NBC and David E. Kelley's 'Wonder Woman' pilot: Can't a superhuman lady catch a break?
We're suckers for a lady with a lasso, so when we heard the news that, after intially passing on the project, NBC picked up David E. Kelley's "Wonder Woman" pilot, we couldn't help but cheer.
And yet, before the show even starts, Wonder Woman's already got a lot of forces to battle - and we aren't just talking about Cyborgirl. Remembering Kelley's biggest contribution to the women's movement -- the "short-skirted, romantically challenged, possibly insane television lawyer" Ally McBeal -- Mary Elizabeth Williams at Salon recently quipped, "The guy who killed feminism is reviving Wonder Woman." On Deadline, some fans wondered if the pilot proved there was a glass ceiling, even for Amazon princesses: "Would’ve preferred the big screen treatment (like the male heroes)," wrote one commenter. "More middle-aged white men selling pilot scripts… Yeah for diversity!!!" wrote another.
During the Television Critics Assn. press tour in January, Kelley did his best to defend his treatment of Ms. Diana Prince, telling the crowd that his Wonder Woman would be "a real complex woman and not just a superhero." So we'll remain cautiously optimistic for now. But with comic-book-friendly heroes already struggling on TV, this is definitely gonna require a superhuman effort on Kelley's part.
-- Melissa Maerz
Photo: The original Wonder Woman, from issue No. 1, summer 1942. Credit: H. G. Peter / Taschen.
YAY!!! I am a huge fan of Wonder Woman dating all the back to my Wonder Woman Underoos from the 80s. (TMI?) However, I do think that the new Wonder Woman should be a woman of color. . . after all she is from the AMAZON (South America). So, that's a NO to Megan Fox!
Posted by: HoneyBear | January 24, 2011 at 01:26 PM
Mr. Kelley is no stranger to quirky characters, so Diana/"Wonder Woman" shouldn't be much different from, say, Ally McBeal or any of his other creations. Lynda Carter played the perfect female back in the day. I don't think he'll be going for perfect this time around. Remember, whenever his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer, peeked over his shoulder as he wrote, she reportedly let him know she didn't quite approve by slapping him on the shoulder and huffing, "You man, you!"
Posted by: Jeff | January 24, 2011 at 01:58 PM
@HoneyBear I hate to break it to you. Wonder Woman is not from South America... She is closest to being GREEK
Posted by: Linda | January 24, 2011 at 02:10 PM
amazons were not from south america:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazons
Posted by: cmd | January 24, 2011 at 02:30 PM
Wonder Woman, as a character, is pretty lame since she crosses the line between science-based super-hero and supernatural being. That's what makes her more than a little cheesy. I used to watch the old Wonder Woman TV series, but only because of how Lynda Carter looked in that costume. Hubba-hubba!
Posted by: JohnRJ08 | January 24, 2011 at 02:57 PM
Actually, Wonder Woman was not from South America. She isn't from the Amazon. She is an Amazon from Greek Mythology. Traditionally, her story is an amalgam of Greek and Roman mythology. So if anything, she should be Greek or Italian. Snooki? (Actually she could also look Ukranian, Libyan, Turkish, or Indian, since the Amazon homeland of myth was located near there, depending on whom you ask. Indeed one of the versions of Wonder Woman came from Themiscyra in Turkey.
Posted by: Dex | January 24, 2011 at 04:06 PM
Thats as bad as having Beyonce wanting to be WW, shes pretty but WW is not from Africa! Sorry! And I wouldnt want Megan Fox either after she bashed Lynda Carter! And Im sure they will screw up WW to were she is all barelegged and boring looking!
Posted by: WWFAN2 | January 24, 2011 at 04:36 PM
I'd be cool with a woman of color playing Wonder Woman, but like many said, she is not from the Amazon, she is an Amazon.
Posted by: Tmiller | January 24, 2011 at 05:03 PM
the red head on mad men, would make the best wonder woman,,
Posted by: c b kinsley | January 24, 2011 at 06:13 PM
Tanit Phoenix, appointed as a candidate for the Wonder Woman.
Tanit Phoenix ("Death Race 2") was most recently praised by the role of Jet Aviator-Invisible mounting.
Posted by: Aninha | January 25, 2011 at 06:26 AM
The ONLY reason Wonder Woman was watched was the incomparable beauty of Lynda Carter.
By any standard the show was crap but her screen time made it worth suffering through.
I haven't seen any actresses that are actually beautiful without being slutty so I can't offer any suggestions for casting but would offer that if they look like they know how to dance around a pole, they aren't a good fit.
Posted by: Sergei Nika | January 25, 2011 at 12:29 PM
If this show fails, it will be because the boo birds are already flying. Already calling the show a failure before even one person is cast. Let's see how WW plays out. Mr. Kelley is capable of making a good show. If NBC promotes WW properly then why wouldn't people check it out? Maybe, this will also get the ball rolling for a Wonder Woman movie. I'd love to see WW done right, with today's special effects, before I'm gone.
Posted by: Will | January 25, 2011 at 12:54 PM
As long as the network give this a fair chance the viewers like me will give it a fair chance. ie. no chancing it halfway thought the order of shows they purchased.
Posted by: steve | January 25, 2011 at 03:19 PM
They are going to cast a western white lady with pale skin and dark hair. blahhh
But anyways, the Amazons were very diverse, I hope to see a diverse color of women on the show.
Posted by: Ann | January 30, 2011 at 07:09 PM
Please Mr. Kelley, just don't turn Wonder Woman into a whiny idiot who is obsessed with men. That may be your fantasy, but it's not the fantasy of women who grew up with Wonder Woman. When I was a kid, Wonder Woman was the prototype of the powerful, intelligent woman who knew that the world needed her to do something besides pine over a man. Don't screw her up.
Posted by: Ed M. | February 16, 2011 at 11:24 PM
Actually, in myth, The Queen of the amazons crafted the likeness of two female children, one out of light clay and one out of dark clay. A Godess breathed life into both. One being Princess Diana and the other being her sister, The Princess Nubia who left Paridise Island.
Posted by: Sam | March 17, 2011 at 06:57 PM
NBC has dug its own grave....I have managed to not watch one new show on NBC because they have no respectect for the fans of the shows they put on air and I feel that I have lost little because I know many people personaly that think it was disrespectful to nbc and hereos fans not to end the show properly...NBC has done this before....I LOVE WONDER WOMAN. NBC WILL NOT MAKE IT WORK.. THEY ARE A BAIL OUT FAST NETWORK.. NBC SUCKS AND WONDER WOMAN WILL NOT WORK MORE THAN HALF OR ONE SEASON... WITH NO FINALIE FOR ITS FANS...
Posted by: scott | May 06, 2011 at 09:57 PM