Very Personal Injury

"Very Personal Injury" is the second episode of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law season one. It aired on September 2, 2001 on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. It was written by series creators, Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter, produced by Christine Griswold and Jeffrey Goldstein, and directed by Vincent Waller. The Hanna-Barbera series ridiculed in this episode are the Super Friends incarnations of the late 1970s, which introduced ethnic superheroes that only ended up being underutilized, stereotypical clichés.

Apache Chief, a down on his luck former Super Friend, sues Javalux after spilling their hot coffee on himself.

Memorable quotes
Debbie: An Apache Chief to see you, Mr. Birdman. Harvey: Which one? Debbie: He says that's his name.

Characters

 * style="background-color:#clear"| Announcer
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Maurice LaMarche
 * style="background-color:#clear"| General
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Jack Angel
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Citizen #1
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Stephen Colbert
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Apache Chief
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Maurice LaMarche
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Citizen #2
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Phil La Marr
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Citizen #3
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Jack Angel
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Drunk citizen
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Jack Angel
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Harvey Birdman
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Gary Cole
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Avenger
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Debbie (voice only)
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Laraine Newman
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Myron Reducto
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Stephen Colbert
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Sybil Sussler
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Laraine Newman
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Judge Mightor
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Gary Cole
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Aquaman
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Superman
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Black Vulcan
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Phil La Marr
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Zan
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Michael Bell
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Woman
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Radioactive Blob
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Atomic Standard-sized Poodle
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Space Dragon
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| The Bear
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Alexander
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Juan Gigante
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Negotiator
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Pitseleh
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Frank Tickler
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Jesse Jackson
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Radioactive Blob
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Atomic Standard-sized Poodle
 * style="background-color:#FDB56C" colspan="2"| Space Dragon
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| The Bear
 * style="background-color:#aaffaa"| Unavailable
 * style="background-color:#clear"| Alexander
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Juan Gigante
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Negotiator
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Pitseleh
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Frank Tickler
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Jesse Jackson
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Pitseleh
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Frank Tickler
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Jesse Jackson
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#d2d2ff"| Jesse Jackson
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A
 * style="background-color:#ffff00"| N/A

Organizations

 * Super Friends
 * Sebben & Sebben
 * Freezoid, Zarog, & Skon
 * F.E.A.R.
 * Multiculture Pals

Locations

 * Earth
 * United States
 * Hall of Justice
 * Washington, D.C.
 * Lincoln Memorial
 * Javalux
 * Robard's
 * Sebben & Sebben offices
 * Courthouse
 * The Bird Cage
 * Tennessee

Objects

 * Trouble Alert
 * Lincoln Memorial's Abraham Lincoln statue

Vehicles

 * None

Development
The footage that came back from overseas was in bad shape and took extensive time to fix by the editors. The crew worked hard to make the animation look like the quality of the time, in particular, a subtle joke about the change in color to the telephone pole took a long time to get right.

Filming
Michael Bell, the voice of Zan, objected to the use of Zan transforming into a washcloth, but the producers, who respected his opinion, told him that it needed to be different to fit the joke. He finally accepted, but not without a shrug of disappointment.

Music
The score was composed by Michael Kohler.

Release
Dates are in order of release:


 * United States: September 2, 2001 on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)

Behind the scenes

 * Apache Chief's case is a parody of the famous 1994 case Lieback v. MacDonald's Restaurants.
 * Debbie still isn't named on-screen, although she's identified by name in the credits for the first time.
 * Alexander is the real name given to Number One, the leader of F.E.A.R. in the Birdman TV series.
 * Michael Ouweleen, Erik Richter, and Melissa Warrenburg provide audio commentary for this episode on DVD releases.

Errors

 * When Apache Chief picks up the telephone pole, the shade of brown lightens, although this is an in-joke to animation errors back when Super Friends originally aired.
 * The Bird Cage is called the Bird Cafe.

Everlasting influence

 * The case is reopened in "The Death of Harvey." In the same episode, Apache Chief also uses a travel cup for safety.

Home availability

 * In the United States:
 * April 12, 2005: Warner Home Video releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume One on DVD.
 * In the United Kingdom:
 * November 3, 2008: Revolver Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume One on DVD.
 * December 7, 2009: Revolver Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Seasons 1,2 & 3 on DVD.
 * In Australia:
 * April 7, 2007: Madman Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume One on DVD.
 * November 28, 2012: Madman Entertainment releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: The Complete Cases on DVD.