Cast

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 David H. Goodman and Julie Hess.
Directed by Craig Zisk.

Original Airdate

The Birds and a Baby originally aired on Wednesday, October 30, 2002.

Synopsis

The trio find themselves caring for a boy that grows up several years every time he goes to sleep. Harley Quinn wants him back.

High Point

The battle sequences in this show are some of the best on television.

Low Point

The scene that started right after the last commercial. It just didn't work for me at all.

The Review

They knew how unoriginal this story was, or they wouldn't have named it after an unoriginal movie that has been parodied dozens of times since. 2 out of 6.

The effects were few, but decent. The aging sequences looked more like morphing than actually aging, but they were otherwise great. 4 out of 6.

The story was predictable and uninteresting. The only part of the ending that I wasn't expecting was the information Huntress provided that Oracle repeated. (I knew the info, as does the viewer, but I hadn't noticed Huntress pick up on it.) I give it 3 out of 6.

The acting ranged from bad to average. Mia Sara is digging far deeper into camp than she needs to. (Her acting and material was so much better in the pilot.) I don't mind camp, but it looks to me like they're trying to be serious half the time, so neither approach really works. Dina Meyer, Rachel Skarston, and Shemar Moore were all acceptable or better, but Ashley Scott and Mia Sara need either practice or better directors. I give it 3 out of 6.

This generated very little emotional response. Alfred was worth a laugh, but he seemed so out of character that the advantages were undone. I was not drawn in at all. I give it 2 out of 6.

The production is even slipping. I noticed three editing errors in which characters and/or props moved when the camera angle changed. The lighting and cinematography was competant, but uninspired. I give it 3 out of 6.

Overall, this was, sadly, one of the better episodes so far. In the likely event that I stop watching a show because I don't have time for that much TV, this will be the first to go. I give it 3 out of 6, because the fights were well done, and because of the hints of a tighter storytelling arc on the horizon.

In total, Three Birds and a Baby receives 20 out of 42.