Tag: DC Comics

Army Air Forces flying ace Major Steve Trevor sets off to intercept an experimental German plane at the height of World War II in 1942. The Allies have received intelligence that the Nazis have built a trans-Atlantic bomber capable of attacking American soil, and Major Trevor must either confirm and engage, or disprove and return to base. The rumors are true, but Trevor takes out the enemy by colliding with it. As the two pilots bail out via parachute, the Nazi pilot shoots Trevor…and then himself plummets into shark-infested water. Trevor’s parachute drifts over land, bringing him down safely to an uncharted island in the Bermuda Triangle.

The island is inhabited by an isolated tribe of Amazon women who have chosen to remain apart from the rest of humanity, and certainly apart from the war consuming the rest of the world. Diana, the daughter of Queen Hippolyta, is fascinated by the man in her tribe’s midst, but her mother forbids her to interfere in his destiny. Any Amazon who takes Major Trevor back to America can never return, and may surrender the near-immortality enjoyed by the Amazons remaining on Paradise Island; Hippolyta decides that tests of athleticism and endurance will determine who is best suited for this one-way mission. Diana assumes a disguise and wins the competition, only revealing her identity to her mother at the end. In her invisible plane, and with a new outfit made of a material impervious to primitive weaponry, Diana sets out to return Major Trevor to Washington. But once she begins her new life, her incredible abilities draw attention from all kinds of people…including a cadre of Nazi sympathizers operating within American borders. Worse yet, the experimental Nazi plane wasn’t the only one of its kind…

written by Stanley Ralph Ross
directed by Leonard Horn
music by Charles Fox

Cast: Lynda Carter (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Lyle Waggoner (Major Steve Trevor), John Randolph (General Blankenship), Red Buttons (Ashley Norman), Stella Stevens (Marcia), Eric Braeden (Captain Drangel), Severn Darden (Bad Guy), Fannie Flagg (Amazon Doctor), Henry Gibson (Nikolas), Kenneth Mars (Colonel Von Blasko), Cloris Leachman (Queen Hippolyta), Helen Verbit (Nurse), Tom Rosqui (Cop #2), Fritzi Burr (Saleslady), Ian Wolfe (Bank Manager), Inga Neilson (Rena), Maida Severn (Teutonic Woman), Jean Karlson (2nd Amazon), Anne Ramsey (Taxi Cab Driver)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Wonder Woman has come to the attention of the Third Reich. Fausta Grables launches an audacious plan to infiltrate America and kidnap Wonder Woman to learn the secrets of her power…and part of her plan is to use Major Steve Trevor as bait. Once the Nazi operatives have Wonder Woman and take her back to Germany, Major Trevor launches a rescue operation, daring to go behind enemy lines without authorization from General Blankenship. But Wonder Woman doesn’t need rescuing – and now Major Trevor is stuck deep in Nazi territory in need of rescue himself.

written by Bruce Shelly & David Ketchum
directed by Barry Crane
music by Artie Kane

Cast: Lynda Carter (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Lyle Waggoner (Major Steve Trevor), Richard Eastham (General Blankenship), Beatrice Colen (Etta Candy), Bo Brundin (Colonel Kesselman), Colby Chester (Horst), Jeff Cooper (Major Charlie Scott), Keene Curtis (Mueller), Bill Fletcher (Nazi), Lynda Day George (Fausta Grables), Christopher George (Rojak), Mary Rings (Peasant Girl), Gene Biegouloff (Soldier #1), Kenneth Smedberg (Soldier #2), Angelo Gnazzo (Cabbie), Larry Ellis (M.C.), Ron Lombard (Radioman)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A string of sabotage incidents at Fort Russell, Maryland, a vital point in the supply chain for the U.S. war effort, points toward a high-level security breach. Major Trevor believes that a top-secret project is the target, and he and Diana quickly realize that a traveling beauty contest – supposedly to raise the morale of American troops – could be providing perfect cover for the saboteurs. Diana goes undercover, joining the beauty contest, but it’s almost too late before she and Trevor realize that the secret project isn’t the target. President Eisenhower, due to arrive soon at Fort Russell, is the target, and they may be too late to stop someone from assassinating him.

written by Ron Friedman
directed by Richard Kinon
music by Artie Kane

Cast: Lynda Carter (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Lyle Waggoner (Major Steve Trevor), Richard Eastham (General Blankenship), Beatrice Colen (Etta Candy), Anne Francis (Lola Flynn), Dick Van Patten (Jack Wood), William Lanteau (Colonel Flint), Bobby Van (Monty Burns), Jennifer Shaw (Susan), Lindsday Bloom (Tina), Christa Helm (Rita), Paulette Breen (Mitzie), Linda Carpenter (Betsy), Eddie Benton (June), April Tatro (Betty Lou), Derna Wylde (Rosalie), Wayne Grace (Captain), Henry Deas (Stagehand), Bill Adler (Sentry), John David Yarbrough (Lieutenant)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Major Trevor and Diana are present when Nazi agents attempt to hijack an experimental fighter plane, the XPJ-1. Unknown to everyone except Trevor and General Blankenship, the XPJ-1 can be destroyed by remote control; while they see to that, Diana transforms into Wonder Woman and rounds up other Nazis operating under cover at the airfield. Some of the Nazis, including Captain Radl, witness Wonder Woman in action – specifically, her bullet-deflecting bracelets. Diana is amazed when her younger sister, Drusilla, is waiting for her at her apartment, bearing a message from their mother to return to Paradise Island. Diane introduces a disguised Drusilla to General Blankenship, who offers her a tour of Valley Forge, a destination that the General and Drusilla never reach thanks to Captain Radl. Drusilla transforms into a new guise – Wonder Girl – to try to save General Blankenship, but she becomes a hostage instead.

teleplay by Jimmy Sangster
story by Barbara Avedon & Barbara Corday
directed by Herb Wallerstein
music by Artie Kane

Cast: Lynda Carter (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Lyle Waggoner (Major Steve Trevor), Richard Eastham (General Blankenship), Beatrice Colen (Etta Candy), John Saxon (Captain Radl), Carolyn Jones (Queen Hippolyta), Charles Frank (Peter Knight), Paul Shenar (Lt. Wertz), Kurt Kreuger (Major Hemmschler), Debra Winger (Drusilla), Curt Lowens (General Ulrich), Erica Hagen (Dalma), Pamela Shoop (Magda), Kurt Grayson (Harris), Jay Fenichel (Tommy), Brad Rearden (Joey)

Notes: This is the first TV appearance for a 21-year-old Debra Winger, whose first movie appearance had debuted in theaters only days earlier. Though this first appearance of Wonder Girl would seem like it has “spinoff” written all over it, Drusilla would make only one further appearance after this two-parter; this was probably for the best for Winger’s career, as she would go on to be nominated three times for the Oscar for Best Lead Actress just a few years later, starting with 1983’s An Officer And A Gentleman.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

Drusilla, in her Wonder Girl guise, is in the hands of Nazi Captain Radl, who forces her to reveal the secret location of Paradise Island, home of her fellow Amazons. With no idea where her sister is, Wonder Woman remains in her Diana Prince guise. When Major Trevor intercepts Nazi orders involving an uncharted island, Wonder Woman must return home to protect her homeland and save her people. But how easily will the Nazis give up their new obsession with feminum, the metal from which her armbands are forged?

teleplay by Jimmy Sangster
story by Barbara Avedon & Barbara Corday
directed by Herb Wallerstein
music by Artie Kane

Cast: Lynda Carter (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Lyle Waggoner (Major Steve Trevor), Richard Eastham (General Blankenship), Beatrice Colen (Etta Candy), John Saxon (Captain Radl), Carolyn Jones (Queen Hippolyta), Charles Frank (Peter Knight), Paul Shenar (Lt. Wertz), Debra Winger (Drusilla), Erica Hagen (Dalma), Pamela Shoop (Magda), Rayford Barnes (Lt. Weil), Kurt Grayson (Harris), Jay Fenichel (Tommy), Newell Alexander (Destroyer Commander)

Notes: This is the first appearance appearance of Wonder Woman’s invisible jet since the pilot; transparent set pieces and a “sky” background take the place of the less-than-convincing shot-on-video effects of the pilot movie.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

A Nazi defector is questioned by Major Trevor as Diana and General Blankenship watch from the other side of a false mirror; he has valuable information that he’s not unloading until the United States can guarantee his safety. But his fellow Nazis are already planning to recapture him before he can talk, and they’ve prepared for any interference from Wonder Woman by training a giant gorilla to react to her with hostile aggression on sight. She may be an expert at dealing with Nazis, but can Wonder Woman tame the heart of a trained, conditioned primate?

written by David Ketchum and Tony DiMarco
directed by Charles R. Rondeau
music by Artie Kane

Cast: Lynda Carter (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Lyle Waggoner (Major Steve Trevor), Richard Eastham (General Blankenship), Beatrice Colen (Etta Candy), Robert Loggia (Hans Eichler), Gretchen Corbett (Erica Belgard), John Hillerman (Conrad Steigler), Tom Reese (Carl), Herb Voland (Dr. Osmond), Jerry Fitzpatrick (Circus Guard), Jim Driskill (Sergeant Henderson), Curtis Credel (Corporal Rogers), John Zenda (Soldier), Mickey Morton (Gargantua)

Notes: Mickey Morton (1927–1993) was a fixture in 1970s and ’80s genre productions:- he had donned a Wookiee suit to play Chewie’s wife Malla in the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, and played Solomon Grundy in the lamentable 1979 TV special Legends Of The Superheroes. John Hillerman’s best known role was ahead of him, starring as Higgins in Magnum P.I. from 1980 through 1988.

LogBook entry by Earl Green