Does anyone know the inside scoop on why it wasn't picked up? and not the, " cuz it sucked balls" reason.
you'd think nbc would at least try the pilot since 'the cape' and 'bionic woman' was given a chance not to mention any of the other failed shows nbc, and other networks, have put out there.
guess i'm just annoyed b/c i wanted to at least see the pilot. i mean, the money's put into it already, just finish up the graphics and give it a try
I saw it, and it was just poorly done. Too many changes to the Wonder Woman story, characters that you could care less about, the effects were unrealistic.
I guess this pilot will become a cult classic in years to come.
Because it is -
OVER
THE
TOP!!!!!!!!!!
I grew up with the original Wonder Woman aka Linda Carter and loved it as a child. I had the great honour of meeting Linda Carter a few years ago at a theatre in London. I can't remember now what musical the show was, possibly Chicago but i could barely speak through my tears of excitement at meeting my childhood hero. I would never have thought of myself as someone who would get star struck in my 30's over some one i adored when i was 8 or 9 lol.
I've been hoping for many years that WW would get remade or a movie version and as someone who likes to make my own opinion instead of blindly leading everyone else, i would love to see this pilot as it's not been shown here in the UK.
I can't find anything but 'video reviews' on youtube so can anyone point me to anywhere on the web that i could watch this pilot please??
I've found it in case anyone else would like to see it :o)
[URL=http://www.vidxden.com/r205r7ay81pq/wonder.woman.pilot.r.flv.html]wonder.woman.pilot.r.flv - 151.1 MB[/URL]
Im sad to say that after watching it myself everyone is right and it is *beep* lol. I don't think Adrianne Palicki was right at all and it seemed the writers have completely rewritten who Diana was a person. In the pilot she came accross as a power hungry psycho lol, not the amazonian princess focussed on justice. And where did they get the idea that everyone knows who she is, the CEO of some massive company selling bloody WW dolls ffs!! I'm all for bringing the story in to the 21st century but that doesn't mean you have to totally change who she is as a person!
It's a shame because i think there is still a place in the market for a female 'superhero'. As a huge Buffy fan i've been waiting for something to come along and take her place and if better writers were brought in who could stick to the fundamental's behind Wonder Woman then it could be huge but after seeing the pilot it's painfully obvious why it was never picked up.
I think the issue you an a lot of people are having with this show is that David E Kelley was using more of the comicbook Wonder Woman and not the Lynda Carter Wonder woman.
In comics Wonder Woman has not had a secret identity in over 30 years of print. In comics and even in the justice league animated tv show from 2006 everyone knows who Wonder Woman is.
Also in comics she does have an agent who handles are her merchandise which include her wonder Woman dolls and Wonder Woman comics. She even complains in comic to another superhero that she does not like her likeness in the doll and wants to be more involved in the approval process. She is not CEO of her company in comics but its not a strech to imagine why she is in the TV show
In comics she is one of the only superheros who will kill if necessary and does not apologise for it.
So basically virtually no real major changes from the comics.
The best thing anyone could have done is just take a wait and see additude.
As someone who has followed Wonder Woman comics for over 30 years I like the show a lot.
This post and the one below it seem to make the most sense. The portion of the public who does not read comics seem to have a certain version of a character stuck in their head. They don't get to see the up to date version of the character from the comics until that character has been around for 10 or so years. At that point, someone finally decides to do a new film or show based on it. Of course, the comics will probably shake things up soon after and the whole thing starts over.
Warner Bros approched David E Kelley to write a script for wonder woman. Since David E Kelley is known for Alley McBeil and other controversial characterizations of Women, the news of Mr. Kelley doing a script for Wonder Woman was big news in comic book circles and was perceived as a huge negative from the strong internet based wonder woman comicbook community and the aging Lynda Carter purist.
As a MAJOR DC comicbook superhero owned by Warner Bros Wonder Woman comes with a HUGE licensing fee. If any network wants to air the show they would have to pay the licensing fee. (pretty much the same reason Smallville has so many restrictions to avoid the licencing fee or have it reduced)
After finishing the script David E Kelley and Warner Bros began shopping the script around to networks. All but NBC rejected. At the time NBC was in transition to new ownership and a new CEO. They where and probably still are the lowest rated TV station so they needed a big hit and a big name to revitalize them. So they decided to give the script a shot and ordered it
At this point NBC was in a make or break situation. In one hand they had a potential HUGE hit. In the other a HUGE financial burden if the show failed to impress and they paid the dreaded licencing fee for Wonder Woman. Confronted with this dilema the DAVID E Kelley script was purposly leaked by NBC to a few comic book freindly online news blogs and organizations.
Directly comparing the TV show with the Comics with complete disregard to any entertainment value it may have, these online news organizations and professional blogs summarily ripped the script as not being worthy of even being in the same plane of existance as our universe much less on television with regard to the real Wonder Woman. Readers acting as sheep soon followed suit in the complaints without having read the script themselves.
The Script was revised, as most first draft scripts are, and the un aired pilot was made. Even though the the revised script which was purposly leaked by NBC again, it got better reviews, however the comic book internet fans where already in MOB MENTALITY because of the first script and where unwilling or incapable of judge anything for themselves especially after the first leaked screens and photos of the shoot were appearing online and the internet blogs and news sites made there comments.
Soon after the whole un-aired pilot was leaked by NBC to the online new blogs. This time they did not pan it completely but suggested that the depiction of Wonder Woman was wrong. However, some actually enjoyed it. Unfortunatly, the online MOB MENTALITY of comic book fans and Lynda Carter purist could not even comprehend any type of logical thought "This is not MY Wonder Woman they SCREAMED" after looking at 20 second to 2 minute clips of an unfinished unaired pilot of a show that was designed to last at-least 3 season (FACEPALM).
The practice of out doing there fellow comicbook fans and Lynda Carter Purists with new and witty ways to trash a pilot was much more important than any rational thought about how the story could potentially play out during the course of the first season.The online blogs and news websites could careless as long as the posts kept flowing on there websites increasing there potential for profit
So why did NBC decide to leak the original script the revised script and the pilot?
because the very large some of money that NBC would have to pay for Wonder Woman only comes into effect if the pilot was televised. By leaking the scripts and pilot they get the feedback they need so they can basically go throught the process of making the show and airing it (LEAK) without paying the licencing FEE!
So basically NBC hedged its bet in the Wonder Woman and won. They saved a TON of money. They also pretty much sealed the FATE of any Wonder Woman TV show Cartoon and probably Movie hopes. and it was all thanks to the Wonder Woman fans.
I have seen the pilot myself and I enjoyed it.
"NBC would have to pay for Wonder Woman only comes into effect if the pilot was televised."
Thank you!! That is the most logical point on why they didn't air the pilot that I've read. It blew my mind that they would spend so much money shooting it just to end up not airing it. But that makes sense!
It sucks that we won't see the what would've happened if they had aired it. Maybe it would have turned out to be good. I saw a retrospective on the internet community after they found out Heath Ledger was picked to play Joker in the Dark Knight (complete with screencaps of message boards). Everyone, it seemed, blasted that decision and predicted the movie was be a failure.
Ah well, here's hoping I get to see a live-action Wonder Woman sometime soon. The animated films/shows she's in are pretty good so I'll have to bide my time with those.
Yeah... the "if the pilot was televised" while a logical conclusion it is inaccurate. Aired or not, You pay for the rights to produce it. THIS pilot was a "NON BROADCAST" pilot. It was NEVER intended to be seen by the public nor cleaned up much more than it is. Its an investment by the studio to get an idea of how it the finished product would look.
It shouldnt blow your mind at all. wouldnt you invest a * relatively * small amount of money rather than make a VERY EXPENSIVE season commitment? This is the P E R F E C T example of why n.b. pilots are created. Imagine if they had a 20 something episode commitment and no one watched. It happens, of course, but this is a method of saving money. a sample if you will
"cuz it sucked balls"
President of the BSG Boards
I'm not sure why people don't think "it sucked" is valid. You do know studios make a lot of pilots that no one picks up. There was a Justice League of America movie that was bootlegged, it was horrible, I can see why it was never shown. You do realize The Cape and Bionic Woman plus Birds of Prey all flopped right? SO networks may be worried about superhero shows unless they're connected to Smallville, not a good show IMO but it lasted for years.
The thing is networks don't know what's going to fail, they didn't want The Cape to fail, but they spent money on a show with horrible rating, so they didn't get a lot of ad revenue which is a big part of network money, plus merch, but if the show isn't doing good people aren't going to be walking around wearing "The Cape" tv shirts.
Dave Chapelle was famous for being in pilots that never got picked up before his own comedy show took off. It happens, there is no great story, it's not like the producer slept with a network head's wife and they tried to kill each other. It's just a very bording mundane "wow this is so horrible let's flush it"
It sucked in not valid. Its subjective.
I think a lot of shows sucked that are picked up and a lot of shows that are great that get cancelled.
I'm surprised that no one on this thread commented on the fact that this NEW "Wonder Woman" wears LONG PANTS as part of her costume, rather than the traditional short shorts the original WW wore.
Remember Lynda Carter in those shorts? How can we forget? Even when the scripts were lame and the acting lamer, we could still stay awake by eying LC's magnificent thighs. I always thought that was one of the Wonder Woman character's great strengths. You couldn't turn off the show, because you were fixated on those long, luscious legs!
Now look. They've gone and taken Adrienne Palicki, who is a wonderful actress, and put her into a G-D PANTS SUIT! That, my friends, is no way to treat one of America's great treasures. (Make that TWO great treasures.) Wonder Woman NEEDS those fabulous gams to hold our attention.
You've seen pics of Ms. Palicki in her new pants suit costume; now take a look at her, posing with a fan, in the TRADITIONAL Wonder Woman costume:
http://imgur.com/3DtT3IU
Cheers,
Dan
God Bless America!
They should have let it air and let fans decide if they liked it. I saw the pilot and I liked it just fine.
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