# Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320 "2003-07-27T22:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/1 "2003-07-27T22:13:23Z")
I think the difficulty they are having casting a new Wonder Woman is a testament to how effectively Lynda filled that costume and role. Several different actors have played Superman; the same goes for Batman. I think Lynda Carter wins hands down as best portrayal of a superhero on film and television. What do you guys think? ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/2 "2003-07-27T22:35:52Z")
I agree. Hard to replace her. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/3 "2003-07-27T22:37:23Z")
Mmmmm… Wonder Woman… Back later… ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/4 "2003-07-27T22:42:19Z")
The ABC season was exceptional. It had a healthy budget, great period settings, and mirrored the look and feel of the Golden Age adventures of Wonder Woman in her own title as well as Sensation Comics. There was only the pilot movie(The New Original Wonder Woman) and 13 episodes on ABC. Budget reasons were cited at the time and CBS jumped on the property. They cut the show’s budget, bringing it into contemporary times to reduce the need for new sets and costuming. The quality of the CBS seasons dropped in each successive episode, and I really think that the perception some have of Wonder Woman being campy comes from those two seasons. When you have Wonder Woman addressing the UN(Mind Stealers from Outer Space Part 2) and it is so poorly put together with the footage of her and stock footage, that it at times made Dr. Who look like an ILM production. There were a few episodes from the CBS seasons that did stand out for one reason or another, such as Formicida which featured the then famous mime duo Shields and Yarnell. The Girl from Ilandia was also cute(and was a test pilot for a potential spinoff(pun unintended)). I think that Lynda does still have the standard that I don’t think many could live up to. Before she went deeply into dieting and taking drugs, making her wrists look so bony she could pick locks with them, she was a voluptuous woman who I think was the near perfect physical representation of the Amazon Princess. ---
**Author:** ![Brad\_Pittiful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b3f665/32.png) [@Brad\_Pittiful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brad_Pittiful)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/5 "2003-07-27T22:50:57Z")
Kathy Lee Crosby was the 1st Wonder Woman in the pilot episode they could put Carmen Elektra as Wonder woamn and id be happy ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/6 "2003-07-27T22:51:08Z")
I wish they would find a comparable Actress and bring out a Wonder Woman TV Show or especially a Movie already, I know the fans want it. I’ve been waiting all 34 years for one. I loved the Wonder Woman - Lynda Carter TV Show - thought it was cool, but when I watch it now, it is lame. I am not so sure WB or DC is trying very hard to find an actress to play WW, Lynda Carter was one of the last people they saw, when they were casting WW for the TV show. I am also very disappointed with the merchandising form Warner Bros./D.C. Comics. Shit Loads of Superman and Batman (and all repetitious), and hardly anything WW, and she is supposed to be the #3 character, the only place I can find anything is at E-bay or [WickedCoolStuff.com](http://WickedCoolStuff.com). ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/7 "2003-07-27T22:55:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Brad Pittiful \* > \*\*Kathy Lee Crosby was the 1st Wonder Woman in the pilot episode > > they could put Carmen Elektra as Wonder woamn and id be happy \*\* Cathy Lee Crosby was in an earlier TV Movie called Wonder Woman that had very little resemblance to the comic book it was derived from. The New Original Wonder Woman was a pilot unto itself which was written by Stanley Ralph Ross(a writer on some of the 1960s Batman episodes). Carmen Electra as Wonder Woman? This strikes me as someone who liked the comic book during the Deodato years. A bimbo shouldn’t be Wonder Woman. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/8 "2003-07-27T22:59:38Z")
Oh. The first Wonder Woman in live action was Ellie Wood Walker who was in a pilot in 1966 called **Who’s Afraid of Diana Prince**? It costarred veteran actress Hope Summers(who appeared on episodes of Bewitched and other sitcoms) as Diana’s mother. On the [movie clip](http://www.wonderwoman-online.com/movies.html) section of my website, I have the full 4 minute pilot. It has to be seen to be believed. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/9 "2003-07-28T01:15:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mockingbird \* > \*\*Oh. The first Wonder Woman in live action was Ellie Wood Walker who was in a pilot in 1966 called **Who’s Afraid of Diana Prince**? > > It costarred veteran actress Hope Summers(who appeared on episodes of Bewitched and other sitcoms) as Diana’s mother. > > On the [movie clip](http://www.wonderwoman-online.com/movies.html) section of my website, I have the full 4 minute pilot. It has to be seen to be believed. \*\* [Monty Python]That was really 'orrible, that one was.[/MP] I didn’t even get to see the whole clip, and I could tell it was a stinker. I remember surfing into an episode of _Wonder Woman_ a few years back. It was one of the ones where her “kid sister” had showed up. They were on one end of town, and needed to get the other end of town so they proceed to _run_ across town. The next several minutes of screen time are filled with shots of the two of them running. And I suddenly realized _why_ I liked the show so much as a kid! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/10 "2003-07-28T01:34:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mockingbird \* > \*\*I have the full 4 minute pilot. It has to be seen to be believed. \*\* WHAT. THE. HELL. WAS. THAT? I could accept the bad acting. Hell, I could even accept the gigantic shorts. But, what the hell was all that primping at the mirror all about? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/11 "2003-07-28T03:30:31Z")
The only person that comes to mind who captures the right look for WW is supermodel Stacey Williams. I’ve heard Catherine Zeta-Jones’ name bandied about, but I think she doesn’t have quite the right look. Close, but not good enough. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/12 "2003-07-28T03:47:36Z")
C’mon Lucy Lawless would be perfect and everybody knows it. I just hope they have the guts to create a Wonder Woman that’s EXACTLY as her creator imagined her to be. It’d be the kinkiest show on TV. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/13 "2003-07-28T03:54:13Z")
I’d go with Catherine Zeta, myself. If she put on some more muscle, I think she’d fit the role nicely. > [@](#): > > I am also very disappointed with the merchandising form Warner Bros./D.C. Comics. Shit Loads of Superman and Batman (and all repetitious), and hardly anything WW, and she is supposed to be the #3 character, the only place I can find anything is at E-bay or [WickedCoolStuff.com](http://WickedCoolStuff.com). She does seem to get more swag than anyone other than Superman or Batman, though. I have one of her coffee mugs, and I’ve seen various kinds of stationary, notebooks, purses, cookie jars, and stuff like that. If you can get past the fact that every piece of merchandise has the same 3 goddamn pieces of artwork that they _always_ use, it’s not so bad. Worse is Mattel shortpacking the hell out of its Wonder Woman Justice League figure to the extent that I’ve seen it in a store maybe once, while Supes and Batman warm the pegs forever. On the plus side, we’ve got a bunch of new WWs coming from DC Direct - Justice League, 2 Kingdom Comes, and First Appearance. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/14 "2003-07-28T04:06:52Z")
I don’t think Lucy Lawless is quite right, either. Like Zeta-Jones, she’ close, but not close enough. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/15 "2003-07-28T04:10:41Z")
**Mockingbird:** Wow - I really wanted to see that clip - not badly enough to install RealOne on my system though. Being “early adopters of new technology” you ought to consider encoding them as DivX or Windows Media as well - more people could watch them that way. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/16 "2003-07-28T05:58:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Blue Sky \* > \*\*WHAT. THE. HELL. WAS. THAT? > > I could accept the bad acting. Hell, I could even accept the gigantic shorts. But, what the hell was all that primping at the mirror all about? > > :eek: \*\* What, did you watch it with the sound turned off? The same guy who did narration on the Batman series was giving us some character exposition: (Just in case)[spoiler] > [@](#): > > “Wonder Woman! Who **knows** she has the strength of Hercules! Who **knows** she has the speed of Mercury! Who **thinks** she has the beauty of Aphrodite!” And then she did her little lap dance for her reflection, to the accompaniment of _“Oh! You Beautiful Doll”_ What freaked me out was the mirror itself. She’d give a flirty little wave to herself with her right hand. The reflection would wave back with its apparent left hand. So far, so good. But then she turned to the east to check out her cute little hiney in profile. And the reflection turned to the WEST![/spoiler] Watching that clip right underneath the banner memorializing William Moulton Marsden, I thought of how pained he would probably be to see what had been done to his creation, and I ALMOST had second thoughts about my long-standing position that the _ne plus ultra_ of Batman performances will always be those given by Adam West. Almost. But that’s a topic for a different thread. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/17 "2003-07-28T06:33:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Evil Captor \* > **C’mon Lucy Lawless would be perfect and everybody knows it.** She’s certainly got my vote. I’m not that sure she’d like to do it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/18 "2003-07-28T07:21:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rex Fenestrarum \* > \*\ ***Mockingbird:** Wow - I really wanted to see that clip - not badly enough to install RealOne on my system though. Being “early adopters of new technology” you ought to consider encoding them as DivX or Windows Media as well - more people could watch them that way. \*\* Okay… that page originally started in 1996 when RealVideo was new. I really need to remove that and yes I am considering using different codecs. The clips are set up as they are because I am protecting copyright by making it viewable but not downloadable. DC and I have a friendly relationship(I helped with the research on the 60th Anniversary book by Les Daniels) and I want to keep it that way. ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/19 "2003-07-28T07:42:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*[Monty Python]That was really 'orrible, that one was.[/MP] > > I didn’t even get to see the whole clip, and I could tell it was a stinker. > > I remember surfing into an episode of _Wonder Woman_ a few years back. It was one of the ones where her “kid sister” had showed up. They were on one end of town, and needed to get the other end of town so they proceed to _run_ across town. The next several minutes of screen time are filled with shots of the two of them running. And I suddenly realized _why_ I liked the show so much as a kid! 🆒 \*\* That would be Debra Winger’s last appearance as Wonder Girl in the episode: Wonder Woman in Hollywood. That was also the final ABC episode of Wonder Woman. During the ABC run, it is notable that many Oscar nominated actors, actresses, and writers were in the show. Cloris Leachman(Oscar Winner) Played the Queen in the pilot Fannie Flagg(Nominated for writing Fried Green Tomatoes) was the Amazon Doctor in the pilot Later in the 1st season, Carolyn Jones(Oscar Nominee) took over the role of the Queen Red Buttons(Oscar Winner) was in the pilot as Wonder Woman’s shady manager Three time Oscar nominee Debra Winger was Wonder Girl. Robert Loggia(Oscar nominee) was Hans Eischler in Wonder Woman vs. Gargantua There is a full list of the major characters here: [http://www.wonderwoman-online.com/abc.html](http://www.wonderwoman-online.com/abc.html) While you can go there and see the rest of the very notable actors and actresses who fleshed out Wonder Woman’s first season, Barb Corday and Barb Avedon who wrote the two part episode The Feminum Mystique would go on to create Cagney and Lacey. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320/20 "2003-07-28T11:41:24Z")
I need to see **Drew Barrymore** as Wonder Woman. =Whimper= 😃 Cartooniverse [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lynda-carter-as-wonder-woman/191320.md?page=2)