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WONDER WOMAN
Season One
Review by Michael Jacobson
Stars:
Lynda Carter, Lyle Waggoner
Directors: Various
Audio: Dolby Mono
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Studio: Warner Bros.
Features: Pilot Commentary,
Retrospective Featurette
Length: 725 Minutes
Release Date: June 29, 2004
"Go
in peace, my daughter. And
remember: in a world of ordinary
mortals...
...you
are a Wonder Woman!"
Talk
about the right show at the right time...when producer Douglas S. Cramer decided
to bring Charles Moulton's classic comic strip heroine Wonder Woman to
television in 1975, it became something more than just a weekly action/adventure
fantasy series. It grew into a
testament to and a reflection of the blossoming spirit of feminism of the times.
And
Wonder Woman was completely true to the ideal. She was beautiful, yes, but also strong, capable,
independent, and intelligent, if sometimes amusingly unaware of how the world
outside her sheltered life on Paradise Island operated ("THEY steal money, and
I have to fill out forms?? What a
country!"). The male lead of
Major Steve Trevor (Waggoner) actually served in the traditional "damsel in
distress" role...his purpose was basically to have his butt saved by our
favorite red white and blue clad heroine week after week.
And he made no false masculine pretenses, either...he always gave the
lovely Wonder Woman all the credit she deserved for saving the day.
As
introduced in the comics in 1941, Wonder Woman was an Amazon princess named
Diana living on an uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle.
It was a women-only society where the ladies lived in peace and harmony
for thousands of years, stayed forever young and beautiful, and had tremendous
powers, both physically and mentally. And
of course, no men. One may ask how
Diana's mother gave birth to her, then, but there it is...
The
pilot episode "The New Original Wonder Woman" explains her background fully,
and demonstrates how, during the dark hours of World War II, she was picked to
return the wounded Major Trevor home to America and join their fight against the
Nazi onslaught. Her scantily clad
brand of heroism turned more than a few heads in 1941, but soon, a grateful
nation was singing her praises, and while Wonder Woman was saving the day in her
decade, she was becoming a hero and symbol of feminine strength to young girls
in the 70s.
Personally,
as a kid, I loved the show more than just about anything else on television save
All in the Family. And I
have to admit, it was inspired by an immediate and forever lasting crush on the
young female lead, Lynda Carter. A
former Miss USA winner getting her first big break in acting, Ms. Carter made
the most of it. While the early
going of the show was sometimes a bit silly and on the campy side (the only real
role model for such a show at the time had been the hilariously over-the-top Batman
series), she played the role with a sweet earnestness and complete
conviction. As she would still
maintain decades later, she loved the character sincerely, and that love showed
through radiantly episode after episode.
The
first 13 episodes of Wonder Woman are all here in a three disc set, and
that first year had some classics, starting with the aforementioned two hour
pilot. In the first regular
episode, "Wonder Woman Meets Baroness von Gunther" and the second one "Fausta: The Nazi Wonder Woman", the dedication to feminism is made clear:
women could be bad guys, too, but not just any old run of the mill femme
fatales. The villainesses were also
strong, smart, and formidable, and presented our heroine with some of her
biggest challenges!
A
pair of two part episodes kept the suspense up for a week at a time, starting
with "The Feminum Mystique". In
it, a young future Oscar nominee Debra Winger made her debut as Wonder Woman's
kid sister Drusilla, who joins her older sibling's side when a group of Nazis
try to take over Paradise Island to discover the secret behind their bulletproof
bracelets! But where did Drusilla
come from with no men on the island? Oh,
I already asked that...never mind.
The
second two-parter "Judgment From Outer Space" lets Wonder Woman save the
world quite literally, by proving to an advanced alien race who feels earth
should be destroyed for its savagery that there was indeed hope for the future
of humanity.
One
of my favorite episodes was "The Bushwhackers", in which Wonder Woman and
Steve Trevor head to Texas to break up a cattle rustling ring affecting the
Army's supply of beef. In it,
Wonder Woman befriends a charming group of multi-ethnic war orphans.
Watching how loving and sweet she was with those children made me wish I
was one of them at the time...sigh...
The
year's only embarrassment was "Wonder Woman vs. Gargantua!", in which the
Nazis use a trained gorilla (actually, some actor in a rather cheesy monkey
costume) to try to get rid of Wonder Woman once and for all. Watching her fight the big gorilla not just once but twice
made me wonder just who in the hell thought that whole thing was a good idea.
In
addition to the charming lead stars, Wonder Woman boasted a never-ending
string of guest stars, as it became kind of 'in' to appear on the show.
In just this season alone, look for the likes of Cloris Leachman, Fannie
Flagg, Stella Stevens, Kenneth Mars, Eric Braeden and Red Buttons (and hell,
that's just the pilot episode!). As
the series progresses, you'll also spot John Saxon, Dick Van Patten, Carolyn
Jones, Robert Reed, Roy Rogers and others!
As
the series progressed over the next several years, there would be some changes,
including a switch of networks and the decision to bring Wonder Woman out of the
40s and into the 70s (hey, she's immortal and eternally young, so why not?),
but a lot of the groundwork of the premiere season would remain the same.
With a timely attitude toward women's liberation, a great sense of fun
and style, and most of all, the irreplaceable beauty and spirit of Lynda Carter,
it was destined to be a classic...it's debut on DVD proves that it still is.
BONUS
TRIVIA: The iconic 'spin' that
transformed Diana Prince into Wonder Woman was Lynda Carter's own idea, coming
from her early training in dance!
Video
***
Tough
call in this category because it's a mixed bag. At best, when shots are in full daylight, the colors are
vibrant and beautiful and leap off the screen at you.
Wonder Woman's costume continues to dazzle after all these years, and
the brighter images show better detail and less aging artifacts.
Darker scenes tend to get murky, grainy, and show more evidence of age.
The pilot episode might earn the lowest overall grades because of a
significant amount of stock footage which is glaringly apparent because of how
shoddy it looks. Later episodes
fared much better. Overall, for a
nearly 30 year old television program, not much to complain about, just a few
flaws worth noting.
Audio
**
The
original mono audio is intact and is suitable if not exemplary.
Dialogue is generally clean and clear, dynamic range is minimal, the
famous theme song is about what you remembered.
Overall, par for the course.
Features
**
Only two extras, but they're both welcome...Lynda
Carter and producer Douglas S. Cramer team up for a commentary track for the
pilot episode (slightly sparse on occasion, but an enjoyable listen overall),
and a new retrospective featurette "Beauty, Brawn and Bulletproof
Bracelets", which is a look back at the Wonder Woman phenomenon with
new interviews with both Ms. Carter (who is still stunning) and Mr. Cramer.
You'll learn plenty of good stuff along the way, including the secret
behind the famous bulletproof bracelets!
Summary:
