Harvey Birdman: Attorney General

This new special finds lawyer Harvey Birdman trying to get his old boss Phil Ken Sebben impeached at the man's request, because Sebben doesn't even remember getting elected.

I was a big fan of the original show Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, at least the first two seasons. Things really went downhill in the last one. I don't blame Adult Swim for canceling. When I heard about this new special, which takes jabs at the current political climate, I was hopeful. Maybe the creators had enough time to creatively rejuvenate themselves. Unfortunately, this special makes the same mistakes as the last season.

Repeated mistake #1: The show made its name with classic Hannah Barbara characters on trial. But by the last season, it had strayed into too many-non court cases and the zany main cast just wasn't enough to sustain the show. The special does the exact same thing. Most of the jokes don't work. The story isn't interesting. They try to bring back as many of the main and recurring characters as possible, but in a very forced manner that doesn't add much. (Though to the cast's credit, they all do a pretty good job since its been a while since they voiced the characters.) Also, there's a pretty weak number sung by Stephen Colbert, who has weak pipes. On the plus side, Peter Potamus as an Alex Jones-type is a little funny.

Repeated mistake #2: Too much focus on Ken Sebben. The character was funny at first when he was a chaotic neutral supporting character. But the writers became too smitten with him. He took up more time than he was capable of carrying and became dislikable. Here he is just annoying as his constant apathy and randomness is just exhausting.

Repeated mistake #3: Too much dumping on Harvey. Near the end, Harvey became the punching bag too much. It was just lazy writing. Here, Harvey suffers an ending darker than anything the show ever did. It really felt empty and alien to the series.

If you're feeling nostalgic for the show, just watch it. This has nothing to offer.