Wonder Woman

I actually sat through this movie waiting for the real WONDER WOMAN to pop out at any second. She never did?!! At first, I hated this horrible-not-even-close version... But about 3 years later I read how they were trying to market towards the working women's lib instead of the "superhero" fanatics. So, I pondered on that for a while thinking that yes, it was & sometimes still is a male dominated world. On that note, I sat through the movie again... but, again, it wasn't good. It didn't suck! But it's not the Wonder Woman we all know, love, & at one time or another pretended to be. Or pretended to be Superman with Wonder Woman. If I sat through a film called "The Wonder's of a Woman" then I may have given the film a chance...But thats not what it is. This is Diana Price who is from Paradise Island. She is smarter, she is keen, & she is a knockout. But where is the leaps, the strength, the spinning around letting your hair fall gracefully down her back & then changing to the stunning costume (& always hoping she would wear the cape or the swimsuit!) Nope, not in this movie! She changes at the hotel! Sorry, don't think so!(4) Z.

This failed TV movie pilot is a pop-cultural oddity: An adaptation of Wonder Woman based partly on the brief five-year period of the comic when the character temporarily lost her super powers, as well as her classic costume and she was re-imagined as a non-super-powered, mod-dressing Emma Peel-esque adventurer. This pilot is also partly a precursor of the direction that the Lynda Carter series would eventually take in seasons two and three: Diana Prince being revamped into a James Bond-like ace operative of an UNCLE-esque top secret spy organization.

When this pilot TV movie was in pre-production development, Wonder Woman in the comic books was still in her "mod girl adventurer" phase at the time and the producers seemed unsure which direction to take with the character in the pilot, ("Classic" or "Mod"?) so they tried to split the difference and try to give us a little bit of both worlds! For the purposes of this patchwork pilot, the producers transformed & transitioned Wonder Woman from being a "Girl Adventurer" to being a "Spy Girl". A blonde-haired (!) Cathy Lee Crosby tries her level best to make this awkward composite characterization of Diana Prince seem almost plausible. (The problem is with the script, not with the actress!) She even has a couple of witty Bond-esque exchanges; one where she coolly rebuffs the smarmy sexual flirtations of the villain's chief henchman (a wonderfully oily Andrew Prine) and one where she playfully mentions in passing her invisible plane to the main villain (a masterfully silky-smooth Ricardo Montalbán) in a flirty exchange!

Instead of either her traditional classic costume or one of her mod new outfits from the current-at-the-time comic books, the producers once again decided to "split the difference" by outfitting Crosby in a re-imagined costume that looks more like a mod track suit, than a superhero costume. It's functional, plausible, and mundane. It doesn't look awful, just dull. Just imagine if Superman instead of wearing his classic costume, was wearing a blue & red sweat suit with a small red "S" shield on the side of the chest and you'll get the general idea!

In another odd & awkward blending of the "classic" and "mod" directions, there is a new character, Diana's feisty sister, Ahnjayla, (played by Anitra Ford) who seems to be loosely based upon Diana's feisty sister from the comic books, Nubia, who was then-recently introduced into the comic's continuity when Wonder Woman was re-revamped back into her classic costumed super-powered super-heroine persona in the comic books once more. The pilot tries it's best to blend both the classical and modern directions, but never entirely succeeding with either direction. The pilot producers should have chosen either one direction or the other, instead of hedging their bets and trying to blend both, ending-up in giving us neither! One year later, ABC & Warner Brothers tried again with a second Wonder Woman pilot, this time starring a super-powered & a much more traditionally-costumed Lynda Carter. This new "back-to-basics" pilot was a hit and the Lynda Carter series ran for three successful seasons.

So, perhaps this failed pilot's longest lasting legacy is the "Spy Girl" motif: When ABC later cancelled Wonder Woman after it's first season for being a far-too expensive World War Two era period piece, CBS picked-up the show for seasons two and three, with the proviso that the timeline of the show be moved-up to modern day, to keep costs down and so, Diana was re-imagined as an ace secret agent, once again! This cost-effective secret agent makeover saved the series, so at least that aspect of this failed pilot was proven to be right in retrospect. Just put Cathy Lee Crosby in a traditional Wonder Woman costume and a brunette wig, (Or simply re-cast Crosby with Lynda Carter!) and you would have a typical Wonder Woman episode from seasons two and three of the Lynda Carter series!

While this is not vintage classic Wonder Woman by a long shot, it is an interesting time capsule of Wonder Woman in a flux state of transition and of a long-forgotten failed pilot, valiantly trying and ultimately failing to capture the best of both worlds of Wonder Woman.

An early attempt to "modernize" Wonder Woman for the 1970s. Everybody seems to think this was boring or campy. I saw it on TV when I was 12. While I admit it's not a great film it's not THAT bad!

Cathy Lee Crosby was totally miscast but she does the best she can. I loved how before each commercial there was a cliffhanger. Personally I was never bored and I loved the new uniform (the other one I always thought showed WAY too much skin). The movie was also (for its time) pretty violent. I remember being surprised when two characters were shot to death. It was off screen but still... Obviously this movie wasn't the big hit they expected so they went back to the original costume and hired Lynda Carter (who WAS Wonder Woman). So this didn't work but I have a soft spot for it.

When this first aired, I didn't like it. It wasn't the Wonder Woman I had seen in the comics. Not even close. A few more viewings over the years didn't change that opinion. But now, after a long break and forty years after its premiere, I can be a bit more objective and less hard-nosed. It really wasn't as bad as I used to think.

A lot of people preferred the Lynda Carter version, but seriously, aside from being somewhat more faithful to the comic, it wasn't that much better. That was just as campy, if not more. Nor was it completely faithful. The familiar twirling costume change was unique to that show, just a shortcut to avoid showing the character having to find a place to change or stash her clothes and costume. Early episodes didn't even have the "explosion," just a fade between wardrobe. And seriously, how many times can one watch Six Million Dollar Man-style leaps, which were also not from the comic? This Wonder Woman seemed to use her wits to get out of jams more than the better-known one did.

I did get a little bored with the constant parade of perils in this movie. Seems she was under attack every ten minutes. Just in time for a commercial break, of course. These Amazons were also annoying. Every time they spoke to each other, they were spouting stilted fortune cookie platitudes rather than sounding like actual dialog.

Ricardo Montalban as Abner Smith was probably the best part of the movie. Suave, classy, charismatic, charming and quite possibly the most honorable, least violent villain in TV history. Definitely not the clichéd murderous adversary trying to kill the hero by whatever means necessary. He never even lost his temper and yelled at his henchmen no matter how many times they disobeyed orders or failed. This was a proto-Roarke, a wise, imaginative, level-headed boss who was intelligent and anticipated almost every contingency. (The white suit didn't hurt, either, although even Mr. Roarke sometimes displayed a darker side not seen here.) And he never lost his composure even in the face of defeat and incarceration. He would have been splendid as her arch-enemy had this series been ordered, that rarest of animals, the likable villain that one could almost root for. Not to be confused with anti-heroes who were flawed but had good intentions. This was a selfish person who maintained his dignity, civility, principles and manners even toward his foes.

Diana Prince is sent into the world of men as Wonder Woman (Cathy Lee Crosby). In disguise, she becomes the assistant to government agent Steve Trevor who is battling evil super villain Abner Smith (Ricardo Montalban). Smith has his viscous minions, George and former Amazon Angela.

This is an early live-action superhero TV movie. After Superman and Batman, this is probably the most important early comic book character on live-action TV. Cathy would be later replaced by Lynda Carter in the TV show. In addition to the lead actress, other things have been changed again and again. The most obvious is the costume and the level of her power. I have no problem with her costume although the one on Lynda Carter is so much hotter. The level of power has varied over time in the comics. This one has her as super athlete but not really super human. Cathy Lee Crosby is closer to an athlete trying her hand at acting rather than a real actress. She has good looks but her acting lacks range. Her athleticism is useful in this show but she is generally stiff. She's functional as a presenter but she can't really emote. As for the plot and writing, it is a mess of broad comic book silliness. It doesn't have any realism but it doesn't have any fun in its outrageousness. There's a burro in a crate and a snake which is drawn to a saucer of milk for some reason. I'm not convinced at all that the burro is the best supervillain transport. It's all very lame and silly and cheesy. The cheesiness has some value if Cathy Lee Crosby can only project some sense of fun. When Montalban ends up paddling his rubber dingy, I couldn't take the overall cheesiness. It's good to move on to Lynda Carter who has longer lasting Wonder Woman legacy. This is a TV curiosity which WW fans may find some joy in and maybe worthwhile to check out.