Electra Woman and Dyna Girl

I am a fan of this series, mainly because I am a sucker for superhero shows. Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is one of the many shows made by Sid and Marty Krofft, created for the Krofft Supershow. Only eight episodes were made, which were split into 16 for the Supershow, where each episode had two parts.

In this show, Lori and Judy are two reporters for Newsmaker Magazine, but when crime strikes, and they get a call from Frank, a scientist who serves as inventor and the Alfred of the series, Lori and Judy use their ElectraComs to Electra-Change into Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, spandex-clad heroines, who then use their ElectraComms and smarts to thwart the villain of the day.

So, basically, this is what we call a late attempt at making money off the success of the Batman show from the 1960's. Due to it being made for Saturday Morning (instead of primetime like the Batman), there are no fisticuffs to be seen or more serious plots. Like the other works of Sid and Marty, this is a cartoony take on the superhero genre, and that is where it can be bad to some, as it sometimes makes the show even more campier than Batman. The first episode does not show the origin story of the two heroines, which is also a downside, as we do not know how Lori and Judy got to become Electra Woman and Dyna Girl and what The Sorcerer. The first episode's villain, did to cross paths with them to want revenge. Other than that, it is a good show. Not perfect, but good.

This show will always be to me a female version of "Batman". The only difference was that the two leads were not a rich millionaire and his teenage ward, they were a pair of reporters and their version of Alfred was the scientist who invented the special bracelets they wore. I'm just surprised that Howie Horwitz, the producer of "Batman" didn't sue over this show because of its similarities to it, especially Dyna Girl's use of phrases like "ELECTRA WOW" which could have easily been a version of Robin's "HOLY'S". Also, it is very ironic that Judy Strangis was cast in this show. Her father, Sam Strangis, was one of several directors used for the Batman series. In fact, Judy once had a cameo appearance in one episode. This was definitely one of the Krofft brothers wildest creations.

One of three segments presented on the 70's Saturday morning kidvid THE KROFT SUPERSHOW; The others were 'Wonderbug,' a Herbie The Love Bug knockoff, and 'Doctor Shrinker,' about a mad scientist who shrinks three teens. All three, if I remember right, were dumped in favor of new short features when the SUPERSHOW came back for a second season, though 'Wonderbug' might have stayed around. Only eight episodes of 'Electra-Woman And Dyna-Girl' were produced, but they're vividly, and sometimes even fondly, remembered by Generation Xers. A weird, low-budget pastiche of the campy 1960's BATMAN with a bit of Lynda Carter WONDER WOMAN thrown in, the show starred Deidre Hall and Judy Strangis as 'Lori' and 'Judy,' two magazine writers who, when trouble strikes, usually in the form of a flamboyantly costumed, wildly overplayed super-villain, become super-heroines Electra-Woman and Dyna-Girl. They battled evil using their 'Electra-comps,' clunky-looking devices worn on their wrists that allowed them to fire various types of low-budget rays and kept them in communication with Frank, the crusty scientific genius who invented the Comps and manned the 'Electra-base' in Lori and Judy's basement.

What makes the show interesting and fun, if not exactly good, is the bizarre sense of conviction most of the actors bring to their roles. They all overact wildly, especially Judy Strangis, but seem perfectly attuned to the claustrophobic confines of the bizarre little world they inhabit. Despite looking like it was made in someone's basement, the show did its best to ape the fantastic comic books it copied, sending its heroines through time, into alternate dimensions, etc. Admittedly, it did it all with apparently two sets, a maximum of six actors, and a budget of twenty dollars, but it could be seen as trying to bring back the spirit of the old CAPTAIN VIDEO-type shows. Or not.

This Saturday morning live-action show can best be summed up by four words: Deidre Hall in spandex! All I can add to that is "Yowza!!!!"

OK, that may not be very politically correct, but for a show that seemingly had women's lib at its core, it sure seemed to spend a lot of time focusing on the attractive Ms. Hall and her sidekick in their tight spandex outfits, escaping from lame death traps, and carrying the biggest watches you'll ever see, this side of a Power Rangers show.

Like most Kroft shows, it was bright, colorful, and cheesy. The dialogue was beyond lame and the villains laughable (as in ineptly campy). The ladies did have a pretty cool car, though. The duo would be saved by some new gadget or function added to their enormous wrist devices, created by their mentor and scientist friend, Frank (Norman Alden). Ms. Hall and her friend looked fantastic, but no one could do this show with a straight face.

Only a handful of episodes were ever made for this addition to "The Krofft Supershow", but it marks a milestone in entertainment history: the introduction of Diedre Hall in her pre-"Days of our Lives" days.

Here, she portrays Lori, a career woman who, with her assistant Judy (Judy Strangis), also fight crime in the guise of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, with the help of their faithful butler Alfred...I mean, their friend Frank Heflin (Norman Alden).

Much like "Batman", EW and DG have an array of devices they use to fight crime and a vast selection of villains to fight against every episode. If memory serves, there was even a cave(!) they operated out of.

Though it reeked of '70s kiddie-show cheapness, the show had a bland kind of style as it tried to evoke the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder while splicing in Women's Lib at the same time.

Too bad. Maybe if they had Aaron Spelling as a producer?

Four stars for "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" - Diedre Hall's finest hour (in 1976, that is).