Tag Archives: pilot

The Lost Super Friends TV Pilot

6 Feb

February 6, 2014

Now that the Batman TV show is finally being released on DVD, they really need to release this lost gem.

In the early 1970’s, Universal Television licensed the Super Friends for a live-action television show. The networks, however, were lukewarm on the idea. It was only a few years since the Batman show was canceled, and live-action TV superhero shows were thought of as only appropriate for Saturday morning kids’ shows. (For example, Isis and Shazam.) Universal, though, had spent a significant amount of money on the Super Friends and was not about to let the concept drop. So instead of producing a pilot, they made what is known as a “back door pilot.” For example, the current show Arrow is giving two episodes over The Flash, rather than producing a separate Flash program. This is a backdoor pilot, where if the reaction is good, The flash will get his own show. (In this case, The Flash is already a done deal.)

The Super Friends premiered as guests on an episode of the popular Universal crime movie-of-the-week, McCloud, in the season seven episode “London Bridges,” starring Dennis Weaver as Marshall McCloud.

In this episode, Chief Clifford called in the Super Friends to help protect jewels belonging to a visiting English noblewoman. Unfortunately, Universal could not afford to license all the Super Friends characters.

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Superman was unavailable, the rights tied up with the upcoming movie, and other characters like Flash and Green Lantern were not considered mainstream enough. The McCloud version of the Super Friends consisted of, from left to right, a man dressed as either a gibbon or a mandrill, a magician, The Mad Hatter (who is a villain in the DC comics), The Easter Bunny, and Batman and Robin.

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During the story, McCloud was made a member of the team; a replacement for The Easter Bunny, whose inability to breathe inside his mask made him a liability.

Unfortunately, the casting was, let’s say, less than ideal. While Robin looked alright, Batman was played by a grumpy old man with a paunch. And even worse, Batman didn’t have a utility belt.

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The story itself was not very interesting. The Super Friends were unable to prevent the theft and McCloud recovered the jewels using his Southern drawl. In fact, the Super Friends only appeared in the first act and were not referred to again until the final act, when Apache Chief showed up late and was sent home by Chief Clifford.

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You’re a Wonder, Wonder Woman.

20 Dec

December 20, 2010

If It Ain’t Broke, TV, Please Don’t fix It.

Remember this theme song?

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
All the world’s waiting for you,
and the power you possess.
That promises a heck of a lot. Oh sure, she’s fighting for her rights, but if she can make a hawk a dove, and stop a war with love, then a little thing like making a liar tell the truth is nothing. Especially if she can make the Axis fold. Oh, I’ve got a feeling she’s going to win those rights.

In your satin tights,
Fighting for your rights
And the old Red, White and Blue.

Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman.
Now the world is ready for you,
and the wonders you can do.

Make a hawk a dove,
Stop a war with love,
Make a liar tell the truth.

Wonder Woman,
Get us out from under, Wonder Woman.
All our hopes are pinned on you.
And the magic that you do.

Stop a bullet cold,
Make the Axis fold,
Change their minds, and change the world.

Great as that song is, couldn’t they have avoided You’re a wonder, Wonder Woman? Or was that just inevitable? And doesn’t In your satin tights/Fighting for your rights send a mixed message?

Everyone remembers this show, It was a hit and has a place in TV history. Wonder why?

Yeah, who doesn’t love Lynda Carter?

In all seriousness, Wonder Woman was a good show, with action and humor. It was entertaining and fun. It was goofy like the A-Team, in that a million shots would be fired and not a single person would get hit, but if Wonder Woman threw an ice cream cone some Nazi would get blinded. However, would you have watched it if this was Wonder Woman?

Um, right. That’s Cathy Lee Crosby as “Wonder Woman.” Somebody thought this would work. She had no powers but wore a snazzy Olympic jumpsuit and, in her pilot, fought Ricardo Montalban so give her a ten point “Chrysler Cordoba soft Corinthian leather” bonus.

Enough of that. Let’s see Lynda Carter again.

Cathy Lee Crosby wasn’t the first time they tried to bring Wonder Woman to the small screen. During the Adam west Batman era they tried to do a campy batman-esque version, and actually shot a short pilot. Here is Linda (Planet of the Apes) Harrison as Wonder Woman:

 

Hmm. Let’s go back to that theme song.

Fighting for your rights
And the old Red, White and Blue.

Or was that “flirting” for her rights?

And I’m not too confident she could make the Axis fold either.
But she could probably distract a bank robber from his poker game.

Anything I can say about the five-minute pilot would be understatement. See it for yourself:

I said that Linda Harrison starred but she really only appears when the ugly duckling looks in the mirror. Oh, I mean Wonder Ugly Duckling. She may have the strength of Hercules, but she has the confidence of a caterpillar.

I don’t know if I should feel happy that the pilot wasn’t picked up or angry the pilot wasn’t picked up. Who knows what a full season of that would have been like?

But even when they got it right they got it wrong. We all remember Wonder Woman stopping bullets,

note the wimp behind the pole

but do you remember the Wonder Woman Diving Outfit?

Or Lynda Carter in the Wonder Woman Motorcycle Outfit?

Or the Wonder Woman Skateboard Suit?

Hey, even an Amazonian princess has to wear pads and a helmet.

And from only a couple of episodes, who recalls Debra Winger as Wonder Girl?

OK, so network TV had a few stumbles getting Wonder Woman on the screen, and even after they made it, there were a couple of missteps. In the end, this is a 1970’s TV classic, and Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman a real 1970’s TV role model.

And if you still have any doubts, here she is, Lynda Carter, with Mr. Blog Hall of Famer Bruce Vilanch.

 

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