Wonder Woman: Season Three (1979) – CliqueClack Flashback

The writers didn’t sexualize their heroine: plot-wise or clothing-wise.

In a show about a woman wearing a bathing suit starring a former beauty pageant contestant, the producers surprisingly respected their lead actress and her character. They didn’t rock the cheesecake factor in any shape or form.

Most contemporary shows would’ve taken advantage of their lead’s looks with episodes placing her undercover as a model (like Warehouse 13), as a sexy moll girlfriend (like Castle), a pageant winner, or anything highlighting her looks or body. But, all of the episodes focused on Diana Prince’s job as a government agent investigating corporate blackmail or eco-terrorism.

I loved that Diana Prince dressed professionally. A lot of contemporary shows (Rizzoli and Isles, Castle’s earlier seasons, etc.) featured cops rocking glamazon hair, three-inch heels, and tops unbuttoned to their navel. You know, clothes you rarely see actual professional women wear to work. Rather than take advantage of ’70s fashion, Diana Prince always dressed appropriately for her position by wearing dark-colored pants suits and sensible shoes, with her hair gathered in a ponytail or a bun.

The directors didn’t even up the cheesecake factor with the Wonder Woman costume. Whenever Wondy chased a perp undersea (the only place she should wear her costume), she changed into a scuba suit. Heck, she even wore flat boots when doing heavy duty tasks like lifting, jumping or running. In all of the 24 episodes, I only saw one five-second slow-motion shot of a “bouncing” Wonder Woman (and, that was towards the season’s end). And although Wonder Woman rocks an outfit seemingly tailored by Hugh Hefner, at least it FIT.

So, to today’s  writers, it’s OK if  you don’t sexualize your heroine. In fact, it’s encouraged.

The writers created a female character good at her job.

I’m tired of contemporary shows where the female is either a total klutz or uber-amazing to the point of annoyance. I enjoyed Wonder Woman because it focused on Diana Prince’s job. It felt like an earlier version of NCIS. Each show opened with the crime, then followed Diana’s investigation while putting the clues together. Wonder Woman normally only showed up after Diana Prince already identified her perp through good old fashioned deduction, without the “Gosh-isn’t-she-awesomely-brilliant” gloss (*cough* Body of Proof *cough*).

Luckily, the show also avoided the damsel-in-distress trope. Diana typically rescued herself, rarely needing her alter-ego to save her, by resorting to normal self-defense tactics sans super-strength. Only after she ran to a safe place, did Wonder Woman appear. I know. A TV female cop who actually uses her self-defense training to save herself? Who woulda thunk it?

It doubly annoys me when TV “humanizes” the strong, female character by having a male character rescue her. I don’t want a candy-assed Superman or a lazy-assed Wonder Woman. So, I loved that the writers never showed Wonder Woman (or Diana) requiring a rescue.

So, to contemporary shows out there, you don’t need a heroine who’s judo-chopping awesome with bells and whistles. And, you don’t need to make her weak to show her humanity. Just show that she’s capable at what she does. You know, like most women in reality.

The writers created a well-adjusted female … who ACTUALLY dates.

I love romantic comedies, but I’m tired of the whiny female who’s life is allegedly a total mess (i.e. Chalke’s Scrubs character, the earlier seasons), who’s artificially obsessed with her job (Prime Suspect – the crappier episodes) or who is incredibly attractive yet inexplicably can’t get a date. Luckily (maybe because romcom formulas hadn’t hit the scene yet), we avoid all of those terrible clichés in 1979. Diana Prince is well-adjusted with friends, a social life and a great relationship with her boss. She even gets defensive when a guy asked about her evening plans, assuming he thinks she’s a workaholic. While Lynda Carter is clearly gorgeous, the writers didn’t overdo it. Some guys hit on her, some guys didn’t. But, it wasn’t overdone, like in reality. In fact, I enjoyed Diana’s relaxed dating attitude. I’m tired of contemporary female-led shows overblowing the dating experience into something hyper-emotional. Seriously, take a chill-pill.

So, to contemporary shows with female leads, it’s okay if your lead isn’t neurotic and has a healthy dating life. In fact, it’s preferred.

The writers created a non-armchair feminist.  

I am a feminist born and bred. But, whenever contemporary TV labels a character a feminist, she isn’t an independent woman who respects female equality. Instead, she’s some inanely annoying character who spouts dated theories of “don’t open my door for me.” Diana actually IS a feminist because we don’t listen to her diatribe about how strong she is, instead we actually SEE it.  To contemporary TV writers, if you claim your characters are feminists, do it through actions not words.

The villains aren’t one-dimensional.

Unlike David E. Kelly’s one-dimensional cat fight villain Veronica, Wonder Woman’s Season Three writers rarely created simple antagonists. Instead, they were typically disenfranchised former government employees or corporate blackmailers attempting to raise social awareness. The man who almost incited nuclear war against China, did it out of misguided patriotism. The woman who almost released germwarfare in DC wanted to make people aware of her soldier brother’s death.

None of the female villains were sexy. When they appeared, the writers didn’t write them as cat fight opponents. In fact, they didn’t even play up their gender in the slightest. Like most of the male villains they typically sold government information for profit. Although one female scientist, powered by ant hormones, rocked a cat suit, she was just another villain for Wonder Woman to battle.

That’s probably why Kelly’s Wonder Woman and even the filmic Catwoman failed, the writers kept trying to find “female problems” and “female villains” for their heroines to tackle, when they should’ve written the same dangers, villains, and storylines a male hero would’ve faced.

In the past decade, I took total issue with Prime Suspect’s unnecessary cat fight, the insane season one girl fight in In Plain Sight, and Veronica Mars inexplicably not getting along with the campus feminists. So, seeing Diana Prince act like a normal female professional interacting with other female professional … villains, felt like a breath of fresh air.

So, contemporary writers, stop pretending the boardroom is high school for women. If the 1970s can do it, so can you.

The network executives used female writers.

Who knows, maybe the final season did well writing a female character because a majority of its writers were women. In fact, Anne Collins wrote most of the episodes. In the premiere episode’s commentary, Lynda Carter stated that Wonder Woman and Bionic Woman were the first to feature female action heroes and female stuntwomen. Maybe the same applied to female writers. I doubt it, but let’s pretend.

Regardless of gender, I loved the writers’ tongue-in-cheek awareness. Most characters easily realized that if Diana Prince ran into an empty building and Wonder Woman exited five seconds later, that the two were one and the same. If you ever wondered why the henchmen still shot at bullet-proof Wonder Woman, the writers included a mini-in-joke. I even liked when the show wrote a villainous Marie Osmond-like character. Seriously, what did SHE do to Wondy’s writers?

So, contemporary networks learn from Wonder Woman’s example. Hire more female writers, especially as lead producers, and give them free reign, particularly when writing female characters.

The show featured GREAT casting and great diversity.

The show’s diversity, featuring Black characters equally as villains and fully featured agents, impressed me. One of the things that annoyed me in the ’70s\’80s surrounded petty criminals of only one color: mine. And, nowadays it annoys me when  shows bend over backwards to avoid having minorities as villains. Unlike Kelly’s version, the Black characters that appeared weren’t cameos (or innocent urban athletes designed to tug heartstrings) and were fully integrated into the episode’s plot like the former navy dolphin trainer, Diana’s temporary in-house replacement,  the Dr. buying illicit classic cars, or the submarine-owning villain selling nuclear missiles.

Granted, regarding guest stars, Kelley had Liz Hurley. However, Season Three Wonder Woman’s awesome guest stars, including Judge Reinhold  (Beverly Hills Cop), Sheryl Lee Ralph (It’s a Living, Justice League), Craig T. Nelson (Coach), Dick Butkus (My Two Dads), Rick Springfield, Ed Begley Jr. (Veronica Mars), Wolfman Jack, and Gavin MacLeod aka Captain Stubing (Love Boat), made me shout in ’80s recognition.

So, in conclusion, what did Wonder Woman: The Third Season do that David E. Kelley (and contemporary female-led shows) didn’t/don’t  do? Everything. So, if you’re interested in flashing back with me, check out TheWB’s on-line episodes.

Notable Quotes:

“You know what this means, don’t you? You’re going to have to walk to the police station.” – Wonder Woman (to the perps who crashed their car)

“You’re quite a number.” – Disco Dancer (to Diana)
“Yes, unlisted.”  – Diana