Wonder Woman DVDs

[Super Monkey]

Anyone has this set?



Technical Information

Release Information:
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1976
DVD Release Date: June 29, 2004
Run Time: 725 minutes
Production Company: Warner Home Video
Package Type: Digipak

Aspect Ratio(s):
1.33:1

Discographic Information:
DVD Encoding: Region 1
Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
Available subtitles: English, Spanish, French

Edition Details:
• Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries.) Read more about DVD formats.
• Color, Closed-captioned
• All 14 episodes from 1976-77 season including the pilot with commentary by Lynda Carter and producer Douglas S. Cramer
• New documentary retrospective
• Number of discs: 3
• ASIN: B0001ZMWYG


and coming soon...

[TELLE]

Did anyone see a PBS documentary about WW lately?  I also understand that there is a doc on the WW dvd and am interested in a review.

[nightwing]

I have the set.  There was a great deal at Costco and I couldn't resist.

You want a review of the documentary or the episodes?  The documentary is very well done and moves well, with neat comments from Lynda Carter, Alex Ross (?!), Les Daniels (author of Wonder Woman: The Complete History) and...well, I'm sure someone else, but it's been a while since I saw it.  They reveal how the "bullet-proof bracelets" effect was achieve and like all great "magic tricks" it was brilliant in its simplicity.  Also some neat tid-bits about how the costume was developed.  Lynda is as gorgeous as ever and comes off as very sweet and sincere...possibly the single best match of performer to role ever in a superhero adaptation.

As for the episodes, I really enjoyed the two-hour pilot film, even though it's a lot campier than the rest of the series.  Lynda still had a bit of "baby fat" on her here and I preferred it to her skinnier look later on.  Red Buttons is great as a Nazi spy.  Another highlight is the "Fausta" episode with a rival (Nazi) Wonder Woman.  And I kind of like the two-parter with Tim O'Herlihy as an alien sent to judge mankind (very "Day The Earth Stood Still").  It's also cool to see a very young Debra Winger as younger sister Drucilla ("Wonder Girl").

Otherwise, the episodes tend to be very repetitive (Nazi plot, Steve Trevor blunders into a trap, somebody steals Wonder Woman's girdle...yawn...) and in some cases feel like 20 minutes of plot padded out to an hour of footage.  I lost count of how many times we saw the establishing shot of Military Intelligence and the Nazi Intelligence headquarters, and halfway through the season I was getting really sick of some of the music cues. There seems to have been some doubt about how to play the show, as some guest villains camp it up and others play it straight.  And maybe it's just me, but it's distracting to see 70's hairdos on men supposedly in the 1940s (although not as distracting as it was to see Laura Ingall's dad with a perm in the 1800s!).  The fight with a guy in a gorilla suit was a particular low point.  And Robert (Mike Brady) Reed as a British assassin who only remembers to speak with an accent about half the time.

Oh yeah, this season's set in World War Two (the next two seasons were updated to the 70s).  I remembered liking that better as a kid, but it really limits the plots...everything's Nazi spy this and Nazi spy that.

Also, I have to say that while he looks like a superhero from central casting, a little Lyle Waggoner goes a long way.  Thank heaven they rejected him for the 1966 Batman show.  

Bottom line: great packaging, great transfer to DVD (looks like it was filmed yesterday) and Lynda is always fun to watch (and sweet as mom's apple pie).  But slower than you remember (everything was back then), very uneven in terms of plot quality from ep to ep, and often very bargain-basement in the special effects department (the Invisible Plane scenes are always good for a guffaw).  I recommend it if you loved the show as a kid (it's wonderfully preserved), or if you're just into superhero shows in general (it's as good as any, and better than most).  But look for a bargain...I paid 25 bucks and that's just about right.

[TELLE]

Thanks Nightwing.  I was interested in the doc summary.

The show sounds just like I expected (and remember, once I account for the fog of childhood nostalgia).  I just know those alien episodes from later seasons won't hold up either.  I agree with you about Lynda Carter entirely.

[Shazam!]

She is a very formidable lady. Season 3 is out now too.  I have all three seasons.

[TELLE]

Carter was interviewed for some entertainment show I caught the other day (the Insider?).  She still looks great but talked about a bout with drinking and depression a few years ago.  Still haven't got those DVDs.

[Shazam!]

Carter is playing "Pauline" in the new Dukes of Hazzard movie of which my friend Cooter tells me is an insult to the legacy of the Dukes.  From the trailer, this new flick has the stupidness of the remake of the Beverly Hillbillies

[MatterEaterLad]

As well as a "spinning teacher" in Disney's "Sky High"...