Wonder Woman to the small screen? (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Definitely NSFW (due to language), but somewhat funny:


http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/5cd81407f4/a-date-with-diana?rel=player

 

[Paul_Scott]

*shrug* I don't know, I may be the minority.. I think he's probably as close to perfect as they are going to get.

Here's a review of the script courtesy The Daily Beast

The Daily Beast has obtained a copy of Kelley’s draft of the Wonder Woman pilot script, dated December 16, 2010—and it’s laughably bizarre. In Kelley’s vision, Wonder Woman is presented as a weepy career woman-slash-superheroine with three identities (Wonder Woman; Diana Themyscira, the chairman of Themyscira Industries; and mousy assistant Diana Prince) to juggle.

I'll spoilerize the nitty gritty for the sake of brevity moreso than actually spoiling anything 'cause I doubt anyone, fan or not, will find this take on the material remotely compelling enough to care about having plot points ruined for them.


Managing to be both cloying and tragically un-hip, Kelley’s Wonder Woman script seems an about-face for this 70-year-old iconic character. Merchandise meetings and legal jargon jostle uncomfortably with superheroics, pajama parties with saving the world.
The result is a Wonder Woman who is more like Kelley’s Ally McBeal than the feminist superhero who stands side-by-side with her fellow DC icons Superman and Batman. This is a woman whose feelings are hurt by people commenting on her breast size, who is looking for love in all the wrong places, and who wants to have it all! (No sign of a unisex bathroom yet but other Kelley tropes seem liberally scattered throughout the script. Fortunately, there’s no dancing baby.) But the stilted dialogue and bizarre narrative conceits pale in comparison with some of the sacrilege being committed here.
What follows are eight of the most head-scratching moments from the pilot script.
One
Pages 3-6: Buffy this isn’t: Diana’s first appearance, here in her guise as Wonder Woman, is a Hollywood Boulevard-based action sequence set, cringingly, to the outdated tune of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” the first of many musical cues—including tracks by Lady Gaga and Kanye West—in the script, all of which seem to prove that a) Kelley is a few years behind the times, and b) he watches a lot of Glee, since nearly all of these songs have been covered by the show choir. We’re meant to see Diana as a fierce female warrior, lasso of truth at her side, as she takes down a fast-moving suspect, but there’s a weird juxtaposition between attempts at humor and plodding “action.”
Two
Pages 8-14: The first of many lengthy heart-to-hearts between Diana and her press secretary, Myndi [sic], that’s meant to play as though the two are long-lost sisters who gab about boys in between high-powered meetings. Here, there’s the additional opportunity for gratuitous skin, as Diana takes a long, hot shower before she opens up about long-lost love Steve Trevor, now a lawyer in the Justice Department. (Wait, really?) Despite the alleged feminist undertones, Kelley uses the scene as an opportunity to dissect Diana’s love life and engage in some stereotypical banter about much-needed makeovers (alter ego Diana Prince is rather mousy because she has brown eyes, apparently, and doesn’t style her hair well) and Myndi asks her how the women of Themyscira have babies. No surprise that war hero Steve Trevor has been redesigned as a lawyer here. You didn’t really think Kelley would do a show without a single member of the legal profession in the mix, did you?

Three
Page 14: The irritating conceit of Diana having three identities gets even more irksome when it appears that she has not one but two places of residence, including a poky West L.A. apartment. But the kicker is that this single lady has a cat named, of all things, Desi, leading Diana to engage in a ridiculously hacky I Love Lucy reference that would cause Lucille Ball to turn over in her grave. If this is what passes for cutting-edge humor and pop culture references these days, television has a serious problem on its hands.
Four
Pages 26-28: One of the most gasp-inducing moments in the script is when Diana has a meeting about the “Asian Wonder Woman” doll that her company is about to go into production on. Yes, Wonder Woman admits to being uncomfortable with the doll’s ample anatomy, leading to a discussion of the size of her breasts and how people are let down when they see her in the flesh. But she seems to understand that the merchandise division helps pay for crime-fighting. “Big tits save lives!” she says, joking, I think. (Yes, read that bit again for good measure.) But the image-conscious Diana draws the line at a fat Wonder Woman. Har har. If you thought this laughable script was missing fat jokes, well, now you’ve got them.
Five
Pages 29-31: Themyscira Industries employs an in-house evidence team known as “The Animals” who work in an area called “The Dungeon.” The twentysomethings here—including Austy, Jennie, and Ryan—dance around to Kanye West’s “Golddigger” when they’re not making sexually provocative comments toward their employer. A comment about boning up on Diana’s rival Veronica Cale results in Austy making a comment about how he’d “Bone you up right now, boss.” (A page later, he admits to having “Chlamydia” when asked if the group has “anything else.”)
But the worst has got to be the way Diana addresses the group, saying, “OK, class, we got ‘bidness.’” Just ick. Wonder Woman as a woman trying to understand “man’s world” from her vantage point as an outsider is one thing, but the way that Kelley is painting her, alternately vain, self-absorbed, weepy, and so desperately trying to be cool is a major turn-off on every page. Let’s not forget that she is one of the world’s pre-eminent superheroes, not a middle-aged white man out of touch with pop culture. The only thing missing from this cringe-worthy portrait is for her to break into a freestyle rap.
Six
Pages 38-47: In the script’s most painful sequence, Diana is subpoenaed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and forced to give testimony about the events in Hollywood. She ends up filibustering about everything under the sun for several pages: the politics of the LAPD (name checking ex-police chiefs Daryl Gates and William Bratton), the economy, stimulus funds, pharmaceutical companies, Roger Clemens, the FDA and the FCC, and how networks will air commercials about erectile dysfunction but not for condoms. It’s clearly meant to be a showcase scene for the actress playing Diana, a calculated bid at awards and social relevance. Congratulations, David E. Kelley, the transformation of Wonder Woman from superhero to personal mouthpiece is now complete. Adding further insult to injury: real-life California Senator Dianne Feinstein is described as giving Diana a thumbs-up.
Seven
Pages 47-50: Diana goes weak in the knees when Steve Trevor turns up in D.C., proving stereotypically that she’s not invulnerable, after all, when it comes to—ugh—matters of the heart. Despite the fact that both have moved on, there is obvious unresolved history here, after four years apart. The fact that they meet cute outside her Senate hearing is somewhat icky, but the forced nostalgia here, supposedly buoyed by the numerous flashbacks to their time together, fails to hit the mark. Cloying and predictable, this storyline seems to belong in another show altogether.
Eight
Pages 61-66: Diana and Myndi have a “sleepover,” complete with ice cream (“It’s been a three-scoop day”) as they watch Katy Perry’s sexually suggestive Wonder Woman homage music video and “scream like schoolgirls.” Later, Diana glimpses her original costume in the closet (the Lynda Carter one!) and sadly stares at a picture of herself and Steve in happier times, before crying herself to sleep.
It’s meant to paint Diana as remarkably human, but it again serves to undercut the character, making her appear weak and weepy. It’s overkill as we already see how much Diana is affected by the lack of romance in her life, but turning her into a single girl with a Mr. Big complex seems a step way too far. We want our superheroes to be strong but human, but seeing Diana like this so early on, potentially destroys any appeal the viewer might have for her. It is another monumental misstep by Kelley, as well as a complete disconnect with the legacy and strength of this enduring character.
And if you doubt this is they way they are going with the property, you can find an audition tape on youtube for an actress that didn't get the part. The sides she's reading are clearly in step with the above summary.

As a fan of the character, and someone who thinks there is quite an enormous amount of potential with it in live action to tell stories that haven't been told before- with any other comic book properties to boot, certainly not in the live action Batman or Superman universes- it's quite disappointing to see it's owner/trademark holder sign off on something this insipid and lightweight.


The costume, material and design, is the least of the problems (though it's interesting I haven't seen any criticism yet of putting something hard and pointy on the abdomen of an action costume). That said, the costumes has grown on me a little the more I look at it. Too shiny, too plastic-y, yeah. As much as I dislike the trend of drabbing out fantasy iconography, this is one design that should mute the colors just a little. Also not a fan of repeating the star three time on the front (tiara, chest, belt)- it smacks of that annoying Singer Superman costume. I just hope Kelly loses money on this fiasco and the pilot gets buried rather than further paint the character as a joke and thus keep them utilizing her in a honestly thoughtful and entertaining live action production any time soon. There are so many legitimately useful ways to exploit this character and her initial premise, that it boggles my mind no one seems to be able to get a handle on it- from retro/Raiders of the Lost Ark style serial to a more fantasy based sword and sandle, to something even more thematically profound (a clash of civilizations/belief systems - or think of a quasi-Day The Earth Stood Still situation with Wonder Woman being the alien/supernatural entity that admonishes Man's World to get its act together or else)- but this is the tripe they sign off on.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I read the same basic thing at another site. I currently don't even plan to give it a single shot. Hopefully, NBC will just say no.

 

[mattCR]

Just so I can totally alienate most of this thread:



The result is a Wonder Woman who is more like Kelley’s Ally McBeal than the feminist superhero who stands side-by-side with her fellow DC icons Superman and Batman. This is a woman whose feelings are hurt by people commenting on her breast size, who is looking for love in all the wrong places, and who wants to have it all! (No sign of a unisex bathroom yet but other Kelley tropes seem liberally scattered throughout the script. Fortunately, there’s no dancing baby.) But the stilted dialogue and bizarre narrative conceits pale in comparison with some of the sacrilege being committed here.

Yes. Perfect. If they had the Unisex and Barry White, it might be better. *shrug* I understand the net love for all things geekdom, but even as a card carrying geek, I wonder if they've looked at the ratings books lately. We talk a lot here about "Chuck" which while I enjoy it really should have been cancelled about 2 years ago and if it was on any other network would have been as it's ratings are terrible. The last sets of superhero shows have turned into god awful pits (The Cape, which was DISASTEROUS, "Heroes" with a good first set of episodes, a terrible season finale and it never recovered, Bionic Woman which failed out of the gate, etc.).


The most popular shows on TV tend to be light, easy to get into, and have a kind of quirk about them. This is why shows like "CSI" "NCIS" etc. latch on and work in the ratings. I'm not sure what people expect from a Wonder Woman show that they think would "work" without being a monumental failure. A 1.8 rating out of the box at NBC is a death sentence. So, you have to bring others.

The rest of the commentary makes me wonder: have you ever seen a David E Kelley show? I mean, what were you expecting this to be? Those are the moments that get a fair audience to tune in to "Harry's Law", they are what made "Boston Legal". Yes, it's a superhero not an attorney, but come on, I think if people are expecting wild action, I'd ask them to point out an instance where ratings wise that has worked in the last 10 years outside of Smallville (which has been up and down and if it were on the Big3 would have been cancelled some time ago).

*shrug* I don't know, I guess I see in this something quite different. If this goes very tongue in cheek, has the common Kelley dialogue, etc I will tune in. I think this is about what the expectations game is. There may be massive changes to the way people think the story should be, but frankly, I could deal with an all new take on it. There were tons of people who at the beginning of Smallville thought the entire concept was "HORRIBLE" and there were people who thought the entire idea behind Buffy was "Stupid" etc. I'm sure the had equally horrible script reviews at the start by fanbois who wanted it exactly as they remembered it.

There have been tons of complete re-imagining of Wonder Woman. I think this also puts to bed the idea that we look at the 1970s Wonder Woman as some sort of fantastic show with tons of over the top action and adventure every week. I mean, if you look back at it, you had a season where WW was set right during World War II, and had episodes that involved her attending beauty pageants etc. and constantly showing her run in slow-mo (so the criticism about boobs is to me, laughable.. ) You had three different episodes in which men had such sexual charisma that they used it to brainwash people into doing their jobs (once as a rockstar, once as dancer, once as an alien of sorts).

The commentary about her having implants is kind of poor taste (IMHO). I will admit, I know several people who do and don't, and I have never thought poorly of those who elected to do it.. so what, it's a self image thing, I don't feel as though it does any worse to them then say guys buying hot rods and popping Viagra. But I rarely find ridiculing it to make any sense at all; the reality is Palicki is far more likely to get jobs like this one with larger breasts then smaller, so ridiculing her for making that decision is pretty ridiculous (IMHO).


I don't know, I'll wait and see. Literally, there are three writers who if I know they are putting out a show, I'll tune in and give it a try. Sorkin, Whedon, Kelley. If their names are on the banner, I can generally count on the dialog being interesting and the concept being interesting. So rather then boo-hoo about how it doesn't hold up to what I wish Wonder Woman was, I will hope this is as different as possible from any other wonder woman concept so that it doesn't invite any comparisons.

That, and I'll hope NBC does the right thing and scraps a large chunk of their lineup and rethinks the whole darn thing.


I am expecting (actually, hoping for) a re-imagining of Wonder Woman yes, somewhat in the spirit of "Ally McBeal". Give me that and I'll tune in. If Wonder Woman is some cartoon character facing down bad guy of the week, it's not worth watching.


This is the message where people forget about what worked about a show like "Buffy". Buffy had action, yes, but think about all the comedy in that series you also had these moments. That makes me laugh when I read this:




One
Pages 3-6: Buffy this isn’t: Diana’s first appearance, here in her guise as Wonder Woman, is a Hollywood Boulevard-based action sequence set, cringingly, to the outdated tune of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” the first of many musical cues—including tracks by Lady Gaga and Kanye West—in the script, all of which seem to prove that a) Kelley is a few years behind the times, and b) he watches a lot of Glee, since nearly all of these songs have been covered by the show choir. We’re meant to see Diana as a fierce female warrior, lasso of truth at her side, as she takes down a fast-moving suspect, but there’s a weird juxtaposition between attempts at humor and plodding “action.”


Has this person even watched the show he's comparing it to? Did he not witness episodes where you had vanquishing of demons while at the same time Buffy was talking to Faith about whether or not she had slept with Xander? Etc.? As to the song moments, those kind of things change in drafts, so I'm not worried about that.

 

[DaveHof]

I agree with you that the original 'Wonder Woman' series was hardly a classic. I own all three seasons on DVD and at times they were a chore to get through. But Lynda Carter was perfect casting, and it wasn't her fault that the writers couldn't dream up more imaginative adventures for her, and that the special effects capabilities and/or budget at the time could not accommodate a character who in the comics had enough strength to give Superman a fight. Today, when a new superhero movie seemingly opens every week, and CGI can bring the comic book world to life, this new series is a chance to really do Wonder Woman right - but Kelley's script and this casting are not encouraging.

 

[JonZ]

"As a fan of the character, and someone who thinks there is quite an enormous amount of potential with it in live action to tell stories that haven't been told before- with any other comic book properties to boot, certainly not in the live action Batman or Superman universes- it's quite disappointing to see it's owner/trademark holder sign off on something this insipid and lightweight."


Im glad Im not the only one who thinks that something interesting CAN be done with this character.

People seem to think a live action of Wonder Woman cant work, but thats not true at all. She just has to be done properly.


The original show was certainly corny, but IMHO all of that was because of the limitations of technology/tv making at the time. They did feature mad scientists, meglomaniacs bent on world domination and the like, exploding volcanos, villians....all that fun stuff, the technology just wasnt there.

 

[Hanson]

I'm ridiculing the fact that they hired an actress with implants and then stuffed her into a costumed that greatly enhanced that fact. Maybe Kelly did it on purpose, but I don't really see how the effect is anything other than comical.

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Paul_Scott



Here's a review of the script courtesy The Daily Beast






I'll spoilerize the nitty gritty for the sake of brevity moreso than actually spoiling anything 'cause I doubt anyone, fan or not, will find this take on the material remotely compelling enough to care about having plot points ruined for them.


Managing to be both cloying and tragically un-hip, Kelley’s Wonder Woman script seems an about-face for this 70-year-old iconic character. Merchandise meetings and legal jargon jostle uncomfortably with superheroics, pajama parties with saving the world.
The result is a Wonder Woman who is more like Kelley’s Ally McBeal than the feminist superhero who stands side-by-side with her fellow DC icons Superman and Batman. This is a woman whose feelings are hurt by people commenting on her breast size, who is looking for love in all the wrong places, and who wants to have it all! (No sign of a unisex bathroom yet but other Kelley tropes seem liberally scattered throughout the script. Fortunately, there’s no dancing baby.) But the stilted dialogue and bizarre narrative conceits pale in comparison with some of the sacrilege being committed here.
What follows are eight of the most head-scratching moments from the pilot script.
One
Pages 3-6: Buffy this isn’t: Diana’s first appearance, here in her guise as Wonder Woman, is a Hollywood Boulevard-based action sequence set, cringingly, to the outdated tune of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies,” the first of many musical cues—including tracks by Lady Gaga and Kanye West—in the script, all of which seem to prove that a) Kelley is a few years behind the times, and b) he watches a lot of Glee, since nearly all of these songs have been covered by the show choir. We’re meant to see Diana as a fierce female warrior, lasso of truth at her side, as she takes down a fast-moving suspect, but there’s a weird juxtaposition between attempts at humor and plodding “action.”
Two
Pages 8-14: The first of many lengthy heart-to-hearts between Diana and her press secretary, Myndi [sic], that’s meant to play as though the two are long-lost sisters who gab about boys in between high-powered meetings. Here, there’s the additional opportunity for gratuitous skin, as Diana takes a long, hot shower before she opens up about long-lost love Steve Trevor, now a lawyer in the Justice Department. (Wait, really?) Despite the alleged feminist undertones, Kelley uses the scene as an opportunity to dissect Diana’s love life and engage in some stereotypical banter about much-needed makeovers (alter ego Diana Prince is rather mousy because she has brown eyes, apparently, and doesn’t style her hair well) and Myndi asks her how the women of Themyscira have babies. No surprise that war hero Steve Trevor has been redesigned as a lawyer here. You didn’t really think Kelley would do a show without a single member of the legal profession in the mix, did you?

Three
Page 14: The irritating conceit of Diana having three identities gets even more irksome when it appears that she has not one but two places of residence, including a poky West L.A. apartment. But the kicker is that this single lady has a cat named, of all things, Desi, leading Diana to engage in a ridiculously hacky I Love Lucy reference that would cause Lucille Ball to turn over in her grave. If this is what passes for cutting-edge humor and pop culture references these days, television has a serious problem on its hands.
Four
Pages 26-28: One of the most gasp-inducing moments in the script is when Diana has a meeting about the “Asian Wonder Woman” doll that her company is about to go into production on. Yes, Wonder Woman admits to being uncomfortable with the doll’s ample anatomy, leading to a discussion of the size of her breasts and how people are let down when they see her in the flesh. But she seems to understand that the merchandise division helps pay for crime-fighting. “Big tits save lives!” she says, joking, I think. (Yes, read that bit again for good measure.) But the image-conscious Diana draws the line at a fat Wonder Woman. Har har. If you thought this laughable script was missing fat jokes, well, now you’ve got them.
Five
Pages 29-31: Themyscira Industries employs an in-house evidence team known as “The Animals” who work in an area called “The Dungeon.” The twentysomethings here—including Austy, Jennie, and Ryan—dance around to Kanye West’s “Golddigger” when they’re not making sexually provocative comments toward their employer. A comment about boning up on Diana’s rival Veronica Cale results in Austy making a comment about how he’d “Bone you up right now, boss.” (A page later, he admits to having “Chlamydia” when asked if the group has “anything else.”)
But the worst has got to be the way Diana addresses the group, saying, “OK, class, we got ‘bidness.’” Just ick. Wonder Woman as a woman trying to understand “man’s world” from her vantage point as an outsider is one thing, but the way that Kelley is painting her, alternately vain, self-absorbed, weepy, and so desperately trying to be cool is a major turn-off on every page. Let’s not forget that she is one of the world’s pre-eminent superheroes, not a middle-aged white man out of touch with pop culture. The only thing missing from this cringe-worthy portrait is for her to break into a freestyle rap.
Six
Pages 38-47: In the script’s most painful sequence, Diana is subpoenaed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and forced to give testimony about the events in Hollywood. She ends up filibustering about everything under the sun for several pages: the politics of the LAPD (name checking ex-police chiefs Daryl Gates and William Bratton), the economy, stimulus funds, pharmaceutical companies, Roger Clemens, the FDA and the FCC, and how networks will air commercials about erectile dysfunction but not for condoms. It’s clearly meant to be a showcase scene for the actress playing Diana, a calculated bid at awards and social relevance. Congratulations, David E. Kelley, the transformation of Wonder Woman from superhero to personal mouthpiece is now complete. Adding further insult to injury: real-life California Senator Dianne Feinstein is described as giving Diana a thumbs-up.
Seven
Pages 47-50: Diana goes weak in the knees when Steve Trevor turns up in D.C., proving stereotypically that she’s not invulnerable, after all, when it comes to—ugh—matters of the heart. Despite the fact that both have moved on, there is obvious unresolved history here, after four years apart. The fact that they meet cute outside her Senate hearing is somewhat icky, but the forced nostalgia here, supposedly buoyed by the numerous flashbacks to their time together, fails to hit the mark. Cloying and predictable, this storyline seems to belong in another show altogether.
Eight
Pages 61-66: Diana and Myndi have a “sleepover,” complete with ice cream (“It’s been a three-scoop day”) as they watch Katy Perry’s sexually suggestive Wonder Woman homage music video and “scream like schoolgirls.” Later, Diana glimpses her original costume in the closet (the Lynda Carter one!) and sadly stares at a picture of herself and Steve in happier times, before crying herself to sleep.
It’s meant to paint Diana as remarkably human, but it again serves to undercut the character, making her appear weak and weepy. It’s overkill as we already see how much Diana is affected by the lack of romance in her life, but turning her into a single girl with a Mr. Big complex seems a step way too far. We want our superheroes to be strong but human, but seeing Diana like this so early on, potentially destroys any appeal the viewer might have for her. It is another monumental misstep by Kelley, as well as a complete disconnect with the legacy and strength of this enduring character.

I heard the same basic synopsis on another site and I find the idea of taking a superhero and putting them into the usual David E. Kelley show to be funny in a "I can't believe this exists"-type of way. That being said, I'm probably not going to watch a serious or comedic take on Wonder Woman but the idea is still really amusing to me. Of course, I certainly can understand why it's not so funny to fans who want to see a serious take on the character.


My biggest question is who is the audience that they want to go for with this? It seems like making it a 'chick' comedy is going to alienate many comic book fans and it seems like having a costumed superhero is going to alienate many women who would normally watch a David E. Kelley show.

 

[Jose Martinez]

Looks like they made changes. Oh, for some reason, I keep hoping for a wardrobe malfunction! http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/03/30/wonder-woman-set-pics-show-a-good-look-of-adrianne-palicki-in-a-new-improved-costume/

 

[mattCR]

 

[Greg_S_H]

The red boots are better. The pants don't look as shiny.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Definitely an improvement. Now if they could just make the gold parts look more like metal and less like cheap halloween costume plastic, they'd be all set.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Good change, but the costume still concerns me less than the type of show they seem to be making.

 

[Jose Martinez]

WW won't be happening!


http://www.deadline.com/2011/05/wonder-woman-not-going-forward-at-nbc-manns-world-may-be-shopped-to-cable/

 

[mattCR]

Dead! Apparently NBC is going to retain the scripts and rights, but otherwise, no go.. (that's the same as saying: it's mothballed; but it's not going anywhere so it's not going to some cable net or something, if NBC does this they could later "revisit" the idea)

 

[Greg_S_H]

Not too upset about it, frankly. If that script review was any kind of accurate, it sounded like an unfortunate take on the subject matter.

 

[Walter C]

Doesn't surprise me, as this show seemed to be more along the lines of the 60's Batman series.