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 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.