Wonder Woman Returns!
In the 1970s,
Lynda Carter was fighting for your rights in her satin tights, at least on
Wonder Woman, the show that made her famous. The 52-year-old former Miss USA is content with her own version of Paradise Island these days — raising her two kids in Washington, D.C. — but she does take occasional acting work, including a guest spot on
Hope & Faith last fall. With the DVD of
Wonder Woman's first season now in stores, we fired some bullet-like questions Carter's way — and she deflected them even without her magic bracelets.
TV Guide Online: Uh, I'm one of those guys who drooled over you when I was a kid.
Lynda Carter: I think that's very cool. You know, I like Wonder Woman, too. I thought she was the bomb, as my daughter would say.
TVGO: Wonder Woman was kind of the full package, huh?
Carter: What I was hoping for was that men would see that women could be a lot of things: She was beautiful, smart and able to kick ass but also a good egg. It wasn't just about how she looked.
TVGO: How often do you hear the theme song?
Carter: It's kind of my "Hail to the Chief." They play it whenever I'm around.
TVGO: Who'd win in a fight between you and the Bionic Woman?
Carter: The Bionic Woman and I would never be fighting. We'd be on the same side. If they had to, I would say that there's no way that Wonder Woman could be defeated because of her heart.
TVGO: But could you take Lindsay Wagner in an arm-wrestling match?
Carter: Oh, absolutely. No question about it.
TVGO: As '70s superheroines on TV, did you have a competition going with Wagner?
Carter: Not really, no. As a matter of fact, she was my friend.
TVGO: How do I perfect Wonder Woman's signature spin move?
Carter: Honey, it's a secret, and one that I will never divulge.
TVGO: What would it take to get you back in the costume?
Carter: Oh, God! There's not enough incentive in the world. World peace? I mean, I suppose I could get into that kind of shape again, but it would be like what Brad Pitt did for Troy, where he took a year to get buff.
TVGO: While in costume, did you ever look in the mirror and say, "Yeah, I look hot"?
Carter: No. Unfortunately, I looked in the mirror and saw flaws. That's the way that it goes when you're young. Now I look back and think, "Yeah..."
TVGO: What's the least glamorous thing you did while dressed as Wonder Woman?
Carter: Smoke a cigarette, probably. That would be right up there. Very bad.
TVGO: How much would you sell the magic lasso to me for?
Carter: [Laughs] It doesn't belong to me anymore. It belongs to my kids. I couldn't sell it.
TVGO: OK, then how about if you just lasso me and, you know, make me tell the truth?
Carter: Well, I would have some really great questions to ask you. We could get into some real soul-searching. [Pause] It would be really fun to put that around George Bush.
TVGO: It would help the world. So I should just forget about the lasso thing, right?
Carter: You know what, you're just too young for me, honey.
TVGO: How often do people say, "Dude, there's Wonder Woman!"
Carter: It's a daily occurrence. Even when I think there's no way anyone can recognize me — no makeup, my hair's up, I have a cap on — someone recognizes my voice and says, "Aren't you Linda Evans?"
TVGO: In 1976, you did Battle of the Network Stars. Got any dish?
Carter: After my team won the tug of war, we all had champagne. I took the bottle and dumped it over [host] Howard Cosell's head, not knowing he had a hairpiece. He was so p---ed off. He was so upset. So every time I saw him at a restaurant in New York, I sent over a bottle of champagne. And he always knew who it was from.
