Guest Stars:
Christopher Wiehl ....Jack Barrett
Shawn Christian ....Wade Brixton
Robert Patrick Benedict ....Gibson Kafka
J.P. Manoux ....Cameron
Robert Clendenin ....Leonard

Ratings: 3.0/4, Position 5 of 6, 102 out of 128 Shows (tie)

Review:
The WB aired two of the remaining four hours of Birds of Prey in a double-header tonight. The episodes are pretty unrelated, but the scores would be pretty similar, so I'm doing a combined review.

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

Gladiatrix written by David H. Goodman. Reunion written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Gladiatrix directed by David Carson. Reunion directed by Chris Long.

Original Airdate

Gladiatrix and Reunion originally aired on Wednesday, January 8, 2003.

Synopsis

Gladiatrix featured a man who kidnapped metahuman women for entertainment. Reunion was about a killer who went to high school with Huntress.

High Point

The high point of the night would be Alfred adjusting his tie and winking.

Low Point

The low point has to be a dangerous, corrosive gas that could kill two people affecting a person, his clothes, and nothing else in the room, including the device next to the gas that was being produced.

I suppose the low point could also have been going from having no idea how a power would work to deducing a major side effect in seconds.

Miscellaneous Comments

It took them a while, but they've got a great team dynamic here that was particularly obvious early in Gladiatrix. I also like the fact that it took time for Huntress to warm up to Reese as a team member, which makes more sense than her rapid acceptance of Dinah earlier in the series. Once Reese and Alfred were beefed up to larger roles, the dynamic of the group really started to work.

The Review

How original can it get when you follow a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome rip-off with an episode that was remarkably similar to an episode of Special Unit 2 of all things? I give it 3 out of 6.

The effects improved, including a new animation of Huntress running across the rooftops. The fireballs and lasers looked a little out of place. The shimmering effects worked well. I give it 5 out of 6.

The stories were a little weak in plot, and the mysteries were trivial, but they did manage to do a good job with the character work. My biggest complaint is that they knew the end was coming at this stage, and didn't use this time to develop the Harley Quinn plotline. I give it 4 out of 6.

The acting was the Birds of Prey usual; Dina Meyer and Shemar Moore turned in very good work, while Rachel Skarsten and Ashley Scott were uneven. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced was a few laughs, mostly from Alfred, and some interest in the lasting implications of the character work. The epsiode's plotline didn't do anything to string me along. I give it 3 out of 6.

The production had its low points. Somehow, jumping around an opponent can give her bruises where she hasn't been hit, for example. There were a couple of other minor things, such as using the click-click door closing sound that you get when you close a door with a doorknob for the sound effect when closing a bathroom door that is a push/pull door. I give it 3 out of 6.

Overall, this was a decent two hours of TV that was better than some past episodes. It sets up the team well for a coordinated effort to face off against Harley Quinn in the last two hours of the series, assuming they are ever broadcast. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, the Gladiatrix and Reunion double header receives 26 out of 42.

by fiziko January 8, 2003 [Bureau 42]