Why Lynda Carter Got In Trouble For Her Wonder Woman Helicopter Stunt
Vintage hour-long shows from the pre-peak television era get an bad rap for being rigorously formulaic and self-contained borefests, primarily because they tended to run 20+ episodes a season and thus aren’t terribly bingeable in an era when too many people believe bingeability is a vital virtue. For example, “The A-Team” lasted five seasons, but each individual season lacked an arc that progressed from episode to episode. It was just five fugitive Vietnam vets evading law enforcement and, once a week, helping poor, victimized people fight back against gangsters, corrupt local government, and other small-time forces of evil.
On one hand, I agree that shows like “The A-Team,” “Riptide,” and “Hunter” are nowadays nostalgia pieces that don’t have a lot to offer narratively or thematically. They were designed to be easily digestible for hard working folks craving an escape from their nine-to-five drudgery. They did the trick, and, outside of reboots or film adaptations, aren’t acquiring new fans.
This is understandable, but there are still good reasons to throw on a 1950s-1980s hour-long in this age of sophisticated TV storytelling. The plots may be overly familiar and the jokes may be eye-rollingly corny, but the action-driven shows were hugely underrated showcases for top-tier stunt crews. We’re talking folks who worked closely together for months on end, and knew exactly how to execute complicated set pieces involving car crashes, narrowly escaped explosions and, oh yeah, helicopters. Helicopters were a huge freaking deal in the 1970s and ’80s. They were so cool, that sometimes even the stars had to get in on the hair-raising fun.
And when Lynda Carter spied the opportunity to get in on the whirlybird action, she literally grabbed onto it and didn’t let go … at least not right away!
Why Lynda Carter Got In Trouble For Her Wonder Woman Helicopter Stunt
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