The New Original Wonder Woman

When Wonder Woman first appeared in the comics in 1941, her adventures at times seemed to resemble more of a Three Stooges adventure than an action hero, considering all the cartoonish and stereotyped villains she battled. That's what this film is like. It's interesting to see a comedic actor like Henry Gibson (from TV's Laugh-In) playing a Nazi who attaches messages to the legs of carrier pigeons. He's got to be the shortest Nazi I've ever seen! Also watch for Red Buttons, playing an undercover Nazi spy, yell "Heil Hitler!" into the phone with absolutely no trace of a German accent. Despite her history of comedy films, Cloris Leachman does an acceptable job in the role of Queen Hippolyte. The real star, of course, is Lynda Carter wearing that tight-fitting costume. Watch her shake her booty!!! I got a videotape of the movie from a guy in New York named G. Cocchiola. You can e-mail him at basestar1@aol.com

That said, if you're looking for tongue-in-cheek comic book fun, ala the 1966 Batman film with Adam West, this one is for you.

Catch the full first season on DVD....A genuine TV classic! The special effects used in this series were unheard of in this era ! The filming was pretty bad but the quality was good....The term 3 gapper originated with this series and Lynda...I'd rather watch Lynda Carter than Arnold the putz any day...Bullets and bracelets, sex and chutzpah, oh my ! The plots are corny but pretty much follow the comic book routines...Good light entertainment and a healthy dose of what a really gorgeous female can do for the production ! I'll bet pantyhose sales went off the charts when this show aired...Even Stella Stevens looked fabulous in the first episode but she wasn't up to Lynda's beauty !

From deflecting bracelets to the lasso of truth Wonder Woman propels onto the tv screen. This pilot brings the first successful live action interpretation of arguably the most popular female protagonist to be adapted from comic to screen. Although it appears dated in comparison to nowadays this series still manages to bring a lovable warm charm and as Diana Prince (Lynda Carter) presses all the right buttons. There is a subtle difference in the way she transforms from a cute everyday woman to a sassy empowering goddess.

The memorable scene with Ashley Normans (Red Button) as a double crossing showman to a devious Nazi informant is quite intriguing to say the least. The idea that if a meta-human was to live in our world would they instantly be exploited to make money? It seems feasible to me.

(Lyle Waggoner) is Steve Trevor and anybody who knows anything of Wonder Woman would know he is the first man Diana experiences as they cross paths on the shores of paradise Island or more recently know as Themyscira. The Island full of beautiful women highly trained and skilled in combat seeking peace away from the world of man. Lyle Waggoner plays as good part and has good chemistry with Lynda Carter. There is a cuteness to Diana outside her alter ego as Wonder Woman. It's difficult to fault any acting in this early pilot although it does seem to take itself slight more serious than say Adam's Wests Batman. (Henry Gibson) is great as the babbling baddie Nikolas as well as being accompanied by Marcia (Stella Stevens) and Captain Drangel (Eric Braeden).

The direction is nothing too fancy but doesn't really need to be, although the stunts are very dated and show nothing more than Wonder Woman shoving and pushing her foes to the ground with force and strength. The physical presence of Lynda Carter is impressive she certain looks the part and is sexy doing it. You can tell they are working to a budget with some of the action sequences and keeping it more basic with what's possible for the time.

Story wise it's pretty much the opener, the narrative of Diana's journey venturing out to discover the world of man for the first time. All in all its the one I am most familiar with, this isn't a bad thing it's just I'm looking forward to discovering new stories as I haven't read many of the comics.

The title sequence is cheesy yet catchy, allowing the audience to not over analyse and hopefully escape reality as well as enjoying the ride.

Back in the days of my youth the comic books and their relevant television shows were lighter in emotion and humour and were aimed at the youth market. These programs usually aired between six and eight in the evening. And I will hasten to say was better for it. Though there were adult matters expressed in the story there were watered down so we had good family entertainment. Something I think the DC Universe is missing at the moment.

And at the top of the pile of superhero shows on offer was Wonder Woman. I was happy to watch the pilot movie once again and it brought a smile to my face once more. There are some cringe-worthy moments in the show. For example the Amazon's view of men, which today doesn't ring so true as it's not just men who commit evil and atrocious deeds. Then there's the invisible plane. I loved the concept of the plane, though you can see Wonder Woman in the pilot seat; it's more like a plane of glass than invisible. As a kid I saw nothing wrong with it now with adult eyes I see it for what it is and though it makes me laugh it still fills me with nostalgia.

However, the story pretty much sticks to the Origin Story that was in the comic books at that time, before the Greek Gods became involved in the Wonder Woman Mythos. Steve Trevor (ace pilot) crashes in the Bermuda Triangle while engaged in a dog battle with a German pilot. He is found by Diana on Paradise Island (no Thymiscira at this point in history) and his wounds are tended to until he is well enough to travel. Queen Hippolyta decides he needs to leave the island as soon as possible, to keep the island and its inhabitants secret from man and the outside world. She then holds a "games" where the winner will be charged with returning Steve Trevor back to his life and to make sure he is well. Diana, in disguise, takes part in the games and wins. When she drops off Trevor at the hospital she finds herself pitted against the Germans and their scheme to bomb a secret base in the heart of Washington DC.

The way that Leonard Horn directs this story is to keep it light, full of humour, and to make it resemble a live-action-comic along with dialogue boxes. This makes it a rip-roaringly-enjoyably movie to watch. Horn is also great at using differing camera angles to help with the fight scene's and to create more believable Wonder Woman effects as well as give interest to the viewer. This is one well-crafted movie.

As for the cast; I totally forgot how good an actress Lynda Carter is. There's a reason why she made this role hers and why she will be remembered fondly for it and it's not because she fit the costume so beautifully, it's that she actually brought the character to life and made her appear realistic and believable, even in the face of some absurd lines and, at times, goofy story telling. Lynda Carter will always be Wonder Woman for me. Lyle Waggoner is perfect as Steve Trevor, who has just the right amount of ego and charm for the character. This is a guy you can believe has a girl in EVERY port. The other surprise in this pilot movie is Red Buttons as Ashley Norman. He pulls the character off perfectly. However, it's John Randolf as General Blankenship that start to let the film down a little as his character is more like a jovial uncle rather than a General. Then there's Stella Steven, who fluctuates between being really good and really wooden. It really is a strange thing to witness and does hinder the film as it breaks the link between movie and viewer. Though, besides Lynda Carter, my favourite actor and his character in the movie is Nikolas who is portrayed brilliantly by Henry Gibson. His portrayal of a faithful German Soldier come Butler come American Spy is well crafted and so funny to boot.

There are some faults in this version, though for me, they are all forgivable as the movie is such good fun to watch. I would recommend this to everyone as it may just put a smile on your face as it did mine. Well worth a watch.

After the failure of the first pilot starring Cathy Lee Crosby, ABC makes another attempt to bring Wonder Woman to the screen, but this time with a script as faithful to the comic as possible. Lynda Carter looks great in the Wonder Woman costume. The story is extremely funny. Already from the colorful presentation of comic-style cartoons and the powerful musical theme, the production tells us that we are about to see a cartoon with real actors. It is evident that the production still did not know very well what the path to follow was and they leaned towards a product in the style of Batman 1966, presenting rather clumsy Nazis and some absurd and even ridiculous lines that luckily they corrected quickly in the subsequent development of the film. Series and was given a more serious tone. Despite that, the pilot is an excellent and fun start to the adventure.