"God forbid Wonder Woman should be perceived as human."
I didn't pay much attention when I heard a new Wonder Woman TV show was in production. She's never been a character I've been drawn to., though I did briefly look into the "controversy" of her costume -- both the changes in the comics as well as in the show. Apparently a lot of die-hard fans were rather upset by the color changes and by the wearing of pants (instead of what was essentially a swimsuit), calling it unpatriotic and other such silly things* (though it certainly didn't help that the initial costume looks like cheep, shiny spandex.
Yesterday, Bleeding Cool posted six minutes of scenes from the pilot episode of the failed TV show. Unfortunately I cannot show how awfully bad they were, as they have been removed due to copyright violation. So I will just have to explain.
They were bad. They were so awfully, hideously bad that they hurt my eyeballs.
The first scene had WW's alter ego Diane Prince in a board room arguing with executives over how WW is portrayed in her merchandising. She was apparently very upset by the focus on WW's boobs, as shown in a very busty action figure the group was discussing. The conversation stumbled awkwardly along until finally Diane Prince said, "God forbid Wonder Woman should be perceived as human," and stomped out of the room.
The second clip was of WW visiting a sick/injured friend in a hospital, a scene which was so painfully corny that I could not watch it. The final clip was of WW running through traffic to some battle or another.
And it's terrible. The style of the filming and the costumes made me think it cam out of the eighties instead of just this year.
Whether swimsuit or pants, in the end it wouldn't have mattered if the show didn't fall apart on just about every other aspect. It's one of those things that makes me wonder how movies and shows get to be so awful. There is an army of people -- talented people -- who work on these things, and somehow it doesn't gel and collapses. How is it that someone doesn't just say, "Wow, wait a minute guys. This isn't working."
But it doesn't happen, or maybe it does happen. Maybe they try to fix it, but every correction spirals into more chaos. The group dynamic of the filmmaking process simply implodes.
It would be easy for me to say that if the story had been handled in a certain way, then it would have worked. But it's not that simple. There are too many factors involved, too may points of view, to be able to present an easy solution.
It would have been great if they could have put together a good story for WW, though, because even though she's not my favorite superhero, I'm always in favor of strong scifi women on my TV screen.
*Personally, I'm a fan of the pants. For one, it makes her a little darker, a little edgier (at least in the comics, where the colors are darker). Second, pants appeal to my practical side. Now, I know that superheroes by their nature are anything but practical. But it's a pet peeve of mine to see female superheros strutting around in high heels and barely any clothes one, while their male counterparts are often hooded with practical boots and often full armor. I understand the aesthetic appeal of such nonsense, but running in heels sucks (try it sometime) and trust me when I say that flimsy straps or a barely there corset top will not do in a fight. The bouncing is uncomfortable and often painful, and having them suddenly come exposed is embarrassing. Those babies need to be strapped down.
Yesterday, Bleeding Cool posted six minutes of scenes from the pilot episode of the failed TV show. Unfortunately I cannot show how awfully bad they were, as they have been removed due to copyright violation. So I will just have to explain.
They were bad. They were so awfully, hideously bad that they hurt my eyeballs.
The first scene had WW's alter ego Diane Prince in a board room arguing with executives over how WW is portrayed in her merchandising. She was apparently very upset by the focus on WW's boobs, as shown in a very busty action figure the group was discussing. The conversation stumbled awkwardly along until finally Diane Prince said, "God forbid Wonder Woman should be perceived as human," and stomped out of the room.
The second clip was of WW visiting a sick/injured friend in a hospital, a scene which was so painfully corny that I could not watch it. The final clip was of WW running through traffic to some battle or another.
And it's terrible. The style of the filming and the costumes made me think it cam out of the eighties instead of just this year.
Whether swimsuit or pants, in the end it wouldn't have mattered if the show didn't fall apart on just about every other aspect. It's one of those things that makes me wonder how movies and shows get to be so awful. There is an army of people -- talented people -- who work on these things, and somehow it doesn't gel and collapses. How is it that someone doesn't just say, "Wow, wait a minute guys. This isn't working."
But it doesn't happen, or maybe it does happen. Maybe they try to fix it, but every correction spirals into more chaos. The group dynamic of the filmmaking process simply implodes.
It would be easy for me to say that if the story had been handled in a certain way, then it would have worked. But it's not that simple. There are too many factors involved, too may points of view, to be able to present an easy solution.
It would have been great if they could have put together a good story for WW, though, because even though she's not my favorite superhero, I'm always in favor of strong scifi women on my TV screen.
*Personally, I'm a fan of the pants. For one, it makes her a little darker, a little edgier (at least in the comics, where the colors are darker). Second, pants appeal to my practical side. Now, I know that superheroes by their nature are anything but practical. But it's a pet peeve of mine to see female superheros strutting around in high heels and barely any clothes one, while their male counterparts are often hooded with practical boots and often full armor. I understand the aesthetic appeal of such nonsense, but running in heels sucks (try it sometime) and trust me when I say that flimsy straps or a barely there corset top will not do in a fight. The bouncing is uncomfortable and often painful, and having them suddenly come exposed is embarrassing. Those babies need to be strapped down.