along with commentaries on selected episodes, deleted scenes, and other special features. A Region 2 version is to be released on November 3. The colour of the DVD box art is purple. |
Volume Two | October 10, 2006 | 13 | This two-disc box set contains the next thirteen episodes of the show ("Back to the Present" through "Evolutionary War") in production order, along with commentaries on nine episodes, additional footage, and other special features. The colour of the DVD box art is blue. |
Volume Three | July 24, 2007 | 13 | This two-disc box set contains the final thirteen episodes of the show ("Turner Classic Birdman" through "The Death of Harvey") in production order, along with special features. The colour of the DVD box art is black. |
Each DVD is in the shape of a law book. Each season's box art is nearly identical; the only change for each season is the background colour (Volume One is brown purple, Volume Two is blue, and Volume Three is black). The small picture next to the title and the title itself also appears different. In April 2005, Adult Swim had a "Do Our Work For Us" contest for Harvey Birdman Season 1 on DVD. The objective of the contest was to ask viewers to make their own fan-made promo commercial for the then-upcoming DVD.
The series is also available on Max.[ citation needed ]
The theme song is an edited version of the song "Slow Moody Blues" written by Reg Tilsley. Other notable songs used in the show include Charlie Steinman's "It Is Such a Good Night" (also known as "Scoobidoo Love") and a lyricless version of Gianni Morandi's "La Mia Mania" (also known as "Okay Maria").
A video game based on the series has been released for the PlayStation 2, [10] Wii [11] and PlayStation Portable [12] video game consoles. It was developed by High Voltage Software and published by Capcom, with gameplay mechanics similar to Capcom's Ace Attorney series. It was released on January 8, 2008, and includes five new, interactive cases.
On May 14, 2018, it was announced that there would be an upcoming special based on the series entitled Harvey Birdman: Attorney General . In the special, Harvey Birdman becomes the next Attorney General of the United States, under President Phil Ken Sebben. The original voice cast returned for the special. It premiered at midnight on October 15, 2018. [13]
On May 9, 2019, a spin-off entitled Birdgirl was announced, following Judy Ken Sebben/Birdgirl in her new role as the CEO of Sebben & Sebben. [14] It premiered on April 4, 2021, [15] with a second season premiering June 19, 2022. [16]
Sealab 2021 is an American adult animated television series created by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson for Cartoon Network's late-night programming block, Adult Swim. Cartoon Network aired the show's first three episodes in December 2000 before the official inception of the Adult Swim block on September 2, 2001, with the final episode airing on April 24, 2005. Sealab 2021 is one of the only four original Williams Street series that premiered in 2000 before Adult Swim officially launched, with the others being Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Brak Show, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
Jonny Quest is a science fiction–adventure media franchise created by Doug Wildey for Hanna-Barbera. It revolves around the titular Jonny Quest, a boy who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. The franchise started with a 1964–65 television series of the same name, and has come to include two sequel television series, two television films and three video games. It is currently owned by Warner Bros. after Hanna-Barbera was absorbed by Warner Bros. Animation and succeeded by Cartoon Network Studios.
Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American adult animation created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and first broadcast in 1994. It takes the form of a surreal parody of talk shows, hosted by a reimagined version of the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. It incorporates surrealism and non-sequitur humor.
Black Vulcan is an African-American superhero on the animated series Super Friends and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law by Hanna-Barbera, voiced in the former by Buster Jones and the latter by Phil LaMarr.
Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, or simply Birdman or The Galaxy Trio, is an American animated television series made by Hanna-Barbera Productions that debuted on NBC on September 9, 1967, and ran on Saturday mornings until January 20, 1968. The program consists of two segments: Birdman, depicting the adventures of a winged superhero powered by the sun, and The Galaxy Trio, centered around the adventures of a patrol of interstellar superheroes. Each segment was a complete independent story, and the characters of each segment did not interact with those of the other, except for a bumper that has all four heroes defeating a prehistoric monster.
Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor is an American Saturday-morning animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on CBS from September 9, 1967 to January 6, 1968, airing in reruns until September 6, 1969. Despite Moby's name coming first, he had only one short per half-hour episode, sandwiched between two with Mightor. The same structure was used the previous season for Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles.
Michael Allen Lazzo is a retired American television producer and the former executive vice president in charge of the Adult Swim programming block of Cartoon Network, and its production arm, Williams Street.
The Peter Potamus Show is a 1964–1966 animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera and starring Peter Potamus, a purple hippopotamus.
Space Ghost is an American Saturday-morning superhero animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, first broadcast on CBS from September 10, 1966, to September 16, 1967, and continued reruns until September 7, 1968. The series was composed of two unrelated segments, Space Ghost and Dino Boy in the Lost Valley. The series was created by Alex Toth and produced and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Sometimes, it is alternatively called Space Ghost & Dino Boy to acknowledge the presence of both shows.
Michael Ouweleen is an American television executive and screenwriter. He is the sixth and current president of The Cartoon Network, Inc., the operating company of Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and Boomerang since May 11, 2022. Previously, he was best known as a creative, co-creating the animated television series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and the show's spin-off, Birdgirl, and is the executive producer of the television film Re-Animated. He was a long-time creative director at Cartoon Network since 1996, and ran content development and oversaw programming for the network in the mid-2000s. Ouweleen is married with three sons.
Cartoon Network Australia & New Zealand is an Australian pay television channel broadcast as a local feed of its American counterpart. launched on October 3, 1995 and owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pacific. It primarily shows animated programming.
Teletoon at Night was a late night programming block that aired on Teletoon. It primarily carried adult animation and other programming targeting teen and adult audiences.
Jonny Quest is an American animated science fiction adventure television series about a boy who accompanies his scientist father on extraordinary adventures. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for Screen Gems, and was created and designed by comic book artist Doug Wildey.
Adult Swim is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Showcase Television, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily airs animated and live-action comedies targeting a teenage and young adult audience. Its branding is licensed from the Adult Swim programming block broadcast by Warner Bros. Discovery's Cartoon Network; it is the first full-time television channel to use the "Adult Swim" brand.
Harvey Birdman: Attorney General is a 2018 American adult animated television special written by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter, and directed by Richard Ferguson-Hull. Harvey Birdman: Attorney General is a continuation of the animated television series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, created by Ouweleen and Richter, that originally aired on Adult Swim from 2001 to 2007. The special was originally released on the Adult Swim website on October 12, 2018, before making its official television debut on October 15, 2018, at 12:00 midnight. In the special Harvey Birdman is appointed assistant-U.S. attorney general and attempts to have now-President Phil Ken Sebben impeached on his own request.
Cartoon Network is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is part of The Cartoon Network, Inc. unit of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery which primarily focuses on animated programs.
Jellystone! is an American animated comedy television series developed by C. H. Greenblatt for the streaming service HBO Max. The series is produced by Warner Bros. Animation and features reimagined versions of various characters by Hanna-Barbera. It premiered on July 29, 2021.
Birdgirl is an American adult animated superhero comedy television series. It is a spiritual successor to the television series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter, which itself was a comedic spin-off of the original 1967 Birdman cartoon and Space Ghost Coast to Coast. The series stars the voices of Paget Brewster, Rob Delaney, Sonia Denis, Kether Donohue, John Doman, Negin Farsad, Tony Hale and River L. Ramirez. The series premiered on Adult Swim on April 5, 2021. Unlike in the original Birdman cartoon, the Hanna-Barbera-owned characters—including Birdman himself—are missing from the series.