Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law Volume 2   Starring (voice): Gary Cole, Stephen Colbert and Peter MacNicol Revolver Entertainment RRP: £19.99 REVD2440 Certificate: 15 Available 07 December 2009

In the criminal justice system there are two opposing but equally important - wait. Wrong DVD. Okay, start over. Who's the man in the suit? Who's the cat with the feet? He's Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, defender of cartoons in legal trouble. Whether it's Secret Squirrel being accused of flashing in public every time he whips a special spy gadget out from under his trenchcoat, or Doggie Daddy who has been caged after he's accused of biting someone, there's just one ex-superhero manbird to see - Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law...

Volume 2 of Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law contains a further 13 episodes of this animated series. The episodes seem to be randomly picked from the show's second and third seasons and aren't listed in production or broadcast order, which may annoy hardcore fans of the show.

Highlights in this collection include:

Back to the Present: In the far off future, in the year... er... 2002, The Jetsons house is washed away by the rising water level caused by global warming. The Jetsons travel back (or forward) in time to 2004 to sue mankind for not stopping global warming when they had the chance.

Blackwatch Plaid: Secret Squirrel is accused of flashing in public - but he claims he's just getting out his secret spy gadgets from under his trenchcoat. Meanwhile Birdman's boss, Phil, is convinced that someone is breaking into his office and stealing things - items of furniture like a baby grand piano and a fourteen foot golden Buddha which no one else remembers being in the office.

Peanut Puberty: At the most inappropriate moment, a board meeting, Peanut discovers he's going through Superty - the superhero equivalent of puberty. This is the time when a young superhero starts to develop his powers. Meanwhile, Augie Doggie employs Harvey's services after his father, Doggie Daddy has been put in a cage after biting someone.

Booty Noir: Reducto falls in love with Norlissa, the ex-girlfriend of Black Vulcan. However, he can't help increasing the size of her buttocks at every opportunity with his ray gun. Meanwhile Wally Gator is accused of being a redneck.

X Gets the Crest: X finally gets Birdman's crest when he wins it in a card game. When X arrives at F.E.A.R.s headquarters to claim his million dollar reward he's shocked to discover that the organisation no longer exists. Meanwhile Harvey is representing Ricochet Rabbit, the locals of his town are suing him for causing damage to everything.

Evolutionary War: Captain Caveman's son, Cavey Junior, is upset when his school refuses to teach evolution - mainly because the teacher is religious. Birdman must defend the theory of evolution in the courtroom.

Extras include audio commentaries on the majority of episodes; Superty (text based look at the equipment of a superhero going through Superty); three deleted scenes; Naked Scene: Clothes-less Animation Pass (45 sec look at a nude scene - with all the rude areas covered up); Records of Records (4 min, 34 sec look at some of the actors reading their lines. Sadly the camera is more often than not in a position that makes it hard to see them anyway); Mr. Passerby Video: Hey Mr. Passerby!... (1 min, 57 sec music video with clips of the show); Birdman Stripper: Legal Briefs (43 sec worth of pics of a male stripper dressed as Harvey); Behind the Scenes (6 min, 16 sec behind the scenes with the odd Q&A. This also has pretty poor sound); CGI Clip - Evolution of a Scene (1 min, 12 sec); Harvey Promos (collection of TV ad spots for the show); and Bluetube Moments: Fun with Audio (3 min, 19 sec in the recording studio with a guy hitting bongo drums).

So, another collection of amusing episodes from this off-the-wall series.

7

Darren Rea