What if William Dozier, the executive producer of the campy 1960s Batman TV show, had created something similar for Wonder Woman? Sound like a terrible idea? The scary thing is… it almost happened.
The 1975-79 live-action Wonder Woman TV show starring Lynda Carter wasn’t the first effort to bring Diana of Themyscira to television. While Dozier’s version of Batman (1966-68, ABC-TV) with Adam West and Burt Ward was in its peak, he attempted to make a Wonder Woman spin-off starring actress Ellie Wood Walker.
After watching the Wonder Woman pilot, one of the first things you might recognize is the narrator’s voice. In addition to being the executive producer, Dozier was also the narrator from the Batman TV series. His trademark campy voiceover narration that made phrases like “same bat-time, same bat-channel” entries in the Urban Dictionary, is also featured in the Wonder Woman pilot.
Apparently Dozier also used the same terrible wardrobe department as his Batman series. Ellie Wood Walker’s Wonder Woman outfit couldn’t possibly be more frumpy and unflattering. And one of Wonder Woman’s staple elements from her outfit, her tiara, isn’t even metal. Ellie Wood Walker’s tiara looks like a cloth rag.
But perhaps the biggest mistake in the pilot was the lack of action. Interpretations of the Wonder Woman character always show her as a strong and powerful, in both physical abilities and personality. Afterall, Wonder Woman, has similar powers as Superman. However in Dozier’s pilot, instead of seeing Wonder Woman in action, we see her vainly looking in the mirror and being nagged by her mother about getting married.
From terrible storylines and characters, to cheesy wardrobe and narration, it’s no surprise that this pilot never got picked up. Let us know what you think was the worst part in the comments.
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