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[[File:250px-Harvey_Birdman,_Attorney_at_Law_title.jpg|frame]]
''Who is the man in the suit?''
'''''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law''''' (2000-2007) was a comedic American animated television series created by Williams Street for [[Cartoon Network]]'s [[Adult Swim]] block. The show revolved around the day-to-day activities of a law firm staffed mainly by superheroes and other characters featured in [[The Sixties|1960s]]-era animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, particularly ''Birdman and the Galaxy Trio''.
The main character is Harvey Birdman, a 1960s superhero who has traded in most of his superpowers for "power of attorney", and now works at the Law firm Sebben & Sebben, under [[Punny Name|Phil Ken Sebben]] ("Falcon 7", his boss in the original show). In each episode, Birdman has to deal with all manner of hassles at work and in the courtroom while defending such clients as Fred Flintstone (accused of being a mob boss), Secret Squirrel (accused of public indecency), Boo-Boo Bear (accused of being a mad bomber) and other iconic [[Hanna-Barbera]] characters from [[The Dark Age of Animation]] -- bringing new meaning to the phrase [[Lawyer-Friendly Cameo]], indeed. His most common opponent is the neurotic supervillain-turned-prosecutor Myron Reducto. ''Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law'' was known for its fast-paced jokes and pop-culture references.
It also spawned a single game of the exact same name, similar to a tongue-in-cheek ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]'' (understandable, as [[Self-Plagiarism|it was made
{{tropelist}}
* [[Achilles' Heel]]: Mentok's mind-taking can be blocked both by aluminum foil and by metal skull plates.
* [[Actor Allusion]]: When the office workers mistake Phil's brother for Phil himself.
{{quote|
'''Random Employee:''' ''"[[Stephen Colbert|Stephen]]'s back!"'' }}
** [[Freeze-Frame Bonus|A well timed pause]] will reveal a bus with an ad for [[The Colbert Report]] {{spoiler|running over Phil}}.
*** Before that, when Phil says he's leaving:
{{quote|
...
'''Harvey:''' So... you're leaving us?
'''Phil Ken Sebben''': I wouldn't say that. I'll just be extremely busy on the new show, err, firm. }}
* [[Anal Probing]]: Phil Ken Sebben mistakenly believes [[The Jetsons]] are Greys--not time travelers--and that they're out to give him an anal probe.
* [[Anything That Moves]]: Gigi.
* [[Art Evolution]]: Potamus went from having ordinary humanoid hands to flat hippo limbs in season 3.
* [[Ascended Extra]]: Various characters from the original ''Birdman'' cartoon, especially Mentok, Reducto, Birdgirl and X the Eliminator.
** Within the show itself, Peter Potamus and to a lesser extent the bear.
* [[Ascended Fanon]]: Arguably the main joke of the series. The majority of Birdman's cases are based around popular fan theories (Doctor Quest and Race Bannon are actually a gay couple, the Scoobie gang are stoners,Top Cat is really a pimp, etc.) and headscratchers (why can't you see Apache Chief or Grape Apes genitals, despite their respective sizes?, why is Secret Squirrel apparently naked under his trench coat?, etc.) related to old Hanna Barbera cartoons.
* [[Audio Erotica]]: The female member of Shoyu Weenie when she took the stand.
{{quote|
* [[Back
* [[Bait and Switch Credits]]
* [[Barack Obama]]: He often appears as a background juror--before running for president, even!
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* [[The Cameo]]: A ''[[Street Fighter]]'' character is hidden in each chapter of the video game.
* [[Camp Straight]]: Peanut, through all his effeminate mannerisms and pink sweater vests, is not only straight, but quite the player.
* [[Catch Phrase]]:
{{quote|
** Also,
{{quote|
** Not ''there'', '''there!'''
** "In my/your/his pants..."
** I'LL take the case!
** Back off!
** Mind Taker. * mind-taking sound effects*
** Crest on Birdman's helmet!
** Deedle-eedle-ee.
** * zips-up pants*
** That's Mind Taking, baby!
*** Yeah, there's a lot of these. In fact, there's a special feature on the Season 3 DVD where it lists all the common gags and plays all occurences when selected.
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: A good portion of the characters, but especially ''Phil Ken Sebben''.
** Oh, and Peanut.
*** "Who's feeling Peanutty?"
{{quote|
'''Birdman:''' What?
'''Peanut:''' So, what, you don't think they're going to open the books for me?
'''Birdman:''' Why does it always feel like we're having two different conversations?
'''Peanut:''' Let me tell you one thing, Petroni. When Peanut comes heavy, he comes '''HARD'''
'''Birdman:''' Ah, much better. }}
** And of course, Judy Ken Sebben, aka Birdgirl. It runs in the family.
* [[Comedic Sociopathy]]: Phil Ken Sebben and Peanut.
{{quote|
* [[Crossover|Crossovers]]: Arguably the entire premise of the show
* [[Courtroom Antic]]: Every one in the book.
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* [[Did I Just Say That Out Loud?]]: Judy/Birdgirl and her megaphone.
* [[Double Entendre]]: Phil Ken Sebben just ''loves'' these, preceding each one with a hearty "Ha! HA!"
{{quote|
'''Phil:''' "[[Or Are You Just Happy to See Me?|Roll of quarters]]... Wait, that's not a roll of..." }}
** "Deedle-deedle-ee."
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* [[The Eeyore]]: Droopy Dog.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Even The Deadly Duplicator can't stand $28 chimichangas!
* [["Everybody Laughs" Ending]]: Parodied. People will laugh at the end of an episode for absolutely no/very little reason... except at the one when Scrappy was taken away to be eaten by Avenger.
* [[Everything's Even Worse with Sharks]]: In Dabba Don, A scene showed Harvey waking up with Jabber Jaw's head on his bed.
* [[Expy]]: Mentoks father is an expy of both [[Marlon Brando]] and [[Superman|Jor-el]].
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* [[Fun Size]]: Reducto's constant threats to shrink his enemies ("I'll make you fun-sized!") [[Trope Namer|named this trope]].
* [[Gag Penis]]: Inch High, Private Eye
{{quote|
** Apache Chief apparently qualifies as well.
* [[Gender Bender]]: ''Phil'' of all people, though it was only a [[Spoof Aesop]] about plastic surgery.
* [[Gender
* [[Genki Girl]]: Birdgirl, [[Up to Eleven|turned up to 11]].
* [[George Jetson Job Security]]: "And you're fired!"
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** Gone Effcnt. {{spoiler|Firing everyone [[Glengarry Glen Ross|except the top three earners]]}}.
* [[G-Rated Drug]]: The tanning crème in "SPF". With Peanut playing the part of drug dealer:
{{quote|
* [[Grumpy Bear]]: That angry cop that told Harvey to get down in "Booty Noir".
* [[Groin Attack]]: One of the few times Harvey uses his beam attack, it's straight into Reducto's crotch for shrinking him in the middle of an oral argument -- and doesn't skip a beat. Also, any episode involving Apache Chief.
{{quote|
* [[Hanging Judge]]: "Let's convict ourselves a bear!"
* [[
* [[Ho Yay]]: "Wow, that's a man kiss..."
** X and his [[Heterosexual Life Partner|friend]], Zardo,
*** X's obsession with Harvey borders on this on occasion.
* [[Identity Amnesia]]: Spoofed.
* [[Idiosyncratic Wipes]]: Scene changes are marked by a quick shot of a gavel banging, or briefcase opening, etc on a brightly-colored background.
** Woo-Ka!
* [[Insanity Defense]]: Harvey tried to use this to get Devlin off (the first time). [[
* [[Instrument of Murder]]: [[Quick Draw McGraw]]'s 'El Kabong' guitar.
* [[Insufferable Genius]]: Spyro, Mentok. Lampshaded when Harvey tries to make small talk with Spyro, and quickly understands why none of Spyro's school buddies kept in touch.
* [[Kavorka Man]]: Potamus.
* [[Knife-Throwing Act]]: In a moment of [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]], Peanut is trapped in a genie's lamp with a woman. He says they're going to go on a "magic carpet ride" and asks her to hand over a roll of nearby rope. Later on, when said genie releases his captives, Peanut appears with the woman tied to a giant target, having apparently been doing such an act the whole time.
* [[Large Ham]]: Mentok the Mind Taker, when he's not being a [[Deadpan Snarker]].
** Not to mention X! the Eliminatorrrrrrr! When he's not being a clingy Harvey-stalker.
** And Spyro, who is apparently an actual actor, is overly theatrical in and out of court, at one point staging a scene from ''Pagliacci'' while prosecuting a mob boss.
** Lest we forget Birdgirl, who is usually the most vocal and eager member of what she, and she alone, calls the "Birdteam". Also... her inner monologues about her secret identity are not so inner, and tend to actually end up being broadcasted to everyone. Over a loudspeaker.
** "I am '''SHADOOOOOOO''' The Brain Thief!"
** Also, [[The Rival|Vulturo]], another bird-themed lawyer, who always initially comes across as a [[Wicked Cultured]] aristocrat, but eventually degenerates into [[The Unintelligible|mwoh hohn hon hnyaaaaaooonn]]...
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* [[Lost in Transmission]]: The "Sebben & Sebben New Employee Orientation / Juicer Instruction" video
* [[Male Gaze]]: When Harvey is trying to get Birdgirl off his back, he drops her off at her house. She gets out of the car in a manner which Birdman can't help but notice.
{{quote|
* [[Match Cut]]: In the new employee training episode, a shot of a helicopter fading into a shot of Phil Ken Sebben with a similarly shaped pipe in his mouth.
* [[Me's a Crowd]]: Done in one episode by the Deadly Duplicator.
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* [[Mythology Gag]]: The episode "Turner Classic Birdman", which is in the style of a classic ''Birdman'' episode. Introduced by Turner Classic Movies' Robert Osbourne.
* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]: Apache Chief batting away an approaching meteor in "Very Personal Injury":
{{quote|
<cut to a scene of an alien celebration of "One Million Years of Civilization" being interrupted by an incoming meteor> }}
* [[No Celebrities Were Harmed]]: Caricatures of George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Antonin Scalia appear as extras in a few blink-and-you'll-miss-it scenes and (then-future) President [[Barack Obama]] is often a juror.
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* [[Oh, Cisco]]: Every episode ends like this.
* [[Only Sane Man]]: Poor Harvey.
* [[Parental Incest]]: Phil is overwhelmingly attracted to Birdgirl. He is apparently the only person in the world that doesn't know she's his daughter. Birdgirl, [[Lawful Stupid|always a slave to the Superhero Sidekick Code of Conduct]], is willing to marry him in order to maintain her secret identity. Thankfully, Phil finds someone else he's more attracted to before the marriage can go through: [[Opposite
* [[The Plan]]: Mentok. Especially with Shado in the episode ''Harvey's Civvy'', but really pretty much anything he does.
** ''"That's mind-taking, baby!"''
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** Peanut shooting off his beams in the bathroom.
* [[Power Perversion Potential]]: How Zan knew Wonder Woman was taking a bath at one point.
* <s>[[Psychic Powers]]</s> [[Psychic Powers|Mind Taking]], baby! Booo-WEE-oooh!
** Also "Shadoooooo! The Brain Th..."
{{quote|
* [[Refuge in Audacity]]: Seriously, how did they get away with some of those jokes?
* [[Running Gag]]: "Cookies/noses on dowels", "In your pants", "Snackerdoodle?", "Did you get that thing I sent ya?", Phil's poor vision, etc.
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* [[Saying Sound Effects Out Loud]]: BEUOOOOWEEEEUOOOOOOOOOOP!
* [[Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale]]: Spoofed. The Jetsons claim to be from the "far off year of 2002" while standing next to a calender marked "2004".
* [[Self-Serving Memory]]: At the end of one episode, Harvey has a flashback of a scene at the beginning of the episode, except the scene looks incredibly different, with characters present that weren't there the first time and elements that don't even seem possible such as a scuba diver floating in the middle of the room.
* [[Shout-Out]]: More than just the obvious ones covered by [[Crossover]]. For example, the {{spoiler|bus that runs over Phil Ken Sebben}} has an ad for ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' on the side.
* [[Sleeps with Everyone but You]]: Harvey is the only person G.G. isn't eager to make out with/screw.
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* [[Spell My Name with an "S"]]: Elliott Taggart, the Deadly Duplicator. That's ''two'' L's and ''two'' T's!
* [[Technology Marches On]]: Spoofed with X's death ray, which is a button-covered, desk-sized console that uses vacuum tubes and takes half a minute to charge up (once X can find an electric outlet) before firing (or a vacuum tube blows out) that he nonetheless treats as a portable weapon.
** Also spoofed when [[The Jetsons]] (from the far off year of 2002) try to sue the present.
* [[Tsundere]]: Arguably, X.
* [[Tonight Someone Dies]]: The last episode is titled "The Death of Harvey Birdman".
* [[Torch the Franchise and Run]]: The final episode of Harvey Birdman has the eponymous character being killed-off in a rather [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|anti-climatic]] way. However, there was a [[Sequel Hook]] just in case they want to return to it {{spoiler|He has a clone somewhere out there}}.
* [[Trust-Building Blunder]]
* [[The Un-Reveal]]: How Phil Ken Sebben lost his eye, in "Sebben & Sebben Employee Orientation".
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Prime Time Cartoon]]
[[Category:
[[Category:The Millennium Age of Animation]]
[[Category:Western Animation]]
[[Category:Adult Swim]]
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