bkoganbing During the cynical Watergate Seventies we were certainly in need of unambiguous heroes or heroines as the case may be. The comics have always been a rich source of superheroes, look at how many times Superman has been reincarnated on the big and small screen. I don't think it was an accident that Wonder Woman came to television the same time in the same decade that women finally got control of their own bodies with Roe vs. Wade. No one was going to tell Wonder Woman what she could do or not do with her own body.Lynda Carter was one statuesque Wonder Woman. And she came from Paradise Isle where women live extremely long lives keeping their looks and all without men. But World War II intruded on their island and the policy of isolation went up in smoke. Wonder Woman knew exactly which side she would take and it wasn't going to be Mr. Hitler and his misogynistic and chauvinistic policies, not by a damn sight. If she could only have gotten her rope of truth around him.Lyle Waggoner played Major Steve Trevor of Army Intelligence who kind of liked her, but knew she was kind of out of anybody's league. Halfway through the run, they updated Wonder Woman for the Seventies. It should have stayed during World War II. But the episodes were fun and Carter was something to be hold in action or just hanging out.

Alan Lynda Carter really made this series spin: stunningly beautiful - but strangely not intimidating in her WW outfit. Each episode ends with Lynda giving a winning smile to camera.What also made this programme fun were the 70s fashions and technology (big hair, flares, jaunty hats, IRAC etc), the hammy acting, and the dodgy continuity. Often the edges of sets are visible in the corner of the picture, and stunt doubles look nothing like the actual actors. Average-build actors suddenly become hulking great brutes with a wig shoved on their heads. Also, Washington DC looks suspiciously sunny and has rather too many tall palm trees... No wonder many of the stories started with Diana taking a trip to the LA Office.Diana Prince's conversion into Wonder Woman, her jumping, super strength, bullet deflection and lasso throwing were all very convincing on screen. Other effects were a bit iffy - but hey - WW is meant to be a comic book character - so don't take the show too seriously!

Joxerlives The New Original Wonder Woman Now we're talking! Weird that after setting the Crosby film in the present day they then decide to go back to her origins in WW2. Here we have Henry Gibson as the allied agent undercover as a Nazi who will later recur as a villain in later seasons. The plot of the German's attempting to bomb Washington seems ludicrous but was actually something they planned, pretty late in the war. The Norden bomb sight was also a real WW2 artifact. It seems a bit off that Steve Trevor bails out almost directly into the arms of one of the world's most beautiful women whilst the Nazi pilot is presumably eaten by sharks? (This is of course the era of JAWS-mania so sharks were pretty much obligatory)The air-plane battle is pretty ludicrous and lame, especially when it keeps flitting from black and white to colour. Amazingly in this ep whilst WW saves the pilot of the German bomber she appears to kill the entire crew of the U-boat. The commentary with Lynda is great, especially her appreciation of the effortlessly handsome Lyle Waggoner (Steve Trevor knocked out for the first time! Also under truth serum twice), even though they apparently didn't get on. Also love the scene where Cloris Leachmen Amazon Queen get's quite flustered at the idea of a man on Paradise Island, biting her hand in the time honoured fashion at the thought (maybe the Amazon's aren't quite so misandrist as we presumed?)We have the proper costume for the first time although it has the gold cones over the breasts which doesn't really work for me. That said Lynda looks the business, she's stunning and looks as though she's just walked out of the pages of the comic. No offence to the late Christopher Reeve but no one ever embodied a superhero so effortlessly perfectly as Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman. Nice scene where we think she's going to wear the mini-skirt (as in the 40s comics) only to peel it off and reveal the hot pants. As the commentary from the producer states, a star was born in that moment, her look was so amazing that it entered the public consciousness, much like Dollhouse got a second season purely on the grounds of the Eliza Dushku-as-a-whip-cracking-black leather clad-dominatrix scene The Amazon Olympics are cool (I was totally fooled by Lynda's blonde wig) although it strikes you as reminiscent of something Hugh Hefner would stage at the Playboy Mansion. 'Bullet's and bracelets' strikes me as rather a weird game and surely not one dating back to ancient Greece. Equally Paradise Isaland seems to lack the industry to produce her invisible plane. We see WW perfectly imitate a voice Terminator style, which she will do several times over the series (why doesn't she just make the captured spy do it with her lasso?).We have WW actually working to raise some money but again the last time she ever has to do so. The bullets-and-bracelets show is daft although the sight of the Nazi-agent little old lady with the Tommy gun is worth it. Also as Lynda points out, when Red Buttons is shooting at her in the later scenes his expression is quite hilarious, he knows this is a futile gesture. One question, where does she land her invisible plane? I'd love to see an ep where someone walks into it and bumps their head!5/10, not that fond of the WW2 eps

cadfile Back when I was a lad 2 women on television could make me swoon, one was Ginger on Gilligan's Island and Wonder Woman.I never missed an episode of WW because I wanted to see Lynda Carter in WW's red white and blue outfit. I didn't care what the story was but my eyes were glued when she would doff her glasses as Diana Prince and twirl into WW because I knew she would be kicking some butt and taking names.I was a huge fan of the Batman show but I was glad WW played it mostly straight. The scripts, especially in the 1st season, walked a fine line between straight and camp. One particular scene though cracks me up every time. In the pilot, guest star Red Buttons has his final confrontation with WW and he pulls a gun on her. He knows that bullets have no effect based on her special bracelets. So he starts shooting and as the bullets get deflected he rolls his eyes and acts just like someone would act when they know their actions are a waste of time.Lynda Carter turned out to be the perfect WW both in looks and acting. She played the part as a woman who happen to have extra abilities and she played it straight.Lyle Waggoner, playing Maj. Steve Trevor and later in the 2nd and 3rd seasons as Steve Trevor Jr., was the dashing male lead. I just never liked Lyle in the role because I was so use to him being on the Carol Burnett show that every time he appeared I wanted to giggle. Trevor also had the thankless job of having to be rescued by WW in every episode.I just got the 1st season DVD and it made me remember that I liked the series because of the WWII stories. I liked the change to the 70's in season 2 and 3 but if I could choose I would want more episodes set in the 40's.The special effects are very dated by today's standards. From the cheesy invisible plane, to being able to tell when a body WW is carrying is a dummy, the visible gadgets used for the bullets and bracelets bits, the sfx was classic 70's. But that doesn't really take away from the show - not that much anyway.There were 2 versions of Diana transforming into WW. The pilot and first 2 episodes used a stop motion technique that showed the secret id clothes coming off, Carter's hair coming out its bun, and the WW outfit appearing. Due to budget reasons the 2nd version was used for the rest of the series where she would start to twirl and bright flash of light would then appear then when it went away there was WW. I much prefer the 1st version to the 2nd.The other thing I love about the show is the kicking theme song by Charles Fox. The funky rock jazz music is based in the mid 70's but adds energy to the show. They also used the music when Diana would transform into WW and when WW would fight the bad guys.This was really the first show with a strong woman lead and many of WW speeches and comments talked about the power of women. WW was stronger, faster, and smarter than any of the men on the show and she didn't need a man to survive. She didn't hate men, like her mother Queen Hippolyta, but then she didn't "hate" anyone even those wanting to kill her.I also liked how WW would use violence only as a last resort and then she didn't kill anyone (well at least directly). She thought reasoning with people was better but she wasn't afraid to fight.The other interesting thing about seeing the shows again on DVD is spotting actors today who had their early jobs as bit players on WW. A couple of examples is Gregory Harrison in the pilot and Barry Van Dyke in one episode.I'm glad this show made it to DVD. Wonder Woman is one example that 1970's television wasn't all dreck.