Review: Birdgirl “Pilot”

Overview:

Judy Ken Sebben (aka Birdgirl) finds herself in an existential crisis when it’s time to appoint a new CEO to Sebben & Sebben and the honor falls on Birdgirl (aka Judy Ken Sebben) rather than herself. Judy/Birdgirl struggles with the new changes in both her personal and professional life, but unfortunately any epiphanies that she reaches will have to happen after she defuses a PR nightmare for the company that involves killer smart toilets. All in a day’s work for a CEO/superhero!

Our Take:

The recent superhero trend is a double-edged sword for Birdgirl. This colossal acceptance of superhero culture as the ultimate form of entertainment likely contributed to renewed interest in Birdgirl and helped turn it into a viable property. At the same, Birdgirl also suffers from the fact that superhero fatigue is a very real thing and some incredibly creative minds have already been given the keys to major superhero franchises. There’s only so much that can be done with the genre and there’s a greater sense that most of the creative things that can be done in this sandbox have already happened. There are now more superhero shows than ever before, but they’ve also achieved a level of savviness where an edgy or ambitious superhero story is the norm. Admittedly, Birdgirl technically qualifies as a superhero show, but it’s not a superhero show in the same way that Harley Quinn is. “Superhero” is just one aspect of Judy Ken Sebben’s personality and Birdgirl’s pilot episode explores Judy’s relationship with this side of herself and why it’s such an important aspect of who she is.

Birdgirl is one of my favorite parts of the original Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law series and so it’s fitting on some level that the focus of this first episode involves Phil Ken Sebben’s preference of the hyper-energetic wild card over his own daughter. Part of the reason that Birdgirl previously worked so well as a character is that she was a supporting presence that only occasionally swooped in. “Pilot” specifically looks at how too much of Birdgirl is a dangerous thing, yet it simultaneously proves that this character is strong enough to anchor her own series. 

Birdgirl thankfully doesn’t lose the hysterical pacing that became a trademark of Harvey Birdman. The comedy plays out with a glorious domino effect where dialogue, visual gags, and background elements all work together to create something that’s almost overwhelming. There’s exceptional wordplay and the dialogue builds a true rhythm and flow that accentuates the comedy. Harvey Birdman was only a quarter-hour program, which makes it much easier to sustain this level of chaos. Birdgirl is a 22-minute program and it manages to keep this perpetual madness machine in motion. “Pilot” has enough ground to cover that the runtime isn’t a problem, but future episodes should dictate how comfortably these stories work in a half-hour timeframe. The larger joke in play that satirizes farm to table cuisine gives a modest indication of what kind of subject matter Sebben & Sebben’s corporate culture will tackle. Paget Brewster’s work as Birdgirl is high-energy bliss like always, but Tony Hale, Kether Donohue, and Rob Delaney also excel in their roles and are clearly having a lot of fun.

“Pilot” has a lot to accomplish both as a first episode to Birdgirl as well as a possible follow-up to a foundational program from Adult Swim’s lineup. In this sense, “Pilot” definitely succeeds and marks an encouraging start to a show that could have easily felt soulless or a regurgitation of old ideas. The hook to Birdgirl might not grab as many people as Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, but it’s more important that this series establishes itself as something new with a unique message to spread. There are plenty of laughs and office misunderstandings throughout “Pilot,” but it’s fundamentally an episode that’s about building a legacy. This is a smart angle to kick off Birdgirl since legacies are crucial to superhero stories, but it’s also applicable to Judy’s literal journey with her father, as well as the metatextual conversation that this episode has regarding Birdgirl’s position as a successor to Harvey Birdman. That’s a rather ambitious aim for a silly animated series about a superhero that dresses up like a bird and it hopefully means that this entire season will push absurd ideas to challenging places. 

At the least, there needs to be a lot more Birdcat.