Bannon Custody Battle

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Bannon Custody Battle
Say uncle!
Network	Cartoon Network Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)
Premiere date	December 30, 2000 (sneak peak) September 2, 2001
Run time	11:52
Starring	Gary Cole Dee Baker Neil Ross Thom Pinto Wally Wingert
Music composed by	Michael Kohler
Writer(s)	Michael Ouweleen Erik Richter Pete Johnson Steve Patrick
Director(s)	J.J. Sedelmaier
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"Bannon Custody Battle" is the first episode of Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law season one. It was previewed on December 30, 2000 on Cartoon Network, before a formal airing on September 2, 2001 on the launch of their late-night programming block, Adult Swim. It was written by Michael Ouweleen and Erik Richter, the series creators, along with Pete Johnson and Steve Patrick, and directed by J.J. Sedelmaier. The Hanna-Barbera series ridiculed in this episode is Jonny Quest.

Race Bannon begins to act erratically, wanting custody of Jonny and Hadji from Dr. Quest.

Memorable quotes

Robot Race: I'm taking the boys, Benton, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

Dr. Quest: You see, my longtime partner is challenging me for custody of my boys.
Harvey: How long has she--.
Dr. Quest: He. He's my traveling companion. We go on adventures together in steamy jungles and the like.

Harvey: I'll take the case! But first I need to speak to the boys. What are their names?
Dr. Quest: Of course, their names. Certainly. Well, uh... Yes. Well, there's a blond one... The blond one who's name is... Oh, come on, Benton.

Harvey: Dr. Quest, tell us a little about your relationship with--.
Dr. Quest: Well, Race and I met one night.
Harvey: With your boys.

Harvey: I want you to know your father loves you both very much.
Jonny: But he throws like a girl.
Harvey: So did Martina Navratilova, but that doesn't mean she wasn't macho in many other important ways.

Characters

Legend
Character debut	Speaking debut	Ep. debut	No lines	Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character	Actor
Race Bannon robot	Thom Pinto
Doctor Benton Quest	Neil Ross
Harvey Birdman	Gary Cole
Avenger	Dee Baker
Debbie (voice only)	Unavailable
Jonny Quest	Dee Baker
Hadji	Wally Wingert
Vulturo	Neil Ross
Judge Hiriam Mightor	Gary Cole
Bill, the Lizardman	Unavailable
Sea creature	Unavailable
Anubis	Unavailable
Baron Heinrich von Fruelich	Unavailable
Willy	N/A
Yeti	Unavailable
Monster crab	Unavailable
Dietrich Sorenson	Unavailable
Junga	Unavailable
Heinrich Von Duffel	Unavailable
Pgymy	Unavailable
Stan	Unavailable
Doctor Zin	Billy West
Police officer	N/A
Court janitor	Unavailable
Martina Navratilova
Race Bannon	Thom Pinto
Volleyball player	Unavailable
Bandit	Unavailable

Organizations

• Sebben & Sebben

Locations

• Earth
  • United States
    • Washington, D.C.
      • Sebben & Sebben offices
      • Courthouse
      • The Bird Cage
  • Zurich (mentioned)

Objects

• Soundolux
• Visolux
• Robot spy

Vehicles

• Dragonfly
• Vulturecraft

Music

The music was composed by Michael Kohler.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

• United States: December 30, 2000 preview at 4 am on Cartoon Network; September 2, 2001 at 11:00 pm on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network)

Behind the scenes

• The hut Race and Doctor Quest talk in at the beginning of the episode has a "Bless This Hut" picture on the wall.
• Race drinks from a "World's Best 2nd Dad" mug.
• The episode frequently alludes to a homosexual relationship between Dr. Quest and Race.
• Dee Baker, better known as Dee Bradley Baker, is uncredited for voicing Avenger.
• Debbie isn't named in this episode.
• The Visolux is based on the portable communicators the main characters used in Jonny Quest.
• The vanity plate on Judge Mightor's Lexus car reads, "HORN GOD".
• After this episode, the barkeep at the Birdcage is F.E.A.R. leader, Number One, from the Birdman TV series.

Errors

• Despite the fact the lizardman on the stand says his first and last name is Lizardman, his colleagues call him Bill.
• Bill and his colleagues (if they had actually appeared), Fruelich, Dietrich, and Duffel should be dead.
• Despite the fact that Harvey is somewhat irked by the implied homosexuality of Dr. Quest, Harvey is later repeatedly depicted as gay himself.
• Harvey turns to the right when speaking to the stenographer/Dr. Zin, as if they're next to each other, yet when the scene switches to the latter's response, Harvey is on the other side of the room.

Legacy

• Doctor Quest and Race get married in "Return of Birdgirl."
• The case is reopened in "The Death of Harvey."

Home availability

• In the United States:
  • April 12, 2005: Warner Home Video releases Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: Volume One 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.
• In the United Kingdom and Ireland:
  • 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.
• This is free to watch on the Adult Swim UK's YouTube upload.