My Review of Wonder Woman (2011, NBC TV Pilot)

 

Written by David E. Kelley

Directed by Jeffrey Reiner

Diana (to Henry): "I never said to merchandise my tits."

Etta: "Wonder Woman isn't vulgar."

Yesterday I watched and reviewed the TV movie pilot for the Cathy Lee Crosby show that never happened. Now it was time to do the same to the NBC pilot starring Adrianne Palicki that also suffered the same fate. After watching, I can see why NBC chose not to continue.

To say this pilot episode was rough would be an understatement because it's fucking rough and often ridiculous. Sadly with the latter part, not in an entertaining way either. I found this to be quite a chore to watch.

First of all, Adrianne Palicki probably could've been an interesting version of the iconic character but there's so much here they doesn't work in her favour. Even for network TV, she's given not one but two very garish versions of her signature costume that looks like they had been pulled from a thrift store.

Then there's the overall characterisation. She's closer to the more mean spirited and harsh versions of Batman and was a bit too casual about torturing people for information and even killing security guards. This was all so she could get to the villain of the piece, Veronica Cale (Elizabeth Hurley), owner of Cale Anderson Pharmaceuticals. In some ways, Diana's almost no better than Veronica.

Diana's day job as Diana Themyscira, the CEO of Themyscira Industries had her mostly arguing about doll branding with her second in command Henry Detmer (Cary Elwes) and right hand woman, Etta Candy (Tracie Thoms). That was when she was publicly putting Veronica on blast and grudgingly working with police detective Ed Indelicato (Pedro Pascal).

Trundling through this episode, there's some horribly coordinated fight sequences, a young guy who's death propelled Diana into aggressive action and flashbacks detailing the break up of her relationship with Steve Trevor (Justin Bruening). Then Steve reappeared as part of the Justice Department and Diana realised he was engaged. She wasn't pleased about that news.

- Pedro Pascal would later go on to portray Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984 and yes that film's better than this pilot episode.

- We saw the Invisible Jet a few times in the episode as well as the Lasso. However we didn't see or hear anything about Themyscira. Cheetah was also name checked. There was also a Diana Prince alias too.

- Did Facebook pay them to promote their site so extensively? Dr Phil also had a cameo appearance in the episode.

- Chronology: Diana's currently located in Los Angeles with Steve having relocated there six months ago from New York.

That was a very ropey Wonder Woman pilot. In the space of 41 minutes I can see why this wasn't picked up as a series. There's just so much within it that didn't work and it likely would've cancelled after a few episodes had NBC even bothered to take it to a series.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of Wonder Woman (1974, TV Movie)

 

Written by Vincent McEveety

Directed by John D. F. Black

Steve: "Oh Dee, you didn't tell me. When you finally caught up with him, how was your bout with the dentist?"

Diana: "Painful. A little."

In a different universe, Lynda Carter might not have been the definitive version of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. Had this TV movie actually led to successful, it could've been Cathy Lee Crosby but things have a way of not working out.

Like the pilot movie that would come out a year after the release of this one, this ABC offering from 1974 kept things simple. If you're hoping for some iconic rogue gallery members, you're out of luck here. 

Instead you get a brief look at Diana's life in Paradise Island as her mother, Hippolyta (Charlene Holt) sent her to Man's World to make it a better place. This meant working as a secretary for Steve Trevor (Kaz Garas) and assuming the mantle of Wonder Woman.

The main plot for this pilot TV movie involved ten books being stolen from Rio De Janeiro, Paris, Berlin, Istanbul and London. They were stolen by the devious George Calvin (Andrew Prine) at the behest of the oddly charming Abner Smith (Ricardo Montalbán). That and the identities of thirty nine agents.

Abner wanted $15 million to be delivered to Nevada by donkey and George wanted to kill Diana. I mean, George really wanted to kill her and tried multiple times and failed each time. Even the assistance of rogue Amazon Ahnjayla (Anitra Ford) didn't exactly yield the results he wanted. 

As baddies, George was the most despicable of the bunch and his eventual downfall was rather satisfying. Abner on the other hand was almost too courteous in defeat. He was way too happy about being bested by Wonder Woman and even declared his love for her upon being arrested. It was very odd indeed.

- Diana was called Dee by both Steve Trevor and Bob (Jordan Rhodes). Diana's relationship with Steve was strictly professional.

- Kaz Garas who played Steve Trevor would appear in the Lynda Carter show as Lucas.

- Unlike the TV show, it seemed like everyone was aware that Diana Prince and Wonder Woman were the same person.

- Chronology: Present day and in multiple locations for the whole movie.

As a TV pilot episode, Wonder Woman could have maybe worked. I know Cathy Lee Crosby looked nothing like the character (and neither did her costume) but I thought she did fine in the part. A decent if not spectacular live action debut for the iconic character.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

Buffy Sequel Series - Pilot Wrapped, Subtitle and Further Casting Revealed

I didn't want to do too many blog about filming for the pilot of the upcoming Hulu sequel series to Buffy The Vampire Slayer but here's the last relevant round up of information to go over.

- Once again our main cast for now are Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Nova (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), Mr Burke (Jack Cutmore-Scott), Abe (Daniel Di Tomasso), Gracie (Sarah Bock), Larkin (Ava Jean) and Hugo (Faly Rakotohavana).

- The official title for the show will be Buffy The Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.

- Filming for the pilot has officially wrapped. Filming for the series will happen later on.

- Chloe Zhao (Eternals, Hamnet) who directed the pilot confirmed that the show will take place 25 years after the series original ending.

- Chase Sui Wonders will guest in the pilot episode as a vampire named Shirley.

- Other characters confirmed for the pilot are Mrs LaDuca (Merrin Dungey), Jessica (Audrey Grace Marshall), Cole (Jensen Gering), Carson (Kingston Vernes), Keiko (Audrey Hsieh) and Shaz (Winston Vengapally).

- Again will air on Hulu (Disney+ for international audiences) but a release date has yet to confirmed.

Right now, some snippets of the script have leaked and some cringe dialogue to one side, it seems like there's potential with this series. We're still none the wiser if any other characters from the original series will pop up but neither are they being ruled out for now.

Are you looking forward to Buffy The Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale? I'll be reviewing it when it does eventually release.

My Review of The Thursday Murder Club (2025)

 

Written by Katy Brand And Suzanne Heathcote

Directed by Chris Columbus

Joyce: "Who's us?"

Elizabeth: "I'm sorry, how rude of me. We're the Thursday Murder Club."

During the weekend, I wanted something a little fun but not a straight up comedy. In a lot of ways, this latest release from Netflix was the perfect thing to watch.

You've got a posh retirement community named Cooper's Chase and in it, you've got four leads who made up the titular club. They're an eclectic bunch made up of a retired spy, nurse, psychiatrist and a trade union leader.

These characters are Elizabeth Best (Helen Mirren), Joyce Meadowcroft (Celia Imrie), Ibrahim Arif (Ben Kingsley) and Ron Ritchie (Pierce Brosnan). They're a fun bunch who like to solve mysteries with Joyce being latest member to join the group.

They also get the biggest mystery to solve when local businesseman Ian Bentham (David Tennant) threatened to tear down their retirement home for his own business needs. He's opposed by the home's owner, Tony Curran (Geoff Bell) and it didn't take long for Curran to end up dead.

Immediately that put Ian into the frame but it also had the Thursday Murder Club team up with policewoman Donna De Freitas (Naomi Ackie) and DCI Chris Hudson (Daniel Mays) to solve the case and save their home from being sold off. There's plenty of twists before the actual culprit, Bogdan (Henry Lloyd-Hughes) was revealed. 

During the movie while the main case moved along, there was the resolution of a woman in white with a fellow retiree knowing more than they let on. I also liked the inclusion of Ron's boxer son Jason (Tom Ellis), Joyce's hedgefund daughter Joanna (Ingrid Oliver) and Elizabeth's husband, Stephen (Jonathan Pryce), all of whom are great in their respective supporting roles.

- The movie's based on a book series by Richard Osman (who's married to Ingrid Oliver). 

- Jason's been doing celebrity shows since his retirement from boxing. Richard E. Grant also popped up as mobster Bobby Tanner.

- Ol Parker was the original director but was replaced by Chris Columbus after filming was able to resume, post writers/actors strike.

- Chronology: Present day in a retirement village in Kent.

The Thursday Murder Club feels like the type of cosy detective dramas that both BBC and ITV do in their sleep, albeit with a slightly bigger cast. It's a fun way to spend two hours and it's even genuinely funny and touching in parts.

Rating: 7 out of 10