"Harley Quinn" Season One Talkback (Spoilers)

[Yojimbo]

Harley Quinn premieres today at 5am (PST)/ 8am (EST) on DC Universe! Show your support for Harley Quinn on Twitter by live-tweeting #DCUHarleyQuinn and #HarleyQuinn to @TheDCUniverse during today's episodes!

Harley Quinn has finally broken things off with the Joker and attempts to make it on her own as the criminal Queenpin of Gotham City. In this adult animated action-comedy series which also features Poison Ivy and a whole cast of heroes and villains, old and new, from the DC Universe.

Harley Quinn
Friday, November 29, 2019 - #01 "Till Death Do Us Part"
Synopsis: In the series premiere, Harley Quinn strikes out on her own.

Related Threads
-Official Website
-Harley Quinn News and Discussion
-Harley Quinn Complete Seasons 1 and 2 Blu-ray Talkback

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[Frontier]

This is definitely probably one of the most explicit and crass DC animations I have ever seen in my life. Like, this makes Hell to Pay look tame by comparison with all the blood, f-bombs, and level of violence perpetrated so casually. That's not necessarily a complaint, although it can be a little bewildering .

Kaley Cuoco is kind of the "face" of this series even beyond voicing Harley herself, so it's interesting to see how she fares as the Clown Princess of Crime. I think she definitely gets Harley's manic and zany energy down, and the mix of tough-as-nails and psychotic Supervillain with a down-to-earth and girly center that makes Harley Harley .

The lack of an accent is somewhat noticeable, but there were a few lines where I felt you could hear Harley's typical accent again, so I wonder if it might be a plot point that she's deliberately trying to downplay it but it creeps up every now and then .

I am a little bummed that Harley ditched the jester costume for her modern look, if only because I love Harley's classic look and it looked really good here (not that I dislike her new outfit either). I am kind of surprised Ivy approved of it given it shows off so much more skin compared to her old costume...but I guess that's female empowerment in some regards. Plus, Ivy's worn less .

Alan Tudyk as The Joker everybody. He felt like such a natural fit for the Clown Prince of Crime that I'm surprised it's taken him this long to play him. He gets Joker's pettiness, viciousness, and cruel sense of humor down to pat, and I'm excited to hear more from him .

It's always a treat to hear Diedrich Bader as Batman, and it's cool to see he'll be a recurring presence in this series. While a lot of the characters here come off as fairly radical or exaggerated versions of themselves, it's kind of amusing that they're playing Batman so straight .

Christopher Meloni's Gordon looks like he'll be hilarious. He really does seem to be on a constant verge of a nervous breakdown, and Batman constantly going "Jim!" was funny .

This is definitely a different take on Poison Ivy. She's not so much a alluring seductress so much as the snarky, grounded, best friend to the manic female lead. If not for those pants and green skin she'd barely even be wearing a costume. I'm not sure quite how I feel about this version of Ivy, but I think so far she works well as her function as Harley's loyal gal pal .

That's an interesting take on the HarleyxIvy friendship that it was born from Harleen Quinzel helping Ivy learn to tolerate humans. I also thought it was a nice touch that Harleen is Harley's conscience, more or less, and that Kaley was able to do a different voice for her .

Wow, Calendar Man can't even remember his own son's birthday. And his wife's name is "Mrs. Calendar Man" .

Jim Rash as The Riddler was great. He does such a great job with arrogant and sniveling geniuses absolutely convinced of their superiority to everything and everyone. I'm not surprised people find him funny too .

Usually the jump to protagonist leads to an attempt at making the characters more heroic or relateable to audiences...but I'm glad the show isn't making any attempt to really redeem it's female stars. Harley may not want to be in an abusive relationship anymore, but she still wants to be the top criminal in Gotham. Poison Ivy may want what's best for Harley, but she didn't bat an eye at her plant eating a child and his family .

Did anyone notice Harley solved the riddle before Batman did ?

When a supervillain cares more about his archnemesis then you .

 

[Yojimbo]

So we all know Harley Quinn, the co-creation of Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, has been around for 26 years and has become a fixture in both animation and live-action movies, shows and comic books. More so in recent time, she's managed to come out of the shadow of her romantic interest the Joker and exist as a own unique character in her own right. The story, fittingly enough, explores Harley breaking ties with the Joker and striking out to become the top villain of Gotham City and a member of the infamous Legion of Doom, a team of premiere super villains, with the help of her best friend Poison Ivy and her crew of misfits that no one else would pay any mind to. These two extra facets with the Legion and a crew elevates this story and really helps to differentiate it from past 'Harley goes solo' stories we've had over the years.

It's no surprise the series premiere "Till Death Do Us Part" has the big task of setting up the cast and the world of "Harley Quinn" in addition to the overall stakes. So I think it suffers a little from the "meh pilot episode syndrome," stuffing everything in under 23 minutes but can't be helped. Thankfully the episode immediately gets to the core season conflict revolving around Joker and Harley -- Harley wants to be famous for being a supervillain and not 'Joker's girlfriend,' but Joker stills sees her as a sidekick rather than a partner and butts in on one of her bits. But man no holding back, start off with a yacht full of rich elite white bankers celebrating stealing money from the poor and screw them over... yes, it's another stab at Gotham class warfare that we've seen in movies like "The Dark Knight Rises" or "Joker" but a whole lot more irreverent. What better way to show the graphic nature than through Joker and his meat mask. Yeesh. Or melting bankers to death. And kind of what we're expecting, despite being once again used as a prop to set up his escape, Harley clings to Joker's false promise he will break her out like a lovesick puppy. But I liked how they did the time skips to illustrate that in a few minutes. Favorite part of that was even the rest of Arkham agrees with Ivy but Harley is still optimistic. I also know I shouldn't have laughed at it but the two guards reducing a boy to tears for his nearly fatal mistake of bringing a cactus for Calendar Man... I so laughed. I guess there some of the more 'modern' humorous takes like Harley deconstructing one of Ivy's ex-boyfriends from college.

It's an interesting break from the standard Ivy that she spends the episode Ivy trying to help Harley and has some clever tactics like bringing up how she once diagnosed her and tricks Harley into a self-diagnosis. I like how that keys off both the nature of this being a cartoon and showing Harley is nuts, an old photo of Harleen comes to life and converses with Harley but only she can see it. But since it's too easy, Harley falls for Joker's latest lie, he was keeping her away for her own protection from the war-bent Batman and Commissioner Gordon. Despite all that, I loved how Ivy comes up an elaborate ruse to finally get Harley to see the light... all in thanks to Riddler and a fake caper specifically catered to the Joker's ego. Joker's critique of Riddler reminded me of standard fare on other adult oriented shows like "The Venture Bros" or "Rick and Morty." There's even an amusing exchange about Reese Witherspoon and which movie Joker really likes that makes for good general humor not crass or innuendo based. There's also a 'clean' stab at Costco by Poison Ivy. While it was packed and a pilot, I still felt the episode shows this adult comedy does have the potential to be highly entertaining. Super violent and lot's of high level swearing. But potential.

For Harley, many fans have remained devoted to her original voice, Arleen Sorkin. That said, there's likely going to be the usual critiques that instead of "honoring" Sorkin we have Kaley Cuoco sounding... like Kaley Cuoco with a potty mouth. But if one can remain objective, Cuoco does have the heart, emotion, and comic timing to cut it as the latest actor to embody Harley. I admit I went in skeptical she could stand out from the likes of Arleen Sorkin, Tara Strong, or Hynden Walch - nor did I watch any of "The Big Bang Theory" - but Cuoco proves she has the chops. But it is the pilot and I'm gaming on the likelihood she finds her stock voice for Harley as the season progressed.

Among the cast, the contender for being the most reinterpreted goes to Commissioner Gordon. Instead of the usual stalwart ally of Batman, on "Harley Quinn," Gordon is off the reservation and riddled with PTSD. In his first scene, he berates Harley with an onslaught of overly elaborate metaphors to get her to squeal on the Joker's location only for Batman to be the straight man/good cop to reel him back to reality. But like a light switch, the mention of just about anything will set him off - even Harley's delusional belief that marriage and a honeymoon is in her near future. Chris Meloni, hot off the "Happy!" dark comedy series, was a smart choice as Gordon.

Batman is pretty much Batman as we know and love. The straight laced... straight man of the series. Diedrich Bader more or less sounds like the Batman he voiced in "Batman: The Brave and The Bold."

Poison Ivy still retains the classic elements of Harley but with less man hating supervillain and more the kind of character of seems to not care about anything but ultimately cares the most. Ivy essentially is Harley's surrogate conscience moving forward. Lake Bell's dry and emotionally aloof Ivy and Cuoco's optimistic to a fault Harley is another perfect interpretation of the classic Harley and Ivy dysfunctional BFFs we've come to love and fear.

Jim Rash as the Riddler is one of those perfect castings. He becomes the role and delivers brilliantly.

Alan Tudyk's take on the Joker is also commendable. While it's nowhere like Joaquim Phoenix or Heath Ledger, I would dare to call it a millennial re-imagining of Caesar Romero with a hint of Mark Hamill. Kinda a perfect take on a man baby who wants everyone to worship and adulate him.

A safe bet that the most polarizing aspect of the series and episode is the TV-MA content. Essentially from the start of the episode, there's f-bombs, gratuitous violence, and crass characters. The content that is shown goes beyond even what we've seen in the DC Universe direct-to-video movies even. Blood, protruding bone, vomit, melting faces, gunshots, head shots, other person's face wearing, more blood and guts galore, and regurgitated corpses. The series is not for the faint of heart nor those used to the more G or PG rated fare.

The combination of world building, Harley's emotional revelation and delusions, and the adult absurd comedy do fight each other to the point of obfuscating tone and slowing the pacing of the episode at times, but that's to be expected to set up the core cast, the series, the plots, and the arcs in under 23 minutes. The humor is a dealer's choice of the classics, one liners, visual gags, modern, and meta. While showrunners Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker, and Dean Lorey may have been tarnished by the death of NBC's short-lived DC sitcom Powerless, and "Till Death Does Us Part" has the typical "meh-kinda off" premiere syndrome, the episode succeeds in presenting the show's balls to the wall format and not playing it safe.

Looking ahead, the series really opens up and shines once the episode 1 niceties are in the rear view mirror and the remainder of the season earns the hype as one of the strongest opening seasons of any recent DC animated series and proves a comedy can work. "Till Death Does Us Part" is a 6 out of 10 from me but the overall first 13 episodes gets a solid 8 out of 10. "Harley Quinn" has the potential to tell a unique tale of redemption and self-actualization.

Rating: 6 out of 10

 

[Fone Bone]

Harley Quinn "Till Death Do Us Part"

Remind me again: Was that supposed to be a comedy? Because I didn't laugh once. What I saw was a franchise desperate for relevance, and so it decides to embrace and cater to the baser instincts of terrible fans. It's just nonstop depravity. I'm not gonna go much further in this specific review because I'll probably wind up insulting people who had the stomach for that, and lord help them, found it "cool". And that's no good for anybody. Let's just say I thought it sucked and leave it at that. *.

 

[Yojimbo]

Harley Quinn "Till Death Do Us Part"

Remind me again: Was that supposed to be a comedy? Because I didn't laugh once. What I saw was a franchise desperate for relevance, and so it decides to embrace and cater to the baser instincts of terrible fans. It's just nonstop depravity. I'm not gonna go much further in this specific review because I'll probably wind up insulting people who had the stomach for that, and lord help them, found it "cool". And that's no good for anybody. Let's just say I thought it sucked and leave it at that. *.

Within the first 5 minutes of watching it, I knew you wouldn't like it one bit. That's not true, when this series was first announced, I knew you wouldn't like it one bit.

 

[Fone Bone]

Within the first 5 minutes of watching it, I knew you wouldn't like it one bit. That's not true, when this series was first announced, I knew you wouldn't like it one bit.

But thankful my review was as measured as it was. I could have gone off on that and the people it appealed to with the blaze of thousand fiery suns, but I held my tongue to keep the peace. Doing it on a weekly basis would probably be a neat trick.

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

"Till Death Do Us Part" - Though we've had stuff like The Ray and Constantine and Vixen from CW Seed those were more mini series so I would consider this the first true actual animated DC series. And yeah by "adult" that mostly means a lot of cursing and violence and gore but... honestly I'm fine with that in a series. And honestly I kind of find it refreshing to see in an animated major DC series. Like yeah in the DTVs you do get some major violence but even those seemed toned down compared to this. Like even the opening boat caper just Harley busting that guy's leg until he goes into shock or Joker having shown to take that guy's face off feels like the kind of messed up darkness the comics would be able to get away but you don't see actually ever happen anywhere else, until now. And yeah I'm for that. I can see this not being everyone's cup of tea but I'm totally for a DC animated series that just totally goes balls to the uber insane like this, especially since yeah there is an actual plot line and story beat under neath it, more on that later. But I'm honestly sold on the insanity here. Granted a lot of the best bits you might be able to get away with comedy wise in a regular series like the super out of it Gordon flipping the bat signal on and off and talking about how Hotels don't really have the deals Harley seems to think they do or Calendar man keeping track of how long Harley's been in jail or the Thai food discussion at the end. But even the comedy has some great sort of gorey bits like the plant having eaten the kid as well as his parents or Joker saying how much the Riddler "f***ing sucks" for his killer Riddle gimmick or Joker wondering if the password for the wi fi actually is d***head. Like again I'm actually down for hardcore this series is.

And again it also works because like with say The Venture Brothers or Rick and Morty behind all the insanity and blood and death actually is a story with an actual throughline. In this case establishing this whole first episode to have Harleen fully get over The Joker and realize how outright terrible he is. Again this is something that the comics did and you see maybe mentions of in other works but this is the first one to really address it. Heck I haven't seen it yet but since Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn movie next year doesn't even have the Joker in it and Harleen talks about breaking up with him, this already has the edge on being a better story on that aspect by actually really showing how messed up the relationship is and how long it takes Harley to realize it. As good as BTAS and TNBA and other works in the DCAU ultimately were about it there was always this thing of playing it up like she would ALWAYS go back to him and that would ultimately be here fate so I appreciate showing that though it takes literally him leaving her for a year, having a break through with her Harleen self and then him ultimately admitting "eh I would let you die because I want to kill Batman myself" to have her finally see the truth. And thus ultimately end the episode in a better place then started and I like too that though the show is going to be about her wanting to be in the Legion and gathering a crew that is something that will be saved more for later episodes and the focus on here was the break up. I also like the explanation that the reason Pamela has such a soft spot for Harley is because Harleen was the only psychatrist who got through to Poison Ivy to make her tolerant around people thus why she actually cares for her. I think for some writers though Ivy is better for Harley then Joker they treat it is Ivy just amuses HQ which is why she keeps her around but I much prefer them having an actual connection and this one did a good job with that. Heck I didn't even see the whole "oh Ivy set up the deal with Riddler to get Harley to see the truth" and though that Harley would escape the acid because like she's just immune to poison (oh yeah the whole "oh is it the good kind of acid that gives you super powers?" is another good line from this) but having that as a set up works. So honestly yeah really liked this first ep and totally on board with this series. Hopefully people are too because I would like more then just a season of this if they're all of about this quality but at least very solid start that makes me look forward to more.

 

[Frontier]

So who caught all the Arkham inmates?

Riddler, Calendar Man, Killer Croc, and Man-Bat were obvious. I also saw KGBeast and a purple-haired girl with a pink streak in her hair that I'm not too sure of...

I also saw a blue-haired woman, but I'm not sure if that's supposed to be anyone. Nocturna ?

 

[Yojimbo]

Harley Quinn continues today at 5am (PST)/ 8am (EST) on DC Universe! Show your support for Harley Quinn on Twitter by live-tweeting @DCUHarleyQuinn and #HarleyQuinn to @TheDCUniverse during today's episode!

Friday, December 6, 2019 - #02 "A High Bar"
Synopsis: Harley is determined to become part of the Legion of Doom.

 

[Frontier]

Wow, the Legion of Doom headquarters looks surprisingly...public .

Look at Scarecrow, talking about everyone's feelings! Or Bane being so sensitive and talking with an obvious parody of Tom Hardy's Bane! They even make a joke about the stadium attack .

"Joquinn?" No wonder they broke up, that's a terrible couple name .

Batman couldn't save Howie Mandel! The Joker's taken the life of a beloved celebrity !

I admit it. I am disappointed at the lack of a real theme song .

Wayne Knight as The Penguin everybody! I love how they actually showed Penguin as pretty formidable in his own right, and I think that dial on his umbrella is the first time they've actually tried to explain all the gadgets in Penguin's umbrella .

It's always fun to see Nicole Sullivan in a DC production, this time as Penguin's sister .

Joker complaining about the labor of building his trap door would've been a prime opportunity to use The Carpenter .

Kite Man! Heck Yeah! It was pretty fun watching the show do their own take on the hapless, overconfident, and pathetic Kite Man from Rebirth, complete with his catchphrase. I also guess he serves the role of the pathetic and annoying love interest that every female lead in a sitcom needs (sorry Ivy) .

I guess it wouldn't be Poison Ivy without her deadly pheremones, although for a second I thought those kids were genuinely just trying to hit on her (because, y'know, its Ivy and their hitting puberty). Was not expecting it to end with Ivy having to kiss a bunch of kids...but I gotta respect that one kid who tried to go for another one .

Yeah, you probably shouldn't mess with Harley when she's got a literal plant goddess on her side .

I'm kind of surprised in an episode set around a Bar Mitzvah they didn't once mention the fact that Harley's Jewish .

 

[Yojimbo]

I thought "A High Bar" was an improvement over the premiere with better pacing and better balance of story, humor, TV-MA content, and action. Revolving it around a bar mitzvah gone wrong was a first I think for DC animation but the episode shows that the bar is still high and if Harley intends to clear it and become a full fledged and respected supervillain, she can't do it alone or with just her BFF Poison Ivy. 7 out of 10.

I like that the plan seems to be introduce a couple of the cast/recurring each episode, here with Bane, Scarecrow, and Kite Man in particular.

Hate it or love it, but this interpretation of Bane stole the episode for me. James Adomian's off tilt Tom Hardy impression, threatening to blow up anything that wrongs him, being bullied by Joker, the trivia night cut-away, the realizations about how he sounds, and going all out against D-lister Kite Man - you'll either find it all so hilarious or an affront to the original comic book depiction of Bane.

I'm on the fence with the docile New Zealand-esque voice of Scarecrow from Rahul Kohli after decades of creepier takes from the likes of Jeffrey Combs, Dee Bradley Baker and more.

Kite Man quickly establishes himself as the doofus of the show but like Bane, he'll probably be hit or miss with the audience.

I don't have much to say about Penguin, other than the fact that casting Wayne Knight for the role was another genius choice.

Mrs. Cobblepot was also hilarious in her own doting mom kind of way, especially in her two scenes with Harley and Ivy. Just unintentionally hilarious because of her lines and Nicole Sullivan's take. Totally unphased by super villains. How she tells Ivy and Harley to stop cussing or handing them goodie bags and how they talk to her. So awesome.

The Howie Mandel cameo might have seemed out of nowhere but if you've been a fan of a show like "Rick and Morty," a celebrity cameo isn't much of a shocker.

Harley's conviction (or stubbornness depending on how you look at it) gets the best of her yet again but the real meat of the episode, I thought, was once again how formidable Harley is when she uses her mind and escaping certain death. Though it did help that Ivy showed up and used her vines.

Another unexpected bit that I wound up enjoying is how the Joker was saddled by bureaucratic red tape for the episode. Granted, it does bring up the white elephant in the room of how these super villains are treated on this show - Joker's construction site, villains coming in and out of the Hall of Doom in broad daylight, the Gotham Mint knowingly renting out their atrium to a supervillain - for now, seems like the audience has to give it the benefit of the doubt for now. Though it does echo the status quo of The Guild of Calamitous Intent from "The Venture Bros." in which super villainy was at a point where it was highly organized, basically a labor union, and essentially legitimized and ubiquitous to the public.

Back to Joker, it becomes apparent in this episode that his toxic hold on Harley also extends to the Legion of Doom and it should be interesting how that plays out. More so if Harley becomes a member later on. I mean, he tries to play it cool around his peers about how word got out she dumped him... then he goes on Good Morning Gotham, slaps a bomb on the host Howie Mandel and tries to twist the break up in his favor. Total man child.

Ivy continues to entertain from her politically correct explanation of her misnamed love potion to her encounter with Kite Man. I'm sold that her her dry wit really balances the show out for the better.

Harley strutting into the party showing off how awesome she's doing, clad in a boa and walking in a tiger on leash. the 4 panel tiger roar followed by her grr then But she soon realizes it's a bar mitzvah -- so good. Then Bane even tells the Joker she looks like she's doing well - exactly what she wanted. Loved it.

I also loved that little scene of Harley hitting if off with Bane, Scarecrow, and Two-Face but Joker arrives and sours things. Then she flosses. lmao. But more importantly, Harley later talks some sense into Bane, Two Face, and Scarecrow about Joker being a bully with no super powers then Bane does the right thing and outs Joker for not wanting to go to the "stupid" party.

Yeah, the end of the fight was kinda anti-climactic to some but to me, for it to end because of a zoning issue was fine in my book. Even the last scene I guess you could nitpick, too, them telling the boy to eff off but the table scene did point out they're terrible. So, eh.

 

[Neo Ultra Mike]

"A High Bar" - Heh ironically enough the first episode actually set a pretty high bar for this series to reach that honestly makes sense as though sometimes pilots are seen as the weaker or more generally lesser element of their series due to just generally being where the team is just getting the start of what the series is supposed to be like, pilots also tend to have a lot more time and attention spent on making them special as they are a series first attention getter and thus you want to have a good note to start out your show. I think it depends on how far a pilot is made compared to the rest of the series and typically when the second ep is weaker it means these are being more written in a row which is the case here. There isn't really nearly as strong a through line or an arc here as it still opens and ends with Harley wanting to be in the Legion of Doom despite the jerkery of the other members. This one also more then the last makes me kind of question the strength of some of the characters like am i supposed to be scared or at least see it as some sort of actual threat when Joker pulls a gun on ivy considering she could just like rip him apart with her thorns? Like the show doesn't make it clear exactly who is really in control there which even for a comedy you really shouldn't have for those kind of bits and speaking of comedy not nearly as many good zingers as the last episode had. I mean there were some funny bits like Kite Man actually apoloigizing when he realized he totally misread Harley and admitting the bus would of been faster then him or Penguin's nephew being pressured by Harley to admit he never got a fingerbang from a girl and thus doesn't have the nerve to really shoot at her or Joker wanting a secret trap that the zone board won't approve and his irritation of that and yeah the ending zinger was actually really funny with that one kid pretending to still be somewhat a plant to get another kiss from Ivy and Harley and Pamela telling him to F off. Plus I do like the setting of the bar mitizah and this show quickly establishing only in the second episode that it doesn't need batman in every ep. I kind of thought that considering this was focused more on villains that'd be the case but you don't always know for sure until you see it coming. Still this one was kind of slow and Kite Man honestly takes a bit long to really get enjoyable as him pretending to be a player when showing he has no game isn't as funny as him being self pitying and again no clear arc line here. Still not a bad episode and still digging the show for what it is (though I guess this show sadly doesn't have an opening theme song at all which is kind of lame. like i kind of thought now that we have streaming series that don't have network limitations you could have shows again with actually good theme songs but sadly this likely won't be one of those) but a step down from the first ep. I have a feeling things will pick up more when Harley starts getting her own gang together and building up a team which was something the previews of this show mentioned but will be good to actually see being put in place when it happens.

 

[Frontier]

Hate it or love it, but this interpretation of Bane stole the episode for me. James Adomian's off tilt Tom Hardy impression, threatening to blow up anything that wrongs him, being bullied by Joker, the trivia night cut-away, the realizations about how he sounds, and going all out against D-lister Kite Man - you'll either find it all so hilarious or an affront to the original comic book depiction of Bane.

On the level that this might be one of the few times Bane has appeared in a cartoon and not been defeated by having his venom lines cut, it's a win .

I'm on the fence with the docile New Zealand-esque voice of Scarecrow from Rahul Kohli after decades of creepier takes from the likes of Jeffrey Combs, Dee Bradley Baker and more.

Yeah, I like Rahul Kohli, but...he doesn't really sound like Scarecrow .

I thought Andy Daly was solid as Two-Face with what little lines he got. Although now I wonder if Harvey has been blind in this scarred eye this whole time .

Mrs. Cobblepot was also hilarious in her own doting mom kind of way, especially in her two scenes with Harley and Ivy. Just unintentionally hilarious because of her lines and Nicole Sullivan's take. Totally unphased by super villains. How she tells Ivy and Harley to stop cussing or handing them goodie bags and how they talk to her. So awesome.

Such a contrast from her Supergirl, too .

The Howie Mandel cameo might have seemed out of nowhere but if you've been a fan of a show like "Rick and Morty," a celebrity cameo isn't much of a shocker.

I wonder how many more cameos they might fit in...

Another unexpected bit that I wound up enjoying is how the Joker was saddled by bureaucratic red tape for the episode. Granted, it does bring up the white elephant in the room of how these super villains are treated on this show - Joker's construction site, villains coming in and out of the Hall of Doom in broad daylight, the Gotham Mint knowingly renting out their atrium to a supervillain - for now, seems like the audience has to give it the benefit of the doubt for now. Though it does echo the status quo of The Guild of Calamitous Intent from "The Venture Bros." in which super villainy was at a point where it was highly organized, basically a labor union, and essentially legitimized and ubiquitous to the public.

I guess a show about villains makes society more comfortable with villains .

Harley strutting into the party showing off how awesome she's doing, clad in a boa and walking in a tiger on leash. the 4 panel tiger roar followed by her grr then But she soon realizes it's a bar mitzvah -- so good. Then Bane even tells the Joker she looks like she's doing well - exactly what she wanted. Loved it.

I was just wondering where the Hyena's were .

I also loved that little scene of Harley hitting if off with Bane, Scarecrow, and Two-Face but Joker arrives and sours things. Then she flosses. lmao. But more importantly, Harley later talks some sense into Bane, Two Face, and Scarecrow about Joker being a bully with no super powers then Bane does the right thing and outs Joker for not wanting to go to the "stupid" party.

It also kind of re-emphasized that the Gotham villains generally don't get along with Joker...because, well, y'know .

 

[PapaGreg]

i don't know about this show, it feels like a less funny Venture Bros and the whole relationship with Harley and Joker got old real fast for me. I don't know but I was expecting more fun adventures with Harely but with a lot of black humor not dumb sitcom levels of writing also I hate her Suicide Squad look

 

[Fone Bone]

Harley Quinn "A High Bar"

I'm still a little bit shocked I didn't laugh once. Two weeks in a row. This is a comedy, right?

This episode fell into a similar problem that Justice League's otherwise flawless "Maid Of Honor" fell into. Trying to do the slow-motion entrance / montage with no budget. Slow motion animation is freaking HARD, and should only be attempted by shows that have the budget or the patience for them. This was clearly a throwaway moment that didn't work because the producers didn't put in the needed effort. Say what you will about Family Guy (and I have) that show's slow-motion effects are amazing.

The fingerbanging stuff was icky. It's like seriously, DC. Grow up. If that's your idea of "adult humor" you are doing it wrong.

It's interesting the kids being poisoned is something Ivy is willing to use the antidote for. Even if it means kissing them. It's good to know that when we see villains from their own perspective, rather than the heroes, that they may have moral lines that the heroes and the viewers didn't know about. Here's a shocker: I liked that aspect to the episode. I wish the show did that more, and if it's solid, it will.

But I'm not sold on it YET. But that wasn't as appalling as last week. **.

 

[Yojimbo]

I have a feeling things will pick up more when Harley starts getting her own gang together and building up a team which was something the previews of this show mentioned but will be good to actually see being put in place when it happens.

That's pretty right on, imo.

 

[Spider-Man]

I agree with what I read elsewhere on here (I think Yojimbo?) that while the first episode of Harley Quinn wasn't the best it is starting to pick up with the second episode. The tone of the series was a little bit to get used to as the show is more mature/vulgar than most of the DC Comics I've read but once I got used to it I found a lot to enjoy about it. Its nothing to really take seriously and serves as a good way to kill 20 minutes. Theres lots of good jokes and while they don't all work most of them do I think. I'll likely stick with the show especially if the cliffhanger at the end of the 13th episode is as good as some reviews have said.

 

[Yojimbo]

Harley Quinn premieres today at 5am (PST)/ 8am (EST) on DC Universe! Show your support for Harley Quinn on Twitter by live-tweeting @DCUHarleyQuinn and #HarleyQuinn to @TheDCUniverse during today's episodes!

Friday, December 13, 2019 - #03 "So You Need A Crew"
Synopsis: Harley attempts to recruit a criminal crew.

Comments?

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[-batmat-]

All the episodes so far have been a mixed bag. Great and funny moments and not so good moments. Episode 3 started out great, I love the comedic takes on the villains and Clayface was no exception.

But they kinda ruined it with that ''women villains never make it big'' thing. I was like.. What?! Since when is that a thing? Sure, there are less women villain than men, but making it big was never an issue for women villains as far as I remember.

Still, I love the animation and overall it's good enough to keep me watching.

PS: Frank is hilarious.

 

[Yojimbo]

With the formation of a crew, "Harley Quinn" finally takes a much needed turn into becoming a true underdog story as Harley seeks out others like her who are in similar predicaments. Misfits. Outcasts. Scum who no one believes in. Except her. It's quite easy to get behind a ragtag band who by all means should fail at everything they try. It's all the more fitting that the first official caper is essentially a bat to the face of the male dominated world of villainy. True, it is kinda muddled that there is a dual conflict, not a single one, to Harley's rise - getting out from Joker's shadow and sexism. Maxie Zeus more than exemplifies all the worst aspects of that world who at every turn plagues women trying to get their own castle in the sky. In this episode alone, we observe Joker reaping the benefits of her hard work in the cold open, Harley being rejected at the talent agency, being rejected at a seedy bar, a disgruntled predecessor, and a public idol who turn out to be egotistical coke head pervert.

There's a fair amount of references and easter eggs littered in this episode. Yes, a whole bunch of name drops by characters but they're like the least interesting. If you pay attention to the news ticker during the start of the Wonder Woman and Dr. Psycho battler there's a mention of Lex Luthor trolling Superman on Twitter and a funny jab at the Court of Owls. Or the UTI douches mentioning Mr. Freeze. You'll want to pause on Cronk, Professor, and Blaze's profiles. Lot of funny stuff like the muscle head Cronk knows basic Flash, Word, and HTML. Or the very specific reference planted in Blaze's profile about Aggro Crag from "Guts!" on Nickelodeon. How about the strange coincidence and timing of Maxie Zeus mentioning the 1996 Olympics in light of Clint Eastwood's movie out in theaters? The fact that there are affiliate Legion of Dooms is funny in itself but the Junior Doomers of America just had to be a nod to the Junior Birdmen of America. The Forrest Gump reference. That was an amusing one. The head scratcher was Queen of Fables. While it makes sense she was active in the 80s, a nod to her debut in the comics... but the implications. Like is this show on Peanuts time, not set in the present or are guys like Batman in their 50s? And the exact phrase Harley made Maxie say? That had to be a Wu Tang nod.

The recurring cast. The contrast of Ivy coming to Harley's rescue last episode with this week's turn of her declining not once but twice an offer to join Harley's crew as well as being on the sideline for the most part. But probably more important than being the muscle, Ivy teaches Harley an important lesson that while Harley doesn't except, does give her the impetus to complete her goal of assembling a crew at last. And yes, if you were patient about Harley's odd desire about having a highway named after her, the pay off finally comes in this episode. Fittingly, it's the coup de grace of this week's win.

JB Smoove continues to get laughs from me at every turn and he continues to prove that having that character to puts everyone else in their place (and annoy Ivy despite her plant controlling powers) was the right move.

Joker gets in a passing grade for the gag about him proving Harley's accusation by immediately ordering his henchman to do what he says. But to me, the bigger moment was at the end when Harley gets all her accolades on live TV and Joker sees it all.

Now while this episode had a lot of new faces and that might have overstuffed the episode, it's more important to introduce them now since they all have roles coming up this season and they do serve this week's plot well enough. Wanda Sykes and her brand of dry biting humor is a perfect fit for this unusual take on the Queen of Fables. She's not going to sugar coat the difficulties of the glass ceiling but she still roots for Harley a little. There's also the series' roving reporter and talk show host Tawny Young who is voiced by Tisha Campbell Martin. Except her to show up often and sort of be the chronicler of Harley's career. Giganta and Herman, while had a small role, do show up again this season. And between the lines, Giganta is there to make Dr. Psycho look even worse because he used his telepathic powers in one of the most horrendous ways possible against a woman. And in grand tradition, the same person who voices Wonder Woman also voices Giganta: Vanessa Marshall. A welcome reprisal. It's definitely a pleasant and welcome surprise that Batman isn't the only super hero we'll see on this show. And there's also a soft introduction to this show's Lex Luthor, voiced by Giancarlo Esposito, doing what else but a press conference. Continuing that through line about the Legion of Doom operating in public, the implication seems to be Luthor's business acumen is probably what took the outfit from outlaw supervillain team to tolerated evil labor union.

Lastly, this episode introduces two more pillars to the main cast of this show: Dr. Psycho and Clayface. Alan Tudyk, the voice of the Joker, is also Clayface here. You could argue, they both sound a little too alike. I might be biased because I've always thought Basil Karlo sounded like Kelsey Grammar as Fraiser. Of the two additions, I think Clayface'll be more welcomed by the audience. He doesn't have the crass adult edge that the other characters do and you can pretty much transplant him into any other show and he'd fit. They really took the failed actor back story of Clayface and made him into a more loveable rogue who's kind of in his own world and get over intellectual about any and everything. Tony Hale, likewise, performs brilliantly as Dr. Psycho. But it's not exactly a character you'd root for even those he's on Harley's team. You know, because he's a woman hater. And I mean, had a child with Giganta while she was mind controlled by him... But it's all the tropes you know from the misfit stories - the kid, the jerk. You're not gonna root for the jerk, but he has his role to play.

"So You Need A Crew," I think is the turning point for the series as Harley begins to solidify her allies and public profile with the success of her first official caper. While the show is still about Harley, her underdog story is only enhanced by the addition of rogues who are in the same boat as her.