3. Birds Of Prey
Hot off the success of Smallville, The WB wanted a show that was somehow related to Batman, but it couldnt actually be a Batman series. Series creator Laeta Kalogridis came up with this show. But apparently, The WB didnt learn from Smallvilles success and created something that was completely different. The show takes place in the future of New Gotham, which has apparently been abandoned by Batman. Former Batgirl Barbara Gordon (played by Dina Meyer) has been paralyzed by the Joker and now uses her computer and hacking skills as Oracle. Her field operative is Helena Kyle, the Huntress, played by Ashley Scott. The daughter of Batman and Catwoman, the Huntress is a metahuman who inherited the powers of agility, strength, healing, a danger sense, and enhanced vision from her mother. Also joining them is Dinah Redmond (Rachel Skarsten), a teenage metahuman with limited telepathic and telekinetic powers, who is later revealed as the daughter of superhero Black Canary. Helena is ordered to see a psychiatrist after being convicted of vandalism, and that psychiatrist is Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Mia Sara), who is actually Harley Quinn, the lover of the Joker who seeks revenge on New Gotham for what it did to him. With the exception of Meyers Oracle, the show featured incredibly terrible acting, particularly from Scott and Sara. Any relation to the excellent Birds of Prey comic book or the Batman mythos was pretty limited. With its focus on a super-powered heroine with a past, a wheelchair-bound assistant with computer hacking skills, and the metahuman community, the entire series is a reminder of the 2000-2002 Jessica Alba vehicle, Dark Angel. And I do not mean that in a good way. Meyer was really the shows only saving grace and its a pity that the first time we see Oracle in another medium, its saddled with so much bad surrounding her. The shows confusing back-story was far too much for the average viewer, and far too removed for fans of the Bat-mythos to really find ground with anyone. What might have worked much better is to keep Oracle as she was in this series, but use the Helena Bertinelli Huntress and the actual Black Canary as the main cast. Fortunately, this show only lasted thirteen episodes before merciful cancellation put it out of its misery.