The episode of "Amazon Hot Wax" was removed from the American syndication package due to a discrepancy over the music rights (ironically involving the songs recorded by series star Lynda Carter). The episode was restored to the series for the 2005 DVD release, however.
The only villains that appeared both in the comic books and the TV series were Fausta Grabels played by actress Lynda Day George and the Baronness Paula Von Gunther played by actress Christine Belford.
The following women all played the Queen Mother: Cloris Leachman, Carolyn Jones, and Beatrice Straight. All were Oscar nominees.
An episode entitled "The Velvet Touch," involving toxic makeup, was unfilmed because star Lynda Carter was a spokeswoman for Maybelline.
Tensions between series stars Lynda Carter and Lyle Waggoner grew to the point that as the series went on the two stars appeared in fewer and fewer scenes together. So that Waggoner's character would have more activity on the show, producers brought in Saundra Sharp to play fellow IADC agent Eve. Waggoner was to be completely written out of the show as in the last episode of the series Diana is relocated to the Los Angeles bureau of IADC. In recent interviews, Lynda Carter has denied any tension existed.
When western actor Roy Rogers made a guest-appearance in the episode "Bushwackers", he felt it was inappropriate for Lynda Carter to be wearing only a "bathing suit" so he had producers make her wear a solid red top and white chinos for every scene she was to portray Wonder Woman.
In the episode "Anschluss 77" (episode 2.2) the script called for Wonder Woman to grab on to a bar under a helicopter and hold on to it as the helicopter lifted 50 feet into the air. Actress Lynda Carter's stunt double shot the scene but as the camera was so close to the stand-in it became obvious that it wasn't Lynda. As the production crew was beginning to lose their lighting, Lynda felt she could perform the stunt on her own and told her stunt double to let her go instead. She filmed the scene herself, which angered the unaware producers of the series as Carter not only didn't inform anyone ahead of time, but did not use protective wrist guards what could have held her to the helicopter should she not have the strength to hold on.
When the son of Wonder Woman stunt double Jeannie Epper told his classmates that his mother performed on the Wonder Woman television series they did not believe him, even after showing them a photo of his mother in costume. When series star Lynda Carter was told of the situation, she took it upon herself to invite his entire class to visit the Wonder Woman set to see Jeannie perform.
Costume designer Donfeld had originally created a red, white and blue two-piece bikini for actress Lynda Carter when she was to perform as Wonder Woman in the water. When the finished bikini did not seem to stay on the actress during the required scenes, production opted to go with the full body wetsuit instead.
Warner Bros. attempted several spin-offs from characters in the Wonder Woman series. Actress Debra Winger was offered her own "Wonder Girl" series, but opted out as she wanted to perform in more serious roles. A similar series was proposed for actress Julie Anne Haddock for her role as the also super powered girl from the episode "The Girl From Islandia", actress Jayne Kennedy who appeared in the episode "Knockout" was approached to play another super hero, as was Bob Seagren for his role in the episode "The Man Who Could Not Die". Alas, the last three proposals never made it past the approval stage.
Warner Bros. attempted several spin-offs from characters in the Wonder Woman series. Actress Debra Winger was offered her own "Wonder Girl" series, but opted out as she wanted to perform in more serious roles. A similar series was proposed for actress Julie Anne Haddock for her role as the also super powered girl from the episode "The Girl From Islandia", actress Sheryl Lee Ralph who appeared in the episode "The Starships Are Coming" was approached to play another super hero, as was Bob Seagren for his role in the episode "The Man Who Could Not Die". Alas, the last three proposals never made it past the approval stage.
There have been changes in the original DC continuity since the show went off the air. Among these changes is the fact that Wonder Woman has no secret identity and is no longer an Amazon princess; she has relinquished the title. Unlike the original Wonder Woman (i.e., pre-crisis), she also has special super-powers that make her different from any other Amazon.
The first season of the series was set during World War II. When the series moved from ABC to CBS the next year, the entire format of the show was changed with the immortal Wonder Woman returning to civilization in the late 1970s and teaming up with the son of Steve Trevor from the first season (of course played by the same actor). Lynda Carter's costume also underwent some minor modifications with the changeover.
The dog Tiger used in the episode "The Girl From Islandia" is the same dog named Tiger from "The Brady Bunch" (1969) and from "Sigmund and the Sea Monsters" (1973) where he appeared as Fluffy.
Although Debra Winger made a sizable amount of money for her appearances as Wonder Woman's little sister, she actually spent most of it on buying herself out of her Warner Bros. contract as she had second thoughts on continuing to perform her contracted character of Wonder Girl.
When football legend Bubba Smith learned that he was going to be "thrown" by Wonder Woman in the episode "Light Fingered Lady", he said, "Ain't no way some white lady is gonna f---in' throw me!" Lynda Carter proposed that if she were actually able to throw him, he would have to continue filming. He agreed and was forced to finish shooting his scenes when Carter was able to flip him in place with one try. What Bubba didn't know was that Carter and the cameraman secretly signaled each other to shoot that first humbling test flip and it ended up becoming the shot used for the episode.
The character of Wonder Girl, played by Debra Winger during the first season, first appeared in comic books in 1965, though the nature of the character is quite different in the TV series version. Today, the superhero is known by the name Troia. A new Wonder Girl was introduced in the mid-1990s.
The first season of this series (1975-76) consists of only three episodes, including the pilot, which were broadcast as specials. The second season began airing in October 1976, and was shown on an erratic schedule (sometimes with only 2 days between episodes) until the season ended in February 1977. The 2004 DVD release combines both sets of episodes into one season.
Lynda Carter unsuccessfully tested for the first Wonder Woman TV movie that starred Cathy Lee Crosby.
Lyle Waggoner was elected mayor of Encino, California and served in this capacity during production of the series.
During the period when the show was set in the 1940s, D.C. Comics, the publisher of the Wonder Woman comics, decided to do a tie in with the series by setting the stories in the self titled Wonder Woman comic book as well as her appearances in "World's Finest Comics" in the '40s as well. However, this was the Earth 2 version of Wonder Woman. The modern Earth-1 Wonder Woman still appeared in the "Justice League of America" comics. Also, when the show switched to the modern day, the stories in "Wonder Woman" and "Worlds Finest" followed suit and moved her back to the present day.
The Super Loop rollercoaster shown in the episode "The Phantom of the Rollercoaster" is actually called The Revolution which debuted in 1976 at the California 6 Flags amusement park Magic Mountain. Coincidentally, the amusement park is owned by Warner Bros., just like the television series, and in the comic book portion of the park (Gotham, named after the city Batman resides in) you can still find rare Wonder Woman merchandise not commonly sold in stores.
Near the end of the second season, the series introduced "Rover", a small robot that became comic relief. Rover occasionally would go "Beep-beep!" to get people out of the way. The sound effect for this is the same as that used for the Road Runner in Warner Brother's Looney Tunes cartoons.
The episode of "Amazon Hot Wax" was removed from the American syndication package due to a discrepancy over the music rights (ironically involving the songs recorded by series star Lynda Carter). The episode was restored to the series for the 2005 DVD release, however.
Some of the sound effects from "Star Trek" (1966) (most notably the background soundtrack used on the Enterprise bridge) were used for various electronic and computer sound effects on this show.
The metal from which Wonder Woman's bullet-deflecting bracelets is made is called Feminum (in the original comics it was called Amazonium).
In the pilot and the first 3 episodes, Diana's transformation into Wonder Woman was accomplished by spinning her clothes off in slow motion. However, this proved too expensive to do week in and week out, so from the fourth episode on, they used the more traditional device of Diana Prince going into a spin, a thunderclap, a flash of light, and voilà - Wonder Woman!
Lynda Carter had $25 left in her bank account when she got the call that she had landed the part of Wonder Woman. She beat 2000 other actresses to the part.
Joanna Cassidy was considered for the lead role.
Lynda Carter controlled the flashes flying from her bullet-deflecting bracelets herself. She was holding a remote control device in her clasped hands.
Angela Bowie auditioned for the title character.
Wonder Woman:
No one can resist the golden lasso. It binds all who are encircled and compels them to tell... the truth!
Wonder Woman:
Show's over boys.
Formicida:
No Wonder Woman, it's just begun!
Wonder Woman:
Not all men are honest.
Queen Hippolyta:
Like your Major Trevor?
Wonder Woman:
Steve is cunning, but he doesn't have a dishonest bone in his body.
Queen Hippolyta:
You should know daughter...
Wonder Woman:
Mother!
Queen Hippolyta:
Drucilla, why did you put that grass snake down Magda's back? You know she's deathly afraid of snakes!
Drucilla:
But mother, you should have seen her face. She turned three different shades of green.
Queen Hippolyta:
We are not amused.
Drucilla:
You work for a man?
Wonder Woman:
Yes.
Drucilla:
So he tells you what to do and you do it?
Wonder Woman:
Yes!
Steve Trevor:
We'll always be safe as long as Wonder Woman is around.
Jim Ames:
And don't forget Wonder Girl!
Steve Trevor:
It's not like Diana to forget things. She's usually very efficient.
Baroness von Gunther:
Really? She seems so plain and uninteresting. Her coloring is rather like wet Bisquick, and I'm sure she's blind as a bat without those glasses.
Steve Trevor:
Yeoman Prince is very... hardworking and... totally loyal.
Etta Candy:
I don't suppose you could make it for three?
Diana Prince:
Oh, I'm sorry Etta but you heard Steve. He has important business to discuss with Peter Knight.
Etta Candy:
Business or social, I never get to go out for dinner.
Diana Prince:
Well Etta, I promise to take you out for dinner sometime, just you and me.
Etta Candy:
It's not the same Diana, I mean, you're not a man.
Diana Prince:
I've always been very happy about that.
Nazi Agent #1:
This plan is foolproof. Not only are we going to steal the formula right out from under the Americans' noses, but we will also capture one of their greatest war heroes... Major Steve Trevor.
Carlo Indrezzano:
YOU saved me?
Wonder Woman:
Yes.
Carlo Indrezzano:
Impossible. You're a woman!
Wonder Woman:
I have heard that once or twice before.
Andros I:
Tell me about your Paradise Island.
Wonder Woman:
Oh, it's beautiful. It's tranquil and peaceful. It's outside of time Andros. We cherish old ways. We are close to the ancient, natural order of things. We live together in harmony with our living Earth.
Steve Trevor:
My assignment is a logical military alternative and a patriotic necessity.
Diana Prince:
To quote Dr. Samuel Johnson: Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.
[Etta gets a wide-eyed look of shock]
Steve Trevor:
Yeoman Prince!
Diana Prince:
[angily] Yes sir!
Steve Trevor:
Dismissed!
Diana Prince:
Eye eye sir!
[angrily leaves]
Steve Trevor:
Etta!
[Etta jumps and looks at Steve scared]
Steve Trevor:
This is confidential.
Etta Candy:
Oh, yes sir! Absolutely!
[Etta leaves the office desperately]
Andros I:
We know other planets where atomic explosives were discovered, leading to war and destruction. But the planets did not survive. Now Earth is entering the atomic age and if you do not outgrow your emotional primitivism you will destroy yourselves and others. It is that we can not allow.
Paul Bjornsen:
The truth behind all power, all governments: strength.
Wonder Woman:
The strength of a frightened evil child too terrified to trust in gentleness.
Paul Bjornsen:
Gentleness? Only in paradise Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman:
I hope not.
Starker:
What do you mean "Prima Donna"? I always fly first class!
Fausta's Henchman:
Quick, tell me how do I make you helpless and take you prisoner?
Wonder Woman:
Remove my magic belt.
Fausta's Henchman:
Is that the key to your strength?
Wonder Woman:
Yes, away from my home on Paradise Island.
Fausta's Henchman:
Could this chloroform keep you unconscious?
Wonder Woman:
Yes.
Fausta's Henchman:
Sleep peacefully, Wonder Woman, you will wake in The Fatherland.
Continuity: In "Fausta: The Nazi Wonder Woman", both Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor are completely dry immediately after climbing out of a "water trap".
Continuity: In "Fausta, The Nazi Wonder Woman", there are two Wonder Woman transformations. After both of them, Wonder Woman doesn't have her bracelets, though she's wearing them in the following scenes. One of these transformation sequence is used again in "Wonder Woman meets Baroness Von Gunther".
Continuity: In the episode "Pied Piper" Hamlin Rule raises his left hand to his head. In the next shot, his right hand is raised instead.
Continuity: In "Séance of Terror" Diana's glass at the reception is less than half full from the front. The next shot over her shoulder shows the cup to be much fuller.
Continuity: In "The Feminum Mystique, Part II" an ore basket carried by Wonder Woman goes from nearly empty to full between shots.
Continuity: In "Wonder Woman vs. Gargantua!" an alarm button vanishes from the safe house room wall.
Continuity: In "Last of the Two Dollar Bills" binoculars used by Steve Trevor and Diana Prince have lens caps on and off in alternate shots.
Continuity: In "Last of the Two Dollar Bills" Wonder Woman is running behind a fence. In the close-up she's in front of the fence.
Factual errors: In "Last of the Two-Dollar Bills" set in 1942, Steve Trevor states that $2 bills are being removed from circulation. In fact, $2 bills remained in circulation until 1966 (and were re-issued starting in 1976).
Audio/visual unsynchronized: In "Judgment From Outer Space Part II" Wonder Woman whistles inside Andros' ship without parting her lips.
Continuity: In "Mind Stealers from Outer Space part II" Wonder Woman goes out onto Diana Prince's balcony to jump to the street but the jump is made from a window.
Continuity: In "Mind Stealers from Outer Space part II" four Skrill fire beams at a building from four different angles but the beams are parallel when they strike the building.
Crew or equipment visible: In part one of "The Feminum Mystique", when Diana returns to the apartment to find Drusilla missing, the shadow of a crew member can be seen as she walks toward the camera.
Boom mike visible: In part two of "The Feminum Mystique", as Queen Hippolyta is sending Diana and Drusilla back to America, the shadow of a boom mike can be seen over their heads.
Revealing mistakes: In "Mind Stealers from Outer Space Part I", Diana confronts two twin female Skrill in her apartment at the end of the episode. A fight ensues, and the stunt doubles are obvious in the major action shots.
Anachronisms: A map of Europe is shown in "Fausta: The Nazi Wonder Woman" which takes place in 1942 - however Germany, Poland, and other European countries are shown with their 1970s boundaries. If one looks carefully, one can even see the dotted line separating the post-WW2 East and West Germany.
Continuity: In the 2-part episode "Feminum Mystique" it is said that Wonder Woman's powers derive from her bracelets. This contradicts the pilot episode and other early episodes in which it is said her power comes from her golden belt.
Revealing mistakes: After Wonder Woman bends the bars open from her cell in the episode "Bushwackers" you can see the other bars beside it move at the slightest touch. Also, when she walks through the bars, they are no longer bent open but straight up and down again and Wonder Woman walks right through them easily.
Continuity: In "Screaming Javelin", Diana spins herself into Wonder Woman before entering the gym and the trash can behind her disappears.
Revealing mistakes: In the episode "The Girl From Islandia" Tina/Emma-Donna is off of her mark when the net is supposed to come down. She has to move her entire body to be directly under it. If she had stayed where she was, the net would have come down safely beside her. And although the net is supposed to come down upon her, the net can clearly be seen to be cut too short, and thus it would have stopped it's decent even if she wasn't trying to block it.
Boom mike visible: In "Mind Stealers from Outer Space, Part 1", after Diana pours drinks for she and Andros in her apartment, a boom mike drops into the scene between the dining table and the living room.
Continuity: During the opening scene of "Screaming Javelin", the villain is show parachuting into the US. Images of the stunt double show a man wearing an oxygen mask and a reserve parachute on his chest. But close-ups of the villain show a man without a mask and no reserve parachute - and a different helmet.
Continuity: When Wonder Woman runs, she wears flat boots. When she stands still or walks, she is suddenly wearing high-heeled boots.
Follows
The New Original Wonder Woman (1975) (TV)
Remade as
Wonder Woman (2009)
Referenced in
Three on a Date (1978) (TV)
George and Mildred (1980)
Purojekuto A-ko (1986)
Hotdog (1990)
- Mentioned in the movie.
"Tales of the City" (1993) (mini)
To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)
Free Enterprise (1998)
Desperately Seeking Helen (1999)
"Freaks and Geeks: I'm with the Band (#1.6)" (1999)
- Sam calls Bill "Wonder Woman"
"Family Guy: Da Boom (#2.3)" (1999)
- Twinkie the Kid played Wonder Woman as a child.
Hollow Man (2000)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) (VG)
The Simpsons: Road Rage (2001) (VG)
- The pimple-faced teen wants to go to the comic store and pretend Wonder Woman is his girlfriend
Tangled Web (2002)
- Parodies the TV show Wonder Woman
TV Guide 50 Best Shows of All Time: A 50th Anniversary Celebration (2002) (TV)
Demonlover (2002)
Surge of Power (2004)
- costume at party
Sky High (2005)
- Lynda Carter mentions a line about Wonder Woman, a reference to her past role
Teenage Superhero Pregnancy Scare (2005)
- Uses the theme song
"Game K N B: (2006-10-12)" (2006)
- mentioned in the question.
Featured in
Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1979) (V)
- Clips from the series were included in this video.
"I Love the '70s" (2003) (mini)
CBS at 75 (2003) (TV)
Spoofed in
They Call Me Bruce? (1982)
Spice World (1997)
"The Fairly OddParents: The Big Superhero Wish! (#4.1)" (2004)
- "Wonder Gal" is a spoof of Wonder Woman.