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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Wonder Woman-Complete Second Season (1977)

Wonder Woman-Complete Second Season (1977)

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Released 15-Aug-2005

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Action Main Menu Audio
Featurette-Revolutionizing A Classic: From Comic Book To Television
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 1977
Running Time 1045:40 (Case: 642)
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered
Multi Disc Set (5)
Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4,5 Directed By Jack Arnold
Ray Austin
Bruce Bilson
Michael Caffey
Studio
Distributor

Warner Home Video
Starring Lynda Carter
Case ?
RPI $59.95 Music Charles Fox
Johnny Harris
Artie Kane


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Frame English Dolby Digital 1.0 (192Kb/s)
French Dolby Digital 1.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio None
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures Yes
Subtitles English
French
Dutch
Swedish
English for the Hearing Impaired
Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

“...in your satin tights, fighting for our rights, and the old red white and bluuuuuuuue...”

    Here we go, straight into the second season of the landmark show that launched Lynda Carter for the small screen. However, unlike the First Season, the writers and producers of the show, and apparently network executives, decided to update the program for the modern audience and bring Wonder Woman into the 70s. Can you say “Groovy”?

    So instead of fighting Nazis (except for that appalling Anschluss ‘77 episode), Wonder Woman gets to take on terrorists, madmen, telekinetics, psychics and aliens side-by-side with Colonel Steve Trevor, Jr (Lyle Waggoner), the grandson of WWII hero Major Steve Trevor, and Agent Joe Atkins, not to mention a sophisticated intelligence computer called I.R.A.C. (oh, the irony).

    All 22 episodes of Season 2 are here, in all their glory. I won’t give you a full run down – far better summaries than I could provide can be found at TV.com amongst other places. The following is a list of the contents of the second season as set out on these 6 DVDs in original broadcast order (not their intended order):

Disc 1

Disc 2

Disc 3

Disc 4

Disc 5

Disc 6

Disc 7

Disc 8

    I like to think of this show as the pre-cursor to other shows with strong female characters in lead roles – Linda Carter’s Sarah Conner from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and later Joss Wheedon’s Buffy The Vampire Slayer and James Cameron’s Dark Angel (notice a trend with Mr Cameron?). The influences are all there, although those shows had far more attitude than poor Wonder Woman could muster. But, then, you have to take into account the limits of the time.

    That said, this show is still a lot of fun, and the later seasons are significantly better than the first. The writing is better, the acting is better, and the production values are higher. It’s not Dark Angel, it doesn’t even come close, but I’m still a big fan. If you like those classic 70s shows, and are a fan of strong female characters, this is one show you don’t want to miss...

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Like the First Season, the transfer here is in its original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1, Full Frame, non-16x9 enhanced. It’s also pretty good for a show of this age.

    Colour saturation is very good and well balanced.

    There is still a touch of graininess, particularly in the darker scenes, but this is an improvement on the First Season.

    There are no MPEG artefacts, and only some minor film-to-video transfer artefacts –background aliasing and occasional moire. It’s not distracting, and you really have to look for it.

    There is a bit of dirt on the print, but nothing horrific. On the whole, an exceptionally clean print.

    There are a variety of subtitles listed above. They are white with a black/grey border. The English subtitles are quite accurate.

    Although there are only 3 episodes per disc, again I didn’t spot one dual layer pause. So either: (a) I’m going blind; (b) there are no dual layer pauses, (c) the dual layer pauses are in between the episodes somewhere; or (d) the dual layer pauses are so subtle I can’t see them, perhaps hidden in one of the many fade-to-blacks for ads.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Audio is available in English and French 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono track encoded at 192Kb/s. I listened to the English track and sampled the French track.

    This is another great mono track, with clear dialogue, good range and decent effects. Any sync faults are faults of the source.

    Sadly, there is no surround or subwoofer use.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Menus

    All menus are presented in 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with a 2.0 Dolby Stereo audio. The other menus are static and silent.

Featurette: “Revolutionizing A Classic: From Comic Book To Television” (11:23) (Disc 6)

    Presented in 1.33:1, Full Frame, 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo, this is a good documentary looking at the original Wonder Woman comic book.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    I do not have an R1 copy for an exact comparison, but from what I can tell the content is identical, aside from the NTSC picture format and the region coding. Buy whichever is cheapest.

Summary

    Wonder Woman is more than a show, it’s an institution. It puts that latest Superman incarnation to shame.

    The DVD set is seriously not bad. Nice work Warner Home Video.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Edward McKenzie (I am Jack's raging bio...)
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Review Equipment
DVDMomitsu V880N Deluxe, using DVI output
DisplaySony VPL-HS50 LCD Cineza Projector with HP 80" Widescreen (16:9) HDTV Mobile Projector Screen. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials.
AmplificationMarantz SR7000
SpeakersDigital Accoustics Emerald 703G - Centre, Front Left & Right, Rear Left & Right Satellites, Subwoofer

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