First prime-time superhero outing in six years
Television viewers on Tuesday, 12 March 1974, were greeted with what looked like a pilot for a future television series, and it would have a super hero for the first time since Batman last aired nearly six years before.
But first, a back story.
When Batman left the airwaves on Thursday, 14 March 1968, its ratings were not in the Top 30. NBC’s Daniel Boone was leading its slot, and the show that had dazzled audiences a year or so before had lost quite a bit of its appeal—and it was very costly to produce. But worse than that, the mood in the country had changed, as the United States had gone through a lot of civil unrest that summer of 1967. Vietnam was also taking its toll on the country as well.
And then there were THE assassinations in that horrible spring of 1968.
Fantasy was starting to lose it appeal, and Batman was an early casualty of that shift. Instead, viewers were gravitating to such shows as Dragnet and ABC’s The FBI. Granted, superheroes weren’t entirely banished from television, as CBS offered an animated Batman series that fall of 1968. But even that ended its run by 1970, out of concern over violence and its effect on children.
But things started to change in 1971. America was starting to calm down after the civil unrest. Yes, Vietnam was still going on. However, an interesting thing happened. ABC decided to air the 1966 Batman movie on Fourth of July weekend, and—aided by a strong lead-in by The FBI(!)—proved to be such a strong hit that the Alphabet Network decided to air it again on Labor Day weekend. And two years later, that same network began airing the Super Friends animated series that would enjoy a decade-plus run on Saturday mornings.
Which brings us up to the 1974 Wonder Woman movie.
Filmed (no doubt) in late 1973, this take on the famed superheroine was essentially based on the 1968-1972 Emma Peel version that writer Denny O’Neill helped to create (and regretted). This version is not the classic Golden Age version, but rather a sort of globetrotting female James Bond. And she’s blonde.
While for many Wonder Woman fans, this production was a letdown, this movie hardly qualifies as a disaster. For that, you need to watch the 1967 William Dozier Wonder Woman pilot film, which is … well … a horror film, to say the least (see below). At least, this production was more serious.
The movie’s plot line is a good one, and Cathy Lee Crosby manages to do the role justice. She DOES embody the essential qualities of Wonder Woman well, and her athletic background serves her well. Special praise goes out to the late Ricardo Montalban, who play the white-suited main villain. He truly does a memorable job. Other cast members do well, too.
The production quality is good. We were reminded of Quinn Martin’s The FBI, which ran on ABC when Batman aired from 1966 to 1968, and which was still airing new episodes in 1974.
Though this movie didn’t sell as a pilot for a series, it DID provide the springboard for 1970s television. ABC had wanted Wonder Woman to be like a James Bond-type agent, while Warner Brothers wanted to use the Golden Age version of the character. This 1974 version’s schizophrenic quality reflects this. But the idea of Wonder Woman endured, and one year later, a new pilot with a young actress named Lynda Carter was made. And we know what happened there.
One wonders if this 1974 movie might have had another effect, this time on Ricardo Montalban. He would end up starring as Mr. Roarke on another ABC series, Fantasy Island, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As per this web site, when Lynda Carter stepped up to the plate as Wonder Woman, Jill St. John would make a pilot for a Brenda Starr pilot filmed around the same time, but airing on 8 May 1976. That did not succeed.
And yes, this article seems like it’s going all over the place.
But given how conservative the television industry was 50+ years ago, just getting this production to its air date on 12 March 1974 was a positive sign. The live-action superhero show had indeed returned.
