Wonder Woman Meets Baroness Von Gunther
- Episode aired Apr 21, 1976
- TV-G
- 50m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
332
YOUR RATING
Steve is framed for charges of treason by Nazi spies and Wonder Woman finds herself in trouble when she loses her magic lasso while trying to rescue him.Steve is framed for charges of treason by Nazi spies and Wonder Woman finds herself in trouble when she loses her magic lasso while trying to rescue him.Steve is framed for charges of treason by Nazi spies and Wonder Woman finds herself in trouble when she loses her magic lasso while trying to rescue him.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPaula Von Gunther was one of Wonder Woman's regular foes to appear on the show. However, in the comic book she would later reform and move to Paradise Island and became chief scientist for the Amazons after Wonder Woman frees her daughter, who is being held hostage by the Nazis to keep Paula in line. Early on, she is executed for her crimes and has her henchmen use a formula of her own devising to bring her back to life. In All Star Comics #38 (Dec/Jan 1947), the men of the Justice Society of America (The Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Atom, Dr. Mid-Nite, Johnny Thunder) were killed by Attila the Hun, Emperor Nero, and Genghis Khan, and Black Canary and Wonder Woman got Von Gunther to resurrect them with her formula.
- GoofsAt the end of the final fight scene Baroness Von Gunther tries to escape. Wonder Woman chases her down and they wrestle and roll down a hill. Christine Belford is wearing pantyhose. She should have been wearing thigh-hi stockings, as pantyhose were not invented until the late 1950s.
- Quotes
Baroness Paula Von Gunther: These chains are another brilliant German accomplishment. The metal is tempered with a special process. It's unbreakable. Even by elephants.
Featured review
A Fall From Awesomeness
"Wonder Woman Meets Baroness Von Gunther" I didn't think it was possible, but this is only the second episode to star Lynda Carter as the eponymous heroine, and she feels like an afterthought in the whole episode. This would later be corrected in later episodes of the first Season and more extensively in Seasons 2 and 3. I have no idea how WB thought that dumbing down the character would be of any use to the viewers. She is given simple dialogue and spends a good chunk of the tale tied up until the last few minutes. I don't see how the strong woman who was able to survive with no money and obvious capability, even in naivety, is side-lined in this episode. The only time I felt like she was being given something worth it was the last scene with the Baroness. That scene only lasts about a second and then it's back to bland Diana Prince who smiles and looks sexy, that's all that WB wanted out of Lynda at the time.
This, thank God, would be corrected when Lynda stood up for herself and the character when she felt that the company had no idea who the character of Wonder Woman was. I completely agree with her on this. Throughout this episode, she's just the poor man's Batman from the 1960's. No wit, no charm, just one funny line and that's it. Granted, the performance out of Lynda is still very gentle and her face at the end when she takes the Baroness away in the lasso is just hilarious. So, it did take them a while to pin her down, but luckily, Lynda was on hand to show just why we love the Amazon princess so much.
As for everyone else, ironically enough, Steve Trevor is the most stale piece of eye candy that has ever been placed on the screen alongside one of the most iconic characters. He is always captured and proves to be as useless as icing on toast. Lyle is doing the best he can with the role, but he is given nothing to work with that at some points in the show, he just becomes an annoyance to get rid of. He's okay here, but he'll leave you wondering how he was considered to be the best soldier in his rankings.
The villain is alright, the supporting cast are okay. Just an okay episode, but an insulting stab at the main lead, by not giving her any persona and just throwing her into the tale like she is just a damsel. Things can only get better from here.
7/10
This, thank God, would be corrected when Lynda stood up for herself and the character when she felt that the company had no idea who the character of Wonder Woman was. I completely agree with her on this. Throughout this episode, she's just the poor man's Batman from the 1960's. No wit, no charm, just one funny line and that's it. Granted, the performance out of Lynda is still very gentle and her face at the end when she takes the Baroness away in the lasso is just hilarious. So, it did take them a while to pin her down, but luckily, Lynda was on hand to show just why we love the Amazon princess so much.
As for everyone else, ironically enough, Steve Trevor is the most stale piece of eye candy that has ever been placed on the screen alongside one of the most iconic characters. He is always captured and proves to be as useless as icing on toast. Lyle is doing the best he can with the role, but he is given nothing to work with that at some points in the show, he just becomes an annoyance to get rid of. He's okay here, but he'll leave you wondering how he was considered to be the best soldier in his rankings.
The villain is alright, the supporting cast are okay. Just an okay episode, but an insulting stab at the main lead, by not giving her any persona and just throwing her into the tale like she is just a damsel. Things can only get better from here.
7/10
helpful•53
- pmullan-54285
- Jul 2, 2016
Details
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content