NBC's Super Wise Decision NOT To Move Forward With the New "Wonder Woman" - Herbie J Pilato

Despite having the most buzz of any new pilot this season the David E Kelley reboot of Wonder Woman failed to win a regular spot on NBC39s Fall schedule According to The Hollywood Reporter this news comes after blah buzz and a dismal network screeningThe Wonder pilot produced by Warner Bros TV was a reinvention of the iconic DC comic in which Wonder Woman as played by Adrianne Palicki was portrayed as a vigilante crimefighter in Los Angeles where her alter ego Diana Prince was a successful corporate executive trying to balance all the elements of her extraordinary life Joining Palicki in the nowfailed pilot which was directed by Jeff Reiner of NBC39s The Event was Elizabeth Hurley Tracie Thoms and Cary ElwesThoms who would have played WonderPrince39s best friend Etta lamented on Twitter saying quotI am very sad that NBC passed on Wonder Woman But that just goes to show you There is no such thing as a quotsure thingquot in this bizquotTruth be told however I39m not sad at all about NBC39s decision In fact I view it as quite wise amp8211 and here39s whyWhen I first learned of the potential reboot not only of NBC39s Wonder Woman but ABC39s redo of Charlie39s Angels I was just plain shocked mostly because of the poor casting choicesI was reminded of what actor Richard Anderson once relayed to me Richard of course is best known for his iconic TV performance in the 1970s as Oscar Goldman on The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman he penned the foreword to my BIONIC BOOK which may be ordered directly via hjpilatoyahoocom Richard also had a recurring role as Lt Steve Drumm on Raymond Burr39s classic Perry Mason TV series Of working with the legendary Burr Richard said the Mason actor believed very strongly that the key to the success of any television show or film and play for that matter was correct castingquotIf you don39t have the right actor in the right rolequot Burr told Anderson quotthen you won39t have a hitquotSad to say this was the case a few years back when Michelle Ryan was cast as the new Jaime Sommers in NBC39s 2007 remake of ABC39s The Bionic Woman the original edition of which NBC had aired in the show39s final third seasonGranted there were many other issues with that reconstructed Bionic Woman and we39ll save the detailed commentary about that for some future post but the truth of the matter was this Michelle Ryan simply did not have the same warmth or natural beauty that original Bionic actress Lindsay Wagner brought to the initial Sommers seriesSuch was the case with the updated Wonder WomanPalicki is very pretty but she was missing the statuesque Amazonian and LyndaCarterquality beauty or hips required to play Wonder Woman and those in power in NBC ultimately saw that not to mention that there was a massive outcry from the public once new images of Palicki surfaced online showcasing her in a drab and controversial new Wonderless costumeSo again NBC ultimately wisedup and opted not to move forward with the revised Wonder seriesUnfortunately ABC is still flying high with the new Angels which will star Rachel Taylor Minka Kelly and Annie Ilonzeh all of whom will be lead by the new Charlie to be portrayed offscreen in voice only by Robert Wagner It Takes A Thief Switch Hart to HartWith the exception of the very smart choice to have Wagner quotplayquot Charlie or at least be heard as the Angels leader the remaining aforementioned actresses are simply miscastAs with Palicki and Wonder Woman Taylor Kelly and Ilonzeh as the new Angels are attractive choices but in no way do they compare or come anywhere near the classic iconic sophisticated and regal grace and beauty of original Angels Farrah Fawcett Kate Jackson and Jaclyn SmithThe Charlie39s Angels feature films of a few years back also made this same mistake Drew Barrymore Cameron Diaz Lucy LiuOnce more each actress is easy on the eyes But true Angel materialNot a chanceWhen casting those Angels feature films where were the elegant likes of Ashley Judd Catherine ZetaJones or Michelle Pfeiffer the latter of whom as fate would have it is married to Wonder Woman rebooter David E Kelly who clearly knows a thing or two about true beauty and should have known better when casting the new Diana PrinceIt39s such a shame that Kelly and all of those behind the smallscreen scenes of the new Wonder Woman and Charlie39s Angels just did not think and are clearly clueless as to how true star power and charisma is defined The Angels TV remake is headed by producer Leonard Goldberg and actress Drew Barrymore who produced and starred in the Angels feature filmsThen again maybe Kelly39s contemporary take on Diana Prince with that alreadycontroversial new costume warmup pants and all could have made it if NBC had given the green light to the pilot And maybe the recoiffed Angels will fly high in the ratings when it debuts in the Fall on ABCThen again maybe the modern Wonder Woman and her invisible plane along with the newdos of Charlie39s Angels will be grounded for lifeAt least on televisionHerbie J Pilato is a producerdirectorwriter and author of a number of media tiein books including Bewitched Forever and The Kung Fu Book Of Caine Life Story amp8211 The Book of Life Goes On TV39s First And best Family Show of Challenge The Bionic Book and NBC ampamp ME My Life As A Page In A Book He39s worked for AampampE TLC Syfy and Bravo39s hit fivepart TV series The 100 Greatest TV Characters Herbie J is also the Founder and Executive Director of The Classic TV Preservation Society a nonprofit organization that helps to close the gap between popular culture and education For more information please see wwwClassicTVPSblogspotcom To contact Herbie J or to order any of his books email ClassicTVPSgmailcomRead all Herbie J39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Herbie J39s Classic TV CornerCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerMediaBizBloggers is an openthought leadership blog platform for media marketing and advertising professionals companies and organizations To contribute contact Jackmediadvisorygroupcom The opinions expressed in MediaBizBloggerscom are not those of Media Advisory Group its employees or other MediaBizBloggerscom contributors Media Advisory Group accepts no responsibility for the views of MediaBizBloggers authors

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NBC's Super Wise Decision NOT To Move Forward With the New "Wonder Woman" - Herbie J Pilato

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