Based on a long running DC comic title (recently canceled after 15 years) this show had a such a short run (about 3 months) prior to its cancellation that it was only just beginning to gather a little industry buzz when it went off the air for good. I was curious to see the show, since I am a fan of the comic book, but the strong female characters and sharp writing of the book are not as evident here. Ron Koslow, one of the main writers of Beauty and Beast, executive produced the series and the show had some similar elements: a slick looking urban fantasy setting, an underground of 'freaks' (in this case 'metahumans') hidden from the eyes of normals, and slightly cartoonish villains, with every episode following a mystery-adventure formula as the main characters try to discover the identity of this week's creep, while taking time out every so often to agonize over their life choices. Somehow the formula works less well here. The mystery villains are often a little too obvious, the well-choreographed fight and stunt scenes get a little repetitive, and the progress of the character arcs is so terribly slow that little happens from week to week. Clearly the producers envisioned a 3 to 5 year run and worked to keep things in check early on, but the slow arc makes things a bit tedious. Plus the early cancellation meant that the series cut off in the middle of nowhere, which made the overall structure of the piece just that much worse. Still, the main actresses (Ashley Scott and Dina Meyer) are good and the whole production is attractive to look at, so it's an okay time-waster provided expectations are kept low. Buffy it's not, but it's not bad. Rates about 6.5/10...
Review of Birds of Prey
