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Sorry it's a day late. If someone tells you not to register in two full time academic programs simultaneously, listen to that person.
Dina Meyer as Oracle/Barbara Gordon.
Ashley Scott as Huntress/Helena Kyle.
Rachel Skarsten as Dinah Lance
Shemar Moore as Detective Reese
Ian Abercrombie as Alfred Pennyworth
Mia Sara as Harley Quinn
Written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, based on a story by Adam Armus and Kay Foster.
Directed by John Kretchmer.
Original Airdate
Lady Shiva originally aired on Wednesday, November 28, 2002
Synopsis
One of Batgirl's old nemeses returns to New Gotham after an eight year
absence at the same time one of Huntress' high school friends returns
to New Gotham after an eight year absence.
High Point
Alfred's last scene of the episode.
Low Point
The main guest star's lack of acting talent.
The Future of the Show
The latest rumours say that the WB will give the producers of
Birds of Prey the rest of the originally ordered 13 episode
run to wrap up the series, rather than just ended the series after
this episode. Based on the last two weeks, I really hope that's the
case.
Cheesecake, Anyone?
First, we see Huntress at work in a sweater that's cut across the
chest to expose cleavage. Am I just incredibly sheltered, or did that
strike anyone else as odd? Then, we see Huntress at work later on,
wearing what looked like a loose fitting bra, and nothing else above
the waist. As if that weren't enough, they brought in Sung Hi Lee as
the guest star. I'd link to her website, but Bureau 42 tries to stay
family friendly. For the people who like their women young, we had
Dinah dressing like, well, like the Huntress, in an attempt to attract
a particular male. To top it all off, we had a revelation about
Dinah's friend that a lot of fanfic writers are going to love working
with.
Despite all of this, I still found Dina Meyer's Oracle to be the most
attractive woman on the show. She's also the only one who didn't seem
to go out of her way to show off her natural endowments. I'm sure
Daemonik agrees with me. Anyone else?
The Streetcorner
Danny O'Neil and Neal Adams were two of the pioneers of comics in the
early silver age. It's nice to see them getting some recognition from
the New Gotham municipal government.
The Review
The story wasn't original, but it sure felt new to this
series. Yes, there were a lot of cheesecake shots (as mentioned
above), but they were fairly well integrated into the script, and were
not overemphasized in the direction. The writing focussed on
characters rather than body parts and battles, and benifitted greatly
from it. I give it 5 out of 6.
The effects were minimal, but well done. There was the use
of Dinah's abilities, the explosion in the teaser, and some excellent
wire fighting. I give it 4 out of 6.
The story was solid this week. I spent some time questioning
whether they'd go with the obvious solution to the mystery, or if
they'd make a more parallel character development and have the villain
be the daughter of the original. The writers were good enough not to
insult the viewer's intelligence by giving conclusive evidence of the
connection early on, leaving us to wonder only about how long it would
take the characters to figure it out. Dinah's story thread actually
had some degree of genuine mystery and suspence, as well. I give it 5
out of 6.
The acting depended greatly on the individual. Sung Hi Lee
was bad. Ashley Scott was decent, but she seemed terrible when she
shared the screen with Dina Meyer, who did an excellent job. Rachel
Skarsten wasn't up to par with Dina Meyer, but she was good. Ian
Ambercrombie was fantastic in all of his scenes. I give the acting of
the ensemble 4 out of 6, supported mainly by Dina Meyer's generous
screen time.
The emotional response this produced was primarily surprise.
The same writing team have been writing the episodes for the past few
weeks, and the improvement they've shown in that time is
considerable. I'm starting to regret the decision to cancel this show
more each week, since it looks like it can really go somewhere. The
only truly powerful moment of the show itself was the scene with just
music as Oracle looked in the display case. I give it 3 out of 6.
The production quality this week was high. The direction was
excellent, the cheesecake was pulled out of the spotlight, the music
was perfect, and the lighting perfectly set the mood. I give it 5 out
of 6.
Overall, this is an episode that I would gladly watch again.
If the second half of the series keeps up to this level, I might even
be willing to buy a DVD set. I give it 5 out of 6.
In total, Lady Shiva receives 31 out of 42.
by fiziko November 28, 2002 [Bureau 42]
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Based on Characters from DC Comics Starring Ashley Scott, Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarsten, Shemar Moore, Ian Abercrombie and Mia Sara
Best Line: "A butler does not eavesdrop. He discreetly overhears."
I've come to a definite conclusion about this show: Helena and Dinah shouldn't exist. Period.
This episode solidified, in my mind, the very thing I've known since day one, yet hesitated to say. Barbara Gordon owns this show. Because it seems that she, along with Alfred and Harley, is the only thing that this show can get right, no matter the depths to which it sinks as a whole. And oh, it does sink to some depths this week.
The good news about this week is that it turned out to be very little like what I had imagined, reading the synopsis. This is primarily Barbara's story here, and thankfully, every scene she's in this week is a pleasure, and precisely the tone this show should have as a whole. And yes, seeing her don the Batgirl outfit once again to confront Lady Shiva reeks of coolness.
The problem, of course, is everything else. In particular, the sub-plot between Dinah and the object of her affections, which, I swear, plays out like a 3-part Pert Plus commercial. When the guy says "Whoa, Dinah, you look GREAT!", I half expected some announcer out of nowhere to blare out "Pert Plus: For when coming on to him like a drunken prom date just isn't enough". It's horribly written, executed, and it grinds the episode to a screeching halt. The saving grace of these moments, though, is a nice little sarcastic moment where Dinah attempts to tell a pensive Barbara about the doings at her school and tells her "Can't help ya with that. Sorry." Couldn't agree more. Dinah's presence in this episode adds nothing but a good excuse to use the bathroom.
The Helena side of things is still weak, but what else is new, right? And this week, Reese is made scarce, so there's not even that dynamic to play off of. Not to mention pointless, since you know about 5 minutes into the episode that "Sandy" is Shiva.
Speaking of Shiva, her character was, in my opinion, a wasted opportunity. Supposedly, in the comic books, Lady Shiva was much more akin to Electra from Daredevil, or, in keeping with the Batman universe, Curare from Batman Beyond. The potential here for a truly psychological mind game was wasted by an "apology not accepted" scene, played nicely on Dina Meyer's part, but a horrid misfire otherwise.
If Shiva was the sort to seek vengeance on those Barbara loves rather than Barbara herself, then why, praytell, is kindly guidance counselor Wade nonexistent in this episode? Or for the last two weeks, for that matter? Why isn't Shiva haunting Barbara at every turn? Or, hell, if she's figured out who Batgirl is(which happened WAY too easy to be believed, I might add), why not expose her? The possibilities were endless. None of the good ones were explored. Instead she wound up hunting Little Miss Empty Space Dinah, and being far too easily beaten by Barbara in the end.
What it comes down to this week is the obvious: The writers obviously have no idea how to handle anything outside of what's already been done with Batgirl, Alfred, and Harley Quinn. This isn't a bad thing, of course, seeing as the last attempt at Batgirl was a failure beyond all definition of the word, and Harley, seeing as she was an original creation for the animated series, has never been translated to any other medium. But if this is the strong point, why not stick with what you know? An "After Batman" series isn't so bad an idea. But there's no need to lower the boom into teen melodrama territory like this show has. Rid the world of Helena and Dinah. Split the field between Barbara's struggle to forget Batgirl and live her life, have a villain upsurge force her into involvement, maybe even see her take a job with Gotham PD, maybe work towards her role as the new commish as she was in Batman Beyond. Focus on The Joker's interactions with Harley, show her slow but steady corruption. The animated series managed to pull this off in one episode with just a half hour to work with. Imagine how this could go with an entire season. These are all possibilities that can carry a series, but apparently, the brain trust at Warner Brothers apparently begins and ends with Paul Dini and Co., and they're mired with the wavering quality Justice League cartoon. What we're left with is an a series that would make more sense if it was called "Mary-Kate and Ashley Visit Gotham"
Unfortunately, I have a feeling this is the kind of thing to expect between now and January, although the arrival of Mitch Pileggi on the 18th might be interesting. What kind of care and quality do you really give a show that nobody's watching, and has already been slated to die? None, of course. Congratulations, guys. You're one step closer to hitting bottom.
By Justin Clark Thursday November 28, 2002
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"Lady Shiva"