Cool News
A Fellow At Bleeding Cool Has Read NBC's David E. Kelley WONDER WOMAN Pilot Script!!
Details have emerged on NBC’s “Wonder Woman” pilot scripted by David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal,” “Harry’s Law”). A few revelations:
* There is a secret identity. The whole world knows Wonder Woman as Diana Themyscyra, superpowered head of Themiscyra Industries, but she’ll also don spectacles to go undercover as Diana Prince.
* Diana funds a basement full of helpful nerds.
* Diana flies a fleet of multicolored airplanes, but no one bumps into anything invisible.
* Pilot Steve Trevor (first appearance: All Star Comics #8, December 1941) crashed on Themyscyra and brought Diana to New York long ago, but the pair are estranged as the series begins.
* Diana apparently dons the classic star-spangled bottoms twice in the pilot.
* Her best friend is Myndi Mayer (a publicist introduced during 1987’s “Gods and Mortals” reboot storyline).
* Her big bad is Luthor-ish rival industrialist and superscientist Veronica Cale (first appearance: #196, November 2003).
* Etta Candy (first appearance: Sensation Comics #2, February 1942) turns up.
* Kelley hopes to stick a load of pop songs – everything from Blondie’s “One Way Or Another” to Beyonce’s “All The Single Ladies” – in the pilot.
* One character uses the word “fuck” and another makes an obscene gesture. One assumes these will be censored “Southland”-style should the series ever find its way to NBC’s primetime schedule.
Is the pilot script any good? “Well, some of the jokes are good,” writes Bleeding’s Brendon Connelly, “but the general dramatic situation seems a bit thin, the character relationships are, to be kind, familiar, and there’s nothing in the plot that merits any special recognition. As Buffy-inspired as this script no doubt was, Joss Whedon it ain’t.”
Find all of Bleeding Cool’s story on the matter here.
Sorkin’s Latest: $12.99/$16.99!!
-
+ Expand All
-
Kelley was never the man for a good superhero script. He's the guy that gave us the dancing babies in Ally McBeal for crying out loud!
Why has DC Comics and Warner Bros allowed their intellectual property to be raped in such an awful fashion? -
Feb 02, 2011 5:22:30 AM CST
At least it sounds like Kelley mined WW's comic book history for characters
by prof. pop-cult
And he didn't just make up a bunch of new characters. So I say he gets credit for at least researching the history of the character.
-
I mean just remake the recent DVD toon movie as a film, easy-peasy, it's exciting, mythic, huge and has a lot of room for dramatic storytelling.
-
I'm looking forward to see what the chick looks like in the costume in the promo shots, but otherwise this sounds really, really bad. Lemme know if I should get it offa Netflix after the show is cancelled midway through it's first season.
-
...are negotiating points. When it comes time to send the thing to the network, they'll want you to remove a certain percentage of the "hells" and "damns" and definitely the "fuck." So you use it as a negotiating point to keep certain other things that you want which would otherwise ordinarily be censored. (The Heroes pilot script was FULL of profanity.)
-
Has Kathy Lee Crosby taught us nothing!?!
-
Lucy Lawless is still HOT on that Spartacus show (can't she do two shows at one time?). Rhona Mitra would look awesome as WW.
-
BOMMMMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBBBBBBBBB!
Nobody cares for Wonder Woman! -
Terrible. Sounds like female empowerment as written by a man or a teenage girl. And heading up a company seems to be the go-to occupation for superheroes. I get the feeling this is like Smallville McBeal.
-
With so many people despising him there's a built-in 'non audience' for this show. The only way I would watch another Kelley show would be strapped into a chair like little Alex enduring the Lutovico technique.
-
It's a couple steps above ARCHIE, but not by much.
-
Yeah, whenever my wife changes her contacts for her glasses I can't recognize her at all.
This shit didn't work for Superman. WTF? -
Why are you doing this to me, NBC and DC? A whole generation of viewers are going to think about this idiotic mistake when they hear "Wonder Woman".
-
"All the Single Ladies?"
Seriously? "All the Single Ladies?"
I'm going to a parallel Earth where Kelley has worked his whole life as an assistant librarian, and thus never had the opportunity to commit these horrible crimes. -
Just watch and see when its done. Plus pilots are very often a weak indication of a series quality, becaue they have to establish so much.
-
....mixed with David E. Kelley's patented "wacky workplace" bits.
Pass. -
How do they censor there curse words?
-
It doesn't sound too promising so far. Diana Themiscyra? What happened to Diana Prince who worked for the government.? And shes an industrialist? I think Wonder Woman, who is a princess, would not find that interesting. I know 1970s Wonder Woman may have been camp at times but at least it was fun to watch. Im going to miss Charles Fox's great theme too. I definitely dont want to hear Beyonce and Blondie. I know the theme will suck ass too.
-
We have finally made it! The days of our heroes being regulated to only Saturday mornings or cable kiddie networks have finally begun to end. Hollywood has seen that there is indeed money to be had from the popular comic book hero. Superheroes will be lighting up our movie theaters this summer and soon will take on our TV's as well. How long will it take before they get the sence of oversaturation?
There will be a few gems. However most of it will be, predicibly, crap. Crap crap crap. And I am going to point my finger directly at DC now when I speak about those who are pimping their respective properties to producers that will turn out less than stellar products. Everybody can clearly see Marvel getting their stuff together. Both in movies and on television. Slowly building a common screen universe that all their characters live in is both exciting to see unravel as well as understandable. DC, why the hell can't Batman and Superman and W.W. etc. share the same damn screen? That does not make sense. Everybody knows they know one another. People want to see them together. Batman is not going to tank at the box office if there is mention of other heroes somewhere else. If anything it would up the ante for our favorite Caped Crusader! How freaked out would people be to see Batman have words with Supes at the end of Rises! It's called positive buzz DC. You haven't got a lot of that right now. I want it for you so bad... I really do. Now we have this W.W. TV project that from the sounds of things will be horrendous. B list or obscure villains at best. Little continuity with a larger DC universe. Will probably be treated to a cameo by The Cape if we’re lucky. Not that The Cape is a DC property but they'll be on the same network. Go ahead DC and make a bit of scratch off of your super heroes while you can. More and more it is at the expense of the coolness of your existing DC Universe.
People are relational. What is making Marvel so fun to watch is their characters relate to one another. -
Silver Sable with Super-Powers.
-
...we can be guaranteed to learn a little something about ourselves and the world every episode, like fat people can be competent or it's okay to be a working mother or sometimes sticking to your principals is worth losing that big money client.
With any luck we'll be shown people overcoming their quirks (like having feelings or a vagina) to work together for a common good.
You Can Do It, David E. Kelly! -
Stopped reading right there.
-
"... everything from Blondie’s “One Way Or Another” to Beyonce’s “All The Single Ladies” – in the pilot."
Hey, maybe if there's a drug lord they can use the song "cocaine", or if she helps a boy & his dad reconcile they can use "Father & Son". After her boyfriend dumps her will she lip-synch and dance to "I Will Survive"? -
"Diana funds a basement full of helpful nerds."
SUPER GROSS.
No sale. -
Why not an in-house singer turning every song on earth into aural beige? Paging Vonda Shepherd.
-
And Hollywood's campaign to make sure no one will take a female superhero seriously continues. -
Does any of them hop like a bunny all the time. Next bad news is they're going to pick someone horrible to play Wonder Woman. Watch it'll be Michelle Ryan.
-
pop songs and nerds. Why?
-
Everyone bitches about not doing an origin story until they don't do one and everyone complains about that
Not that this couldn't easily turn into something absolutely awful, but I can at least see where they're trying to go with it. Think of it in terms of a sports movie
New (rookie / superhero) comes to town from a (small town / mythical island) and wows everyone. Lack of street smarts lets them get taken in by PR sharks. Original (girlfriend / boyfriend) who brought them to town gets shunted aside because they're becoming too materialistic. (Rookie / Superhero) starts to realize they've lost their way trying to be something they're not (superstar / industrial tycoon). Old (girlfriend / boyfriend) comes back to show them how to be themselves.
The archetypes really aren't that different.
Plus as someone once pointed out in a Smallville talkback "Wouldn't some jerk off from Smallville recognize Superman as Clark Kent from math class the moment Superman showed up on TV?"
-
Le sigh.
-
Not feeling it, won't last a season
-
Wow.
-
Why??? Why do TV execs, especially NBC, keep wanting to rehash old tv shows into new ones? They tried a Knight Rider remake, which bombed. A Charlies Angels remake is in the works, and now Wonder Woman. The comic books are great, as was the original TV series. Why not cancel this TV series and make a great Wonder Woman movie. Batman has had his turn (twice with #3 on it's way). Superman will be good again soon (maybe). Green Lantern is coming to the big screen this summer. But still no Wonder Woman??? As for what is reported about this new show: Don't try to make it funny. Leave the songs out of it. Nerds are only funny in titles beginning with "Revenge of the...". Please learn from "Heroes" and the tried but failed "the cape", and keep super heroes to the big screen!
-
... to illustrate an awesome opening for the show.
-
Feb 02, 2011 4:07:45 PM CST
She should also have a team of weightlifters in the basement
by yaroh_meringue
to do her heavy lifting for her.
One thing I love about Nikita on CW is that she does everything herself. She doesn't have some wisecracking douche setting up all of her equipment for her. She knows her tech, she knows her guns. She's the complete package.
It was kind of a false note on Veronica Mars when they brought in Mac as her computer expert because Veronica could handle that stuff herself. Then they ended up turning Mac into the best friend and that was fine. -
The pilot is a disaster and a disappointment. It opens with a young african american boy thrilled to be accepted to college with dialogue like "I'm going to college, momma. I'm going to college." "You sure are, baby. You sure are." Then his heart explodes. You see, he was taking steroids and they killed him -- because steroids are bad. Know what else is bad? (besides this script) Pharmaceutical companies.
The pilot story is about Wonder Woman battling Big Pharma (with senate hearings no less) touting how bad pharmaceutical companies are, particularly the one that's trying to make super soldiers with steroids. That's right. Super soldiers. They're taking the crappiest plot line from the crappiest season of Heroes and making it a tent pole for hack-work storytelling on Wonder Woman. Great job, David E. Kelly.
Also, Wonder Woman is a fool for love.
Pray this doesn't make it to the airwaves so someone else can do it right. -
Give up!
-
Make things that suck less.
-
...and all of the liberal characters will be savvy. Good to know we'll have yet another shot at Kelly's sleazy Hollywood left leaning politics in prime time. Pass.
-
Feb 02, 2011 4:47:46 PM CST
I'm not one to shit on something before even seeing a pilot, but...damn.
by cletus van damme
This could be worse than when Bo and Luke duke went away and were replaced by Coy and Vance.
-
This sounds like its a remake of the 70's T.V show , which is a deeply stupid move.
Why would anyone have to see this shit to know how bad it'll be?
"They" could have just gave us a great movie , but instead they want to make "Alley McGlee" meets "Highway to Heaven in heals"
*Vomit Splatter*......Totally patronizing. -
and he was awesome.
Attack Kelley for the preciousness of his writing, but politically speaking he's no Aaron Sorkin. -
I need a basement of nerds to write/spell my talkback comments for me...
-
put another crapton or reality TV in it's place! Please?
-
This sounds fucking terribad. Especially the whole 'fitting in pop music' crap. Ugh...There isn't a single thing in that description that sounds interesting or redeeming. I also never got the whole invisible jet thing, can't she fly already?
-
basement of nerds? She's a businesswoman, of COURSE she'll have an IT department.
music in the script? means nothing. Zombieland is filled with musical cues in the shooting script, and not a single one is in the movie.
-
and they stick her in a thong....i wanna see that fat ass jiggle
-
But it doesn't sound like superheroics will be prominent, and it sure has nothing to do with that Wonder Woman lifting the tank directly above. People who don't understand, or like, superheroes probably should stick to other kinds of shows. But business must rule. And the idea that everyone knows she has super powers trashes all logic -- she'd be constantly prodded by governments and individuals for favors and her family/friends would be targeted as bargaining chips. They figured that out with Doc Savage, for goodness sakes. I did like the first season of "Ally McBeal" though.
-
Reboot the script and everything about this whole idea. It sounds horrendous! And to whomever stated Rhona Mitra should play Wonder Woman-- God yes!
-
Feb 03, 2011 9:23:24 AM CST
Perhaps this will fare as well as the Bionic Woman retread.
by snake foreskin
That was failed from the start. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the last we hear of David E. Kelly. Okay, I am not that deluded. But it sure would be nice. How about casting Michelle Pfeiffer as Aphrodite or Athena?
-
Feb 03, 2011 10:02:17 AM CST
"I also never got the whole invisible jet thing, can't she fly already?"
by big jim
Yes she can fly, she just simply prefers to do it in a seated position and moving her hands as if she's steering.
-
Don't find her interesting at all. As an adult male, I find her irrelevant in an age where woman are getting fair treatment (here in the UK, in some cases, FAIRER) than men so this whole female empowerment thing she has going is pointless.
And also, whenever she opens her mouth with that "Great Hera!" crap or whatever the hell it is she spews out I roll my eyes. Don't own any wonder woman comics and the only time she ever works is as part of a larger ensemble.
Couldn't give a shit about this show. -
...why the FUCK can't someone make her an amazon bad ass? It's obvious that series about Greeks and Romans have legs, so do the myth thing and make Diana the superhero depicted in the JL/JLU toons.
Jesus Christ, doesn't anyone have the guts to take this character, do a treatment that remains somewhat faithful, and deals with the Greek mythological/Themyscira side? With fight scenes like those from Spartacus? With effects like Spartacus (whilst certainly not mind blowing, they are well enough to serve the story)?
Wonder Woman is not that difficult of a character to write. Fuck it. I think I'll write something and submit it, because I love the way Diana is potrayed in the Timmverse and there is big potential in that.
-
Feb 04, 2011 9:13:20 AM CST
Because network TV has to kiss the ass of Christian groups.
by cookylamoo
I mean, don't you think the writers of Wonder Woman would fill the screen with, nudity lesbianism and gore if they could get away with it?
-
Not sure what that means, but it can't be good.
-
i couldnt agree with you more i have always loved the plot of wonderwoman due to the rich greek mythology and her kickass attitude. This series is just gonna ruin her rep
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- THE DARK KNIGHT RISES TV Spot Has New Footage And Dialogue! UPDATED To Add Second Spot! -- 275 total posts 275 posts
- G.I. JOE: RETALIATION Delayed Nine Months...Thanks To A Force More Sinister Than Cobra!! -- 267 total posts 266 posts
- Gary Oldman Joins The ROBOCOP Remake! -- 139 total posts 139 posts
- Remember when I said I’d kill The Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day last? I lied. -- 137 total posts 137 posts
- UPDATE!! What The Hell Happened With G.I. JOE: RETALIATION?! -- 133 total posts 133 posts
- Cats Beware!! An ALF Movie May Soon Come Our Way... -- 160 total posts 114 posts
- Who Is The Voice Of Batman In WB's Animated Two Part THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS? -- 167 total posts 101 posts
- Quint has seen the brand new Jaws restoration and demands that Universal do a wide theatrical rerelease this summer! -- 81 total posts 81 posts
- THE EXORCIST Is Being Remade... -- 71 total posts 71 posts
- TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF SWEEPS AND THE SEASON!! Chat Here About The Finales Of REVENGE, MODERN FAMILY, MIDDLE, BITCH, IDOL, TOW, ROCKERS, SVU And SOLD!! -- 51 total posts 51 posts