I have always loved Wonder Woman. Something about those star-spangled hot pants and that Golden Lasso spoke to untold parts of my prepubescent psyche. Oh, and there was also that little bit about her being a kick-ass Amazon princess who took out the bad guys. So naturally I loved Lynda Carter, too, and after hearing her thoughts on Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, I couldn't possibly love her more.

Last week, when asked offhandedly by Philadelphia Magazine what she thought of Palin being compared to her most-recognized character, Wonder Woman, the 57-year-old star pulled no punches:

Don’t get me started. She’s the anti-Wonder Woman. She’s judgmental and dictatorial, telling people how they’ve got to live their lives. And a superior religious self-righteousness … that’s just not what Wonder Woman is about. Hilary Clinton is a lot more like Wonder Woman than Mrs. Palin. She did it all, didn’t she?

Pardon me while I swoon.

But the daughter of Hippolyta wasn't done yet — not by a long shot. … continue reading

It’s Friday. It’s been a long week at work/school/that place you call “the office” that is really your best friend’s basement where you eat Cheetos and play Wii Tennis all afternoon. So probably the last thing you want to do right now is put your cranky pants back on over your uppity underoos. But I feel a little redressing is in order so we can give the latest Playboy cover the dressing-down it deserves.

Now, obviously, we’ve given a friendly AfterEllen.com how-do-you-do to the naughtiest bits, but you get the gist. Former Playmate of the Year Tiffany Fallon has been painted to look like Wonder Woman. The accompanying text (link NSFW) in the magazine reads:

“You know the painted lady on our cover as Playmate of the Year 2005 Tiffany Fallon, but to usher you into the cover story, Sex in America, we recast her as that champion of truth, justice and American Sensuality, Wonder Woman. Tiffany, a modern-day Lynda Carter, has been honing her TV skills. She appeared on TV’s The Simple Life with Paris Hilton, became a weekly co-host for the International Fight League’s Battle Ground and accompanied her country music star husband, Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts (Still Feels Good is in stores now), to numerous awards shows. What’s next? 'I’ve been filming The Celebrity Apprentice,' says Tiffany. 'At first I was intimidated because I was one of the youngest contestants. But I brought a fresh outlook to the tasks. I can’t tell you much more, you’ll have to watch.' If this wonderful woman is involved, we’ll have our eyes glued.”

Gosh, where to start? Never mind that she is portraying one of our most iconic female superheroes. Never mind that it’s meant to illustrate “Sex in America.” Never mind that she is taking skintight to ridiculously literal extremes. Actually, I really, really do mind all of those things. But what I mind most is the assertion that Ms. Fallon is somehow a “champion of truth, justice and American Sensuality,” not to mention a “modern-day Lynda Carter,” based on the resume presented in the blurb. … continue reading

As the linster blogged about a month ago, rumors about the casting of Wonder Woman in George Miller's upcoming Justice League movie are all over the blogosphere. Lucy Lawless, Victoria Hill and Jessica Biel have all been bandied about (and discarded) as possible heirs to the Lasso of Truth. Well, the latest name out there is Teresa Palmer, star of ... well, nothing, really, thus far.

OK, that wasn't really fair. It depends on where you live. Palmer is relatively unknown in the United States, although she did appear in The Grudge 2 with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Beals: … continue reading

Much as I love watching Katee Sackhoff chew up scenery as Sarah Corvus, I miss the campy nature of the original Bionic Woman. I'm a big fan of shows that don't take themselves too seriously. That's one of the multitudes of reasons why I loved Xena and Buffy. The folks involved in both of those shows could do the serious-make-you-think kinds of episodes, but they weren't afraid to poke a little fun at themselves either. I think that's also one of the reasons I lost interest in The X-Files after a time; they started taking themselves too seriously far too often.

Why am I bringing this up? Because I have started to wonder what happened to my favorite superheroes of days gone by, the ones that clearly were as capable of laughing at themselves as they were of saving the world. I remember watching Wonder Woman in her invisible jet, hearing the telltale bionic sound effect when Jamie Sommers broke into a run, and very briefly catching a glimpse of Electra Woman and her faithful sidekick Dynagirl. So, where did the ladies who portrayed these super femmes disappear to, anyway? Or did they really disappear at all?

Since Bionic Woman sent me off on this tangent, it's only fair that I start with the original Jamie Sommers, Lindsay Wagner.

These days, Wagner can be seen hawking sleep number beds (and looking less than enthusiastic about it, if you ask me) and tearfully accepting awards from the folks at TV Land. … continue reading