Costume Problems

I never got around to talking about the Wonder Woman TV show costume because it premiered on a Friday. As you have all noticed, I am a terrible blogger and can rarely convince myself to post on Fridays.

Luckily, Scipio did talk about it. He's basically spot on. Every time I looked at the image I thought "that reminds me of something. And not something good." And it's exactly what Scipio says it is: one of those bad "sexy super-hero" costumes. Here are my main problems with the outfit, from top to bottom.

1. The Face: Now, this is not at all a remark about Ms. Palicki's looks She is certainly a very attractive woman. The problem is the way everything frames her face. There's something seriously off about the way her hair sits. The tiara isn't quite right, either. It's... Too insubstantial, if you know what I mean. And her lips are just a little too bright red.

2. The Bustier: Is that supposed to be metal on there? Because it looks like plastic. It should certainly look like metal. That's important because I don't think Wonder Woman is going to be running around wearing plastic. Same thing goes for the bracelets.

3. The Pants: The fact that there are pants isn't a problem. I like the pants. The issue is that they're too bright and shiny. The pants also look like they're made of plastic. That just won't do.

4. The Boots: First of all, the heels are too high. They can be a little high. But what she's wearing now is just ridiculous. Secondly: the boots must be red. This is not some slavish desperation related to the fact that Wonder Woman's boots are usually red. The problem is that there's not contrast with the pants.

Now, my opinions don't really matter. After all, I'm just one fan crying out in the wilderness. But for what it's worth, that's what I think.

Wonder Woman Pilot

Most of you have probably already heard that NBC has ordered a pilot for a Wonder Woman series. I'd like to say that I never know what to expect with this kind of thing. But the truth is we always know what to expect. In fact, modern adaptations of comic book properties inevitably follow one simple rule:

Stray as far from the source material as possible.

Apparently this new "Wonder Woman" is a corporate executive in Los Angeles. Of course she is. Does anyone remember the short lived Birds of Prey? television series? Of course not. It was terrible. And it was terrible in large part because it strayed heavily from the source material.

Why do people in TV do this sort of thing? It's as though they don't understand basic things like cause and effect. If something survives for sixty or seventy years with certain core elements intact it must be because those core elements are unappealing to the masses. Right? Right?

Maybe this TV Wonder Woman will be good. I'd love for that to be see. It would be pretty amazing to see a modern Wonder Woman on the small screen. But even it if it is good, I'm not sure it will be Wonder Woman.

Deadman: The Series

Geoff Johns asks: "wouldn't Deadman be a great TV show...?"

The answer? Yes. Yes it would.

Deadman has all the the features necessary to make a great TV show. Here they are:

1. Deadman: The Series would be episodic. A television about Deadman could easily fit into that most television of television requirements: it would be episodic. In each episode Deadman could be confronted with a new crime/problem/issue. He solves the problem by spying on people who can't see him and then possesses a few people's bodies in order to solve the issue. Kind of like Quantum Leap.

2. Deadman: The Series would have a running plot. It's common nowadays for TV series to have season long or multi-season long plots. While each individual episode has its own focus, there's an underlying story that connects them. The original Deadman comics were the same way. While Deadman tried to right wrongs, his main focus was trying to find out who killed him and why. That would work pretty well on TV.

3. Deadman: The Series would be cheap. Unlike a lot of super-hero stuff Deadman doesn't have flashy powers. His special ability is that he can possess the bodies of other people. That requires absolutely no special effects aside from maybe a CGI glow. This may sound trivial, but in this day and age costs are important. The fact that a good Deadman show could be made on the cheap is important.

4. Deadman: The Series would be comics! Comics are a hot thing right now. It doesn't matter what; people want that stuff even though they don't seem to actually want comics. Deadman fits into the scifi/horror/super-hero genre that is so popular on TV right now.

Clearly Geoff Johns knows something we don't. Clearly a Deadman series is in the work. I am excited about it, even though it does not yet exist. Remember: you heard about it here first.