Still the best Birdman in popular culture, this animated classic has all its episodes on Youtube!

Forget the borefest that was Birdman: The unexpected virtue of ignorance, if you’ve got nothing to watch, and an internet connection, all 4 seasons Harvey Birdman, an Adult Swim program is on Youtube. The basic premise is that Harvey Birdman, (voiced by Gary Cole), works for Sebben & Sebben, a law firm. Birdman, draws on the rich catalogue of Hannah Barbara cartoons, that is, the production company behind The Flinstones, Scooby Doo, and The Jetsons, among many others.

While the show is set in the early 2000’s, the humour is mostly not based on current event referencing, rather on character traits and ideas. Much like Archer on FX, the show is filled with jokes, and is not afraid to add characters at whim. There is obviously an underlying whimsical nature to the show, as it plays on the old tropes of office sitcoms, but it’s self referential humour, and clever digs at one dimensional characters lends itself to frequent laughs. An apt comparison would be to more recent cult favourites, such as Archer and Arrested Development, which similarly builds world of in jokes and clever jabs at the nature of society. Much like Stephen Colbert’s the Colbert Report, also the voice of Phil Sebben, the show parodies the media around it using the characters reactions to satirise the media landscape. Like all the best comedies, the show is perfect for rewatches, with jokes left in the background of the show.Even if you watch the show without paying attention, the snappy dialogue and brilliant soundtrack means you can enjoy the show on multiple occasions.

When not playing on the main characters personalities, Birdman draws some humour from the expected reactions of the classic Hannah Barbara shows, which can alienate audiences unfamiliar with the material. There are many jokes at the inherent campiness of such shows, which can fall on its face when used in succession. The funniest moments of the show occur when humour is derived from the characters, rather than the Family Guy inspired random throwaway gags. A word of warning though, as much of the best jokes are self referential, watching episodes out of order can lead to missing out on the best bits. However, the show’s barrage of jokes at all opportunities, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law is a Watch when bored favourite. A great aspect of the show is that the show is only 11 minutes an episode, which can fill gaps of boredom.

The show has been uploaded wonderfully on Youtube, which is where this reviewer first found it. Below is a link to the pilot episode, where subsequent shows can be found.

Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law Episode 1

4 stars out of 5.