What Went Wrong?

About This Column::

Good ideas, good qualities...BAD flaws; that's the trouble with many promising entertainment products. Every once in a while there's that one product (movie, television, video, or game) which had it all --concept, sound, visuals-- yet fell like a rock because of a few grating mistakes. Techtite's "What Went Wrong?" commentary examines such titles.

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Earlier What Went Wrong Columns :

---Trespasser (PC)

---Quantum Leap (TV)

---Quest for Glory 3: Wages of War

---Living Dolls (TV)

---3Dfx (!!!)

---Phantasmagoria

---The day this column went on hiatus...

---Roswell (TV)

---Mork & Mindy (TV)

For the current WWWrong page, click here.

An Analysis Column, by Techtite

The current entertainment product discussed is:

(TV series pilot, WB, 2001)

Cynics may say I'm reaching here. Maybe I am. However, as a child of the 1970's (well, very late 1960's, though who's counting?), I found it amusing to discover that Sid & Marty Krofft, the mainstays of 1970's children's TV, attempted a 2001 remake of their popular live-action comic book show, Electra-Woman & Dyna Girl. When you look at the barrage of comic-book related fare in movies and TV lately, it's surprising this pilot never even aired. It's even more surprising, when winners of this pilot episode on eBay all say they loved it.  What Went Wrong?

First, as always, let's cover the positives:

What Went Right? Let's be fair. Back in the 1970's, Saturday Mornings would've been a pile of stinking Dyno-Mutt droppings, if not for Sid and Marty Krofft. Their campy live action comic book shenanigans saved many a young Generation X-er from having to watch some pretty insipid cartoons at the time (many of which have been immortalized in the Techtite.com list of The Top Ten Cartoon Ideas Gone Awry). With lead stars like Deirdre Hall, Charles Nelson Reilly, Billy Barty, Ruth Buzzi and Jim Nabors, these Krofft shows were campy fun in an age when TV just couldn't get enough camp to fill demand!

The goofiest Krofft incantations were limited to little 15 minute snippets, and placed in what was called The Krofft Super Show. Although I liked the haunted house camp of Dr. Shrinker the best (with Billy Barty at his finest), I can see why people liked Electra Woman. After all, the title star was none other than soap opera fave Deirdre Hall, and she was dressed in super heroine tights, no less! Many a young boy probably reached their first signs of puberty thanks to a tight-outfitted Electra-Woman engaging in cat-fights with the latest spandex-clad villainess.

So, 2001 rolls along, and the WB network is looking for a few good men...or women. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had recently departed the network when UPN offered a check with more zeroes on it. Meanwhile, Smallville was a smash hit and people clamored for more comic-book related dramas...or comedies, for that matter. While I'd say this was a need for WONDER WOMAN --hello? ding, ding ding! Wonder Woman would make a FANTASTIC series concept! DO IT!!!-- the truth is, any super-heroine series attempt is a good one. Electra-Woman fit the bill.

The pilot was made, and it looked pretty good. Wisely, the formerly children-only series was revamped with a more mature, Smallville-type edge. Electra Woman was now played by Markie Post, who hasn't changed much since Night Court in the 1980's. The premise was that her ex-sidekick Dyna Girl dumped her for supermodel stardom, leaving Electra Woman a has-been wreck. In comes a teenager whose life Electra-Woman saved some time back, who wishes to fill the former sidekick's Dyna-boots. Electra-Woman and Dyna girl are back!

Well, sort of. I know pessimism isn't worthy of the "What Went Right" section of these commentaries, though suffice to say, only the pilot was ever taped. However, said pilot has been sold on eBay, with bids exceeding 100 dollars! Furthermore, everyone who has received the pilot --even at that hefty price-- loves it. That's a "What Went Right," for sure.

It's not like the WB didn't give the pilot enough leeway to work with, either. Since WB is synonymous with DC Comics, the series pilot had "actual" super heroes, both alluded to and in cameo. Superman is mentioned, the Flash flashes by, and Aquaman has a brief appearance as well. If the series was picked up, no doubt Adam West's Batman would've popped in, along with Teri Hatcher's Lois Lane, Dean Cain's Superman, and on and on. It would've been the best of both worlds: comic book camp, along with adolescent, sitcom fun.

However, "would've been" doesn't amount to much, leading us to...

What Went Wrong? For one thing: publicity. Little mention was given that this pilot was even attempted. This is far unlike shows given a much fairer chance, like Birds of Prey, which was mentioned in a TV Guide news byte as soon as the concept first hit the drawing board. Over a year after Electra Woman's pilot was already out the door and rejected, I engaged in a simple "Where are they now" search on the Internet Movie Database to see whatever happened to Markie Post. Lo and behold, she was Electra Woman in 2001. Who knew?

That's the point: few knew at all. Here they have this growing audience of comic book fans, in addition to Gen-X-ers who clamor for anything from their 70's and 80's youth. Yet the bigwigs at WB decide to barely promote the existence of this series at all. What's more; was the pilot even aired? If it wasn't for someone auctioning it off on eBay --and the winners screen-grabbing said pilot on various fan sites-- I wouldn't know about this pilot at all.

Not that the pilot episode was "flawless." Many fans of the original series (both of them!) think of Deirdre Hall as the definitive Electra-Woman, presuming there really is a "definitive" version of such a character. After all; Electra-Woman was never in a real comic book; she was more of an amalgam of 1970's comic camp, not a real comic book star. That said, I personally feel that Markie Post would've made a great Electra-Woman, which is to say she looks hot in the costume. To each their own choice, for who deserves to be in satin tights.

The story could've used some work as well. I can understand how Electra-Woman would've hung up her super-heroine outfit when Dyna-Girl dumped her for supermodel stardom, though would she fall off the wagon in the process? Supposedly, Electra-Woman became a Dyna-drunk as soon as Dyna-Girl left her. Here's an unknown fact of life that Hollywood never seems to get; alcoholism isn't to be toyed with. This is not unlike the mistake made by Markie Post's former Night Court co-star, John Larroquette, whose John Larroquette Show centered on his character's entry into alcoholics anonymous. Is alcoholism a good source for JOKES? No way. Was it any wiser in the Electra-pilot? Nope.

However, there's no denying that this concept had a really good idea at its core. With all the success of ABC's Alias, and the current crave for live-action comic book lore like Spider-Man and X-men, why not attempt a few comic-book inspired TV series? Bring back Wonder Woman, bring in Catwoman as a quasi-heroine, and while at it, why not give Batgirl her own series? The list goes on and on. However, sadly, for Electra-Woman the buck stops here, even if I truly feel that the concept itself had merit. Keep working on the concept of a prime-time comic book sitcom, WB; I'd love to see one.

---Techtite