While I’ve seen almost the entire Wonder Woman TV series, I’ve never seen THE NEW ORIGINAL WONDER WOMAN (1975) that kicked it off. Until a couple of weeks back. Damn, but it’s good.
After the Batman TV show ran out of steam, TV and movies spent a decade keeping comic books at arms length. The two Captain America TV movies rewrote the mythos, as did the Hulk TV series (though more successfully). Lynda Carter’s debut is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of her debut in Sensation Comics.
We have Steve Trevor (Lyle Trevor) trying to thwart a Nazi bomber attack, crashing on Paradise Island, Princess Diana winning the right to take him home. Then she thwarts a spy conspiracy involving Stella Stevens and Red Buttons (a theatrical agent who puts her on stage — unlike the original story he’s also a Nazi agent). At the end, she’s working with Steve as Yeoman Diana Prince (Yeoman Etta Candy hasn’t shown up yet).
The film doesn’t deal with the Olympian gods at all, nor does it explain how Diana got her gig in military intelligence. I think those are both forgivable. It also establishes Paradise Island as located in the Bermuda Triangle, something the comics subsequently adopted (they also, of course, switched to a WW II setting for a while)
The film’s biggest strength is Carter herself. Like Christopher Reeves a couple of years later she’s completely sincere as Wonder Woman, taking the role seriously while not forgetting the movie isn’t serious drama (in contrast to say, Jared Leto in Morbius). I imagine I’ll start watching the series now — you’ll get my review of the first season at some point. “I have a lot to learn about men — and devious women.”
For another Latina hero (while I didn’t know it when Wonder Woman was on, Lynda Carter is Latina), QUEEN OF SWORDS (2000-2001) stars Tessie Santiago as Tessa Alvarez, AKA the Queen of Swords — Zorro if Zorro were an extremely sexy woman. In the early 19th century, Tessa, having been sent from her father’s California estate back to Spain for education, returns after her father’s murder. She discovers the local governor, Col. Montoya (Valentine Pelka), is behind it as part of his ambitious plans (Montoya’s about one step from a megalomaniac Wild, Wild West villain). Fortunately, Tessa convinced the family fencing master to train her; now she uses her skills with a blade (not to mention a whip) to thwart Montoya’s schemes as the Queen of Swords, helped by her Roma maid Marta (Paulina Galvez).
It’s familiar Zorro-esque stuff but I don’t see that as a disqualifier. And yes, the eye candy factor doesn’t hurt (Peter Wingfield, Methos on Highlander, provides some eye candy if you prefer men, or so I’m told). “We had a bet, remember — double or nothing.”
The second season of THE VICAR OF DIBLEY (first season review here) is only four episodes, dealing with Reverend Geraldine’s (Dawn French) nitwit BFF Alice (Emma Chambers) finally landing her beloved Hugo (James Fleet), then follows them through the wedding episode. Short, but it’s an extremely funny four seasons. “Sex with poodles — is it always wrong?”
The first season of the 2021 Britcom STARSTRUCK has protagonist Jessie (Rose Matafeo) enjoying a drunken hookup New Year’s Eve with Tom (Nikesh Patel). So far so good, then it turns out Tom’s a movie star and he’d like to see her again — sure, he’s sexy and the sex was good, but can an ordinary woman deal with being part of a star’s life? Stock stuff, but I laughed a lot just the same. “I knew you’d be a problem because you wore ballet slippers and don’t think peanut allergies are real.”
Also from 2021, the first season of GIRLS5EVA has the eponymous 1990s girl group (Sara Bareilles plays the lead singer) reunite to see if they can finally become more than a one-hit wonder. Enjoyable and funny, though neither this nor Starstruck have me watching subsequent seasons as avidly as The Vicar of Dibley. “I want to be hand-fed by Gillian Anderson like a complicated rescue horse.”
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