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[02/01/11 - 11:58 PM]
NBC's "Wonder Woman" Pilot: 10 Questions Answered
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)

Please note: As a courtesy, please do not reproduce these comments to newsgroups, forums or other online places. Links only please.

LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- Pilot season is officially underway and once again it's the franchise updates, spin-offs and genre projects which have drawn the most attention. Case in point: David E. Kelley's "Wonder Woman" pilot for NBC. We've managed to read Kelley's 72-page script and thought we'd offer up a quick FAQ, including some new exclusive details.

As always, there's a lot that could change from this draft of the script and what ultimately airs should it make it to series. DO NOT READ AHEAD if you don't want to know. Also, this isn't meant as a plot synopsis, just a rundown of various elements at work here.

[UPDATE #1: Warner Bros. Television, feeling said notes were too spoilery, has requested this piece be removed. We have done so in good faith.]

[UPDATE #2: Warner Bros. Television, due to the abundance of similar reports before and after this was run, has subsequently agreed to let the post remain.]

1. What's the main thrust of the show? Meet Diana Themyscira. By night, Diana fights crime as Wonder Woman, a Los Angeles-based superhero. By day, Diana runs Themyscira Industries, which among other things, sells Wonder Woman-related merchandise to fund her crime-fighting efforts. And since the public knows Diana Themyscira is Wonder Woman, she's recently invented a secret identity, Diana Prince (complete with a Clark Kent-esque disguise involving contact lenses, glasses, pulling her hair back and a housecat named Desi), to allow her a more normal perspective on the world.

2. What does the costume look like? The script only details it as "a colorful spandex suit." It won't be the original, iconic costume though (don't worry, she still keeps it hung in her closet). Despite that look being the company's top seller, Diana insists her current outfit is a tad more appropriate.

3. What about her gadgets? The golden lasso of truth is there, as are her bullet reflecting bracelets. In lieu of an invisible plane (or being able to fly), Diana uses various sedan-sized aircrafts, made by BMW no less ("The Ultimate Air Machine").

4. Who's along for the ride? Henry Demeter, the CEO of Themyscira Industries who harbors a crush on her; Myndi Mayer, Diana's press secretary/best friend; Etta Candy, her cheerful secretary; and Captain Ed Indelicato, Diana's contact at the LAPD; are among the prominent roles, as are "The Animals" (Ryan Miller, Austy Lyne, Jennie Weeks), a trio of techs Diana uses for her evidence analysis. And of course there's Steve Trevor, the government agent who crash landed on Themyscira, home of the mythical Amazons; fell in love with one of them, Diana; and brought her back with him to New York. They've since broken up as Diana now operates out of L.A. and Steve is a lawyer for the Justice Department. That's not to say she's over him (or vice-versa).

5. Who's the main villain? Veronica Cale, head of Cale-Anderson Pharmaceuticals, who despite beauty and success that would rival Diana herself, can't stand our heroine and aims to take her down. Her plan: well, let's just say it involves pharmaceuticals.

6. Any other mythology teases? Themyscira is much like the island from "Lost": it's almost impossible to find. And leaving it comes with a price for Amazons: Diana's no longer immortal.

7. Any references to other DC Comics characters? Diana keeps a picture of her mother and sister on her nightstand.

8. Seriously, it features Katy Perry? Yes, Kelley throws in a running gag involving Perry stealing Diana's look in the video for her new single "Super-duper Me." Also, Diana has her own entrance theme for press conferences: "Wonder of You," as performed by Jeffrey McDonald.

9. Are there flashbacks? Yes, how Diana and Steve came to meet and fall in love is frequently glimpsed throughout the pilot. Myndi amusingly notes Diana literally fell for the first man she ever met.

10. What's the good/the bad/the ugly? The good: Wonder Woman gets to kick a lot of ass. The bad: Diana seems to sing along every time music is played. The ugly: Diana uses the phrase "we got bidness" at one point; and flip flops between being well-versed in our culture (Halliburton, Brett Favre) and having references go over her head (the aforementioned Katy Perry).





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· WONDER WOMAN (NBC)





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