Sunday 29 May 2011

Wonder Woman's TV Defeat


                       Comic Book Ramblings: Wonder Woman's TV Defeat_

If you haven't hears by now NBC has decided not to pick up Writer - Producer David E. Kelley's (Creator of lawyer TV shows Boston Legal, the Practice & Ally McBeal) much talked about Wonder Woman TV reboot for it's fall 2011 schedule. 
David E. Kelley
Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment said in an interview that the reason why the pilot wasn't picked up was "it wouldn't fit with their current schedule", but did praise everyone's hard work on the pilot.

The pilot was described as "a reinvention of the iconic D.C. comic in which Wonder Woman – aka Diana Prince – is a vigilante crime fighter in L.A. but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life".

Sexy, but blonde Adrianna Palicki
February 16, 2011, it was announced that the 5'11", 27 year old actress Adrianna Palicki (of Friday Night Lights TV fame & with a newly dyed hairdo) was cast as Wonder Woman.
Elizabeth Hurley (of the Austin Powers movie fame) was cast as Veronica Cale (a sort of female Lex Luthor & the TV series planned recurring villian), Tracie Thoms (who played in the 2005 movie version of the Broadway musical Rent) as Diana's personal assistant Etta Candy, Pedro Pascal as police liaison Ed Indelicato, Cary Elwes (of the Princess Bride) as Henry Detmer will run the day-to-day operations of Diana's company, & Justin Bruening(who starred in NBC's 2008 Knight Rider series) as Steve Trevor.
  
Sexy Milf Elizabeth Hurley

Original Wonder Woman Costume design

DC's New Look
Fanboys went ape shit online over the costume when 1st revealed, which de-emphasizing the american patriotism & played more on comic's Greek Mythology, meaning they gave her pants. But this refected what Wonder Woman was wearing at the time in the DC Comics. But they redesign the costume again, adding her trademark bootyshorts. 

The New Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman's New Look

The New Redesign Wonder Woman costume

The New New Costume

Wonder Woman's Bootyshorts are Back!
Reported test showings of the pilot by NBC were mixed (meaning people hated it) & having it's previous superhero TV series The Cape do poorly in the ratings (not even airing the finale episode) might of scarred NBC off superhero TV shows.

NBC's The Cape
Warner Bros. TV might try shop around the pilot to other networks, but it's doubtful any will pick it up, most all ready turned it down the 1st time round it was offered in January 2011.

This is not the 1st time actress Adrianne Palicki has been in a unsold TV pilot. 2003 she played Judy Robinson in John Woo's Lost in Space TV reboot for the WB Television Network. The cast included Brad Johnson as John Robinson, Jayne Brook as Maureen Robinson, Ryan Malgarini as Will Robinson & Mike Erwin as Don West (no Doctor Smith in this series). Sets from this show were later used for the then new Battlestar Galactica TV series, redesigned for scenes on the Battlestar Pegasus.

The Robinsons: Lost in Space
Then in Palicki appeared in the WB 2006 Aquqman TV pilot called Mercy Reef  as the evil Siren. It to had an impressive cast which included Justin Hartley (who would later play Green Arrow in Smallville) as the lead "A.C." (aka, Aquaman), Lou Diamond Phillips as A.C.'s adoptive dad Tom Curry, Denise Quinones as fighter pilot Lt. Rachel Torres (who A.C. rescues),Ving Rhames as A.C.'s Atlantean mentor & lighthouse keeper McCaffery, Amber McDonald as A.C.'s best friend & business partner Eve, & Daniella Wolters as A.C.'s missing mother Atlanna
This pilot was not picked up for series as result of The WB & UPN network merger into the CW network, which occurred while the pilot was being filmed. Just not enough room for all of the WB's & UPN's old TV shows & a new series as well.

Justin Hartley as Aquaman in Mercy Reef

Siren make-up test 

Siren make-up test without wig & contacts

Complete Siren make-up test for Mercy Reef
Real shame though, it was one of the few series I was looking forward to this Fall TV Season now that Smallville is over. It would've made a great companion for NBC's CHUCK series. But maybe it's for the best.

Sarah Michelle Gellar & Jack Black at MTV Movie Awards
I bet the Warner Bros. are kicking themselves in the Ass for not making Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman movie in 2005 now that he's doing Marvel Comics' big epic Avengers movie. Just think what the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, & Firefly (some of my favorite TV shows) could of done makes me weep.

An early Wonder Woman movie costume concept that I liked

1 comment:

  1. Nice work on polling all the costumes together. I really enjoyed your article. Keep up the good work.

    Fred
    http://eyesoncolorado.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete