Wonder Woman

Helen & I overdosed on episodes of Wonder Woman, Season 1 this week. Brian was watching the umpteenth football game of the week, and I couldn't take it anymore. So I said, "Helen, you want to watch Wonder Woman?" And she said, "Yeah! I don't wanna watch Cinderella, Mommy."

By the time the opening credits finished, she was HOOKED. Speaking of which, did anyone else remember the line from the theme song: "In your satin tights, fighting for your rights"? Yeah, me neither.

We made it through two episodes. Whenever Lynda Carter wasn't in her costume, she would ask me, "Where's Wonder Woman?" And I would say, "She'll be right back!"

I was 4 years old when this show first aired. Who were your heroes at the tender age of 4? I was addicted to the idea of being Wonder Woman. Of course, I was mesmerized by the dizzying magic of spinning into a new superhero outfit. God knows I used up all of the aluminum foil in the house making my own bracelets, spinning out on the front lawn. I even rode home on the school bus with paper bracelets taped on my wrists, and tiny stars drawn on them.

If only the awful acting and fake German accents weren't so painful to watch, I would have sat through the whole season. I have to say THANK YOU to my parents for enduring that. Back when that show was on the air, you guys must have been cringing the entire hour, and dreading the next week.

Either that, or Mom cringed while Dad said, "Where's Wonder Woman?"

But it suddenly clicked with me last night - even worse than all the bad acting was the horrifying message. Sample scene - an average of 3 times per episode - Wonder Woman rushes in to rescue Major Steve Trevor, who's under fire from the enemy, and as she races in, he smiles and asks, "Can you cook, too?" And she smiles back at him!

What a patronizing load of horse crap! I can't believe an Amazonian woman let him get away with that, and kept rescuing his sorry butt over & over again, even if the 1940's war-era "let the men do all the hard work" propaganda machine was in full swing. It was 1976 in Hollywood, for cry-eye! I realize Wonder Woman is all about woman power, and I'm only on episode 3, but good grief. Weren't ERA and NOW all the rage? Of course, it didn't help to have a former beauty queen running around in a bathing suit on national television as a symbol of all-feminine power, but it's such a missed opportunity to do something better.

Maybe I need to read the comic book and see where all of this came from, and do some research on how it translated to 1970's television. I realize I went on a bit of a rant here, but what I really meant to do was thank my family for putting up with this terrible excuse for an hour-long show. Really. Even if it was 1976, and the alternative was Fantasy Island or Love Boat. You guys, my parents deserve medals.