Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (2001 TV Short) User Reviews (4)

A clever reimagining of a children's show into an adult comedy

[k_t_t2001 · 8/10 · 6 January 2013]

The original ELECTRAWOMAN AND DYNAGIRL was a very self-aware pastiche of the BATMAN series from the preceding decade. By airing as a Saturday morning kiddies' show, it was able to get away with being deliberately cheesy, campy and over-the-top in a way that other similar fare of the time, such as the truly terrible AMAZING SPIDER-MAN series with Nicolas Hammond, could not.

The producers of the 2001 revamp correctly understood that a direct remake of the original series stood no chance of success. They realized that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to translate the program's intentionally camp nature into something acceptable to a more contemporary audience, nor would a more realistic take, such as the DARK KNIGHT series of films, be of much service to the property.

Their final reimagining of the characters and situations was clever, entertaining and apt. In a period when so many "comic book" characters were being reinvented to exist in a darker, harsher world this was hardly a bold move. Obviously depicting the formerly ridiculously white bread ElectraWoman as drunken trailer trash, a decade past her glory days, meant that this new take was not intended for a new generation of kids, but to draw in the now adult audience who's younger selves had watched and enjoyed the original series. The result is irreverent, outrageous, entertaining and filled with series potential. Purists might be offended by the brash take-no-prisoners approach, but the majority of the audience, old and new, would have got the joke and been willing to go along with it.

Likely the pilot was rejected due to a lack of courage on the part of the network; a fear of the controversy that might result from not only skewering a scared cow, but from the risqué nature of much of the humor. While it can be lamented that only this brief tryout for a new ELECTRAWOMAN AND DYNAGIRL was ever produced, at least this much does exist so that it can be judged by the public at large on its own merits, which are considerable, rather than on the hearsay of second and third hand reports.

Look for the video online and decide for yourself.

Should have been picked up as a series

[nameless_monster · 24 January 2005]

I managed to acquire a copy of the presentation/pilot for the proposed series of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl (starring Markie Post). I was very impressed. The show took all the best parts of the original series and ditched a lot of the bad ones. Having Electra Woman/Lori be a drunken sleaze that lives in a trailer was so funny (she became that way because DynaGirl/Judy became a supermodel and left with Electra Woman's husband). Overall, the show was VERY entertaining and I could definitely see where it was headed. From what I understand, villains from the old series were supposed to return (I know there was talk of the return of Glitter Rock) and the biggest villain to come to the show was going to be the ORIGINAL DynaGirl (they were going to see about getting Judy Strangis to reprise the show - now what could be cooler than THAT?!). I think the cult status the original series has gained would have attracted an audience; but the show itself would have carried it beyond that. It was almost like showing you the grown-up version of the show now that we're older. The Network Definitely missed out by not picking up this show. This was done in 2001 and the new series costumes were sold at an auction - I doubt there's going to be a second chance for this,... pity.

Electra-Awesome!

[VinnieRattolle · 10/10 · 7 July 2007]

When it comes to updates and remakes, I'm usually not a fan. But oddly, in early 2001 when I heard that they were remaking "Electra Woman" with Markie Post, I was pretty stoked. A quick search on the net pulled back a photo of Post in costume and that heightened my enthusiasm. Unfortunately, when it came time for the networks to announce the new fall schedule, "Electra Woman" wasn't on it. The pilot episode, apparently, later made the rounds -- I just found it on YouTube. Man, the (now defunct) WB missed an opportunity with this one!

Since online videos have a short life expectancy, here's major SPOILERS: It begins at a carnival in the '80s. When an accident on a ferris wheel leaves a little girl hanging on for dear life, it's Electra Woman to the rescue! Cut to present day and the little girl, Judy (!), seeks out her heroine, and finds that Lori (Electra Woman) is now an alcoholic living in a run-down trailer. Judy tries to convince Lori to revive her act, but Dyna Girl has run off with Electra Woman's ex-husband. So Judy dons the Dyna Girl costume and books them a personal appearance at a "jewelry store" (that turns out to be a pawn shop). When thieves bust in brandishing a gun, they find their robbery attempt foiled by an out of practice Electra Woman and the new Dyna Girl! Soon Lori decides to finish college, so she imposes on Judy in her dorm room. Cut to cheesy animated wrap-up.

The pilot is pretty short, it runs around 13 minutes -- it's more of a pitch of what the show would be than your average full-length pilot. From the language alone (Post drops an f-bomb at one point), it's obvious that this version was never meant to be aired. While some purists complain that this version didn't have the family appeal of the cornball '70s series, I found that be one the pilot's strengths. Aimed at a more modern teen/young adult market, most wouldn't have been at all familiar with the '70s series. Much like the Deidre Hall version, this pilot didn't take itself too seriously, and it simultaneously payed homage to the original series and other superhero shows.

Since I've wanted to see this for more than 6 years, I figured it'd be a disappointment. But now that I've seen it, I'm even more disappointed that it didn't get picked up as a series...

About as vile as it gets.

[omega2064 · 1/10 · 14 July 2010]

In 2001 some git had the bright idea to perform the equivalent of character rape on the old Kroft superheroine series Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. That this actually got greenlit for production and aired somewhere bespeaks of just how must hatred someone must have had for the original series. I caught part of this on its original airing and could barely make it through the first 10 minutes!

***Spoilers may follow*** Where to start on this? Electra Woman is now some sort of embittered ex-heroine, divorced, her husband having run off with Dyna Girl no less. Sprinkled throughout the movie are more sex references than one would expect on a TV show such as the bemoaning of the loss of a vibrator! I kid you not. And this was originally a children's show that the writers are doing this to now.

The plot, such as it is, involves mostly the efforts of a fan trying to get Electra Woman to come out of retirement and the advent of a new Dyna Girl. Toss in an old villain for good measure.

There's really nothing to redeem this movie. It was made for people who despised the original so they could snicker and sneer at whats been done to these characters. If you are a real fan of the original series then avoid this thing like the black plague. It is a pity there is not a rating below 1 as this garbage deserves a -10.