Birds' Fine-Feathered Superfriends

Can we please get a big "Oh, you poor dears!" for the superbabe crime-fighters of the WB's glossiest new guilty pleasure, Birds of Prey (making its debut Oct. 9). Not only is the dynamic trio entrusted with the thankless job of cleaning up New Gotham without Batman's help, but they do their perp-busting while wearing to-die-for duds that are better suited for bar-hopping than leaping tall buildings in a single bound.

For instance, no Joker... er, joker... would argue that Ashley Scott looks anything but arresting in the corseted dominatrix outfit she wears in the premiere. However, says the newcomer, who plays the Huntress, the love child of the Caped Crusader and Catwoman: "I couldn't breathe [in that gear]! It's sexy, but good God, is it uncomfortable!

"And to fight in... " she continues. "Well, it's not very realistic."

We'll say. Every time Scott went to put her foot in a foe's mouth, her form-fitting pants split. (While we're sure that would do wonders for the show's ratings, it also undoubtedly would make the Huntress the, ahem, butt of the baddies' jokes.) "So we're changing some of the attire," reveals the actress, "so the Huntress can actually fight and kick above someone's head."

The Huntress's wardrobe isn't the only heroine problem ruffling feathers on the Birds set, either. As Dinah, a psychic teen taken in by a wheelchair-bound Batgirl (Dina Meyer), Rachel Skarsten wears street clothes. Unfortunately, it appears to the starlet that said avenue must be closer to Mayberry than Melrose.

"[The producers] had this crazy notion that people from small towns [like Dinah] are simply not cool," she sighs. "So they put me in simple, little-girl clothes.

"As my character evolves, I guess I'll get the hip [threads]," she adds optimistically. "Yesterday we had a photo shoot for all the different shows, and [you could peruse] all the racks of clothes for each different show. When you look at our rack, you're like, 'Wow, we are lucky, man. These are some good clothes.'"