Incredibly the NBC execs looked at Adrianne Palicki in the classic costume and said, “No way.” I had big concerns regarding the script and whether or not David E. Kelley’s style of TV would mesh with super heroics. But it’s still disheartening that the Amazon princess should come so far and fall short.
I’m sure the pilot will be seen, probably distributed on the internet just like the “Aquaman” pilot from several years back. But until then we still have the Lynda Carter series from the '70s.
The '70s were a surprisingly good decade for female super heroics. Sure the '90s had Xena and the start of Buffy. But in the '70s you had both “Wonder Woman” and “The Bionic Woman” on the major TV networks as well as some live-action offerings on Saturday Morning.
Here are some of the highlights of the '70s super heroines:
The Bionic Woman: Kill Oscar Parts 1, 2, 3
One of the best stories in the “Bionic Woman/Six Million Dollar Man” franchise. This was an epic three-part crossover between the two series. Back then comic book crossover events were a pretty rare thing as opposed to something that happened every other week. The plot is about Steve Austin (not to be confused with Stone Cold) and Jamie Summers battling the fembots created by John Houseman. There’s plenty of action, stunts and explosions. In the final episode Jamie and Steve have to assault an island being defended by a weather control device. This three parter has the action the adventure “Heroes” should have had but seldom did.
The Bionic Woman: Doomsday Is Tomorrow Parts 1 and 2
Another classic adventure for Jamie Summers. This one combines “Dr. Strangelove” with “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Obviously writer/director/producer Kenneth Johnson loved himself some Kubrick. Here, a scientist played by Lew Ayres threatens the world with the doomsday device unless they agree to stop all nuclear weapons testing. In order to shut down the device Jamie has to defeat the HAL-like super computer that controls the massive research facility. Instead of the over the top fun of the fembots episodes, this one has some real suspense and some dark moments. At one point Jamie’s at her breaking point and just pounds a computer terminal. Lindsay Wagner combined strength with vulnerability very much like Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy. The HAL clone Alex also has some really creepy moments like when Jamie is trying to outrun an approaching flood.
The New Original Wonder Woman
Lynda Carter made an impressive debut as the Amazon princess in this made for TV movie. The creators wisely set the show in World War II and they added little touches like comic style narration boxes. It’s very simple and straightforward and some of the lines now sound unintentionally hilarious but that all works in its favor. The movie and the series are a lot like the catchy theme song, silly and over the top but sung with gusto. I love how this script just brushes aside all the story elements that have vexed recent attempts to update Wonder Woman; the nature of the Amazons, the invisible plane, the bullet deflecting bracelets. Nowadays you have to explain everything, here they just throw it out there and say “Take it or leave it.”
Wonder Woman: The Feminum Mystique Part 1 and 2
Kind of a follow up to the original movie, this one has the Amazon Queen send Diana’s little sister, played by an impossibly young Debra Winger, to find out why her big sis hasn’t returned from the world of men. It leads to the Nazis invading of Paradise Island to capture their supply of Feminum. No that’s not poor spelling. In the TV series that’s what they called the metal the Amazons use in their bullet proof bracelets. It’s a hokey, grand adventure. It’s not as awesome as it should be. Some of it is budget constrictions. Some of it is what we would call today the All Ages approach of the series, the Nazis use knock out gas and no one gets killed. But “Wonder Woman” was never as energetic and violent as the “Bionic Woman.” This became very noticeable after the first season when they ditched the WWII setting.
10 Ways to Un-Screw Up 'Green Lantern'
Wonder Woman: Judgment From Outer Space Parts 1 and 2
Wonder Woman meets “The Day The Earth Stood Still.” Aliens tell Earth to stop fighting or they’ll blast the planet to a cinder. Too bad this happens right in the middle of World War II. Unfortunately the producers didn’t have enough money for a Gort stand in. And in this case a series of whistles replaces Klatuu Barada Nicto. But along with the pilot and The Feminum Mystique, this is an epic story from the first season. The one thing “Wonder Woman” got right in a big way in its first season was in setting the stakes. Usually the fate of the entire war effort or in this case the survival of the entire planet was on the line.
Secrets of Isis: Scuba Duba
We now come to Saturday mornings. Filmation, the company behind “He-Man” and “Fat Albert”, produced this live action adventure series along with “Shazam — The Adventures of Captain Marvel.” These were a kind of live action precursor to the “He-Man” cartoons. The stories always revolved around young people making questionable decisions and ended with the heroes looking directly into the camera to reiterate the day’s lesson. They were also bargain basement cheap. As an animation studio, Filmation reused footage over and over again. Here they really cut corner when it came to special effects. So it’s really surprising that they had a lot of real physical danger in the episodes. People would dangle off cliffs or in this unfortunately titled outing get trapped underwater. Underwater work is dangerous and expensive even for a primetime series. The producers could have asked for a rewrite but they went ahead and for that alone they should be commended. The cheapness is now obvious. The lake bottom is a poorly disguised swimming pool. Star Joanna Cameron dives into three feet of water. But to the 1970’s Saturday Morning crowd this was a literally breathless adventure.
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl: Just About Every Insane Moment
Sid and Marty Krofft were the Aaron Spellings of '70s Saturday Morning kid shows. They spawned “H.R. Pufnstuff,” “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters,” “Far Out Space Nuts,” and “Land of the Lost” just to name a few. Most of their creations were comical with laugh tracks but there were a few that were played seriously. One was “Land of the Lost” which became a kids’ classic. Then there was this one starring future soap-opera queen Deidre Hall. What’s great is that this show unabashedly tries to copy the Adam West/Burt Ward “Batman” series right down to the catch phrase spouting teenage sidekick. The Kroffts normally small budget was stretched to the limit here. At some points it looks like they just had the video editor play with the image and called it a space warp. But the cast troops on with totally straight faces through all the lunacy. It’s so wonderfully kitschy that Cyndi Lauper covered the theme song!