A spin-off of Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law was created by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter for Cartoon Network’s late-night programming block, Adult Swim in 2001. The series follows a cast of eccentric characters, most of whom had originally been featured in past Hanna-Barbera cartoons, most notably Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, as they go about their business at the Sebben & Sebben law firm.

The show’s trademark blend of Saturday morning cartoon nostalgia and irreverent parody secured it a strong fanbase from the beginning, and throughout the years it’s managed to hang on to its well-earned cult status.

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The series was devised as a way to make use of the rights to the Hanna-Barbera stable of characters. Like Space Ghost, Harvey Birdman locates the initial humor of its premise in the ridiculousness of these C-List superheroes inexplicably thrust into a completely incongruous workplace. But of course, even the most clever premise can quickly fall flat without the right execution, and this is where Harvey Birdman thrived.

Opposites Attract in Harvey Birdman

     Warner Bros.

One of the secrets to the success of the show is the way it combines seemingly incongruous features. This happens most obviously with the combination of superheroes and legal drama, but also includes the show’s approach to the past, looking back with both nostalgia and mockery. Even the show’s production, combining improvised dialogue with animation, was novel at the time.

Superhero: Attorney at Law

It can be hard to remember now, but in 2001, superhero media wasn’t as all-pervasive, and the show actually spoofs courtroom dramas more than anything else. While this seems in keeping with the series’ love of absurdism and non-sequiturs, setting the show within the legal system really is key to its success.

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw a wild proliferation of shows centered on lawyers, running all along the spectrum from very, very serious to outright comedy. Shows like Law & Order, The Practice, JAG, Judging Amy, Ed, and Ally McBeal, to name just a few, had audiences well-acquainted with the rhythms of the kind of show Harvey Birdman was spoofing. Having a sturdy, familiar frame allowed the show to hang its surreal, absurdist, and disjointed gags without losing the audience altogether.

The familiar rhythms of the courtroom drama also butt up against the audience’s expectations for a superhero show. With the arrival of Reducto (one of Birdman’s familiar foils from Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, here voiced by none other than Stephen Colbert), for example, rather than battling it out physically, the conflict plays out as a legal drama. Reducto is not a marauding villain, but rather, a prosecuting attorney.

Improv Animation

The courtroom setting would provide another great advantage for Harvey Birdman. While the show’s low budget and rudimentary animation could easily have been weaknesses for the show to overcome, Ouweleen and Richter turned it to their advantage. Unlike Saturday morning cartoons, courtroom dramas are heavily dialogue driven. This allowed the shows writers and performers, including Gary Cole, Paget Brewster, and the aforementioned Colbert, to carry the show and for the animation style to be smoothly incorporated, rather than stretched beyond its limits.

Writing and recording in a loose, improvisatory style also allowed the show to incorporate awkward little moments: coughs, stutters, chuckles incompletely suppressed, that more polished animation shows had always avoided. This created a sense of urgency and play that was well-suited to a show in which Ding-a-Ling Wolf is forced to sue a pornography company for the rights to the email address www.dingaling.biz.

Looking Back on Birdman

This is also indicative of the show’s irreverent approach to previous generation of children’s media. There’s definitely a love for these characters at the heart of the show. Simultaneously, the shoddiness of the product, and the poorness with which shows like Johnny Quest and Dynomutt, Dog Wonder have aged, is never ignored.

Flaws in the shows, from re-used backgrounds to shallow characterization, are milked for laughs on Harvey Birdman. The strange trope of characters finding their personalities completely changed by a concussion is the source for a season one episode in which Fred Flintstone is put on trial as a mob boss. Indeed, the series’ very first episode features Dr. Benton Quest in a battle for custody of his son, Johnny; in this way, Harvey Birdman walks so that The Venture Brothers and even Robot Chicken could run. The absurdity at the heart of these shows is lovingly skewered — beloved relics of a past the show’s creators were eager to surpass.

In this way, Harvery Birdman, Attorney at Law, Space Ghost, Sealab 2021, and the other early Adult Swim shows marked a turning point in animation. Direct spin-offs like Harvey Birdman: Attorney General and Birdgirl are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the show’s enduring influence. No longer was it to be used exclusively as children’s television, cheaply and cynically filling space between toy commercials. Instead, it was poised to be the format of choice for edgy, iconoclastic comedy, a legacy that has continued now for decades.