Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 25, 2020

Adventures focusing on superheroes (and heroines, of course) in television series have really exploded over the past several years, and with the glut of both current and relatively recent fare in many viewers’ minds, it may be hard for some (especially younger types) to realize there was a time, and a rather long time at that, when superheroes and/or heroines were rather rare breeds on television. The 1950s really saw only one major superhero series that lasted very long and had much cultural impact, which was of course the still beloved Adventures of Superman. Rather interestingly, especially given the fact that the George Reeves series was so popular, it took several more years until another DC comic figure arrived to series television when the Adam West Batman arrived as a midseason replacement in January 1966, quickly became the hottest thing on the air, and then just about as quickly flamed out, cancelled by mid-March 1968. It’s also notable that this Batman often played things for laughs, something that two very short lived shows centered on (unlikely) superheroes that showed up during Batman’s run, Captain Nice and Mr. Terrific, also did. Perhaps because all of the aforementioned shows probably appealed to kids more than adults, it’s probably unsurprising that the next two series at least ostensibly with a tether to DC Comics world (fans will know the connection is somewhat tangential), Shazam! and The Secrets of Isis, weren’t just marketed directly to kids, they both aired on Saturday mornings during an era when cartoons were probably still more common than live action outings during that broadcast block. However, at around the same time as Shazam! and The Secrets of Isis started airing on Saturday mornings, with The Secrets of Isis rather incredibly being the first time in network television a female superhero starred in her own show (again, fans may remember characters like Batgirl who showed up late in Batman's run), prime time finally got a lead female superhero in the form of Wonder Woman (played memorably by Lynda Carter, of course).

In one of the supplements included in this set, producer Douglas S. Cramer unapologetically mentions his reputation for being a master of "camp", and that sensibility certainly runs rampant throughout Wonder Woman, though it's perhaps arguably not quite as pronounced as it was in the Adam West Batman series. The "cartoonish" aspect is notable throughout the three seasons of the series' run, but it's probably most noticeable during the first season, when the show was placed in the World War II era of the original comic book. And the mere fact that the entire series was not set in that time period is just one example of how the creative team behind this adaptation seemed to struggle, rather mightily at times, to try to put together the right combination of elements that would make Wonder Woman the next Batman rather than ABC's disastrous attempt (from a ratings perspective) to duplicate Batman's success at the height of its impact with the short-lived The Green Hornet.

Wonder Woman of course lasted longer than The Green Hornet's single season, and in terms of its total years on air if not in its number of episodes, it even outlasted Batman, but that's not necessarily always a good thing. The show was rejiggered more than once along the way, as alluded to above, with both a change of network (ABC to CBS) and a change of time period (World War II to the then "present day" of the 1970s), to an even later changes like comings and goings of various characters and a location alteration when Wonder Woman's alter ego Diana Prince moves to Los Angeles. There's stunt casting galore, beginning with the pilot episode which sees The Producers' unforgettable Franz Liebkind, Kenneth Mars, revisiting "Nazi mode". Hilariously (and perhaps intentionally), while there are carrier pigeons on the roof again, this time they're being handled by co-star Henry Gibson, but one way or the other there's no play about Hitler in anyone's back pocket. (Mars' erstwhile Young Frankenstein and future Malcolm in the Middle cohort Cloris Leachman is also on hand as the first of several actresses to tackle the role of Diana's mother, the Amazon queen.)

The series does play on its feminist subtext rather smartly, especially given the era the show was produced in. From the very first pilot episode, there's a suggestion that women are more skilled at any number of things, including keeping the peace, but throughout the series Wonder Woman regularly exhorts other (everyday, putatively non-wonder) women to look around and pay attention to how men are treating them. That said, there's still an undeniably sexist attitude on display from the men at times, which works if they're the villains (which they often are), but is perhaps less helpful for the character of Steve (Lyle Waggoner).

There's a certain spark to the World War II season, though, that just doesn't seem to be adequately replicated in the two following seasons, despite a number of wacky plots that kind of almost reminded me of vintage 1970s Doctor Who at times. Carter is an appealing presence, athletic when she needs to be but also quite glamorous at other times, but some may react to Lyle Waggoner as her partner (in more ways than one) with a less charitable attitude. The special effects are "quaint", to say the least, but the series does try to evoke a kind of nostalgic "cliffhanger" ambience a lot of the time, and even in its "updated" 1970s setting can seem positively old fashioned.

Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. There's no verbiage touting a new remaster on the packaging, though our original news announcement mentions "completely restored". There are both pluses and minuses to this presentation that will probably generate some reaction from longtime fans. I was repeatedly struck with what I consider one of the pluses, general saturation of the palette, which looks excellent throughout almost all of the episodes. That might be counterbalanced somewhat by occasionally variant color temperature, with some scenes looking a bit on the cool side, and with what I assume might have been whites on things like bedsheets in the original broadcast (I frankly don't think I ever saw this show when it actually aired) looking slightly blue. While detail levels can also be commendable, especially in close-ups, a lot of the episodes are pretty soft looking, as can perhaps be seen in some of the screenshots accompanying this review, and while there definitely is grain in evidence, it is not always highly visible at least some of the time. I didn't notice any huge signs of age related wear and tear, and so I am assuming that the "restoration" mentioned above probably included some kind of clean up.

Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unfortunately only a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track is included on this release. I've long been on the record (no pun intended) as decrying lossy audio on Blu-ray releases, and my score above reflects that opinion. That said, while really lacking some oomph in the low end, something that obviously could have helped energize both the often fun score (including the memorable theme music by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel) as well as some of the more explosive special effects, fidelity is fine, within a lossy context. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly, and while narrow, the tracks typically sport smart prioritization, even in some noisy action sequences.

Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Commentary on the pilot episode is offered by Lynda Carter and Douglas S. Cramer.

Disc Two

• Beauty, Brawn and Bulletproof Bracelets: A Wonder Woman Retrospective (480p; 21:13) is a fun archival featurette with some kind of funny interviews.

Disc Six

• Revolutionizing a Classic: From Comic Book to Television (480p; 11:26) is another archival piece documenting the adaptive process.

Disc Seven

• Commentary on My Teenage Idol is Missing is by Lynda Carter.

Disc Ten

• Wonder Woman: The Ultimate Feminist Icon (480p; 13:53) is the last of the archival featurettes included on this release, with Lynda Carter thanking fans for "buying this DVD" as it begins, but with a number of interesting interviews with women expressing their appreciation for the character's proto-feminist attitudes.

Wonder Woman: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fans of the television history of Wonder Woman will know that even the fact that Lynda Carter is seen in the title role in the series is itself a "rejiggering" of sorts, since the first pilot for a proposed Wonder Woman series starred Cathy Lee Crosby. Things just never seemed to totally "click" for this effort, despite some fun episodes and a winning lead performance from Carter. Still, there's some surprising energy on hand here, and the guest cast offers a host of mid-seventies luminaries which should delight trivia fans. I personally found the pluses of the video presentation to outweigh minuses, but I'm disappointed yet again by a Blu-ray release with only lossy audio. Finally, the previously released supplements are enjoyable, for those who are considering a purchase.