Wonder Woman (1976 - 1979)(ABC / CBS)

Written By: Ken Hulsey

Lynda Carter will be forever remembered for her four years on American prime time television as Amazonian goddess turned defender of freedom known as “Wonder Woman”. The half Native American/Hispanic actress with her tall buxom frame would be the perfect fit to play the character that first appeared in DC Comics in the 1940s’. It would have stood to figure that the presence of the former Miss World-USA 1973, Carter, herself would have equaled television gold. Several factors including a network change and a change in local, time, and philosophy ultimately would work against the series. Oddly enough it was a mid-season replacement on rival NBC called “Diff’rent Strokes, which starred Gary Coleman, that forced the shows network, CBS, to rethink and re-shuffle their schedule. Wonder Woman and its star Lynda Carter ended being the odd ones out. Although the network had plans to bring the show back, Carter soon would star in a very popular Las Vegas club act and record her first album. Great reviews turned the stars attention away from acting and towards a singing career that unfortunately never reached the popularity it had initially promised. Regardless the show was left for dead.

The show took several strange turns before it became the cult classic we all remember. During the height of the “Batman Craze” in the late 1960s’ the shows producer, Bill Dozier had plans to produce a Wonder Woman series that would have been more comedy than action. Later in 1974 producer John G. Stephens would produce a 90-minute TV movie simply titled “Wonder Woman”. The movie which starred the blond former tennis sensation, Cathy Lee Crosby, Ricardo Montalban and Kaz Garas bombed miserably. Before Carter was chosen to play a more traditional version of the character, Linda Harrison (Nova in Planet of the Apes) was used for several test shots and was strongly considered. The pilot which starred Lynda Carter called “The New Original Wonder Woman” aired in November 1975 and gained high ratings and critical praise. This still did not land the show a slot in the ABC schedule, instead two one-hour specials were ordered by the network. These too earned high ratings, yet ABC was still unwilling to make a commitment on the shows future. During the 1976-1977 season Wonder Woman was considered a replacement alternative if any of the regular slated shows failed. As a matter of chance several of these shows did indeed fail and the show found the opening it needed. Eleven one-hour shows were immediately put into production and Wonder Woman would bail ABC out of jam due to lack of quality programming.



Set in World War II era Washington DC, the series would showcase Wonder Woman as the nations champion of freedom against the evils of Nazi Germany. Disguised as Military Intelligence secretary Diana Prince, who did a perfect Clark Kent impression glasses and all, Wonder Woman would always be one step ahead of the bad guys, ready to spin into her costume and bail Major Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) out of any sticky situation he got himself into. A young Debra Winger would play the buxom Wonder Girl who also managed to show up just in time to lend a hand to the defenders of freedom. The show featured just the right amount of camp and action to strike a chord with audiences and grab decent ratings.

Imagine the surprise of the fans when they found out that the show had unexpectedly switched networks to CBS for the 1977-78 season. A change of network however wasn’t the only change that was made to the series. The shows story line had jumped ahead thirty years and the young Wonder Girl and the Nazis were nowhere to be found. The only hold over from the ABC series was Lyle Wagner, who was still cast as Steve Trevor. Modern locals, teen heartthrobs, and sci fi based episodes failed to capture the charm that the original series had. It should be noted however that the network did take steps to correct the series flaws towards to end of season two and the episodes in the third season were arguably the best of the entire run. The damage, however, had already been done and most of the initial audience had been lost by this point. Wonder Woman would end up in ratings limbo and eventually slide out of CBS’s prime time lineup.

Wonder Woman 1976 - 1979

AKA: The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1977), The New Original Wonder Woman (1976)

Created By: William M. Marston
Directed By: Jack Arnold & Ray Austin
Written By: Rod Baker, William M. Marston, & Jackson Gillis
Produced By: Wilfred Lloyd Baumes, Charles B. Fitzimons, & Douglas S. Cramer
Theme By: Charles Fox

Cast:
Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, Princess Diana, & Diana Prince
Lyle Wagner as Major Steve Trevor
Norman Burton as Joe Atkinson
Beatrice Colen as Etta Candy
Richard Eastman as Gen. Phil Blankenship
Tom Kratochzil as I.R.A.C. (Voice)
Saundra Sharp as Eve
Cloris Leachman as Queen Mother
Carolyn Jones as Queen Mother
Beatrice Straight as Queen Mother
George Lynda Day as Fausta Grabels
Christine Belford as Paula Von Gunther

Cathy Lee Crosby The Other Wonder Woman

From Considerable

But by the late ’60s, times — and Wonder Woman — had changed. Taking her cue from the then-popular British TV Avengers show, Diana now had no powers whatsoever except her fists. Plus she runs a clothing boutique, and – gasp — was seemingly arbitrarily no longer raven-headed, but blonde.

And this was the version of Wonder Woman that Cathy Lee Crosby played in the 1974 “Made-for-TV” movie by ABC. “Made-for-TV” — at the time, perhaps the most damning phrase in all entertainment. Was it lack of budget that meant the production featured only one solitary action sequence? Probably. In any case, the critics were lukewarm. “Respectable but not exactly wondrous” was the general view.

But only one year later, Wonder Woman was relaunched as the (paradoxical) “New Original Wonder Woman,” played by Lynda Carter and with — at last — dark hair. A hit.

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'Wonder Woman' 1967 TV Pilot Test Is So Awful, It's Amazing

The Hollywood Reporter

The first attempt, in 1967, to bring the character of Wonder Woman to life was a disaster.

It's so bad, it is almost a work of art. And with Gal Gadot's critically praised Wonder Woman opening this weekend, an unearthed clip by Heat Vision of that Mad Men-era short is worth taking a cringing look at.

Never making it to air, but floating around the internet, Wonder Woman: Who's Afraid of Diana Prince? featured Ellie Wood Walker as the lead and Maudie Prickett as the heroine's mother.

The five-minute video sees Diana Prince berated for being single and sexualizes Woman Woman once she is in her suit. No joke, Wonder Woman spends nearly an entire minute admiring herself in the mirror, even blowing kisses at herself! Planet of the Apes actress Linda Harrison is credited as Wonder Woman's reflection.

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Lynda Carter - Mini Bio


Lynda Carter was born Linda Jean Cordova in Phoenix Arizona on July 24, 1951. A woman of both Native American and Mexican heritage. Lynda was a former Miss Arizona and Miss World USA in 1973. She was married to Ron Samuals from 1977 until 1982 when they divorced. Lynda is currently married to Robert Altman. The two tied the knot in 1984.

Wonder Woman 77 Meets The Bionic Woman #2 1 for 25 Retailer Incentive Variant Cover January 2017 Dynamite DC Comics Grade NM

$7.49 - On Sale Now!

Limited 1 for 25 Retailer Incentive Variant Cover. Written by Andy Mangels. Art by Judit Tondora. Cover by Aaron Lopresti. Bullets & Bracelets & Bionics! The dream team that no one thought was even possible is now reeling after the events of the debut issue! Diana Prince (aka Wonder Woman) and Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman) must join forces to find out who laid waste at the IADC headquarters, without the help of a powerful ally. Meanwhile, the evil cabal CASTRA continues its evil plans, and not one, not two, but three familiar villains are revealed! But while Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman engage in a battle at sea, a jailbreak in Washington, D.C. leads to another shocking returnee…with a very deadly agenda! 32 pages, full color. Rated T+