Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law is an American animated courtroom black comedy series created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter for Adult Swim. The show revolves around the activity of the Sebben & Sebben law firm, which is staffed mainly by superheroes and other characters who had originally been featured in past Hanna-Barbera cartoons, most notably Birdman and the Galaxy Trio.
Harvey Birdman's pilot first aired on Cartoon Network on December 30, 2000. On September 2, 2001, the series moved to Adult Swim, continuing for four seasons and 39 episodes before ending on July 22, 2007. The show is also a spin-off of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, where Birdman got his first name from. Both Space Ghost and Birdman original series were based on action / adventure script, and, decades later, applied in comedic contexts.
Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law features ex-superhero Harvey T. Birdman of Birdman and the Galaxy Trio as an attorney working for a law firm alongside other cartoon stars from 1960s and 1970s Hanna-Barbera cartoon series. Similarly, Harvey's clients are also primarily composed of characters taken from Hanna-Barbera cartoon series of the same era. Many of Birdman's nemeses featured in his former cartoon series also became 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 such job 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. Also, because the series relied heavily on popular culture references to classic television animation, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law constantly delves into parody, even featuring clips of these series or specially-created scenes which mimic the distinctive style of the animation being referenced. 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 crimefighting career. The episode "Turner Classic Birdman" even serves to bridge the gap between Birdman and the Galaxy Trio and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
Instead of rigid plot structure, much of the humor is derived from the fact that superheroes and supervillains are given more realistic and human qualities, such as a mad scientist named Dr. Myron Reducto, who becomes a paranoid prosecutor. Also, several of the plots revolve around the popular myths about classic Hanna-Barbera characters, such as Shaggy and Scooby-Doo being stoners.
Cast[]
| Image | Character | USA | Mex | Bra | Spa |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Harvey Birdman | Gary Cole | Idzi Dutkiewicz | Hélio Ribeiro | José Padilla |
|
Phil Ken Sebben | Stephen Colbert | Gerardo Vásquez | Dário de Castro | |
|
Peanut | Thomas Allen | Irwin Daayán | ||
|
Avenger | Frank Welker | |||
| Maurice LaMarche | |||||
| Dee Bradley Baker | |||||
|
Myron Reducto | Stephen Colbert | Alfonso Obregón | Miguel Ayones | |
|
Mentok the Mindtaker | John Michael Higgins | Ernesto Lezama | Mauro Ramos | |
|
Peter Potamus | Joe Alaskey | Jorge Ornelas | Márcio Simões | |
|
X the Eliminator | Peter MacNicol | Alfredo Gabriel Basurto | ||
|
Birdgirl/Judy Ken Sebben | Paget Brewster | Xóchitl Ugarte |