Saundra Sharp Movies

The final season of The New Adventures of Wonder Woman finds the Amazonian-princess heroine (played by Lynda Carter) continuing to use her superpowers -- not to mention her magic lasso and her golden bullet-deflecting bracelets -- to fight for freedom and justice on behalf of the Inter-Agency Defense Command. Working hand in glove with W.W. is her mortal boss -- and erstwhile boyfriend -- Steve Trevor Jr. (Lyle Waggoner), the son of the dashing WWII pilot who first introduced our heroine to the world outside her home turf of Paradise Island. As both her "real" self and in the mortal guise of Diana Prince, Wonder Woman encounters a number of hair-raising adventures during the series' terminal season. Choice episodes include "My Teenage Idol is Missing," in which W.W. rescues a rock star played by a very young Michael Lerner; "The Deadly Sting," wherein W.W. tackles a mad scientist who has developed a method to fix the outcome of football games (the scoundrel!); "Disco Devil," an exposé of an extortion ring operating out of a trendy discotheque; with the legendary Wolfman Jack in a guest-star turn; "Spaced Out," featuring future Star Trek: Deep Space Nine co-star Rene Auberjonois; and a brace of two-part adventures, "The Boy Who Knew Her Secret" and "Phantom of the Roller Coaster." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Not to be confused with a 1945 film musical of the same title, Minstrel Man is a made-for-TV chronicle of two African-American entertainers, played by Glynn E. Turman and Stanley Clay. Confined to racist show-biz tradition of the early 20th century, dancer Turman is permitted to perform only if made up in traditional blackface--white lips and all. Clay, Turman's brother, is a Scott Joplin style composer whose outspokenness brings down the wrath of white producers. But his music helps foment a revolution in black entertainment, the first step in allowing performers of his race to express themselves on their own terms, not as a reflection of Caucasian stereotypes. Enchanced throughout by genuine ragtime tunes of the era, Minstrel Man is rousing, thought-provoking entertainment. The film was originally aired as a Mobil Showcase special in March of 1977. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Introduced by ABC as a series of intermittently produced specials during 1976 and 1977, the vintage comic-book property Wonder Woman didn't officially become a regular, weekly series until it was picked up by CBS for its second season on the air. Lynda Carter returns in the revised The New Adventures of Wonder Woman as the title character, an Amazonian princess with awesome superpowers who lives in the "mortal" world under the alternate identity of Diana Prince. But, whereas the ABC version was set during WWII, pitting Wonder Woman against Nazis and other such reprobates, the CBS version took place in contemporary times (the 1970s, that is). Since she is immortal, Wonder Woman has not aged one iota in the intervening 30 years -- in fact, if anything, she's more attractive than ever. But how could the producers maintain the quasi-romantic relationship between W.W. and her mortal boyfriend, dashing USAF pilot Steve Trevor? The answer was charmingly simple: in her "new" adventures as a secret agent for the Inter-Agency Defense Command, Wonder Woman would take her orders from Steve Trevor's son, Steve Jr. -- who is the spitting image of his dad (as well he should be, since both Steve Sr. and Steve Jr. are played by Lyle Waggoner). Other additions to the CBS version include Norman Burton as the IADC's head man, Joe Atkinson; Saundra Sharp as Steve Jr.'s secretary, Eve; and a talking computer named the Internal Retrieval Associative, or I.R.A. for short.

In season two's 90-minute opener, Wonder Woman manages to convince her mother, Queen of the Amazons (Beatrice Straight), to allow her to continue fighting the good fight in the mortal world, just as she'd done during the war years. In later episodes, W.W. finds that certain antagonists never completely disappear, as she comes face to face with a handful of unregenerate Nazis; she rescues Joe Atkinson's daughter from the clutches of a mind-controlling rock star; a series of man-made volcanoes threaten to decimate the Earth; W.W.'s space-alien friend Andros (played by Dack Rambo, replacing the previous season's Tim O'Connor) shows up on yet another mission to save our planet; the "good guys and good girls" try to thwart a plan to kidnap all of the top Olympic athletes; villains attempt to harness the powers of a youthful psychic for nefarious purposes; and in the season closer, "The Murderous Missile," W.W. adds motorcycling to her ever-growing list of awesome accomplishments! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Disregarding an unsold pilot film starring Cathy Lee Crosby as the title character, William Moulton Marston's celebrated comic-book superheroine Wonder Woman made her TV bow in the formidable person of Lynda Carter. Introduced on November 7, 1975, with the two-hour opener The New Original Wonder Woman, the ABC fantasy adventure series began its semi-weekly run on April 21, 1976. Initially set during the WWII years, the series chronicled the adventures of a legendary Amazonian princess who hailed from Paradise Island, where her forebears had fled from male persecution back in the third century B.C. Like the other female residents of Paradise Island, Wonder Woman had powers far beyond those of ordinary women, and was decked out with gold bracelets and a golden belt containing the miracle metal Feminum, enabling her to deflect bullets with her wrists. She also possessed a golden lasso with which she "wrangled" various villains. Assuming the "mortal" identity of Diana Prince, Wonder Woman joined the U.S. army air corps as a yeoman, the better to be near handsome pilot Major Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner), whom she'd met when his plane crash-landed on Paradise Island. Since "Diana" wore glasses and dressed more modestly than her "real" self, Steve never quite caught on that she and Wonder Woman were one in the same. Most of the first-season episodes found Diana Prince helping Steve battle Nazi spies and saboteurs, with our heroine transforming herself into Wonder Woman by twirling around and around at super speed. These early episodes also featured Wonder Woman's younger sister Drusilla (aka Wonder Girl), played by no less than Debra Winger; also, Beatrice Cohen appeared as Corporal Etta Candy, Diana's best friend.

When Wonder Woman moved from ABC to CBS for its second season, quite a few changes were imposed upon its format. First, the title was altered to The New Adventures of Wonder Woman. Second, the series' time frame was moved up from the 1940s to the 1970s, with Diana/Wonder Woman fighting contemporary baddies on behalf of the IADC (Inter-Agency Defense Command), headed by Joe Atkinson (Norman Burton). Finally, Steve Trevor was replaced by his lookalike son (and W.W.'s immediate superior), Steve Trevor Jr. (played again by Lyle Waggoner), who because Wonder Woman was "immortal" appeared to be the same age as the heroine -- or, more accurately, she appeared to be the same age as he. Other additions to the property included IADC's all-purpose computer I.R.A. (voiced by Tom Kratochzil) and Steve Jr.'s secretary, Eve (Saundra Sharp). In this revised form, The New Adventures of Wonder Woman survived on CBS until September 11, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide