When I was a kid, I watched a lot of television, and it was
through TV that I met my favorite superheroes. I was first introduced to Batman
through the Adam West TV series, and I met Superman for the first time thanks to
the classic George Reeves series. And I also met Wonder Woman when her series
first aired in the 1970s. As a huge Batman and Superman fan it was only natural
for me to sample Wonder Woman when it first came on TV, despite the fact that I
thought then that women were too "sissy" to be really effective superheroes (but
then again, back in those days, I also thought the King Kong remake was the
greatest motion picture ever made, so what the hell did I know?). Yet once I
started watching Wonder Woman, my snobbishness against female heroes melted away
as I instantly became a convert of the Amazon Princess. Specifically, I became a
fan of the captivating Lynda Carter, a dazzling beauty who was seemingly born to
play Wonder Woman. And so I was very pleased to recently hear they released the
first season of the Wonder Woman series on DVD.
When the pilot episode begins, it is 1942, and the Second World War is in full
swing. The Nazis launch a secret mission to attack the Brooklyn Navy Yard. They
send a super special airplane--a single engine fighter that can make the
transatlantic crossing without refueling, no less--to accomplish this task.
However, thanks to a spy in Germany, the Americans already know he's coming, and
they send one of their best pilots, Major Steve Trevor, to intercept and shoot
down the Nazi plane. Both fighters clash over the Bermuda Triangle, and although
Steve splashes the Nazi fighter, he also winds up getting shot down himself.
Bailing out in a parachute, Steve lands on Paradise Island, the home of a race
of immortal women known as the Amazons. Discovering the unconscious Steve on the
beach, Princess Diana takes a shine to the guy--the first one on the island--and
nurses him back to health.
The Queen of the Amazons, and Diana's mom, played in the pilot episode for
laughs by Cloris Leachman, decrees that Steve must return back to his savage
world. In order to determine who will escort Steve back to the icky land of men,
the Amazons hold a tournament of physical endurance. Not wanting to part with
Steve (is she really smitten with this guy, or what?), Diana secretly enters the
tournament and wins it hands down. The Queen reluctantly agrees to let Diana
bring Steve back, but not before outfitting her with special gear that she'll
need to survive in the big bad man's world. And so Diana receives the famous
metal bracelets that she uses to deflect bullets shot at her, and the golden
lasso, which, when placed around a person, forces them to tell the truth, as
well as that fabulously skimpy red white and blue outfit that shows her physical
attributes in all of their glory.
Watching the series again as an adult, the surprising thing that I've noticed is
just how campy and over the top the humor is in the pilot and throughout the
better part of the season. And Lyle Waggoner plays Steve Trevor like a male
version of Lois Lane in that Wonder Woman constantly has to drop what she's
doing and save his sorry butt. It's a good thing Wonder Woman came back from
Paradise Island with Steve, or else he would have been killed by his own
stupidity the instant he got back home. She assumes the secret identity of Diana
Prince, Steve's secretary at the War Office, presumably because that's a great
place to get advance information on what the Nazis are up to, but she really
winds up playing guardian angel for Trevor, who can't even go out to lunch
without tripping over a Nazi plot.
Yes, it's silly, and oftentimes as corny as hell, and God help me, I still love
Wonder Woman dearly. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the DVD set of all 13 episodes
of the first season--it's been ages since I've seen any of these shows in their
original, full-length splendor. Lynda Carter has a lot to do with these episodes
holding up so well. In addition to her beauty, Carter's a great actress, hitting
just the right note between seriousness and whimsy as an Amazon champion
struggling to understand the weird mannerisms of this man's world. She's the
rare actor whose interpretation of a superhero fits the original comic book
character so perfectly that it becomes the definitive portrayal. Aside from the
pilot, the other adventures in the first season see Wonder Woman taking on Nazi
troops who invade Paradise Island in The Feminum Mystique; an alien who visits
Earth (and the Nazis) in Judgment From Outer Space, and a circus gorilla who's
got WW in his sights in Wonder Woman vs. Gargantua!
The DVD box is smartly designed in the cheerful colors of Wonder Woman's costume.
The extras include a new documentary: Beauty, Brawn And Bulletproof Bracelets: A
Wonder Woman Retrospective. This is a twenty-minute doc that features interviews
with Carter, producer Cramer, and present day Wonder Woman comic book artist
Alex Ross. The pilot episode has an audio commentary by Lynda Carter and series'
Executive Producer Douglas S. Cramer. And so the next time you're feeling a bit
low, pick up this DVD set and go for a spin with Wonder Woman. --SF
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