The Deadly Toys

Talk about a fear of public speaking. As Dr. Tobias (Donald Bishop) addresses a conference room of distinguished persons to inform them that he and his fellow scientists Dr. Lazaar (Ross Elliott) and Dr. Prescott (James A. Watson, Jr.) have discontinued their work on the "XYZ Project," headed by Major "Dex" Dexter (John Rubinstein), which was to develop a secret weapon apparently too horrific to complete, he has a literal meltdown as he speaks, dissolving into a pool of transistors and liquid plastic on the conference table.

Turns out that the real Dr. Tobias had been replaced by an android, one of "The Deadly Toys" that plagues Diana Prince, her alter ego Wonder Woman, the Inter-Agency Defense Council, and, potentially, the entire world in this fairly involving adventure set at Christmastime in an oddly snow-free Washington, D. C. Anne Collins, making her debut as a series writer, scripted Carey Wilber's story that puts the spotlight squarely on Lynda Carter.

First, with Steve Trevor now her boss, Diana is doing the fieldwork on her own. And as she does so, she not only discovers that Dr. Prescott has also been replaced by an android, with the real Prescott, like Tobias, presumably kidnapped, she also discovers that all three scientists share a quirky wargaming hobby involving miniature toy soldiers. This brings her to the Jungle King toy shop run by Orlich Hoffman (Frank Gorshin), an infirm old man with a vaguely sinister, vaguely Central European accent that signals danger for Diana, confirmed when she is later attacked by a model airplane from Hoffman's shop as the not-so-kindly old man knew that Diana was onto him.

But Hoffman, a quietly demented Geppetto with a genius for robotics, has an even bigger surprise in store for Diana: a full-scale replica of Wonder Woman. And when--don't tell me you didn't see this one coming--Steve's old buddy Dex, in league with Hoffman to spirit all three XYZ scientists to a foreign power willing to pay them the big money, tells Diana to meet him as he has a lead on the two kidnapped scientists, she is lured into a trap with her bogus alter ego.

That meeting with the counterfeit crimefighter is oddly staged, with Carter caught between playing along while still surprised to see another Wonder Woman and falling under some kind of spell or drug, which happens when Diana is taken back to Hoffman's shop and made to divulge the location of Lazaar. Inevitably, Diana transforms into the real Wonder Woman and--fanservice alert!--does battle with the imitation superheroine, titillating the fantasies of any manner of fetishists, albeit in a disappointingly brief and, er, anticlimactic encounter.

As the villain, Rubinstein is too strident and suspiciously young-looking to be convincing, but Gorshin, best-known for playing the cackling, kinetic Riddler on the 1960s "Batman" television series, delivers a memorable, effective, nuanced performance. However, it is Carter who continues to assert herself as the undisputed star of "The Deadly Toys" as her acting continues to improve--nearly doubling your enjoyment, you might say.

An atmosphere full of Christmas music and traps made with toys. Frank Gorshing is a kind of crazy toymaker who has managed to manufacture duplicates of scientists made of plastic to replace them with the real ones without anyone noticing. Diana investigates the case and about the climax we have a fight between the real Wonder Woman versus an android Wonder Woman. The battle is well done, it is a pity that the new incidental music does not transmit absolutely any type of emotion like the traditional one. The ending is pretty predictable. An acceptable Christmas-themed episode.

Three scientists are replaced by androids one by one after they collectively refuse to create a devastating weapon known as Project XYZ. When Diana Prince investigates a dodgy old toy maker she meets her double ...

A good episode that is made more enjoyable by Frank Gorshin as the toy maker. As Riddler he invented riddles, now as the toy maker he creates deadly toys, one of them -a plane tries to kill Diana but she does her sexy twirls and evades death. Plus she faces her double and briefly there's some good confrontation, though I wish it was lengthier. Overall this is an inventive and lively episode that doesn't take itself too seriously.

"The Deadly Toys"

What can you make out of a title like that? Honestly? I was expecting it to be silly and overblown, but I was very wrong. It actually proved to be a very fitting episode, especially since it is set at Christmas. Lynda Carter just looks beautiful at this point (her luscious locks play a big part in that) and her cheekiness when she is sauntering around the episode is so enjoyable (Throughout Seasons 2 and 3, she became very sassy and it's so fun to watch) to watch. Having two Wonder Woman is nothing all that new, but the hilarious tussle that the two have is worth watching. Lyle Waggoner is given a total of two scenes per episode at this point and it was far too obvious that he was pretty much useless by this stage. I feel sorry for him, he is drafted such a bland character and he really isn't all that necessary in any story that he features. But, he isn't being tied up every five minutes as much at this point, so be thankful for small mercies. Anyway, a very fun and enjoyable moments that make a great episode. 9/10