What happened to poor Batman? It looks like The Frog ate him. By The Frog, I mean, of course, the WB, the youth-centric television network that has successfully snagged teen viewers with shows like “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” and “Dawson’s Creek.” Like “Smallville,” the WB’s newest drama “Birds of Prey” (8 p.m., WB) is adapted from the DC Comics canon. But while “Smallville” hews fairly closely to the Man of Steel’s origin legend, “Prey” stretches the Caped Crusader’s story beyond recognition.

For starters, who knew that Batman and Catwoman had a baby? Or that she grew up to become the surly super heroine named the Huntress (Ashley Scott), with the secret identity of Helena Kyle? Or that Batman’s old partner Bat Girl (Dina Meyer) is now confined to a wheel chair and goes by the name of Oracle, when she’s not passing as Barbara Gordon? You need a scorecard, or some comic book Cliff Notes, just to keep up with the characters. And if things weren’t confusing enough, Huntress and Oracle are joined by Dinah (Rachel Skarsten), a pretty runaway teen with remarkable psychic powers. Since this is a WB show, this trio of super-hotties looks like they just walked out of an Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue.

While the attractive actresses are fully three-dimensional, “Prey” has the look and feel of a comic book come to life. The show’s producers use computer generated imagery and other technical wizardry to create the ominous illusion of Gotham City, a sparkling metropolis that hides a dark underworld of crime and conspiracy. Huntress follows the “Buffy” formula of mixing wisecracks and witty asides with some serious ultra-violence. Despite its comic book roots, “Prey” is clearly not suitable for the kiddies. The pilot is rife with scenes of bloodshed. It also explores themes of mind-control and suicide that some parents may find less than entertaining.

Bartlet takes on domestic terrorists as Josh bickers with Amy (Mary Louise Parker) over a third party candidacy on “The West Wing” (8 p.m., NBC). Am I the only viewer who has been bored to tears by this season’s first two episodes? And are the show’s writers intentionally trying to make us dislike all of the major characters? First Josh and Toby act like petulant teenagers while stranded in the corn belt, then Bartlet makes flippant remarks about “West Side Story” during a security briefing. And did C.J. really wear a midriff-revealing t-shirt to a “Rock the Vote” rally? I’m almost ready to vote for James Brolin in the next election.

How much of History is based on the truth? The new weekly series “Unsolved History” (8 p.m., Discovery) challenges commonly held assumptions by using forensic science, archeological evidence and painstaking reenactments to reconstruct and re-evaluate pivotal moments from the past. Tonight’s episode examines the failure of Pickett’s Charge to defeat the Union forces at Gettysburg in 1863. Future episodes will examine the sinking of the USS Maine in 1898, Hitler’s final hours and the mysterious death of President Zachary Taylor.

Did you know that a Hollywood studio once pressured Ricardo Montalban to change his name to Ricky Martin? “The Bronze Screen” (6 p.m., Cinemax) presents a wealth of clips and fascinating facts about Hollywood’s portrayal of Hispanics and its treatment of Latino actors, from the silent era to the present.

Tonight’s other highlights

Scheduled on “60 Minutes II” (7 p.m., CBS): a profile of the world’s most dangerous terrorist; an interview with Faith Hill.

Major League Baseball Championship Game (7 p.m., Fox).

Jordan discovers an antique pulmonary device implanted in a patient’s heart on “Presidio Med” (9 p.m., CBS)