New Variety article about the TV Show

[RealWonderman]

http://weblogs.variety.com/bltv/2011/06/wonder-woman-pilot-merits-a-second-look.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4de7fadb7e527878%2C0

[Lafanboy]

http://weblogs.variety.com/bltv/2011/06/wonder-woman-pilot-merits-a-second-look.html?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4de7fadb7e527878%2C0

The article is blacked out because I'm not a Variety subscriber. Can u cut and paste it?

[psyshot]

The article is blacked out because I'm not a Variety subscriber. Can u cut and paste it?

Try again. I'm not a subscriber and I could read it. Basically it says that it wasn't that bad, the actress was good and they should give it a chance.

[BnL]

I didn't bother reading passed this little gem:

"For starters, I've always thought Wonder Woman is kind of a lousy character, and easily open to derision -- a female version of Superman whose feminist credentials tend to be offset by the skimpy wardrobe."

[RealWonderman]

Try again. I'm not a subscriber and I could read it. Basically it says that it wasn't that bad, the actress was good and they should give it a chance.

And it's a lot better than a lot of other stuff we're getting. I guess the major point for me was that instead of being bad, it really just didn't fit with NBC right now.
Interesting too that this looks to be the costume and character we're gonna be seeing in the comics soon...

[TripleX]

'Wonder Woman' Pilot Deserves a Second Look

By: Brian Lowry
Published: Wed, June 01, 2011, 6:40 AM

Years ago an editor at the Los Angeles Times joked that a freelance submission was better than "some of the swill that we put in the paper."

That was sort of the way I felt watching "Wonder Woman," the Warner Bros. pilot starring Adrianne Palicki as the DC Comics heroine, which NBC opted not to put on its schedule.

Wonder woman Given NBC's need to make some noise and the mini-furor caused by an advance photo of Palicki in costume, ordering the show seemed like a no-brainer. So a lot of people expressed surprise, figuring it must be awful, when the network passed.

Awful, it's not. Nor is it great. But as stated, it's better than a lot of swill that's on the air.

For starters, I've always thought Wonder Woman is kind of a lousy character, and easily open to derision -- a female version of Superman whose feminist credentials tend to be offset by the skimpy wardrobe. So Warner Bros. exhibited some guts by handing the reins to producer David E. Kelley -- an unorthodox choice -- and seeing if he could make something out of it. "Amazon McBeal" or something.

What Kelley did with the pilot, rather shrewdly, was completely avoid the whole traditional superhero origin story. Instead, he begins in a world where there's somebody known as Wonder Woman -- a widely known vigilante hero -- who supports her crime-busting endeavors through merchandising deals, including an action figure. The business is run for her by a character played by Cary Elwes, who keeps reminding her that if she wants to thwart evil-doers, she has to sell dolls, too.

As for fighting the bad guys, Palicki cuts a rather imposing figure, and the action sequences have a certain kinetic energy to them. Kelley has also established the character as a true vigilante -- willing to rough up a suspect to get information -- more in the Batman vein than what's traditionally associated with Wonder Woman. (The pilot I saw wasn't finished, so you could still see wires, which had yet to be digitally removed in some of the scenes.)

The show isn't perfect, by any means, and there are some clunky real-world references to things like the Patriot Act, which have no place in this sort of fantasy. Still, there appeared to be genuine potential here, and Palicki -- formerly of "Friday Night Lights" -- is statuesque and talented enough to sell the character, which is no small feat. (I should add that I obtained the pilot through my own devices and nobody at Warner Bros. put me up to this.)

Based on all that, I'm still surprised NBC didn't try a short order and hope for the best, or, barring that, that another network -- maybe one of WB's cable brethren, say TNT, or barring that NBC sibling Syfy -- didn't step in and give it a shot. If nothing else, with so many comic-book titles filling theaters this summer, it seems like TV ought to see if it can play (obviously on a more modest budget) in the superhero sandbox.

Its flaws notwithstanding, taking a flyer on "Wonder Woman" -- and speaking of flying, yes, there's a kind-of invisible plane -- wouldn't have been a bad place to start.


^ He's an idiot and doesn't know what he's talking about. That show simply sucked all the way around and if I had been a NBC executive I wouldn't have picked it up either.

[Lafanboy]

'Wonder Woman' Pilot Deserves a Second Look

By: Brian Lowry
Published: Wed, June 01, 2011, 6:40 AM

Years ago an editor at the Los Angeles Times joked that a freelance submission was better than "some of the swill that we put in the paper."

That was sort of the way I felt watching "Wonder Woman," the Warner Bros. pilot starring Adrianne Palicki as the DC Comics heroine, which NBC opted not to put on its schedule.

Wonder woman Given NBC's need to make some noise and the mini-furor caused by an advance photo of Palicki in costume, ordering the show seemed like a no-brainer. So a lot of people expressed surprise, figuring it must be awful, when the network passed.

Awful, it's not. Nor is it great. But as stated, it's better than a lot of swill that's on the air.

For starters, I've always thought Wonder Woman is kind of a lousy character, and easily open to derision -- a female version of Superman whose feminist credentials tend to be offset by the skimpy wardrobe. So Warner Bros. exhibited some guts by handing the reins to producer David E. Kelley -- an unorthodox choice -- and seeing if he could make something out of it. "Amazon McBeal" or something.

What Kelley did with the pilot, rather shrewdly, was completely avoid the whole traditional superhero origin story. Instead, he begins in a world where there's somebody known as Wonder Woman -- a widely known vigilante hero -- who supports her crime-busting endeavors through merchandising deals, including an action figure. The business is run for her by a character played by Cary Elwes, who keeps reminding her that if she wants to thwart evil-doers, she has to sell dolls, too.

As for fighting the bad guys, Palicki cuts a rather imposing figure, and the action sequences have a certain kinetic energy to them. Kelley has also established the character as a true vigilante -- willing to rough up a suspect to get information -- more in the Batman vein than what's traditionally associated with Wonder Woman. (The pilot I saw wasn't finished, so you could still see wires, which had yet to be digitally removed in some of the scenes.)

The show isn't perfect, by any means, and there are some clunky real-world references to things like the Patriot Act, which have no place in this sort of fantasy. Still, there appeared to be genuine potential here, and Palicki -- formerly of "Friday Night Lights" -- is statuesque and talented enough to sell the character, which is no small feat. (I should add that I obtained the pilot through my own devices and nobody at Warner Bros. put me up to this.)

Based on all that, I'm still surprised NBC didn't try a short order and hope for the best, or, barring that, that another network -- maybe one of WB's cable brethren, say TNT, or barring that NBC sibling Syfy -- didn't step in and give it a shot. If nothing else, with so many comic-book titles filling theaters this summer, it seems like TV ought to see if it can play (obviously on a more modest budget) in the superhero sandbox.

Its flaws notwithstanding, taking a flyer on "Wonder Woman" -- and speaking of flying, yes, there's a kind-of invisible plane -- wouldn't have been a bad place to start.


^ He's an idiot and doesn't know what he's talking about. That show simply sucked all the way around and if I had been a NBC executive I wouldn't have picked it up either.

Thanks for posting the article, TripleX. I think Variety.com lets non-subscribers read a few articles per month, then they block access. I must have hit my limit on their site.

[Lafanboy]

I didn't bother reading passed this little gem:

"For starters, I've always thought Wonder Woman is kind of a lousy character, and easily open to derision -- a female version of Superman whose feminist credentials tend to be offset by the skimpy wardrobe."

I didn't like that line either...but didn't Wondy's creator, Marston himself, say that he was trying to create a sort of female Superman?

[BnL]

I didn't like that line either...but didn't Wondy's creator, Marston himself, say that he was trying to create a sort of female Superman?

That part wasn't even the most objectionable part. But I guess Marston did intend Wonder Woman to be a female version of Superman--in a certain sense. She's not merely a female analogue, she's a contrast/alternative to the violence and hypermasculinity that dominated superhero comics in the Golden Age, which was often exemplified by Superman.

[Lafanboy]

That part wasn't even the most objectionable part. But I guess Marston did intend Wonder Woman to be a female version of Superman--in a certain sense. She's not merely a female analogue, she's a contrast/alternative to the violence and hypermasculinity that dominated superhero comics in the Golden Age, which was often exemplified by Superman.

However it started, WW has become so much more than a female Superman.

[BnL]

However it started, WW has become so much more than a female Superman.

Yes, definitely. :smile:

[BrianPGH1972]

However it started, WW has become so much more than a female Superman.

Yeah, now she's a female Punisher. :wink:

[Petes12]

a female version of Superman whose feminist credentials tend to be offset by the skimpy wardrobe."

There is some truth to that statement you know. Similar personalities, similar powers, even more or less the same color scheme. Especially from the perspective of the casual viewer.

[RealWonderman]

There is some truth to that statement you know. Similar personalities, similar powers, even more or less the same color scheme. Especially from the perspective of the casual viewer.

Unavoidable.

[TripleX]

There is some truth to that statement you know. Similar personalities, similar powers, even more or less the same color scheme. Especially from the perspective of the casual viewer.

Wonder Woman doesn't have X-ray vision, heat vision or a weakness to kryptonite and thanks to people like you she's wearing pants like Superman and a totally different color scheme. I hope you're happy now.

[Petes12]

Wonder Woman doesn't have X-ray vision, heat vision or a weakness to kryptonite and thanks to people like you she's wearing pants like Superman and a totally different color scheme. I hope you're happy now.

I am happy with the costume, mostly. Though you were too :P

With the powers, she does share the big ones with him. Compared to the rest of the 'big 7' that are well known, they have the most similar power sets. It's easy to see why someone would say that.

[captainwonder]

I would have liked to see the new show picked up. I'm not sure why someones an idiot for their thoughts on the new pilot. I guess for some only like minded people are smart.