Early reviews of “Wonder Woman 1984” are in, and they’re rhapsodic.
Entertainment Weekly points out that critics are calling the sequel to 2017′s “Wonder Woman” “magical” and “an absolute blast from start to finish.”
The reaction is quite different from the one that met the first “Wonder Woman” on screen -- back in 1974, when mainstream culture typically viewed strong women with a jaundiced eye.
No, we’re not talking about the iconic Lynda Carter TV series that aired from 1975 to 1979. Not quite, anyway. We’re referring to the original “Wonder Woman” pilot episode starring Cathy Lee Crosby, who would go on to co-host the 1980s television show “That’s Incredible!”
When the “Wonder Woman” pilot hit the TV schedule as a stand-alone movie in March 1974, well-known United Press International entertainment reporter Vernon Scott made clear that the character (and the actress who played her) wasn’t a “tough” -- and that she might even be amenable to a dinner proposal from a mere mortal.
“She is tall (5-foot-8), and athletic Cathy is also extraordinarily feminine and single,” Scott wrote.
Cathy Lee Crosby
Still, the veteran reporter, who died in 2002 at 79, thought the odds were stacked against “Wonder Woman” becoming a series. “In all the long years of television, no actress has managed to popularize a physical woman who manages to out-muscle men, no matter how villainous the heavy,” he wrote.
In an interview, Crosby tried to downplay any threat the character might pose to male viewers, insisting that Wonder Woman was “not aggressive. And she should be cat-like in her movements, not muscular.”
She added:
“I hope this part turns out to be a female James Bond in action, and a real woman at other times. Her strength is her sensitivity.”
Crosby admitted she wasn’t especially invested in the character, but she still had high hopes she’d get to continue playing the role.
“I’d like to see this show become a series,” she said. “The main reason is that the salary is very good and a lot of people will see me in it.”
As Vernon Scott predicted, the pilot was not immediately picked up as a series, despite it airing in prime time and receiving a fair amount of publicity. By the time “Wonder Woman” did get the green-light from ABC, Crosby had moved on to other projects, leading Carter to step into the role. (In 1975, Crosby guest-starred on the supernatural-horror series “The Night Stalker” and other shows.)
“Wonder Woman 1984,” starring Gal Gadot, will be released Dec. 25.
-- Douglas Perry
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