Wonder Woman Anschluss '77 (1975–1979) Online

Where there's Wonder Woman there has to be Nazis off course! Once again a very real concern in the 70s with the rise of the neo-Nazi movement and many Nazis still hiding out in South and Central America, the Irish Free State and elsewhere . This ep contains the famous scene where Lynda Carter dangles from the helicopter rather than her stunt double, even today it's an impressive and gutsy thing to watch. One hilarious aspect is that the one Nazi who has had his leg regrown is the only one to be rather conveniently wearing a rather effeminate pair of shorts. Also they decide that rather than to just shoot Diana Prince they'll tie her up (again!) and set off some dynamite in true Penelope Pitstop style. We have the very unusual sight of WW disguising herself as a nurse, something of a rarity, it's normally Diana Prince who assumes the disguises. Does she kill Hitler? Arguably yes. We also have the most graphic ever example of her strength, able to defeat a tank. WW's return is worldwide news with her featured on the cover of Time/Tempo. Once again Steve's dad is referred to in the past tense whilst Jo Atkinson refers to serving in the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA. Anschluss is the term used to denote the unification of Nazi Germany with Austria in the 30s as featured in the Sound of Music. Interesting to compare this ep with some episodes of The New Avengers which also deal with Nazis, clones and suspended animation. It also marks the introduction of the unseen President (a southerner, like Jimmy Carter) briefing the team very much in the style of the contemporary Charlie's Angels. I always thought that if there's a new Wonder Woman series she should save the life of an unseen and unnamed US president who in the last scene is revealed to be Lynda Carter, the secretary from the 1940s now the most powerful person in the world. Steve actually proves himself pretty useful here which makes a nice change, acting more as a team with WW than just needing to be rescued. WW uses acupuncture skill much as Xena will later utilise. One scene I'd have liked to see would have been Diana meeting up with a US government scientist and recognising him as a Nazi war criminal she tangled with in the 40s, now resettled Dr Strangelove style in the US and his past covered up by the government keen to exploit his genius. 6/10

ME: I watched the second episode of WWS2. In South America, Diana and Steve discover a secret Nazi encampment who are cloning Hitler. But it's a Frankenstein type of cloning, where someone turns on a machine and 120 seconds later, there's a living breathing clone of Hitler with full intelligence, memories and personality.

J: Wow.

ME: The fact that someone has discovered the science of doing this is almost secondary to the plot. By the end of the episode, Steve and Diana are completely unmoved that this has been accomplished.

J: They were still trying to bleed off what worked from season 1. Hmm...how can Hitler show up in 1977...

ME: Human life is changed forever, and instead of being in awe of it, Wonder Woman blows up their lab and ruins it.

J: LOL

ME: Never mind this person conquered physics, science, and medical reality. He only had one leg and his methods allowed him to grow another one. This means nothing to Wonder Woman. It could heal amputees, change the lives of crippled people, even eliminate the concept of being physically handicapped in any way, and Wonder Woman decides this is not good for the human race and destroys it.

J: Did they try to clone wonder woman?

ME: No. If they had, they'd have had a race of cold-hearted, naive megalomaniacs who enjoy wearing costumes and making themselves the center of attention. Diana is clearly not possessed of a sound mind. A highlight of the episode was when Wonder Woman was forced to don a second disguise, as the Nazi doctor's "lab assistant". She removed her tiara and put on a white lab coat. She even got to salute "Heil Hitler".

J: She had to have the rest on underneath or she'd be a normal person.

ME: That's what I thought, too. Well, the belt has to stay on no matter what, or she's powerless.

J: Not to mention prone to sexual assault.

ME: It was rather impressive, Lynda Carter dangled from a helicopter for real. Wonder Woman illogically decided to follow the Nazis by surreptitiously clinging to the bottom of their helicopter, somehow without them ever knowing she was there. She also disengaged from it and circled the clearing where they landed, and they didn't see her do that, either.

J: She probably loved doing that crap, she was young.

ME: But this looks really dangerous, for real. I can't believe she did it. There was one shot where you could really see just how high up she was, they flew between these two mountains and it was significantly high. I was pissing myself, and it wasn't even me hanging from that helicopter.

J: Impressive, and all in that outfit, even.

Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) fought her fair share of Nazis during WWII in season one and here she is, only two episodes into season two, battling the goose-stepping Germans once again, only in the present day (1977). This time she and Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) are sent to South America to deal with members of the Third Reich who are trying to clone Hitler.

Like episode one, the plot here is incredibly poor, a weak TV version of Ira Levin's novel The Boys From Brazil, but it is star Lynda Carter who makes it all worthwhile, the stunning brunette looking incredible throughout. The highlight of this episode sees Carter performing a dangerous stunt, the actress dangling from a helicopter as it flies over a rocky landscape. Makes a change from having a burly stuntman take her place for the perilous stuff.