Be honest, people, what were your reasons for watching Birds Of Prey?

[Larry]

To be honest, I came into this from a comic book fan's point of view because I wanted to see how Oracle would be portrayed and who the actor was playing the role. In that regard, I wasn't disappinted. I wanted to see how The WB would handle Birds Of Prey and to follow the show as much as possible to see where the tv storyline would go.

I haven't really seen a worthwhile storyline so far that was worth my time but I wanted to give the show a chance in that perhaps the writing would improve in following episodes. It hasn't improved much in the sense of the characters and their backstory.

Up until now, I've had and continue to have mixed feelings about the show and the actors involved. The only reason I would consider taking a good peek at the upcoming episode "Lady Shiva" is because of the reappearence of Batgirl and no other reason.


Larry

[TheOracle]

I want/wanted to watch BoP Because I love Batman, and Oracle was one of my favourite characters, along with The Dark Knight and NightWing. I remember readin an article in mag SFX back in june on the way to Turkey. I remember reading about Helena being Bruce and Selena's love child and thinking "Oh my god, this is gonna majorly suck!" But I was sent a copy of the pilot and was mildly surprised. I love it, and I can't wait to see the other episodes.

I'm looking forward to seeing Lady Shiva because of her role in the whole KnightFall saga, yet as Helena's old school friend? Wasn't it SHiva who trained the Bat in the first place? Hmm...

Martin

[AngelQueen]

I came into this because I was hoping to see something worthy of the Batman franchise. While many would probably disagree with me, Birds of Prey hasn't let me down.

I first became aware of it when I saw an advertisement on AOL. It said something like, "Batman's little girl is all grown up..." At first, I was, like, "WHAT?!" But I checked into it and began to read a little about the different characters.

When I finished with that, I was like, "Okay, we have Oracle, our former Batgirl, we have Huntress, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, of all people, then we have a telepath," (because I wasn't familiar with the Black Canary and all that at the time), "Next we have an honest cop who has a dark secret, then there's everyone's favorite butler. And finally, we have Harley Quinn playing a shrink." It was definitely mindboggling. So, I said, "I HAVE to check this out."

So, when the 70-minute premiere came on, I taped it and watched it about a million times, totally enthralled. And I keep coming back each week, even though ratings fall and I hear so many people dissing it. It's a wonderful show and I am not about to give up on it.

AQ

[Gothic Knight]

This is the legacy of The Batman. And even with the flaws this show has in my opinion this is the best show i have seeing this year and i'm proud to say i have put this show in my list of favorites along side with Knight Rider, The Six Million dollar man, Star trek TNG, Stargate SG1, The A-Team, Farscape and that TV cult Classic, what was the name; oh yeah Batman.

[Larry]

I can certainly see how some people have become totally involved and enamoured with the show but I don't have those feelings about it. To tell you the truth, I'm not a hugh fan of the show ever since I seen the pilot.

As I stated before, the only reason I watch the show, if at all, is to see how Oracle is portrayed. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Call me a cynic if you wish, call me a non-fan if you want to but nobody will convince me into thinking or believing that Birds Of Prey is the greatest tv show on Earth. It's not in my nature to fall head over heels in love with something, let alone a show if I know it's disappointed me.


Larry

[AngelQueen]

It's not the greatest show on earth, of course. I've yet to see a show worthy of that title. ;) But it's still a good show, IMHO. :)

AQ

[MethyLBroMidE]

I struck a deal with tvfanatic to start watching regularly in exchange for help with Farscape later.

I haven't normally watched TV on Wednesday nights in years. Before this deal, I had only watched around 10 minutes of "Sins of the Mother." That night, I remember seeing the part where the Mother was all tied up and Skarsten was grabbed by a man who was going to kill her. Then Skarsten gets free and her mom is blown up or something. BoP went on commercial, and I remember back-to-back commercials, all selling women's products, and I'm thinkin, "maybe this show ain't for me."

I zapped over to Fastlane, where there was this huge gun battle going on after a botched sting operation. One of my roommates started watching with me. We later zapped back to BoP, but saw talk the Huntress talking instead of action. So we went back and finished with the Fastlane gun battle instead.

After making the deal, I was able to get in on the last half hour of "Split". It didn't work very well, with two of my roommates engaged in shoot-em up computer games and another one chatting with a couple of his frat buddies. Since I don't have TV dibs on Wednesdays anyways, I couldn't do much about it. I'll need to convert one or more of them.

I don't mind watching BoP at all. I'm one of those people who can get into almost any TV show, movie, song, etc. As long as I can clear my mind of preconceptions, get in the right mode, figure out what to fixate on, what to tune out, relax, and let it flow. Besides, BoP has somehow gotta be good if so many people here want it to keep on going, right?

Until this Wednesday. Most of my roommates won't be around. Hey, it's my TV, I bought it!

Matt,
Friday night TV junkie (Farscape, Firefly, Hack, etc.)
-------------------------
Edit: After reading post below, Batman "Eye-Candy" YUMM!!!:p

[Neptune's Rose]

What got me into the show was the whole Batman aspect of it. I loved Batman: TAS and I also loved the Batman/Superman Advntures as well. I guess i just love everything about Batman.
Even though Batman isn't in the show the characters have kept me watching.

My fav. character is Oracle/Babs. I just wish the writers would develop her character more.

[tvfanatic]

I actually heard about BoP over at an Andromeda message board and I started looking into the show. I watched some promos online. I have been a fan of Dina Meyer since Starship Troopers so I came because of her but I stayed because of Ashley Scott (and who can ignore the very hot and good looking Shemar Moore...very good looking man). She caught my attention in the previews and then I watched the show and she really impressed me with what she coud do for being so new to the profession. Then I saw the three actresses together and they really impressed me with what they could do.

[Ivy]

Wanted to see how much it had in common with Charmed, when I heard about it. Then I was curious about Oracle, and the "must check out actress from here" mentality for Ashley. I've never been a huge Batman fan, and probably never will. Three crime fighting females, and a semi interesting premise is all it took for me to tune in at first.

And I keep watching because I like Dinah, and think Oracle deserves way more screen time. Silly writers. T&A only holds the door open so long.

[BirdofFire]

I've been a fan of the Batman movies (mainly the first three), the cartoons, and a comic here or there. I never read Birds of Prey tho. However, I lurk around comic book sites and read synopses and reviews. When I heard last year that they had plans for a Batman related show starring the ex-Batgirl and a character who would be Wayne's daughter, I jumped with excitement. I thought it was a great idea. I wasn't familiar with the way the comic was progressing, but I had been aware for quite some time about Barbara being the Oracle. This too fasciniated me, that one of my favorite DC chars would be confined to a wheelchair.

I suppose I came to the point of watching Birds Of Prey without being too critical as a fan. I haven't been nitpicky about the differences in characterization, but I do agree that it would be great to see Nightwing or Robin, or some semblence of Bruce Wayne at work... I enjoy this show very much, and along side Smallville and the X-Men Evolution cartoon, these are the only three on the channel that I watch. Otherwise, I'm glued to Thursdays Must See TV.

There's a great potential for Birds of Prey: tighter writing, tighter acting, less meta, more human interaction, a touch slower pace, a step back from Reese/Helena relationship (take it slow), and more screentime for the Babs/Wade thing (the issue where they slept together happened way to fast for me to realize it had happned at all).

Overall, it's an exciting piece of work. I hope it isnt canceled in the long run, but I accept that only 13 episodes are being made at this point. Perhaps, in the next few weeks, it will gather a larger audience with its repeats. Sometimes, it takes a few shows a bit longer than others, especially when there's already so much greatness on other networks. :cool:

[Psychic Oracle]

I was a big fan of the first two Batman movies, and I found a trailer for Birds of Prey that had scenes from Batman Returns. That intriqued me a bit. I've also been a fan of the character of Batgirl for a long time, ever since I was really young and my mother would watch the old Batman series with me. So that was something that was intriquing, to see how they would play out the character.

I'm a critical person, just wanted to get that out. However, I do like this series. I think it has a lot of promise and purpose. It just needs that humanity that so many series lack now. It needs to explore the fact that Helena, Barbara, and Dinah are women first, heroes second (just like Charmed started with the Sisters-first, Witches-second concept).

[Larry]

When I first heard about the show, I was visiting superherohype.com, checking out the latest news about some superhero movies I wanted to see and I seen something in the Batman section about the show, then BOP got moved into its own section after that.

After that, it was ancient history. I since tried to get involved with BOP from a comic book fan's point of view but that's kind of difficult when you know enough about the source material to pick at what you see. So I guess the show hasn't got the same charm I had previously expected. Oh,well. That's the kind of thing that happens when you're a comic book fan.

Batman has been one of my favorite characters of all time, next to Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Spider-Man, Daredevil, The Hulk, The X-Men, etc, etc, etc.

[DizzyOracle]

I got into it because it's a tv show based on comics. I say we need more of them. Well, I'm a Dina Meyer fan so when I heard that she was involved, that did it for me.

[super85]

Well I have been a Batman fan since well .... I was 4-5 years old and watched the Adam West Batman-show reruns wearing a bat-suit that mom had made me, Then ofcourse came the 1989 Bat-movie but i was too young to see it in theatres so my brother had to buy me a bootleg copy :), after that I learned to read and basicly most things i read was Batman, Superman and Spider-Man comics. I still read comics, i read 3-4 tittles per month, Batman and JLA in particular, I have most of the Superheromovies on VHS/DVD and also most of the Animated Batman/Superman/JLA stuff, Anyway, im also a fan of Smallville and I heard that the same producers were making a show based on the BOP comic i was really happy, since i was familiar with all the characters and i always had liked them, sadly the show has been a dissapointment for me, I like the way Oracle is in it, but i think the producers have taken too many liberties and i cant stand Dinah and the whole "No mask for Huntress , Metahuman of the week" thing is IMO dumb.

[Larry]

I have to agree with you on the point that the producers took far too many liberties with the concept, super85. All they did was turn it into cheeze cake and over-the-top glamor and that just doesn't cut it when you have a show that needs ratings to survive. I would have liked to have seen a better take on it but it didn't happen.

[Dawn Falcon]

I don't like Batman as such, I'm not a comic fan and I hate most TV...

I *am* a scifi fan, and Birds of Prey's premise sucked me in. It has an edge which tends to be missing in most TV.

[LisaM]

I had no familiarity with Batman other than the Adam West tv show. I read about the character of Oracle and thought she sounded fascinating. The idea of 3 strong women fighting crime and forming a family of sorts drew me in. Interestingly, the latter sentence came from the WB website and was probably one of the original themes for the show. It certainly hasn't been carried out properly.

[Kea]

I never even knew it was a comic book until then. I just watched it because I saw a promo that looked good. The one when Helena jumps out the window. Had no clue what it was about. I watched the first ep and was hooked.
I watch an ep at least once a day.
Yes it has flaws that it can work out.
But its the only other show I watch beside Alias and CSI. And I like it. Actually I think it has become my favorite show this year. I really want BoP merchandise now!

[dst1200]

Being an avid comic book reader of 20 years and a big Batman fan of the book, movies and TV show, I continue to watch this show even though it has major flaws. First off its entirely too campy. The concept, characters and plot are all great however this show appears to be more geared towards a "Saturday morning" type of audience.

The writing sucks!!!

They’re trying to make another "Smallville" rather then a good "Birds Of Prey". Surprisingly the best character is Shemar Moore's “Reese” dark, brooding, all work no play attitude is the most believable of the entire show. The "Dinah" character would work but the girl playing her is the worst. Why does she talk like her teeth are glued together? Alfred ROCKS!!!! Every incantation of Alfred from the 60's TV to the animated series has always been good!!!!
This shows has major potential and would definitely survive but it needs to do these things:
1. change the dialogue, get rid of the campyness and make it more dark, more brooding and moody, this isn’t Smallville, or Sunnydale,,This is Gotham City!!
2. Bring back Black Canary and keep her. Her stern , hard, offset will play greatly against the Bubbly, smart ass attitude of Huntress.
3. Keep Reese and Alfred.
4. Change the writers and the dialogue, get some real writers, Jeph Loeb, (who actually worked on Smallville) Kevin Smith, Frank Miller, Paul Dini. All have Batman histories as well as writing for movies and TV.
5. If you’re going to bring in characters, try the real ones from the actual books.
You have Robin, Nightwing, Azreal, etc,,,who the hell is Darkstrike! And finally,, if all else fails, go down to your local comic book store, and pick up a copy of Birds of Prey, or even Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, or Robin. Any of these will point you in the right direction.

Ill keep watching ,,,until its dead.

[dIna_rEyes]

My first post...

To be honest, I've been a huge Dina Meyer fan since Dragonheart and Starship Troopers, so it was a guarntee when she was announced as being on the show I wouldn't be far behind.

Also being a big comic fan (though I don't stray far from the world of the X-Men), I try to always check out new stuff in the media dealing/based on comics in general.

But now, I've come too like it for more reasons than just Dina. Imo, it's a great show and probably my fav on tv right now.

[nwgurl]

Hoping for a Nightwing/Oracle romance which could have happened had the show been more successfull if it was well written...I also watched it because of Dinah Meyer.

[Huntressfan]

I saw the previews and really liked the idea of women superheroes/crimefighters on prime time. Not knowing anything about the Birds of Prey comics I was pleasantly suprised to find out the connections with Batman, Catwoman, and Black Canary. After the first show I was hooked.

Oh, and Ashley Scott MIGHT have had a little to do with it as well. :D

[bat-punk]

I watch Birds of Prey because I remember seeing a preview of it at the movies (now that's real promotion!!) I was watching barber shop. I saw the opening words< " What if the crime fighter.... and the ( i don't remember what they called her), shared a secret? A daughter?" Iwas so excited about that new series!! I've been a fan of Batman since I was a baby, so I was excited about a new Batman themed show. So I tuned in. I thought the show was the coolest thing I'd ever seen!!! Then I had one more reason to watch: Ashley Scott!!! She is soo beautiful!! It sucks that they are cancelling the show!! The show should go into syndication like Mutant X. It would do alot better!!!
If not that, then another network!!! TNT hopefully. not sci-fi , because I don't have that channel!!

[TheWraith]

I watched the pilot because I hoped it would be good... it wasn't. I watched the rest of the shows as it was my job to review them for a few newsletters.

[Mandy]

My reasons? I love Batman lol Catwoman is my all time favorite however. And when I first saw the commercials for the show I knew I had to watch it.

[Canary]

I wanted to see the show because I have always collected comics that had to do with Batman, miniseries, spin-offs, you name it. I own every Birds of Prey comic to date, and I wanted to see how the characters were portrayed.

Personally I think they did a great job chosing their cast for the show. I just think that a lot of the writing down right sucks! There have been a few good scenes that I like, but I will always hold to the truth that it could have been better!

[tbey]

I'm a comic collector who grew up on a steady diet of DC. Some of my favorite characters of the 70s were the Huntress and Batgirl; this version of the Huntress was the daughter of Catwoman and Batman. Although I bought BoP and the 80s Huntress I wasn't crazy about those incarnations so as you can guess I found the show appealing.

The night I saw it I had a friend call telling me how great it was, another telling me how bad it was. My opinion? It was good but needed work. Having seen the unaired pilot first I tried to figure what was wrong and for the most part I found the culprit to be bad editting. I still believe it's what's responsible for half the show's problems.

That said, I believe the show has steadily improved and I watch it every Wednesday with my family religiously enjoying it. It may not be an award winner but for all the people in my family it's a fun show to watch.

[dst1200]

bad editing,,,,I think you hit the nail on the head,,looking back at the episiodes they do seem choppy and appear to jump back and forth,, that was a good call,,especially the dream sequence from the pilot episode,,,

[tbey]

I'm trying to get my hands on the original canadian airings to match against the US and see how much was actually chopped, it looks most likely to be 8-9 minutes more.

[Sxygrrl Huntress]

What??? I never heard this! I keep watching on the WB instead of on local Canadian channels!

[tbey]

It's been that way with most shows, that's why videotraders are hot for canadian materials. Canada had a law restricting tv to a maximum of 14 minutes of ad time per hour up until recently at which time it was upped to 18 minutes. All the US aired episodes of BoP only contain 35-36 minutes of actual episode. It's definitely overselling on Levin's part.

[Frostbite]

Damn Canadians. Damn Levin.

[Neptune's Rose]

Hey there are alot of Canadians here :)