Wonder Woman 

The adventures of the greatest of the female superheroes.

Creators:

William Moulton Marston, Stanley Ralph Ross

Stars:

Lynda Carter, Lyle Waggoner, Tom Kratochvil

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Lynda Carter	...	Diana Prince / ... 60 episodes, 1975-1979
Lyle Waggoner	...	Colonel Steve Trevor, Jr. / ... 59 episodes, 1975-1979

Storyline

During World War II, a plane piloted by Major Steve Trevor crashes near Paradise Island, the secret hidden island home of the mighty and eternally young Amazons. He is rescued by Princess Diana, who learns of the war against the Nazis. The Amazons decide to send one of their own to help fight in this crisis. Although forbidden to participate in the selection process, Diana joins secretly and wins the right and responsibility to go. Taking the still unconscious Major to safety, she joins him as Yeoman Diana Prince. Furthermore, when the forces of evil threaten the nation, Diana would spin to transform into Wonder Wonder, armed with a magic belt giving her tremendous strength, bracelets that can stop any bullet, a tiara that can be thrown as a returning weapon and a unbreakable magic lasso that can force anyone to tell the truth. After WW II, she returned to the Island, only to encounter Steve Trevor Jr., agent for IADC, thirty years later. Seeing the amazing coincidence as a sign, she ...

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Plot Keywords:

woman wears eyeglasses | diana prince character | wonder woman character | steve trevor character | character name as series title | 

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Taglines:

Bullets bouncing off her bracelets! Golden lasso flying high! Superhuman strength within her! That amazing Amazon now battles evil in the world of today!

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 November 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The New Adventures of Wonder Woman

Filming Locations:

City Hall - 1 Manchester Blvd., Inglewood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bruce Lansbury Productions, Douglas S. Cramer Company, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (58 episodes) 90 min (2 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tensions between series stars Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner grew to the point that as the series went on the two stars appeared in fewer and fewer scenes together. So that Waggoner's character would have more activity on the show, producers brought in S. Pearl Sharp to play fellow IADC agent Eve. Waggoner was to be completely written out of the show as in the last episode of the series Diana is relocated to the Los Angeles bureau of IADC. In recent interviews, Lynda Carter has denied any tension existed. But she does say in interviews she regrets not getting to know him better.

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Goofs

When Wonder Woman runs, she wears flat boots. When she stands still or walks, she is suddenly wearing high-heeled boots.

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Quotes

Norman Gimbel: [Theme song lyrics] WONDER WOMAN
Norman Gimbel: WONDER WOMAN
Norman Gimbel: ALL THE WORLD'S WAITING FOR YOU
Norman Gimbel: AND THE POWER YOU POSSESS
Norman Gimbel: IN YOUR SATIN TIGHTS
Norman Gimbel: FIGHTING FOR YOUR RIGHTS
Norman Gimbel: AND THE OLD RED, WHITE AND BLUE
Norman Gimbel: WONDER WOMAN
Norman Gimbel: WONDER WOMAN
Norman Gimbel: NOW THE WORLD IS READY FOR YOU
[...]

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Alternate Versions

Both the ABC pilot episode - "The New Original Wonder Woman" - and the ABC premiere episode that brought the series forward into the 70's - "The Return of Wonder Woman" - originally aired as 90-minute episodes. For syndication, these episodes are often edited down to run in a standard 60-minute time slot. The full version of "The New Original Wonder Woman" is contained on the DVD boxed set of the first season, and the full version of "The Return of Wonder Woman" was included on the second season box set.

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Connections

Referenced in Battle of the Network Stars (1976)

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Soundtracks

Wonder Woman
Music by Charles Fox
Lyrics by Norman Gimbel

User Reviews

"Wonderful" "Wonder Woman"

The 1970's TV series "Wonder Woman" - adapted from the popular DC Comics super-heroine created by American psychologist William Moulton Marston (credited here as "Charles Marston"), his wife Elizabeth, and their mutual live-in lover Olive Byrne - is a wonderful superhero series.

One of the great things about "Wonder Woman" is that it feels like a real-life, live-action comic book. In fact, shots from each episode closely resemble panels from a comic book. The other thing about "Wonder Woman" is that it doesn't fall into the full-blown camp territory of its obvious predecessor, the 1966 "Batman" TV series that starred Adam West and was responsible for nearly ruining the Dark Knight's reputation. Yet, "Wonder Woman" also doesn't take itself all that seriously. It's just a great fun TV show to watch through and through.

In case you don't know, the entire "Wonder Woman" series takes place from World War II (1942-1945) all the way up to the modern day (the mid 1970s). During a spectacular aerial battle over the Bermuda Triangle, dashing Air Force pilot Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) is shot down and lands on Paradise Island, which also happens to be home to the Amazons, beautiful, ageless women of great strength, agility, and intelligence. Princess Diana (former Miss World USA 1972 Lynda Carter) wins the right to return him to "Man's World" (the rest of human society). And thus, Wonder Woman's career as a super-heroine begins as she and Steve take on the Nazis and their various attempts to sabotage the U.S. war effort.

The second season onward moves events up to the present, the mid-1970s, as Diana once again returns to Man's World to battle all manner of evil - terrorists, evil geniuses, your typical crooks, and even Nazi war criminals hiding out in South America. She once again teams up with Steve Trevor, or rather, Steve Trevor, Jr., the son of the lead male protagonist from the first season (who is still portrayed by Lyle Waggoner).

As the lead, the dashing and beautiful Lynda Carter IS Wonder Woman. In her civilian identity, she's bookish Diana Prince. Astute viewers will also recognize that "Diana Prince" is the secret identity, whereas Wonder Woman is the true personality (much like DC Comics' other flagship superhero, Superman/Clark Kent). Carter is an actress of amazing beauty and physicality; she reportedly performed a number of her own stunts including dangling from a flying helicopter in the second episode of the second season. It's a role that she would be forever closely linked to and it remains her most famous role to date.

Another aspect of the series that I found quite amazing was that it retains the feminist appeal of the original comic book character (Wonder Woman has been accused by social critics since the beginning of encouraging misandry, promoting bondage fantasies, and encouraging lesbianism). Because of the strong feminist appeal of the character, it was often Steve Trevor who was in distress and needed to be rescued, and not the other way around. It's a great role reversal from what is normally seen in most superhero comic book/TV series.

Lastly, I'm not ashamed to say that I became a fan of Wonder Woman largely because of Lynda Carter, who is not only striking and beautiful, but also closely resembles her comic book counterpart; I have no doubt in my mind that she might have been cast because of her uncanny resemblance to the character that she plays.

"Wonder Woman" is a classic superhero series in every sense of the word. The first season is the best, in my overall opinion of the series. It is also highly likely that this incarnation of the DC Comics super-heroine will remain the best portrayal of the character anywhere, whether it be on television or in the movies.

8/10

P.S.: I only wish that Debra Winger had more appearances as Diana's perky younger sister Drusilla/Wonder Girl.