If you've never seen the show, or not watched it since the 1970's, it's my official position that you should correct that situation. Over three seasons across two networks and a story taking place across 30-odd years, the show went from post-Batman '66 campiness to a straight family-friendly action-drama and covered Nazis, alien invasion, small time crooks, leprechauns and super-dolphins. And robots and smart-assed computers. And twirling. So much twirling.
For those of you looking for something to show your daughters with a superhero who stands on her own two feet, uses abstract thinking to resolve any situation - and who always wins the day - look no further! No kidding. This show and The Adventures of Superman are the best things you can see in TV format to show the real spirit of super-heroing as a selfless act meant to inspire.* And, unlike Superman, Wonder Woman also has a role blowing the doors off of expectations of women in a patriarchal society.
I'll also argue that this kind of super-heroing is good for your little boys, too. Plenty of action and adventure, and a hero who is a woman taking out the bad guys in action sequences has to be a positive role-model.
Just as I will always support both Christopher Reeve and George Reeves' takes on Superman, I have to heap as much praise on Carter as Wonder Woman. I don't want to say the role was effortless for her - I assume she was working there and not just goofing off, but somewhere between the costume, the scripts, and what she brought to the role, this is a Wonder Woman you can believe in. Even when the first episodes were still trying to figure out if the show was WWII-set camp comedy or an action-adventure show, she was rock solid, more or less from the beginning, and I don't think it's a mistake that her earnest take made the show tilt toward the more straight action-adventure option.
And, the fact that Season 3 did not launch Carter as a fashion icon is a horrible mistake. Nobody rocks a pair of gigantic glasses and a hat like Lynda Carter.
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| going for a sort of "European fashion detective" look |
The show is a product of its time, from a structural perspective. The budget could only handle limited FX, and so they relied mostly on stunt work rather than complex visuals (and there are some kind of hilarious aliens in a couple of episodes). The sparsely used invisible jet is a great idea, but that's obviously a doll sitting in a plastic toy. You never get established WW villains. Season 1 is all Nazis, and when the show jumps to '77 in Season 2, it's all the criminal masterminds of the family friendly shows we were used to in the 70's and 80's, although some of her villains are really up to some unnecessarily complex schemes.
And, man, especially in Season 1, WW gets knocked out just about every episode, usually with chloroform. She would have had a permanent twitch at the sight of a handkerchief by Season 2.
It's mostly episodic, as audiences in a pre-VCR or DVR era were not asked to remember prior episodes. You could drop in at any time and understand the basics. Really, pretty favorable for your younger audience.
Much like the George Reeves Superman, one other positive and very superhero-ish aspect I like is that, while, yes, Wonder Woman can certainly kick-butt, she mostly tries to find peaceful solutions and tries to get the evil-doers to reconsider their ways. It's not all about tactical superiority and who can stab someone first.
Anyway, here's to a show that's stood the test of time and, four decades after the fact, is still the gold standard that's made it difficult for anyone to want to consider anyone else in the role. And here's to Lynda Carter, who was the anchor at the center of a show that could go any direction in an episode, and she still sold it in her satin tights.
*I do think The Flash is almost there. Still enjoying that show and if they keep it up, definitely add it to the list.
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