Wonder Woman (TV series)
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| Format | Action/Adventure Fantasy Drama |
| Created by | Characters: William Moulton Marston (as Charles Moulton) |
| Developed by | Douglas S. Cramer Stanley Ralph Ross |
| Starring | Lynda Carter Lyle Waggoner Norman Burton Richard Eastham Beatrice Colen Saundra Sharp |
| Theme music composer | Charles Fox (music) and Norman Gimbel (lyrics) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 3 (as a weekly series 1976 - 1979) |
| No. of episodes | 59 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Douglas S. Cramer Wilford Lloyd Baumes |
| Producer(s) | Bruce Lansbury (supervising producer, seasons 2-3) Charles B. Fitzsimons Mark Rodgers |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ABC (season 1) CBS (seasons 2-3) |
| Original run | November 7, 1975 – September 11, 1979 |
A 1974 television movie entitled Wonder Woman (starring Cathy Lee Crosby) aired on American television. In this version the heroine did not resemble the superhero character. She exhibited no super powers and was blond. This movie did not translate to a series.
The series Wonder Woman had its origins in the television movie The New, Original Wonder Woman (1975) starring Carter. In the movie, set during World War II, Wonder Woman matched the original comic book character. It aired on ABC and its success led the network to order two more one hour episodes, which aired several weeks apart. That success led ABC to order an additional 11 episodes and place the show in regular rotation. The program aired weekly, on Wednesday nights in early 1976.
Although the show was successful on ABC, the network was reluctant to renew the series for a second season. Wonder Woman was set in the 1940s and was therefore more expensive to produce than a series set in the present day. CBS picked up the show in 1977 and retooled it, setting it in the present day. The show continued an additional two seasons on CBS.
Contents
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Early attempts
Who's Afraid of Diana Prince?
Screen captures of the pilot
In the proposed series Diana Prince (not Wonder Woman) would have been the focus of the comedy. Diana, an awkward and rather plain young woman, lives with her mother close to a United States Air Force base. Much of the film consists of her mother berating Diana about not having a boyfriend. When her mother leaves the room, Diana changes into her Wonder Woman costume and admires her reflection in a mirror. What she sees is not Diana Prince, but rather a sexy super-heroic figure (played by Linda Harrison) who proceeds to preen and pose as the song "Oh, You Beautiful Doll" plays on the soundtrack. The pilot ends with Diana climbing out a window and flying away, indicating that, despite her apparent delusions regarding her alter ego, she does have some super powers. This pilot episode was never broadcast and the project was taken no further. The pilot has been circulated on the Internet and is of interest to Planet of the Apes fans for the early appearance of Linda Harrison, who would later go on to play Nova in the first two films of that series.
Animation
Wonder Woman's first televised appearance, "It's All Greek to Me"
Shortly thereafter Wonder Woman was included in the Super Friends cartoon series, which enjoyed a long and successful run from 1973-1986. Not very long after the Super Friends series ended its run, Wonder Woman guest starred in the 1988 Ruby-Spears animated Superman TV series, in the episode entiled "Superman and Wonder Woman vs. The Sorceress of Time."
Wonder Woman would make her next animated appearance in the 2001-2006 animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
Wonder Woman (1974)
Cathy Lee Crosby in the first Wonder Woman film.
The pilot aired originally on March 12, 1974 and was repeated on August 21 of that year. Ratings were described as "respectable but not exactly wondrous."ABC did not pick up the pilot, although Crosby would later claim she was offered the series that was eventually given to Lynda Carter. An ABC spokesperson would later acknowledge that the decision to update the character was a mistake and the pilot itself has been labeled one of the "hundred dumbest events in television."
Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman
The New Original Wonder Woman
Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, displaying her ability to deflect bullets
Scripting duties were given to Stanley Ralph Ross, who was instructed to be more faithful to the comic book and to create a subtle "high comedy." Ross set the pilot in World War II, the era in which the original comic book began.
After an intensive talent search, Lynda Carter, who had done a few prior acting jobs, and was a former beauty pageant winner and Bob Hope USO cast member, was chosen to play the lead role. For the role of Steve Trevor, the producers chose Lyle Waggoner, who at the time was better known as a comedic actor after several years co-starring in The Carol Burnett Show. He was also known to Ross as having been one of the leading candidates to play Batman a decade earlier. Waggoner was also considered a pin-up hunk, having done a semi-nude pictorial in the first issue of Playgirl.
Although the pilot followed the original comic book closely, in particular the aspect of Wonder Woman joining the military under the name Diana Prince, a number of elements were dropped. While the comic Diana obtains the credentials of a look-alike nurse, in the pilot Diana Prince appears as a Navy enlisted First Class Petty Officer Yeoman. As it was set during World War II, many of the episodes involved Nazis and war events.
Steve Trevor was played by Waggoner with his natural brown hair. Trevor was blond in the comic.
One change, which was later to become synonymous with the show, was the twirling Diana Prince did to become Wonder Woman. Producers were trying to figure out a way to show how Diana Prince became Wonder Woman, and Carter came up with the spinning move, which was incorporated into the show. This transformation has in recent years been added to both comics and future animated appearances such as The Superfriends.
During season one, Wonder Woman has the ability to impersonate anyone's voice, which came in handy over the telephone. She does not use this ability during the second and third seasons.
Unlike the earlier pilot, the comic book origins of the character were emphasized by the retention of the character's traditional costume and original setting, and through the use of comic book elements. The series' title sequence was animated in the form of a series of comic book panels featuring Wonder Woman performing a variety of heroic feats. Within the show, location and exposition were handled through comic book-style text panels. Transitions between scenes and commercial breaks were marked by animated starburst sequences.
Plot synopsis
During World War II, American pilot Major Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) bails out during an air battle over the Bermuda Triangle, location of Paradise Island. The island is home to the Amazons: beautiful, ageless women with great strength, agility, and intelligence. Amazon princess Diana (Lynda Carter) rescues the handsome Trevor and nurses him back to health. Her mother, the Amazon queen (Cloris Leachman), decrees that games shall be held to select one Amazon to return Trevor to the United States but she forbids Diana to participate. During the contest a blond woman shows exceptional skill and ties for first. The contest is decided through "Bullets and Bracelets," where each of the two take turns shooting at the other, who must try to deflect the bullets. The blond woman wins, very slightly injuring the opponent's arm. When she is pronounced the winner and presented with a golden belt, she removes her gold mask and headband, which reveals that she is Diana. Her mother realizes that she must go to America, as she is the strongest and fastest.Diana's costume is designed to feature American emblems in the hope that she will be accepted in her new home, and her golden belt will be her source of strength and power. She retains her bullet-deflecting bracelets and also receives a golden lasso which is indestructible and forces people to obey and tell the truth when bound. Diana, as Wonder Woman, flies to Washington, D.C. in an invisible plane. After dropping Trevor off at a hospital, the heroine stumbles upon a bank robbery, which she stops. A theatrical agent who sees her in action invites her to take her Bullets and Bracelets act on the road as a theatrical attraction. Diana is hesitant, but needing money in this society, she agrees.
Meanwhile, Trevor's civilian secretary Marcia (Stella Stevens) is a double agent for the Nazis. She seeks to aid top spies in killing Trevor and opposing the new threat, Wonder Woman, although her first attempt — arranging for an audience member to fire a machine gun at Wonder Woman during her stage act — backfires when the Amazon easily deflects the multiple bullets. Later, at the hospital, Diana disguises herself as a nurse in order to keep an eye on Trevor. As spy activities increase, Trevor leaves the hospital and is captured, prompting his "nurse" to transform into Wonder Woman to rescue him. Wonder Woman defeats the spy ring. The film closes as Trevor meets his new secretary, Yeoman Diana Prince (Wonder Woman in disguise).
Season 1
The pilot film, aired on November 7, 1975, was a ratings success, and ABC quickly authorized the production of two one-hour specials which aired the following April. Technically speaking, these three productions were the show's first season.These episodes scored strong enough ratings that ABC commissioned a further 11 episodes for the 1976-77 season, several of which were used to fill in for The Bionic Woman when production on that show was suspended while its star, Lindsay Wagner, recovered from a car accident.
Few changes were made between the pilot episode and specials and the series itself. The most memorable change, indeed what became the 'signature moment' of the show, was the introduction of an explosion effect to the twirling transformation, to change Diana Prince into her super-heroic counterpart. This magical sequence, which appeared at least once in most episodes, has been incorporated into both the comic book and animated versions of the character.
In the original pilot and specials this sequence was performed by fading between two synchronized shots, both filmed with an over-cranked camera to create a slow motion effect. A twirling Diana's hair would fall loose around her shoulders and she would be shown starting to reach for removal of clothing, but quickly dissolve into Wonder Woman who appeared to finishing pulling off her garments and moving them to one arm where her full Navy uniform hangs. She then would stow the items in a closet or locker, then exit. This sequence was too expensive, in time and money, to maintain. Viewers and critics commented on the re-use of the same sequences to reduce costs in both specials. A camera would need to be 'locked off' (secured in place), and Carter's costume, make up and hair altered between shooting the two segments which made up the sequence. The "thunderclap" was added to mask the join between the two segments, allowing each segment to be shot independently, without need for a locked off camera, at more convenient points in the shooting schedule. The idea of returning to the same change point is unnecessary, and unlike the comic character, she can change to Wonder Woman in virtually any location. The original comic book character carried a medical bag (as a Lt. Nurse) in which she carried her costume and accessories; changes were always between panels. The character comments a few issues later that she now wears most of her costume under her clothes. In the office, her tiara, boots, and lasso are in a secret compartment in her desk. In the field, she carries these accessories in her handbag, but almost exclusively changed costumes at work or her apartment. By the late forties, she seems to have her accessories stowed somewhere, as she could change from elbow length gloves (to mask bracelets) and evening gowns into her costume at lightning speed. At first, like in the television specials, Diana must stow her clothing and return to the site to change back; later, she simply changes quickly and her clothing is not mentioned. The television visual effect of the magic instant transformation behind the ball of light and explosion was more convenient for the television continuity. To change back, as shown in one episode, she merely does a slow about face spin with her arms extended and is instantly Diana, with no special effect.
Apparently, the explosive sound effect is only audible to the audience and to Diana; she uses this change adjacent to a dormitory of sleeping women, in adjoining office spaces, backstage at a live show, in the woods behind a crowd of soldiers, and other locations where she would attract attention if the "boom" was heard. Additionally, there was a scene where she was explaining to Wonder Girl about her dual identity. During this scene,she started off in her Wonder Woman costume, then she started to spin. The camera cut to Wonder Girl for a moment, then cut back to Wonder Woman, who was now back in her Diana Prince military uniform. This transformation was not accompanied by any sound or light effects, and appeared to be effected by one simple about face type movement with her arms extended.
Another change involved the relationship between Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman. Although Carter and Waggoner had good chemistry, it was decided to play down the romantic aspects found in the comic, and, ultimately, the characters remained simply good friends. Executive producer Douglas S. Cramer noted the difficulties inherent in maintaining long-term romantic tension between leads, with the resolution of that tension often resulting in the cancellation of the series.
The series began at a time when violence on television was under intense scrutiny. As a result, Wonder Woman was less frequently shown punching or kicking people the way she did in the early episodes. The character would usually be shown pushing and throwing enemies, or using creativity to get them to somehow knock themselves out (jumping high into the air causing pursuers to collide). Despite the wartime circumstances, the character never resorted to deadly force (the only exception occurs in the pilot film when she sinks a Nazi submarine with an explosive plane, although the fate of the sailors aboard is never actually specified).
Wonder Woman herself was occasionally defeated by the Nazis, but she always came back in the second half of the show to save the day. Among the things the Nazis used on her were chloroform and poison gas. Her enemies also occasionally stole away her belt (leaving her without her super strength), her lasso, and her bracelets (leaving her defenseless against gunfire), but Wonder Woman always recovered the respective stolen component by the end of the episode.
Two stories (one of them a two-parter) introduced Debra Winger as Diana's younger sister, Druscilla, aka Wonder Girl, in one of her first on-screen roles. When the show switched to CBS for its second season Druscilla was absent, and was neither seen or referred to.
The New Adventures of Wonder Woman
Despite strong ratings, ABC stalled on commissioning a second season causing the show's frustrated production company Warner Bros. to offer Wonder Woman to CBS. While ABC dithered, CBS agreed to pick up the series on condition that the setting be updated to the modern day (the 1970s). Changing the title to The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, the series was nudged away from sophisticated humour towards a more conventional action/adventure take.Diana Prince, ageless due to her Amazon nature, returns from Paradise Island after a 35-year absence to become an agent with the Inter-Agency Defense Command (IADC), a CIA-like organization fighting criminals and the occasional alien invasion. Infrequent references to her World War II experiences were made in early episodes.
Season 2
Changes in the first CBS season included Wonder Woman's costume being redesigned. Her invisible plane became a jet aircraft, though it only appeared a couple of times. Lyle Waggoner returned as Wonder Woman's friend Steve Trevor; this time, however, he was now Steve Trevor Jr., who had grown up hearing stories of his late father's adventures with Wonder Woman during the war. As with the first season, the producers chose to downplay and later drop any suggestion that Steve and Wonder Woman were anything more than friends.The theme song was re-written to remove references to the Axis, reflecting the series' new present-day setting, and the action depicted in the opening's animated comic book panels was similarly updated. Beginning with the episode "The Man Who Made Volcanoes", the opening title sequence was changed again to an instrumental and more traditional "action scenes" opening.
Trevor was promoted to a desk job midway through the season, leaving Diana to go out on solo missions in most episodes. By this time, Diana was no longer simply Trevor's assistant, but was now an accomplished solo agent.
Unlike the first season on ABC, Wonder Woman's sources of power (her belt, bracelets and lasso) were never stolen by villains in any of the CBS episodes. In the Season Two episode "The Man Who Could Move The World," she voluntarily removes her magical devices in order to persuade an adversary to trust her.
Several other changes occurred as the second season progressed. Joe Atkinson (Normann Burton), a weathered IADC agent, was dropped after the ninth episode, as was a regular segment showing Diana, Steve and Joe receiving orders from a "Charlie-like" character who is heard but never seen. Midway through the season, this was replaced with regular briefings by IRAC (Information Retrieval Associative Computer) (more informally known as "Ira"), the IADC's super-intelligent computer, who deduces Diana's secret identity. Saundra Sharp joined the cast as Eve, Steve's assistant (the job held by Diana at the start of the season). Towards the end of the season, in the episode "IRAC is Missing", a small mobile robot called Rover was added for comic relief. An offshoot of IRAC who performs duties such as delivering coffee and sorting mail, Rover speaks with a high-pitched voice, occasionally makes "Beep Beep" sounds (borrowed from the Road Runner cartoon series) and, like IRAC, is aware that Diana Prince and Wonder Woman are one and the same.
The character of Wonder Woman maintained her no-kill policy, although there were exceptions: in the episode "Anschluss '77" she destroys a clone of Adolf Hitler, and another episode made reference to a villain who was believed drowned following a previous unseen encounter with Diana/Wonder Woman.
Multiple costumes were also introduced. Wonder Woman still wears the red-white-and-blue cape for special events or appearances from the first season, but without the skirt. A diving costume is introduced, a navy-blue lycra body suit with matching gloves, gold bracelets, flat boots, and a flexible tiara is featured whenever aquatic activity is necessary. The same costume, with low-heeled boots and a gold helmet, is used to ride motorcycles. At first, Wonder Woman would change into these newer costumes by performing an extended spin in which she first changed from her Diana Prince clothes into the standard Wonder Woman costume, but then continued to spin until a second light explosion occurred and she would appear in one of the newer outfits. However, this extended spin device was dropped for expediency and Diana was then able to change into any of the Wonder Woman costumes in a single change.
Season 3
With the beginning of the third season, further changes were made to target the show at a teenage audience. The title theme was re-recorded again to give it a disco beat, the use of gimmicky little robot 'Rover' was increased for comic effect, and episodes began to revolve around topical subjects like skateboarding, roller coasters and the environment. Teenagers or young adults were commonly used as main characters in the plot lines. The animated stars used before and after commercial breaks were dropped, and Eve disappeared from the cast although she is mentioned once or twice. Episodes during this season showed Diana on assignments by herself far more often (particularly outside of Washington DC), and Steve Trevor was seen less and less - often having nothing more than a phone conversation with Diana.Wonder Woman was also allowed to become a bit more physical in the third season and could now be seen throwing the occasional punch or kicking. The writers also came up with several unusual ways for Diana to execute her spinning transformation, one of the most notable occurring in the episode "Stolen Faces" in which Diana makes the change while falling off a tall building.
Diana's powers were also increased, particularly in the third season episode "The Deadly Dolphin" in which she is shown communicating telepathically with animals and generating bursts of an unknown form of energy to scare away a killer shark.
In the final episode produced, the writers attempted a "relaunch" of sorts by having Diana reassigned to the Los Angeles bureau of IADC with a new supporting cast. Though done in anticipation of a fourth season, the revamp was seen for only a single episode ("The Man Who Could Not Die"), which set up an assortment of new supporting characters. These included Dale Hawthorn, Diana's new IADC boss, Bryce Candall, a genetically enhanced man who was indestructible (the titular character of the episode), as well as a streetwise youngster named T. Burton Phipps III who inexplicably is allowed to hang out at the IADC. Also added to the cast was a chimpanzee who, like Bryce, is also indestructible. This episode was actually the last to be produced and should have ended the third season, but was shown out of sequence with the two-parter "The Phantom of the Roller Coaster".
CBS ultimately decided to strengthen its sitcom offerings and no further episodes of Wonder Woman were produced.
Home video releases
Columbia House with Warner Home Video released the series on VHS videotapes through their Wonder Woman: The Collector's Edition series from the late 1990s-early 2000s, which was only available through mail order subscriptions. Each volume contained two episodes. The Season Two episodes "The Pied Piper" and "Flight To Oblivion," however, were not included on the VHS releases. Warner Home Video has released all three seasons of Wonder Woman on DVD in various regions.| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete 1st Season | 14 | June 29, 2004 | All 14 episodes (including the pilot) with commentary by Lynda Carter and executive producer Douglas S. Cramer; New documentary retrospective. |
| The Complete 2nd Season | 22 | March 1, 2005 | 21 episodes plus a feature-length season premiere; Bonus documentary: "Revolutionizing a Classic: From Comic Book to Television." |
| The Complete 3rd Season | 24 | June 7, 2005 | Audio commentary by Lynda Carter on "My Teenage Idol is Missing"; Featurette:"Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Feminist Icon." The initial Region 1 release included a bonus DVD containing the first episode of the Captain Marvel television series Shazam!, "The Joy Riders". |
Merchandising
Mego Corporation released a line of dolls in 1976 to correspond with the TV series. The boxes originally featured Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman on the front flap. However, in 1977, her image on the box was dropped and the line was revamped with only the Wonder Woman doll being featured and revised. DC Direct (which creates merchandise for DC Comics) released a Wonder Woman statue in 2007 which is based upon the image created by Lynda Carter.From Wikipedia , the free encyclopedia.
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