Birds of Prey: Three Birds and a Baby (1.4)

There's no comedy stand-by more deplorable than the one involving single women saddled with the new found responsibility of having a baby handed to them unexpectedly. Wackiness inevitably ensues, there are complaints about diaper-changing, whining over constant crying, rinse, repeat. While Birds of Prey didn't completely bleed that familiar sack of awfulness dry, it didn't save the episode from being yet another flat and campy superhero mess.

Like last week, the attempts made to develop some kind of character point involving Helena didn't really work. 'Ironically', frosty Helena is the only one of the birds who actually bonds with the orphaned child. This seemingly has something to do with her own childhood abandonment issues, but it's never given the weight it deserves. Equally lame is Dinah's scene with the whiny teenage Guy after he labels himself a "freak". Seriously, I could do without ever seeing another annoying sci-fi show where teenage characters with powers complain that they're huge freaks. Ugh. The show attempts to push this "freaks are people too" message every episode, and it comes off so ham-fisted and corny, they may as well not even have tried.

Equally annoying is the continued presence of Harley Quinn. Her grand scheme continues to be predictable and frustratingly vague, and I totally didn't understand her motives here. She wanted a child of her own, yet also wanted an army of kiddie assassins? Why not just hire actual assassins? Or is that too simple for a self-proclaimed criminal mastermind? I don't understand this character, and I'm guessing the writers don't either. It doesn't help that Mia Sara assumes she's in a low-rent season six episode of Charmed, chewing the scenery like it's made of candy.

Birds of Prey does pick up a little, doesn't it? Or is my memory of it remembered through rose-tinted glasses? Right now all I see is a flawed show with a host of annoying actresses standing around pouting and failing badly. Poor Dina Meyer. D

Credits
Guest stars Riley Smith (Guy at 18); Michael Welch (Guy at 14); Bobby Edner (Guy at 10); Kevin Rankin (Dr. Lewis Melfin); Brody Hutzler (Mercenary)
Writers David H. Goodman, Julie Hess Director Craig Zisk