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Review: Wonder Woman Season 3 DVD Set
Reviewed
by Craig Byrne
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Click
to see a gallery of promotional images from Wonder Woman Season
3!
In
only a little more than a year's time, all three seasons of the
1970's super-hero television hit Wonder Woman are now on
DVD. As a bonus, all three sets lined side-by-side on a shelf
show off a red, white, and blue motif.
Although
her comic book series has rarely set the comic book sales charts
on fire, despite participation by such talents as George Perez,
Phil Jiminez, and Greg Rucka, Wonder Woman still remains an icon
to this day, thanks in many ways to the TV series and the performance
of Lynda Carter in the lead role. As I stated in my Season
2 review, not many actresses could have pulled it off. But
Lynda, however, had it, and still does. When the new movie directed
by Joss Whedon comes out, whoever takes the role of Wonder Woman
has a big tiara to fill. (That, and if Lynda Carter doesn't play
Queen Hippolyta, the movie execs need to be shot).
Between
Seasons 1 and 2 of Wonder Woman things became a bit more
modern. With Season 3 things seemed to change a bit more, and
in my mind, for the better. Gone were the comic book-style captions.
Although the comic book opening sequence and theme song were fun,
it was nice to get something a little more serious for the third
year. Diana Prince's HUGE glasses also disappeared over time.
The
Season 3 DVD set maintains a really nice packaging design that
maintains the comic book roots of the original series while at
the same time not looking cheesy. And, like I said, it's nice
to have all three sets side by side.
The
set features commentary on the episode "My Teenage Idol Is
Missing" with Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter. In the
commentary, Ms. Carter talks about where she hoped the show would
have ended, about the fads and feminism at the time of the show,
and, of course, she talked about that episode's guest star, then-teenage
heartthrob Leif Garrett. (Leif did the rounds on late 70's television
during his pop star years... look for him also on other series
such as CHiPs) Although it seemed that Carter had a list
of things or a script she may have been referring to, it was really
nice to hear her talking about it and even better considering
it's 25 years after the fact and she's still willing to discuss
it.
The
third season also features some of Wonder Woman's alternative
costumes, like the groovy motorcycle outfit, and she sometimes
wears a cape.
There's
another extra on the set, about the influence of Wonder Woman
as a role model, but I must confess that I couldn't see ANYWHERE
on the packaging which disk it's on, which is incredibly frustrating.
Even more frustrating is the insistence on using double-sided
DVD's. Part of the joy of having a multi-disc player is the possibility
of watching every episode back to back just by switching discs.
Not so fortunate with the double sided deal.
As
part of a 50th Anniversary promotion, the DVD comes with a bonus
episode of a TV series featuring another DC Comics super-hero,
Shazam! Wow. Maybe because it was on before I was born,
but that show was SO cheese. Kind of in a charming way. I don't
know or comprehend why, for example, Billy Batson will save a
kid from an oncoming car without turning into Captain Marvel,
or what the Shazam! lightning bolt on the RV does for a secret
identity. And that red shirt - ouch. Either way, I had never seen
it before, and out of some morbid curiosity I think I'd actually
like to see some more. Either that, or see that property reinvented
for the 21st century - just too bad they can't jettison the "Shazam!"
name, which evokes Gomer Pyle in my mind.
Anyway,
for comic book fans, or for fans of the Wonder Woman character,
Wonder Woman is a great package, and a great series to
own all the way through. I've only been able to watch a few of
the episodes thus far, but the ones I've seen so far - particularly
in this third season - I have liked a lot. Episodes that I haven't
watched yet, with titles like "The Boy Who Knew Her Secret,"
sound VERY intriguing and I can't wait to see more.
Bonus!
Look for guest stars like Craig T. Nelson, Ed Begley Jr., Joe
E. Tata ("Nat" from 90210!), Gavin MacLeod (Captain
Stubing!), Wolfman Jack, Knots Landing couple Ted Shackelford
and Joan Van Ark, Rene Auberjonois, and Rick Springfield - all
in the third season.
Click
here to order Wonder Woman Season 3 through Amazon.com and support
this site!
Visit
the official WonderWomanDVD.com site
Click
to see a gallery of promotional images from Wonder Woman Season
3!
Note:
The views of Craig Byrne don't necessarily represent the thoughts
and feelings of everyone at KryptonSite.
Want
us to review a new TV-show related DVD at KryptonSite? E-mail
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