Monday, January 24, 2011

Wonder Woman Picked Up by NBC ( It Will Probably Suck )

After a busy weekend I finally got back to some comic related news and ran across this article about NBC picking up David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman pilot.  At first glance, this news sounds great.  I like Wonder Woman.  David E. Kelley has created some great shows (Boston Legal, Picket Fences) and written some fantastic movies (Lake Placid and Mystery, Alaska).  The new head of programming at NBC is the guy who brought Dexter and Weeds to Showtime.  It seems everything has fallen into place.

However, believe me when I tell you this show will suck.  Last year, Megan Fox called Wonder Woman "lame."  Apparently, Lynda Carter was not too happy about the comment.  As it turns out Megan Fox is right, but for the wrong reason.  She said something about the invisible jet and how Wonder Woman's not invisible in the jet.  This comment makes me think her knowledge of WW is from the Super Friends cartoon.



Why is she right about Wonder Woman?  Well, pick up an issue of WW and you'll see what I'm talking about.  It's almost as if the fantasy of WW is better than what writers deliver to us.  I will make an exception here for some of Greg Rucka's work as well as Gail Simone's run.  As it turns out, there is a reason why the stories seem weak.  It has to do with merchandising.  WW as a character sells lots of stuff.  Pajamas, lunch boxes, halloween costumes, and much more.  DC can't afford to have their leading lady caught up in a story that might tarnish her character and their profits.  I wish I was the genius who came up with this theory but Christopher Priest, writer of one of the best WW stories I've ever read, wrote about it back in 2000 and followed up on it in 2002.  Check it out here:


http://www.digital-priest.com/comics/wonder_woman.htm

If you get a chance read Priest's take on WW that showed up in Legends of the DC Universe #30 - #32.  It's awesome. 

I have a feeling that David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman treatment was more Ally McBeal and less Boston Legal and that's why DC and Warner Brothers are OK with it.  That's also why it will suck.

No comments:

Post a Comment