A great game which was played in the Bronze Age was the imaginary casting of imaginary superhero movies. Before these modern times of computer wizardry which make superpowers convincingly possible on the screen, the thought of superhero movies was mostly a lark. Superman changed that bit, but still the work seemed mostly to be on the small screen. We had had Superman and Batman and the Green Hornet in the 50's and 60's and the 70's was ripe for its personification of a comic book after fine but offbeat turns by George Reeves and Adam West. Could the mavens of Hollywood give the public a superhero who wasn't constantly winking at the audience. The closest they came was Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in the first season.
Set during World War II this first thirteen-episode season movie length pilot, had what made the Golden Age great, terrific villains in the Nazis. Wonder Woman didn't take on the Japanese or the Italians in these shows, but she kicked the snot out of the Germans. You don't need complex motivations for villains when all you have to say is "Nazi". We all agree to beat up those assholes. (I won't comment on modern America in this regard.) This readymade enemy also immediately made for instant allies.
In addition to the stunning portrayal by Carter in these stories we have Lyle Waggoner as "Steve Trevor" the somewhat hapless but earnest war hero who seems to spend a lot of the show tied up. Etta Candy gets some play as portrayed by Beatrice Cohen but rarely more than a bit of comedy relief alas. The America our heroes operate in is rife with spies and despite all those 70's haircuts they seem difficult to spot by everyone save the audience. It became a small game for me to yell "Nazi" when someone showed up. I was almost always right. If someone seemed too handsome or too caring, they almost always were a Nazi.
It's a great deal of fun to watch the show mature as the episodes roll by. The famous costume-changing spin refining itself with the addition of the colorful flash of light and the costume seeming to get sturdier as the season rolled by. Lynda Carter is striking of course as Wonder Woman, but I was also impressed by just how beautiful she was in her Yeoman Prince persona. The episodes for the first season were very clean and crisp. Guest stars were nice too as the likes of Cloris Leachman and Red Buttons show up in the pilot. Leachman's moment when she remembers the world of men is hilarious as she bits down on her hand just a smidge. Buttons was one of the few Nazis I didn't spot. Linda Day George was particularly effective as a Nazi woman who sees the light at last. The rest of the shows have good solid actors, admittedly doing some strange things.
The show ended too soon and when it would return the war was over and we'd be in the present day. More on that one next time.
Rip Off
No comments:
Post a Comment