lush from the success of its Superman prequel series Smallville, The WB goes back to the DC Comics well for Birds of Prey, a new series set in a near-future Batman universe. The new series debuts Oct. 9.
Birds of Prey stars genre favorite Dina Meyer (Starship Troopers and the upcoming Star Trek: Nemesis) as a grown-up Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, who has been disabled by her archnemesis, The Joker. Gordon leads a double life as a computer-science teacher by day and as the Oracle by night, a cybernetics and weapons master who works out of a secret lair in New Gotham's Clocktower.
She is joined by Helena Kyle, played by A.I. Artificial Intelligence actress Ashley Scott. Kyle is the secret offspring of Batman and Catwoman. As the Huntress, she finds herself conflicted, with both Batman's sense of justice and Catwoman's metahuman abilities.
The third member of the team is teenage Dinah, played by Rachel Skarsten. Drawn to Gordon and Kyle by haunting visions, Dinah joins the two older women, who take her under their wing.
Meyer, Scott and Skarsten took a moment to speak with Science Fiction Weekly about the new series, which will air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The following comments are taken from interviews conducted at the television critics' fall preview in July, as well as from a panel discussion.
Dina Meyer, talk about your character.
Meyer: She's in a wheelchair, and she's smart. She's a genius. She's the glue. She's the backbone of the Birds of Prey. She runs everything. She keeps everybody on track. She was Batgirl, a wonderful superhero, and ... she has this horrible disability. But she grew from it. She got strong from it. She found her calling from it. Initially ... she was running in Batman's shoes. And it took her getting shot and paralyzed and being confined to a wheelchair to find out who she really was and in a sense becoming a better person than she ever could have been had she not fought these villains.
So I think that's really, really wonderful. She could have thrown in the towel. She could have said, "You know what? The hell with it all. I don't have legs. I can't kick ass. I'm done." And she didn't. She said, "You know what? I'm going to find out who I really am and do what I got to do and be even bigger and better than I was." It's the new and improved Barbara Gordon. And I salute her. I think she's fabulous. And I feel honored to be playing her.
Were you familiar with the Birds of Prey world?
Meyer: I was not. I'm not familiar with any of the DC comics. I mean, I grew up with Batman and Robin, Adam West on TV, but I've never really been much of a comic-book fan. I don't dislike them, but I just never really got into them.
You've been in a lot of genre entertainment.
Meyer: I know, and you know, no matter that I try to get away, they keep coming back for me. I don't know. I don't mind. If the character is fun to play, and I'm working with good people, I don't really care what genre it is. I don't care if it's drama. I don't care if it's comedy. I just want to be in good company, and I want to grow and have a good time.
Will there be flashbacks where you'll do action stuff as well?
Meyer: Absolutely. ... You know, the biggest challenge for me right now is the technical aspect of filming in a wheelchair. A powered wheelchair. ... I can't spin. I mean, I have a little remote control thing, as she pushes forward with her fingers and pulls back with her fingers. And you know, it doesn't necessarily go when you want it to or stop when you want it to. You can mess up an entire shot because of the wheelchair. "We'll blame it on the wheelchair. It's not the pilot, that's for sure. No, it wasn't me, it wasn't me." But that's the biggest challenge right now.
Do you feel a responsibility being a central character who happens to be disabled?
Meyer: I feel more of a responsibility to ... be as accurate an Oracle as I possibly can for the DC fans. I mean, what's written in the script and what's written in the bios I've read and the research is one thing. But there's such a huge fan following. There's such a fan base, and I really just want to ... do right by them. I mean, everything I do on the set and whatever I act within the script in the episode is one thing. That's studio, that's network, that's creative team. But what I need to do, I feel as a responsibility to the fans, is to be as good an Oracle as I can be.
Do you feel pressure?
Meyer: No, not pressure. But I'm a little nervous, because I don't want to let them down. I mean, it sounds kind of sappy and hokey and whatever, but I feel like ... a certain responsibility to do the right thing.
You looked at what the fans were saying about the show on the Internet?
Meyer: Absolutely. Because I'm a cyberjunkie. I don't know what the hell I did before the Internet. ... I've got such a sorry case of cybermania.
I would say that 95 percent of the stuff that I read has been positive in regards to me as far as being Oracle and people being happy that I am playing her, and I feel like I can do her justice, and I feel good about that. But then there's people that ... [are] just so bitter and so evil and just saying the nastiest things about this show, and I don't know if [they've] seen the pilot or heard about it or read the log line or what.
Is Batman going to be on the show at all?
Meyer: You know, you have to talk to the writers about that. But as it stands right now, this is Birds of Prey. This is not Batman. If you look at the comic, it's based on the characters Oracle and Black Canary. We've altered that a little bit, because our writer was fascinated by the Huntress and thought we should incorporate her into the Birds of Prey, and that's what we did.
How long after Batman does this take place?
Meyer: Well, I was shot by the Joker seven years ago, and that was the last time I fought by Batman's side. So I would say it's about seven years later.
The Joker's dead?
Meyer: No, I don't think the Joker's dead. I think he's in Arkham [Asylum].
Ashley Scott, Batman is a brooding character. He's your character's father, so is that part of your character?
Scott: Oh, absolutely. It makes sense.
How are you merging the characters of Batman and Catwoman?
Scott: A lot of Catwoman ... her kind of catty style and wit. And with the style of fighting we're going to make it more catlike, yeah. And Batman, whatever I can take from him.
Did you read the comic when you got the part?
Scott: Absolutely. ... I'm not a comic-book fanatic, and I don't know much all about that. I mean, I was a Batman fan from the get-go. But just the movies and stuff. Not really knowing a ton, I've been trying to do as much research [as I can], but it never seems to be enough. Like the fans are just so incredible. ... They just have so much knowledge on this world ... that I hope that I can not upset them too much and do it justice. Hopefully they'll be patient enough for me to learn.
Have you gone on the Internet to see what they're saying?
Scott: No, I can't even turn my computer on. I can get on Hotmail. That's about it. No, I'm terrible at all that. So again, be patient with me.
Talk about the physical training. There seems to be a lot of wire work.
Scott: A lot of wire work. ... There's a lot of gymnastics and stuff. ... I did all my fight sequences in the pilot, but I wanted to go a little further and do back handsprings and really kind of get into it a little bit more physically. So we're training hard.
People who have done wire work say when you're in that harness all day, you end up covered in bruises.
Scott: It's so uncomfortable, man. It sucks. I had bruises here and here just doing a stinking photo shoot the other day. I was like, I had to go forward and pretend that I was, well, I can't do it in this dress. But I was going forward, and they cut off my breathing. And I'm a tough chick. But ... at the end I was like, I started to cry. I was like, "Guys, this is too much right now."
It's a great deal of work. But I've been fortunate for this project to have learned, you know, tae kwan do and learning gymnastics, and I have a trainer. And I'm really trying to kind of prepare before we really get going, so it hopefully will come a little bit easier.
There's also a lot of computer effects?
Scott: Thank God. Because I can't leap a building.
How's that costume working out for you?
Scott: It's very tight. ... It was kind of uncomfortable and not the easiest thing to fight in. But I think we're making some much-needed costume changes. ... I think we're going to make it ... a little bit more street. You know, street clothing, jeans and boots and just something more logical to fight in, because ... you know, [with] a bustier ... things fall out.
Rachel Skarsten, had you read the comics before you started?
Skarsten: I actually had never heard of Birds of Prey. I was a big Batman fan. But when I got the part, I went out and bought myself a few issues.
I think the wonderful thing about the show is we have Dina, who is a woman in her 30s; Ashley, who is in her 20s; and myself, I'm 17. So I think for girls and women, there's all sorts of different characters, age levels, generations that they can relate to. And then, of course, there's going to be the guys who watch it to see some booty.
How active are you?
Skarsten: I'm actually a goaltender for an ice-hockey team. So that keeps me in shape. And I have all my teeth. Look, they're all real. So that keeps me in shape.
Do you do your own stunts?
Skarsten: I try to do as much as possible. But they have rules. And they do have ... stunt doubles. Actually, one woman who does it for all three of us.
What makes the characters distinctive?
Skarsten: We're all individuals in the show, even though we're an ensemble, which I think is great, and you see the development of all our characters and our chemistry together. And I think, you know, we play off each other, and ... it's going to be great for young girls to be able to have these role models, these superwomen, and watch them go through life and relate to them.
Back to the top.
