Wonder Woman Fan Reviews & Ratings - TV.com
Reasons WonderWoman was so popular- Two things kept that series going both held up Lynda Carters red white and blue outfit!
8.0
By guard4_u1951 ,        Jun 13, 2010
Back in the day I was a teen when WW was on and what I remember about it was it was all about sexploitation. It wasn't bad enough to parade Ms Carter around in  such a revealing costume- No! They had to sexualize young male viewers by repaetedly rendering either WW or Diana unconscious by various means. I remember my friends who watched it talk about wouldn't it be great to remove Diana's or WW's clothes while she was out. I even know of one father who encouraged this kind of thinking in his son. I wonder what became of him? Battle of the Network stars was another example of sexploitation. I mean who wouldn't watch Lynda Carter get her swimsuit wet while being dunked in the dunk tank. Comon it was fluff, and unnecessary sexualizing fluff which has never been equaled except perhaps fpr Farrah Fawcett in Charlies Angels. nuff said!!!
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10
By Charlieboy007 ,        Nov 22, 2008
Wonder Woman was fantastic especially growing up I saw it when I was about 8 or 9 and I loved it.
You can not beat Lynda Carter she had charm, innocence while being sexy and feminine.
The WWII series was wonderful shame it did not last longer
Unfortunately the budget was not too great and the later series lost a lot of the charm of the previous ones but I still love it.
I am sure the Movie when it comes out will be awful, real dark and moody like Batman has become.
We seem to have lost the knack of making Science Fiction series like they use to.
Cheers guys.
10
By TerryTV76 ,        May 01, 2008
If there ever was a great Wonder Woman, it was definitely Lynda Carter and she really made the show successful by being WW/Diana Prince.  I am proud to say that I own the entire series on DVD and while I loved the first season (World War II) adventures, the contemporary stories of the 1977-'79 era are the most fun as Wonder Woman fought terrorists, aliens (the Skrill), and other baddies.  Even more fun are the guest stars like Rick Springfield, Anne Francis, Wolfman Jack, Jayne Kennedy, Leif Garrett, and many others as they add on the fun.  As one of the Generation X TV fans, I watched the show on syndication and have grown to love it!
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wonder woman at her best
8.0
By unexpressedrage ,        Feb 25, 2008
diana prince is a superhero who works as a yeoman under steve trevor her boss and of whom she secretly admires. but this is just her cover up job coz she's really wonder woman who helps and saves and that's what super heroes do.she's strong and her strength and agility came from her home from somewhere secret and they were amazon women who are athletic and can take care of themselves w/o the interference of any men. this is considered a classic series already as it ended a very long time ago. and it's nice to know that they've made it on tv as a series.
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Wonder Woman was the first show on American television (The Avengers was on the BBC)to portray a female hero is a positive light. The show would pave the way for series like Dark Angel, Alias and Xena: Warrior Princess.
8.7
By kensforce ,        Jul 27, 2007
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 blonde 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 storyline 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.
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A little bit forgotten, but a classic one.
6.5
By da_dunker ,        Apr 28, 2007
Wonder Woman is a somewhat forgotten show, it's not on syndication much, but it's gotten a boost from a successful release on DVD. The first season takes place in the 1940s with Wonder Woman constantly fighting to dismantle the Nazi's schemes. The following two seasons take place in the 1970s, and they will be released on DVD soon.
The show is always bordering on the level of high camp, but like most every show from the 1970s, it tells its' story in a very plain straightforward fashion. Wonder Woman comes to the aid of Steve Trevor, who can never seem to help himself (the male in distress). Someone they know turns out to be an undercover Nazi spy, who is trying to steal valuable information or hurt many Americans.
One thing that is somewhat frustrating is how many times she is taken captured. She is chloroformed too many times to count (a 70s trademark - what action show didn't over-exploit chloroform?) Of course, how the hell does Steve never recognize that Diana is Wonder Woman, even when she happens to show up in the middle of Brazil to save him? And that music while she flies the invisible airplane?...yeeessh
The good parts of the show - Lynda Carter, first of all. She seemed to hit her stride in the part as the series continued and she is often so charming and innocent that you can't help but like her. Her values and strength of character are idealistic, but they're also missing in today's female heroes, who are so dark sometimes, they lose their charm. In many ways, watching Lynda as Wonder Woman is a breath of fresh air and of course, there still doesn't seem to be a woman other than her who could wear that outfit and pull it off. When Wonder Woman first walks on the city streets in the pilot, you don't know what to think, but Lynda plays her so innocently she's fantastic.
She is the driving force, but the innocent quality of the show (good vs. bad) is unique from today's perspective. The comic book captions at the leads of scenes give it a tie to the comics. The guest stars are often interesting and have good roles and Lyle Waggoner is consistent in a rather thankless role as Steve Trevor.
It may not hold up perfectly today, but it's a nice time capsule series and Lynda Carter does hold up well in a role she was born to play. And along with the Hulk, this was the best of the slew of comic book hero shows from the 1970s-early 80s.
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A classic character and a memorable show.
9.5
By boromirbeauty ,        Mar 16, 2007
One of the greatest female characters of all time, Wonder Woman, finally got her T.V. "cred" in this show starring Lynda Carter.
There had been a few attempts to bring the Amazing Amazon to life on television before, but it wasn't until this gem of a show found Carter and cast her as DC Comics first female super hero, that she ever got the recognition she deserved.
By today's standards, with shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena: Warrior Princess, this show might seem campy and (lets face it) out-dated, but as a child I watched this series and all my dreams of being Wonder Woman came true.  Each week I got to "be" Princess Diana and fight evil and loved every minute of it.
This show is a true classic, just like the character it was based on.
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A story about a woman with incredible superpowers and beauty fighting for justice in a world and time where men did all the fighting.
9.0
By MendedAxe ,        Feb 08, 2007
Wonder Woman took place in different times and different places. It was short lived, however the re-runs that followed gave people a chance to see it for what it was. It was the story of a woman fighting for justice in a what was at the time a man's world. It went against everything. Lynda Carter was the perfect woman to play the lead role. She was tall, beautiful, athletic, and made the costume look good as well. The effects of her transformation from her regular persona to that of Wonder Woman were for that time period quiet spectular. I remember as a child watching the show every chance I got, just to see the flash of light and to hear the loud bang of her becoming Wonder Woman. I was a short lived show, as many were in that time, but it was a good show none the less.
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By Susie-Gibbs ,        Sep 24, 2006
Wonder Woman, based on Charles Moulton's comicbook
superheroine of the 1940s, developed gradually into a
regular TV series. It was first seen in TV movies in March
1974 and November 1975, then in a series of specials called
The New Orginial Wonder Woman beginning in March 1976.
After popping up in various spots all over the ABC schedule,
finally, in the fall of 1977, it moved to CBS and
became a regular weekly series.
The show was comic-strip, pure and simple, set in the 1940s.
Wonder Woman came from a "lost" island where a band of
Amazon women had fled ca. 200 B.C. to escape male domination
by the ancient Greeks and Romans. On Paradise Island they
found the magic substance Feminum, which when molded into
a golden belt gave them superhuman strength and in golden
bracelets could deflect bullets. It didn't help their love
life much, though, so when Major Steve Trevor of the U.S.
army crash-landed on the island during World War II, Wonder
Woman fell in love and returned with him to the U.S. in
the guise of his secretary. Major Trevor did not know her
powers, but when trouble threatened, Yeoman Prince could
disappear for a while, and whirl herself into Wonder Woman!
She then reappeared, clad in sexy tights and draped in a
cape that looked something like the American flag.
Her opponents were mostly Nazi agents, plus a few aliens
from outer space, all of whom were dispatched in slam-bang-
biff-pow style. Seen occasionally on Diana's side was
her younger sister, Drusilla, the "Wonder Girl."
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Lynda Carter makes a worthy Wonder Woman
9.0
By aesgaard41 ,        Aug 31, 2006
After that horribly grotesque Cathy Lee Crosby fiasco, it was wonderful to see that Hollywood was able to restore the damage to the Wonder Woman legend by finding the one woman who actually looks like her. Tall, incredibly beautiful and statuesque, Lynda Carter brought the World's Greatest Heroine to life, although I don't remember the Star-Spangled Amazon having such large breasts. Years before the Material Girl, Lynda Carter really filled out a bustier. The early WW2 shows, though, were exceedingly campy, but the later secret agent episodes set in the present that was the early Eighties were done with one foot in realism and the other in Hollywood as every popular actor of the day ended up on the show. The show also lacked something by not having maybe Christopher Reeve appear as Superman or Adam West as a straight faced Batman, but we don't always get what we want. I can only hope that in the proposed Wonder Woman film I've heard about that Lynda Carter gets to play Queen Hippolyta and hand over her golden lasso to a very brunette Nicole Kidman, she's the only one I can see possibly see taking over the role.
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4.2
By elvisflorian ,        Jul 15, 2006
I don't know whether this is the best episode ever or the worst. Mull's casting as "Hamlin Rule" seems so off-the-mark it's unbelievable. Mind you he is working with a very weak script here, I suppose he does the absolute best he can with the material. The combination of the ethereal flute-playing and the metal-to-dust remote control is more like a storyline out of "Superfriends" than of a night-time drama. Norman Burton as "Atkinson" gets featured well in the episode and acts it quite smoothly although it's one of his last episodes, so that didn't seem to help him very much. Eve Plumb seems lost and somewhat annoyed that she's even on the show at times. The whole episode has the car accident thing going for it in that you just can't look away.
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10
By OrbotFan ,        May 26, 2006
I've always loved Amazons and Amazon-like characters, and Wonder Woman is a character I have loved from the begining.  I'm looking forward to the Wonder Woman movie coming in 2007.  Joss Weadon (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer) is directing.
Lynda Carter is the diffenative Wonder Woman.  I don't know who they are going to get to play Wonder Woman in the movie.  Lynda was last seen as Princil Powers in Disney's Sky High.
If they do not get Lynda to play Wonder Woman, I hope she is still in it, as maybe Queen Hippolyta, Wonder Woman's mother, maybe?
Lucy Lawless would make a good Wonder Woman.  She has the body for it, anyway.
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One of the best super hero shows of all time!  With obvious bows to the 1960's "Batman" series!
9.0
By BriNChatt ,        Apr 25, 2006
I was a teenager in the 70s, in fact I was 14 when Wonder Woman premiered.  I never watched it...of course, now I know it's because I'm gay and women didn't do anything for me! However, I didn't know that Wonder Woman would go on to be a "gay icon"!  I've bought all three seasons of the show and I've found that I LOVE it!!  Lynda Carter is and always will be Wonder Woman!  The show is campy...but loveable!  The only negative, I believe is Lyle Waggoner.  He can't act his way out of a paper bag!! However, he's GORGEOUS and I guess that's what the producers were banking on.  A very good show...once you get past a bit of bad acting and typical 70s pitfalls of episodic TV.
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I was a big fan of this show, but I blame it for my problems now.
8.9
By bonefactory ,        Apr 24, 2006
I was a big fan of this show, but I blame it my problems now.  This show was something great and you can tell by the fact that everyone seems to remember it.
Beyond that, this show was a well rounded inturpation the long running comic book.  It's hard to find a better comic book related tv show that took it's story so procise.
Now, of course, this show is probabily best known for it's feminist values.  And this I dont understand because this hero that impowers women, has a costume that makes men forget about feminist values.  Thank you Linda Carter...and thank you Wonder Woman costume.
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Get me out from under Woman Woman?  No thanks I'm happy where I am!  : )
7.0
By nzmadmannz ,        Jan 22, 2006
Can't say I had much patience for hour long action shows back in the '70s.  It was the concept of the charactor that was interesting and that was usually left alone after the pilot movie.  Saying that looking back on this show and I never realised just how good it was.  Or how tanned and lean Lynda Carter was.  The stunts and effects got better in the post war years.  Perhaps the budge was no longer being exhausted with period costumes and props.  DVD is well worth checking out. haha and now I'm an adult I can see that Diana Prince did NOT go unoticed behind those glasses!
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This was a 70's action adventure program about DC superhero Wonder Woman.  Much of the storytelling and fim making qualities of the program are typical of the era, but this show had it's own magic.
9.0
By oxnardboy ,        Dec 24, 2005
Wonder Woman was on the surface a very typical one hour action drama on network TV.  What made it special was several key elements.  The most important was the acting and presence of Linda Carter as Wonder Woman/Dinah Prince.  Linda Carter became the Wonder Woman of countless DC Comics portrays over the years.  In addition, The producers were very fathful to the comics in their portrayal of Wonder Woman in not only super powers and weapons, but also her tough but peace loving approach to problems.  Wonder Woman could kick the bad guys butt, however she only turned loose the power after reason and compassion were rejected by the evil doers.  This approach and Linda's portrayal made the "message" imbued scripts of the writers have real impact and immediatacy.  The show's directors also did a good job of having beleivable special effects in the constraints of the medium's budget.  I also liked the light but not over-the-top use of humor in the program.  This show holds up very well today due to this quality.
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On DVD it's really great to have a compilation of the New, Original Wonder Woman tv series, but the season one DVD compilation would have been better if it included all material the way it was originally presented on television.
10
By adtvcom ,        Nov 08, 2005
On DVD it's really great to have a compilation of the New, Original Wonder Woman tv series, but The first season DVD compilation is re-edited and does not include all the material the way it was originally presented on television.
For example the opening teasers of 'Gargantua' and 'Jusdgement from outer space part two' are missing and the warner brothers logo at the closing credits is 'today's' version rather than the original 'red logo' of the 1970s. Maybe I am a bit picky but I would have liked to have seen everything that made the original Wonder Woman wonderful.
I am not sure if this box set should have been listed as the complete first season because the original pilot (missing on this DVD set - see comment below) was released in 1975 and was followed by two television specials in early 1976 - listed as episodes 1 and 2 on this DVD set. Incidently the pilot is based on stories directly from the comics - All-Star Comics #8, 1941, Sensation Comics #1, 1942 and Wonder Woman #1, 1942. Wonder Woman Meets The Baroness Von Gunther is based on the third story in Wonder Woman #1, 1942 and Fausta the nazi Wonder Woman is based on the story in Comic Cavalcade #2, 1943. The first episode of the first season on ABC tv was Beauty on Parade which introduced new sound effects for Wonder Woman's powers and the famous 'lighting change spin'.
Does anyone remeber the pilot movie presentation well enough? There were two different edited versions of the pilot. The original (not presented here) is the true film entitled 'The New, Original Wonder Woman' in the opening credits. This 1975 movie is edited slightly different from the pilot on this DVD. For example the opening credits reveal the entire title after a tank explodes a wall in the old news reel, rather than the burst of stars which just says 'Wonder Woman' as revealed on this DVD. Another example is when the animated Wonder Woman leaps down from the building she lands and deflects bullets then punches the bad guy. This is replaced on this DVD with her twirling her golden lasso instead - used in the tv series opening as well (perhaps due to classification and rating reasons). If you notice the bottom opening animated panel after the title 'Wonder Woman', you can see the panel in which she stands in the bullets and bracelets pose against a villain with a gun - this is the only evidence to show it existed! Pretty much the story is the same, and most shots are identical except that the acting is played less campy, for example Ashly Norman does not roll his eyes firing at Wonder Woman near the close of the story. Instead he his determined in this pilot version! I have this version of the film on VHS and wish that this version could be released on DVD, perhaps with the 1974 pilot 'Wonder Woman'starring Cathy Lee Crosby and the 1967 'Wonder Woman: Who's afraid of Diana Prince' as bonus features. That would truly be wonderful.
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A fun show to watch...!
10
By maritimer00 ,        Jul 04, 2005
When I first saw this series back in the 70's, I wasn't sure what to make of it.  The characters seemed a little on the goofy side, the episodes seemed a bit strange but the main character immediately drew me in.
Dressed in a red, white and blue costume, Wonder Woman ( ably portrayed by the incredibly beautiful Lynda Carter) fought against the evils of the world while going about a job as the conservatively attired Diana Prince.  For the first season, set in the 1940's, her primary opponents were the Germans and the agents that worked for them.  In the second and third season, the time frame for the show was shifted to the present day with the show's villains ranging from deranged toy makers to intergalactic menaces.
Although some of the show's premises stretched the viewer's imagination a bit ( the fact that the character of Steve Trevor never thought Diana Prince and Wonder Woman were the same woman was a bit much), it was a fun show to watch for both male and female viewers.  From scenes of the heroine showing her amazing strength to using her determination to overcome a dire predicament, it is a program warmly remembered by all fans.
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