document_title: Petticoat Junction

question_text: who played the bradley sisters on petticoat junction

root

text: Petticoat Junction

text: Premise[edit]

text: The show centers on the goings-on at the rural Shady Rest Hotel. Widowed Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) is the proprietor. Her lazy-but-lovable Uncle Joe Carson (Edgar Buchanan) supposedly helps her in the day-to-day running of the hotel, while she serves as a mediator in the various minor crises that befall her three beautiful daughters: redhead Betty Jo (Linda Kaye Henning); brunette Bobbie Jo (first Pat Woodell, later Lori Saunders); and blonde Billie Jo (first Jeannine Riley, then Gunilla Hutton, and finally Meredith MacRae). Uncle Joe, when he is not idling in his favorite porch chair, frequently comes up with half-baked get-rich-quick schemes and ill-conceived hotel promotions. Early on, much of the show also focuses on the Hooterville Cannonball, an 1890s vintage steam-driven train run more like a taxi service by engineer Charley Pratt (Smiley Burnette) and fireman/railway conductor Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis). It was not uncommon for the Cannonball to make an unscheduled stop for the crew to go fishing, or to pick fruit for Kate's apple butter and pies. The single-tracked Hooterville spur line was cut off from the rest of the railroad 20 years before the start of the show by the demolition of a trestle. Charlie and Floyd are alternately depicted as retired employees of the railroad receiving pensions and salaried railroad workers.  Many plots involve railroad executive Homer Bedloe's futile attempts to shut down and scrap the Hooterville Cannonball. Occasionally, youngest daughter Betty Jo can be found with her hand on the Cannonball's throttle, as running the train is one of her favorite pastimes. Trips on the Cannonball usually include a stop in Hooterville at Drucker's Store, run by Sam Drucker (Frank Cady). Drucker's is the local hub, where menfolk come to play checkers and chat. Sam Drucker is the postmaster, and his telephone is a lifeline for the Bradleys, Uncle Joe, and others.

tag: p

text: Setting[edit]

text: The Shady Rest Hotel is located at a water stop along the isolated branch line of the C. & F.W. Railroad.  Due to a trestle demolition many years ago, the line now is entirely unconnected to any other railroad; it runs between the rural farm community of Hooterville and the small town of Pixley.  Each of these towns is about 25 miles (40 km) away from the hotel, which is located roughly at the midpoint of the line. Kate Bradley says that her stubborn grandfather built the hotel there because that was where the lumber fell off the train. The town of Pixley, at one end of the Cannonball's route, was named for Pixley, California. A number of location shots were filmed in the real Pixley. The exact location of Hooterville is never mentioned on Petticoat Junction or Green Acres.

text: The Shady Rest is an old-fashioned Victorian-style hotel, accessible primarily by train (and a poorly-maintained fire road), where guests share bathing facilities and eat together with the family at a large dining-room table. Kate Bradley cooks sumptuous meals on a wood-burning stove, and her specialty is chicken 'n' dumplings. Meals were prepared for the show by property master Vince Vecchio. In a 1966 interview, Bea Benaderet said, "I suspect that Vince is better at cooking things like [my] mother used to than anybody's mother ever was."[2]

text: Regarding the show's title, Petticoat Junction, the hotel is located at a water stop, not a junction (where two or more railroad lines meet).[3] The train stop is nicknamed "petticoat junction" because the Bradley sisters often go swimming in the railway's water tower and leave their petticoats draped over the side.[4] The opening titles of the series show their petticoats hanging on the tower[5] while they are swimming offscreen.[6][7]

text: Show history[edit]

text: The idea for Petticoat Junction came from Paul Henning's wife, Ruth. Paul Henning said,

text: The Shady Rest was based on a real hotel in Eldon, Missouri, run by my wife's grandmother... that's where the hotel and the train and the whole setting came from, from Ruth's reminiscences of visiting her grandma.[8]

text: Ruth Henning told him stories of her childhood adventures at the Burris Hotel, which was owned by her grandparents in Eldon.[9] Once called the Rock Island Hotel, the Burris was located next to the now-derelict Rock Island Line railroad tracks. Ruth Henning's mother, Alice (Burris) Barth, also told her many stories about the hotel and about growing up in the small town of Eldon.[10] The stories of Ruth and her mother, Alice, became the basis of the show.

text: Linda Kaye Henning said that her father, "wrote the series for Bea Benaderet." [11] Paul Henning thought the show would make an ideal starring vehicle for the veteran character actress. Since the 1930s, Benaderet had played second-banana roles on radio and television to such personalities as Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, and George Burns and Gracie Allen. She was an uncredited voice actress for many Warner Bros. cartoons, and provided the voice of Betty Rubble on The Flintstones. She also played the semiregular character Cousin Pearl Bodine on season one of The Beverly Hillbillies. Henning felt that Benaderet had more than paid her dues and had earned the right to headline her own series.

text: During preproduction, proposed titles for the show were Ozark Widow, Dern Tootin', and Whistle Stop.[12]

text: Hooterville Cannonball[edit]

text: Motion shots of the Hooterville Cannonball were filmed on the Sierra Railroad, based in Jamestown, California. The steam locomotive used was the 4-6-0 (ten-wheeler) Sierra No. 3, which has the distinction of appearing in more movies than any other locomotive. Its first sound film appearance was in 1929 with Gary Cooper in The Virginian, and it has since appeared in many other Westerns, including a prominent role in the climactic ending of Back to the Future Part III. It was also used in such television shows as Little House on the Prairie and The Iron Horse. Today, the Sierra No. 3 locomotive is still operational and can be found at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park.

text: A full-sized locomotive replica was used for studio scenes in and around the locomotive cab. The prop locomotive was provided by the Hoyt Hotel in Portland, Oregon. It was displayed in the lobby of the hotel as part of the décor of its Barbary Coast Lounge, hence the screen credit at the end of each episode "Train furnished by Barbary Coast, Hoyt Hotel, Portland, Oregon".[13]

text: Cast notes[edit]

text: The only actors who appeared in all seven seasons were Edgar Buchanan, Linda Kaye Henning, and Frank Cady. Buchanan was the only one to appear in every episode. Linda Kaye Henning appeared in every episode but three, the first-season episode "Bobbie Jo and the Beatnik", the second-season episode "Have Library, Will Travel" and the fifth season episode "The Power of the Press". Edgar Buchanan, who portrayed Bea Benaderet's character's uncle, was only three years older than Benaderet in real life.

text: Veteran character actor Charles Lane played Cannonball nemesis Homer Bedloe in 24 episodes.[14] Lane said that he perfected his stern curmudgeon character-type on I Love Lucy; recalling in 1981 his many roles, he said "They were all good parts, but they were jerks. If you have a type established, though, and you're any good, it can mean considerable work for you."[15] The New York Times reported that Lane's persona was so familiar to the public, "that people would come up to him in the street and greet him, because they thought they knew him from their hometowns."[16]

text: In the first-season episode #32 "Dog Days At Shady Rest" , Higgins, the actor dog, was featured as "Sheba", the dog of Betty Jo's boyfriend Orville Miggs (played by actor Jimmy Hawkins). That episode gave the producers an idea. It was decided at the start of the 1964-1965 season to add a new character to The Shady Rest - a dog. As a result, Higgins became a regular cast member. His first appearance was in the second season opener "Betty Jo's Dog". In that installment, coming home on the first day of school, Betty Jo meets a little male dog who immediately attaches himself to her and the Bradley family. Kate, at first, is against keeping him but by the end of the episode, she is won over by him and allows him to stay. Also, in that episode, the subject of Higgins's name is addressed. At first, different names are suggested by the sisters when he first arrives ("Spike", "Prince", and "Byron"), but they never decide, so the dog at that time is not actually named. Eventually, the character's name becomes simply "Dog" or "Boy". Press releases for the show referred to him as the "Shady Rest Dog".[4][17] Higgins remained with the show until its cancellation in 1970. During that time, he won a PATSY Award, and he also was cover-featured on an issue of TV Guide magazine. Higgins had a close rapport with Edgar Buchanan. In the official cast pictures taken each year during the run of Petticoat Junction, Buchanan is shown holding or petting the dog. Higgins went on to star in the successful 1974 film Benji which also featured Buchanan in a cameo role.

text: Another new character was introduced for the 1964-65 season to serve as a female nemesis for Kate Bradley - Selma Plout. Virginia Sale briefly reprised her role in the first season of Green Acres (her character is not mentioned by name, but is listed in the end credits). During the third season, Elvia Allman (who had appeared in season one as Gladys Stroud) was brought on as Cora Watson for one episode (a role she reprised on Green Acres the same season). Starting with Season 4 (1966-1967), Sale's Selma was replaced by Allman.[citation needed] She appeared in 19 episodes in all, which extended to the end of season 7 (1969-1970). Selma's daughter Henrietta Plout (Lynette Winter) was introduced at the same time and appeared in 7 episodes over the next 3 seasons. Selma tries repeatedly to marry off the seemingly homely girl, the butt of many "plain Jane" jokes. In her next-to-last episode, Henrietta is given a glamorous makeover by the Bradley sisters and is revealed to be quite attractive.

text: Mike Minor first appeared on the series as Selma Plout's son Dan in the second-season episode "Mother Of The Bride" that aired December 15, 1964. After that episode, the character of Dan Plout is never seen again. Two years later, in the fall of 1966, Mike Minor rejoined the series as handsome crop duster Steve Elliott. Steve is originally the love interest of eldest daughter Billie Jo, but later marries (youngest daughter) Betty Jo.

text: The three Bradley sisters (played by Linda Kaye Henning, Pat Woodell, and Jeannine Riley) form a Beatlesque band called "The Ladybugs" with their friend Sally Ragsdale (Sheila James) in the season-one episode "The Ladybugs". They wear mop-top wigs and perform the Beatles song "I Saw Her Standing There" with the word "Him" substituted for "Her". On March 22, 1964, mere days before this episode aired,[18] the four actresses performed this same song as "The Ladybugs" on The Ed Sullivan Show.[19][20] Ed invited his viewers to tune in later that week to see the girls on their show.[21]

text: Frank Cady, who played Sam Drucker, was the only actor in television history to play the same recurring character on three different shows at the same time. He was a regular on Petticoat Junction and Green Acres, in addition to some late series guest appearances on The Beverly Hillbillies.[22]

text: Benaderet had played Mrs. Granby on the short-lived 1950 radio show Granby's Green Acres. This show was the inspiration for the Petticoat Junction spin-off Green Acres. The Mrs. Granby character was altered on television and became Lisa Douglas, played by Eva Gabor.[23][24] Jack Bannon, Benaderet's son, played small parts over the course of the show, usually as a boyfriend or date for one of the Bradley girls. Byron Foulger played two different recurring characters on Petticoat Junction. In the early seasons, he was banker Mr. Guerney, and in later seasons, he was train engineer Wendell Gibbs. Jimmy Hawkins appeared in five episodes as Betty Jo's love interest Orville Miggs. He also appeared in four other episodes as four other characters. Hawkins played Jimmy Stewart's son in the film It's A Wonderful Life.[citation needed]

text: In season seven, Steve and Betty Jo's baby Kathy Jo was played by Elna Danelle Hubbell. In season six, Kathy Jo was played (uncredited) by infant twins Heather and Barbara Whiter. Heather said her sister and she landed the role when their mother heard that the producers were looking for red-haired babies. She also said that she has no first-hand memories of working on the show.[25]

text: Cast changes[edit]

text: Billie Jo was originally to be played by Sharon Tate. Though a cast photo was taken with Tate, she never appeared in the show. Though long rumored possible explanations for Tate's replacement include the emergence of racy photos of Tate, the reality is that Martin Ransohoff, Filmways producer, felt she simply wasn't prepared for a central role, and her agents simply convinced her to pass up the opportunity. Billie Jo was played for the first two seasons (1963–65) by Jeannine Riley, who left to pursue a movie career. In the third season (1965–66), Riley was replaced by Gunilla Hutton (not present for 11 episodes), and for the rest of the show's run, Billie Jo was played by Meredith MacRae.

text: Bobbie Jo was played in the first two seasons (1963–65) by Pat Woodell, who left the series to start a singing career. In some scenes in a few episodes, when Pat Woodell was unavailable, Bobbie Jo was only shown from behind, with a double standing in. For the remaining seasons, the character was played by Lori Saunders. Woodell and Saunders resembled each other physically, but the character of Bobbie Jo was gradually revamped after the cast change, going from a shy bookworm to a humorous scatterbrain. The book Glamour, Gidgets, and the Girl Next Door by Herbie J. Pilato attributes this change in character to actress Lori Saunders having "a different flair for comedy than Pat [Woodell]." After Saunders took over the role, she at times gave her lines "a slightly daffy delivery." The show writers picked up on this and gradually changed the character of Bobbie Jo from Paul Henning's original conception of a brainy introvert into "a high-spirited, delightfully ditzy extrovert."[26]

text: In 1967, the show suffered its first loss when Smiley Burnette (engineer Charley Pratt) died of leukemia right after filming wrapped for the fourth season. During the show's fifth season (1967-1968), Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis) took over running the train alone as engineer and conductor. The absence of Burnette's character of Charley was explained by allusions in several episodes to his passing. Floyd was replaced the following season by Wendell Gibbs, played by Byron Foulger. During the show's last season (1969–70), Foulger had become too ill to continue and did not appear. Davis guested as Floyd Smoot for two episodes, one of them being "Last Train To Pixley". He was also addressed off-screen in one episode as an invisible character. Coincidentally, Foulger died on the same day that the final episode of Petticoat Junction aired: April 4, 1970.

text: Bea Benaderet, who played the main character Kate Bradley, died in 1968; June Lockhart then joined the show as Dr. Janet Craig, a mother figure to the girls, from 1968 until the show's end in 1970.

text: Changes in tone and characters[edit]

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tag: table

text: For the first three seasons, Petticoat Junction centered on homespun humor and the village's backward mindset. Beginning in season four, however, the show gradually took on a different feel. Stories began to focus more on the Bradley sisters, specifically on the romance of Steve and Betty Jo, who became key characters. The show became more of a domestic comedy.[27] Musical numbers and singing became prominent. Songs featured the Bradley sisters singing as a trio, Billie Jo solo, Steve solo, or Steve and Betty Jo as a duet. Sometimes, as many as two or three songs were in each episode.[citation needed]

text: The additions of Mike Minor as Steve Elliott and Meredith MacRae as the third Billie Jo influenced this change, as they were both accomplished singers.[28] The characters of Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo also changed. Billie Jo went from being a boy-crazy dumb blonde to a strong, independent young lady. Bobbie Jo went from being book-smart (nicknamed "the walking encyclopedia") to more of a bubble-head used for comic relief.[28]

text: Kate Bradley's appearance also changed. In the first two seasons, Kate's wardrobe and hair style depicted her as a dowdy country farm woman. Beginning with the third year (in color), her clothing and coiffure were much more flattering and appealing, and she wore high heels.

text: Death of Bea Benaderet[edit]

text: Sickness kept Bea Benaderet away for the last third of season five as she dealt with illness from lung cancer. She missed two episodes (#159 and 160), returned for one (#161), then missed eight more. Storylines dealt with Kate's absence by having other characters say that she was out of town, although it was never stated where she was out of town or what she was doing there. Paul Henning brought in temporary replacement mother-figures Rosemary DeCamp (as Kate's sister Helen) and Shirley Mitchell (as Kate's cousin Mae). In January 1968, it was announced that Benaderet's treatment was successful, and she returned for the fifth-season finale ("Kate's Homecoming") that aired on March 30, 1968. Benaderet's performance showed the effects of her cancer treatment, as she appeared noticeably thinner and weaker.[29] Following the conclusion of her treatment, she had revealed to the Press-Republican that despite her lengthy absence, series producer Charles Stewart would continue to write her as the lead for the upcoming sixth season.[30]

text: However, by the time Benaderet filmed the first three episodes of season six, her cancer was found to have returned. The third episode, "Only A Husband", was her final physical appearance on the show, in which she shared a brief scene with Mike Minor and was conspicuously absent from the other scenes that were written for her. Linda Kaye Henning recalled in 2008: "The last few shows we knew she was very ill. … She was not well enough to do the episode where I have the baby."[31] When Paul Henning realized that Benaderet would not recover, he decided that the fourth episode of season six would be the birth of Betty Jo's baby, so Benaderet's character could be included. In this episode, titled "The Valley Has a Baby", Benaderet provided only her voice for scenes of Betty Jo and Steve reading a letter from Kate; her speaking to Cannonball engineer Wendell Gibbs over the phone and using the handcar with him to get to the hospital; and her presence at Betty Jo's bedside after the baby's arrival. The latter segments featured Benaderet's stand-in, actress Edna Laird, portraying Kate with her back to the camera. The episode additionally featured three short flashbacks of Kate from season five: "You Know I Can't Hear You When The Thunder Is Clapping", where Betty Jo reveals to Kate that Steve and she are in love; "A Cottage For Two", where Betty Jo's dream house turns out to be an old shack; and "With This Gown I Thee Wed", where Steve and Betty Jo get married. The episode aired just 13 days after Benaderet's death on October 13, 1968.

text: Benaderet was quite popular with viewers, and her fan mail increased during her illness as she received many get-well cards and letters from fans.[32] In the first five years of Petticoat Junction, she was indisputably the star of the show. As a result, the absence of her character had to be handled delicately. In the 1950s and '60s, it was almost unheard of for a main character on a television show to die, particularly on a situation comedy. The producers and CBS decided to continue the show, and Kate Bradley continued to be referred to as being "out of town."[33] Benaderet's name was removed from the opening credits and Edgar Buchanan received star billing for the remainder of the series. Referring to the hotel, the opening theme lyrics were changed from "It is run by Kate, come and be her guest" to "It is run by Joe, come and be his guest". Although Petticoat Junction was still beloved by fans, the central premise of a country family was lost without a motherly figure. The long absence of Kate was only mentioned once in passing during the final two seasons. In the season-seven premiere "Make Room For Baby", the Bradley sisters and baby Kathy Jo return from swimming in the water tower. Steve has paternal qualms about his daughter's safety, to which Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo wistfully reply: "Mom taught all of us to swim before we could walk. And in the same old water tower, too."

text: Seasons six and seven[edit]

text: Choosing not to recast the Kate Bradley role, or to sign Rosemary DeCamp on full-time (she was also playing the mother of Marlo Thomas on That Girl), the producers introduced the new character of Dr. Janet Craig, played by June Lockhart, who had just come off a three-year run as Maureen Robinson on Lost In Space. Lockhart's character was essentially brought on as a surrogate mother figure to fill the void left by the death of Bea Benaderet, and takes up a medical practice at the hotel and also serves as a counsel of sorts for the girls. The cast was described as "most welcoming" to Lockhart as the newcomer during a difficult time.[34] Quickly, Lockhart graduated from featured billing at the end of each episode to co-star billing in the opening credits. The show's theme song lyrics were slightly altered to accommodate the change in cast.

text: A decline in Nielsen ratings had begun in season five, when CBS moved the show from Tuesday night to Saturday night. In season six, the show failed to make the ratings top 30. With the sitcom's future hanging in the balance, CBS considered cancelling the show in the spring of 1969. The season-six finale "Tune In Next Year" was meant to be the series finale. Dr. Janet Craig receives a good job offer in another city and decides to accept it. However, at the end of the episode, Dr. Craig decides to stay when Steve and Betty Jo announce that they are going to have another baby.

text: At the last minute, CBS decided to renew the series for a seventh season. The main reason for the renewal was that it would give the series five full years of color episodes for syndication, which would be very profitable for the network. When the show returned for its seventh and final season in September 1969, two major plotline changes were made. The first is that Steve and Betty Jo, and their daughter Kathy Jo, move out of their cottage and back into the Shady Rest Hotel. The storyline involving Betty Jo's new pregnancy was dropped and never referred to again. The second change is the addition of bumbling, but well-meaning, game warden Orrin Pike (played by actor Jonathan Daly), who becomes Bobbie Jo's boyfriend, much to the annoyance of Uncle Joe. In the spring of 1970, despite somewhat improving ratings, Petticoat Junction was cancelled as a precursor to the infamous CBS rural purge of the early 1970s, when all rural-themed shows were cancelled. The series officially ended its primetime run on Saturday, September 12, 1970, at 9:30 pm, and was replaced one week later by The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

text: Petticoat Junction did not have a series finale. However, "Last Train to Pixley", the fourth-to-last episode to air, is in some ways like a series finale. In the episode, Hooterville Cannonball engineer/conductor Floyd Smoot decides to retire. The residents of the Shady Rest Hotel and Sam Drucker all take a ride on the Cannonball and recall (with flashbacks) such treasured memories as fishing from the train, a very pregnant Betty Jo driving the train when she is about to give birth, and the Christmas-time Cannonball decorated with lights.[35] During the episode, Floyd sings the song "Steam, Cinders and Smoke", which was written by former cast member Smiley Burnette. It was released as a single in 1964 by Burnette and Rufe Davis (who played Floyd Smoot).[36] At the end of the episode, Floyd decides not to retire when the people of Hooterville write him letters asking him to stay.

text: Reunions[edit]

text: Petticoat Junction was the only one of Paul Henning's country trio not to return in an updated reunion movie. In the 1970s, Meredith MacRae and Linda Kaye Henning tried to produce Hello Again Hooterville: A Thanksgiving Reunion, but the project never came to fruition.[37][38] The game show Family Feud featured a Petticoat Junction cast reunion in 1983, when Frank Cady, Linda Kaye Henning, Lori Saunders, Gunilla Hutton, and Meredith MacRae competed against cast members from The Brady Bunch.[39] Henning, Saunders, and Hutton reunited again in 2015 for a MeTV promotional ad.

text: In 1990, the character of Sam Drucker appeared in Return to Green Acres, in what was Frank Cady's final acting role. In 1981, Linda Kaye Henning and Charles Lane both appeared in The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies, but not as Betty Jo and Homer Bedloe. Henning played a secretary named Linda, and Lane played Chief.

text: Episode list[edit]

text: Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies crossovers[edit]

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text: Petticoat Junction is set in the same fictional universe as Green Acres. Both shows are set in Hooterville, and they share such characters as Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley, and Floyd Smoot. A number of core Green Acres characters, such as Fred and Doris Ziffel (originally named "Ruthie" after Paul Henning's wife, Ruth), Arnold the Pig, Newt Kiley, and Ben Miller, first appeared on season two of Petticoat Junction, which saw a number of scripts written by Green Acres creator Jay Sommers. Characters in all of Henning's creations often crossed over into one another's programs, especially during the first two seasons of Green Acres.

text: During Petticoat's run from 1963 to 1968 (up until Kate Bradley's last few appearances at the beginning of season six), and with the exception of Green Acres, not once was there ever a connection to The Beverly Hillbillies even though Bea Benaderet had played Cousin Pearl Bodine during the latter's first season (Bea reprised the role for a brief cameo in the sixth season). Despite this, in a 1968 episode of Petticoat (#175 "Granny, the Baby Expert"), Granny comes to Hooterville to tend to Betty Jo and Steve's baby. Prior to her visit, she reminds Jed that he is related to Kate through Pearl and then later when she arrives at the Shady Rest she mistakes Uncle Joe for Kate and says "They's right about you Kate, you and Cousin Pearl are lookalikes." The episode is also part two of a three-episode crossover with Hillbillies that begins on "Granny Goes to Hooterville" and concludes on "The Italian Cook".

text: Other crossover shows feature the Clampetts spending Thanksgiving and Christmas of 1968 in Hooterville on The Beverly Hillbillies[40] ("The Thanksgiving Story", "The Week Before Christmas", "Christmas in Hooterville", and "Drysdale and Friend"). Finally, two consecutive 1970 episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies ("Buzz Bodine, Boy General" and "The Clampett-Hewes Empire") with a visiting Miss Jane and Mr. Drysdale, who mistakenly believes billionaire Howard Hughes lives in Hooterville.[41]

text: Crossovers with Green Acres[edit]

text: The following is a list of Petticoat Junction episodes featuring characters from Green Acres. Only those that debuted on Acres before Junction are counted.

text:
Episode 2: "The Baffling Raffle" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
Episode 3: "The Dog Turns Playboy" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
Episode 4: "The Good Luck Ring" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
Episode 5: "Joe Carson, General Contractor" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
Episode 6: "Bobbie Jo's Sorority" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
Episode 7: "A Doctor in the House" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
Episode 8: "Hooterville-A-Go-Go" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
Episode 10: "Betty Jo Goes to New York" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
Episode 13: "Uncle Joe Plays Post Office" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
Episode 19: "Yogurt, Anyone?" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
Episode 21: "The County Fair" – Mr. Haney
Episode 29: "Kate Bradley, Peacemaker" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
Episode 32: "The Young Matchmakers" – Lisa Douglas

text:
Episode 1: "Young Love" – Eb Dawson
Episode 5: "The All-Night Party" – Eb Dawson
Episode 11: "The Runt Strikes Back" – Eb Dawson
Episode 13: "The Santa Claus Special" – Eb Dawson
Episode 26: "Author! Author!" – Eb Dawson

text: Episode 3: "One Dozen Roses" – Eb Dawson

text:
Episode 4: "The Valley Has a Baby" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
Episode 14: "The Ballad of the Everyday Housewife" – Lisa Douglas

text:
Episode 3: "The Other Woman" – Mr. Haney
Episode 9: "A Most Momentous Occasion" – Mr. Haney

text: Theme song[edit]

text: Curt Massey sang the Petticoat Junction theme song. The song was composed by Massey and Paul Henning. Flatt and Scruggs recorded a version of the song "Petticoat Junction".

text: The Moody Brothers' 1989 Grammy-nominated country instrumental "The Great Train Song Medley" featured the song "Petticoat Junction".[42]

text: Syndication[edit]

text: After its cancellation, Filmways and Paul Henning's company sold the show to CBS. Its distribution has changed hands over the years due to corporate changes involving Viacom, which in 2006 split into two separate companies. Today, CBS Television Distribution handles syndication.

text:
The color (1965–70) episodes were shown in syndication for many years after the show's cancellation. However, the rights to the black-and-white (1963–65) episodes were not resolved, and they were not included in the syndication package until the Me-TV Network began broadcasting the black-and-white (1963–65) episodes on Tuesday, July 12, 2011. The airings of the black-and-white episodes airings were short lived, and on Thursday, July 21, 2011, Me-TV started airing the color episodes once again. Me-TV began to air the first two black-and-white seasons of the show again on November 4, 2013. The show has rotated on and off of the Me-TV schedule in various time slots.
On March 12, 2018 Decades TV Network and on April 23, 2018 Punch TV Studios began broadcasting the black-and-white episodes, both networks are continuing through with the color episodes.

text: The color episodes have run constantly, with the show running on TV Land from 1996 to 2000. The show ran on the Retro Television Network from 2005 to 2008, and on Me-TV beginning in June 2012.[43] The program has run on three different Canadian cable channels: Prime-TV from 2000 to 2002, Deja-Vu from 2005 to 2008, and on TV Land Canada from 2006 to 2010. The black-and-white episodes from season one are now in the public domain, their copyrights having lapsed. As a result,  numerous discount DVDs of these episodes have been released, although with generic bluegrass-like theme music instead of the familiar opening and closing music, which is still under copyright.

text: Home media[edit]

text: The Paul Henning Estate holds the original film elements to the black-and-white episodes, and in 2005 allowed 20 black-and-white episodes from Season One to be officially released on DVD in an "ultimate collection" via MPI Home Video. This release features the first 20 episodes of the series, excluding the Christmas episode. "Cannonball Christmas" was released by MPI Home Video in a separate release together with the Christmas-themed episode from The Beverly Hillbillies on October 25, 2005.[44][45] This 1963 episode was reshot in color with small variations and aired on December 20, 1966 as "The Santa Claus Special".[46]

text: On December 16, 2008 CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) released the Complete First Season on DVD, with new interviews with cast members, commercials from the original broadcasts, and the original opening and closing theme song. The Complete Second Season was released on July 7, 2009, concluding the black-and-white episodes of the series. (Beginning with the third season, the show switched to color for the remainder of the series.) It, too, contained the original theme song, as well as introductions and an interview from two cast members.

text: On October 1, 2013 season three was released on DVD as a Walmart exclusive.[47] It received a full retail release on April 15, 2014.[48]

text: The rights to the show are held by CBS Television Distribution.

text:
DVD Name

Ep#

Release Date

Petticoat Junction (Ultimate Collection)

20

August 30, 2005

Petticoat Junction (The Official First Season)

38

December 16, 2008

Petticoat Junction (The Official Second Season)

36

July 7, 2009

Petticoat Junction (Return to Hooterville)

March 12, 2013

Petticoat Junction (The Official Third Season)

34

April 15, 2014

text: Petticoat Junction Amusement Park[edit]

text: There was an amusement park in Panama City Beach, Florida named "Petticoat Junction Amusement Park", which opened in 1963 (the same year that the show first aired) and closed in 1984, 14 years after the show ended. According to author Tim Hollis, the park's owners (the Churchwell family), were friends with Edgar Buchanan. He talked to Paul Henning, who okayed the park being named after the show.  As would be expected, there was a steam railroad attraction at the park, the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[49] Petticoat Junction Railroad. Although the park is closed, the locomotives and train cars from its railroad attraction survived. They were bought at auction by the late Fred H. Hallmark in 1985 and are kept and preserved on his family's property at 9485 US-31; Kimberly, AL.

text: Petticoat Junction Cafeteria and Shady Rest Hotel in Mabank, Texas[edit]

text: In 1965 Claudia and J.T. "Peavine" Westmoreland bought an old train depot in Mabank, Texas and converted it into a restaurant. Since the restaurant was next to a working railroad line, the customers nicknamed it "Petticoat Junction", and the name was made official. Specialties at the Petticoat Junction Cafeteria included chicken fried steak and homemade coconut cream pies. The real-life Petticoat Junction was like the fictional show. In her memoirs, Claudia writes: "The train crew grew to be a part of the Petticoat Junction. They would stop and eat with us and we looked forward to the once a day run." In 1966, the Southern Pacific Railroad sent work crews to elevate the railroad track. Claudia set up makeshift bedrooms for the workers and called it the "Shady Rest Hotel". More permanent lodgings were soon added. Claudia's daughter Ann recalled: "Mother got people from the television show to send her photos of the Petticoat Junction set, the actors, just all kinds of things." The business was relocated one mile west in the 1970s and an RV park was added. The Petticoat Junction Cafeteria and Shady Rest Hotel lasted until 1996.[50]

text: Other "Shady Rest" Locations:[edit]

text: In the town of Woodstock, NY, is a hamlet called Shady; a rooming house operating there since 1968 is called "The Shady Rest Townhouse", as an homage to the hotel in Petticoat Junction.


document_title: The Following (season 3)

question_text: who plays kyle in the following season 3

text: The Following (season 3)

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main cast[edit]

text:
Kevin Bacon as Ryan Hardy, a former FBI agent (15 episodes)
Shawn Ashmore as Mike Weston, a young FBI agent (15 episodes)
Jessica Stroup as Max Hardy, a young FBI agent and Ryan Hardy's niece (15 episodes)
Sam Underwood as Mark Gray, follower and son of deceased Lily Gray and identical twin of deceased Luke (9 episodes)
Zuleikha Robinson as Gwen, love interest of Ryan Hardy (15 episodes)
Gregg Henry as Dr. Arthur Strauss, Joe Carroll's mentor who introduced him into killing (4 episodes)
Michael Ealy as Theo Noble (10 episodes)
James Purefoy as Joe Carroll, a serial killer and cult leader on death row (9 episodes)

tag: ul

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Ruth Kearney as Daisy (11 episodes)
Gbenga Akinnagbe as Tom Reyes, Max's boyfriend (10 episodes)
Monique Gabriela Curnen as Erin Sloan, an FBI tech analyst (10 episodes)
Valerie Cruz as Agent Mendez, lead FBI agent (7 episodes)
Diane Neal as FBI Agent Lisa Campbell (5 episodes)
Hunter Parrish as Kyle (5 episodes)
Megalyn Echikunwoke as Penny Tyler, Theo's sister (5 episodes)
Mike Colter as Nick Donovan, a returning FBI agent who assumes command of the FBI team (3 episodes)
Susan Kelechi Watson as Cindy Noble, Theo's wife (3 episodes)
Annet Mahendru as Eliza (4 episodes)

text: Guest stars[edit]

text:
Felix Solis as Agent Clarke, FBI Director (2 episodes)
Michael Irby as Andrew, follower of Mark (2 episodes)
Glenn Fleshler as Neil, former student of Dr. Strauss (2 episodes)
Robin Weigert as Judge Wallace (2 episodes)
Tim Guinee as Duncan Banks (2 episodes)
Allison Mack as Hilary, a local police officer who assists the FBI (1 episode)

text: Season 3 (2015)[edit]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No. inseries

No. inseason

Title

Directed by

Written by

Original air date

Productioncode

U.S. viewers(million)
311"New Blood"Marcos SiegaAlexi Hawley & Brett MahoneyMarch 2, 2015 (2015-03-02)3J53014.86[1]
One year on from the Season 2 ending and Joe Caroll is on Death Row facing execution. Ryan is attempting to move on with his life and is in a relationship with a woman named Gwen. When the FBI discover three bodies in a hotel room with a message that says 'Ryan Hardy Lies', he learns that Mark Gray has re-emerged. Concerned for Gwen's safety, Ryan attempts to break off their relationship but she refuses. They learn that Mark now has followers and that they are recreating the scenes in which Mark's family members were killed.
322"Boxed In"Rob SeidenglanzBarry O'BrienMarch 9, 2015 (2015-03-09)3J53023.51[2]
Mark's followers abduct the FBI Agent Jeffrey Clarke and attempt to kill his wife Anna; Mark then makes contact with the FBI and gives them a deadline of 8 p.m. to tell the truth about what happened to Lily Gray. Rather than visit Joe in prison, Ryan visits Dr. Arthur Strauss to learn more about Andrew and his motives. When Jeffrey escapes from Mark's followers he makes contact with Ryan and the FBI trace the call to Reading, Pennsylvania. Now recaptured, Jeffrey is forced to make a confession about the FBI's misconduct under duress on a live internet stream. Ryan, Max and Weston find his body in a box.
333"Exposed"Gary LoveBrynn MaloneMarch 16, 2015 (2015-03-16)3J53033.53[3]
Ryan attends a press conference to deny the allegations made by Clarke. He explains to the reporters that Clarke's confession was made under duress and that Mark Gray and his followers were responsible for his death. Kyle and Daisy have their doubts about remaining with Mark when Ryan reveals a sketch of them to the press and reaches out to them to make contact. Kyle and Daisy meet with Julianna, who tells them to stay with Mark and gives them a file on Max Hardy which contains her address and alarm codes. Meanwhile, Mark abducts two reporters, he kills one of them and forces the other to interview him so he can tell his side of the story; when the reporter attempts to escape, Daisy kills her. Ryan, Max and Weston learn that the man responsible for killing Clarke is called Neil and locate him using his father, who suffers from dementia and wears a GPS tracker. Neil draws his gun on Ryan but Max fatally shoots him. That evening Kyle and Daisy plant cameras in Max's apartment.
344"Home"Nicole KassellJeff Eckerle & Marilyn OsbornMarch 23, 2015 (2015-03-23)3J53043.93[4]
Mark and his followers attack a fire station, killing the people inside. The next day, Daisy and Kyle inadvertently lead the FBI to Mark when they're caught on camera; Mark evades capture and desperately calls Daisy, who ignores his calls leaving Mark suspicious that Daisy was helping the FBI. After investigating the house, Ryan, Max and Weston realize that Daisy and Kyle's next target is the daughter of a judge involved in the Strauss trial. They make their way to the campus to find that Kyle and Daisy have taken her to the rooftop and intend to throw her over, making it appear to be a suicide attempt. Daisy attacks Weston but he is soon saved, while rescuing the girl, Ryan manages to shoot Kyle in the shoulder. Realizing that Kyle is seriously injured, Daisy calls Mark for help and is given an address to go to.
355"A Hostile Witness"Marcos SiegaMichael McGraleMarch 23, 2015 (2015-03-23)3J53053.75[4]
Ryan works out that all the events thus far were solely aimed at discrediting the FBI in order to influence the outcome of Strauss' trial. Daisy and an injured Kyle are reunited with Mark but their main focus is to safely escape from him. Mark realizes that Kyle and Daisy have just been using him. Kyle and Daisy's next target is the journalist Carrie Cooke who is a key witness at the trial. Carrie is kidnapped and killed which results in the case against Strauss being dismissed. The FBI catch up with Kyle but are too late to stop the dismissal of the trial and Strauss has been set free. Ryan, Max and Weston are to be suspended unless they can prove Daisy's link to Strauss by morning. Daisy meets with Strauss and tries to attack him, blaming him for Kyle's death. Meanwhile, the FBI team finds the address and locate Daisy and Strauss. Mike leaves Max alone with Strauss to pursue Mark who escapes. Daisy attacks Max, and then frees Strauss and flees. The episode ends with Ryan planning to visit Joe in prison.
366"Reunion"Mary HarronBrett MahoneyMarch 30, 2015 (2015-03-30)3J53063.28[5]
Ryan visits Joe Carroll in prison to ask him to help find Arthur Strauss. Joe agrees to help only if Ryan will agree to visit him regularly until his execution. Joe suggests that they look into Strauss' former pupils and any he may go to for help. The FBI find themselves in Beacon, NY where there has been an unusually high number of missing persons. The local sheriff isn't interested in helping the team. However, the deputy is far more welcoming. In the meantime, Strauss is hiding in a cabin in the woods awaiting the arrival of Theo, a former pupil who excelled. Theo greets Strauss warmly, but then murders him while Daisy watches. Ryan, Mike and the sheriff find the cabin and discover Strauss dead.
377"The Hunt"Sylvain WhiteLiz SczudloApril 6, 2015 (2015-04-06)3J53072.95[6]
There is a week remaining until Carroll's execution and Ryan visits him again hoping to learn who Strauss' 'favorite student' was. Joe tells him that Strauss kept all his students isolated from one another in order to keep them dependent on him, with few exceptions the killers don't know who each other are. Theo rescues Duncan Banks, killing two US Marshals in the process. The FBI trace the fake passports they found on Strauss to a government employee, Luis, but Theo and Duncan want to get to Luis before the FBI do. Max is cleared to return to duty. Tucker is taken hostage by the hacker. Donovan, who replaced Gina, assumes Tucker is the hacker and orders the team to find him asap. Theo returns home to reveal he has a wife and kids. Hardy begins to dream of Joe.
388"Flesh & Blood"Marcos SiegaMary Leah SuttonApril 13, 2015 (2015-04-13)3J53083.46[7]
Mike and Ryan begin working on finding Theo only to be stopped by Donovan. After finding a house with Theo's stuff, they learn he is still out there. A friend of Theo's wife invites them to a party only for Theo's wife's friend to reveal she is aware of some of Theo's activities. This causes Theo to kill her and her husband. Joe invites Ryan to his execution only to be rejected. After discovering the murder, Ryan and Mike discover Theo's location and real name through his wife. However, Theo discovers this and kills his wife and leaves his children drugged. After escaping, he contacts Ryan and vows to ruin his life.
399"Kill the Messenger"David TuttmanBarry O'BrienApril 20, 2015 (2015-04-20)3J53093.41[8]
Ryan and Theo are both led back to Joe for different reasons. Joe promises Ryan information about Theo but the latter refuses to talk to him. Theo recruits a former army soldier to talk to Joe about some information on some codes he has, but Joe kills the soldier and secretly takes his sunglasses. Elsewhere, Max and Weston trace the stolen laptop, but it is destroyed by Tom. Mark, now having a dual personality with "Luke" as his guidance, closes in on Daisy. They reach a compromise to use her laptop in the FBI to their advantage. Everything occurring sends Ryan to almost consuming alcohol again but he refrains. Gwen is revealed to be pregnant.
4010"Evermore"David McWhirterAlexi HawleyApril 27, 2015 (2015-04-27)3J53103.46[9]
It's Joe Carroll's execution day and Ryan is determined to free himself. Using the sunglasses he has fashioned into a weapon, Joe kills his guards and takes three hostages. He addresses the horrified FBI and demands that Ryan comes to him or the hostages will be killed. Ryan persuades Joe to let one hostage go before he is handcuffed and tazered. Meanwhile, Theo brings his sister to the apartment and briefs her on the situation. He hacks into the prison's security network and watches Joe and Ryan. With Joe threatening to remove one of the hostage's eyes, Ryan admits Joe is in his dreams and that he gets satisfaction from killing. Joe embraces Ryan and unties and uncuffs him; Ryan then punches Joe, who surrenders control. On leaving the cell, Theo's sister hacks into the system and releases the death row inmates. Ryan, the two hostages and Joe are overwhelmed. Finally, when Ryan has defeated the inmates the FBI break in and take control. Joe's execution goes ahead with Ryan watching him die tearfully. The episode ends with Ryan drinking at a bar, imagining that it is Joe sharing a drink with him.
4111"Demons"Marcos SiegaDave JohnsonMay 4, 2015 (2015-05-04)3J53113.22[10]
Ryan feels the aftereffects of his late night drinking of having slept with a random woman. He confesses this to Gwen, who leaves him knowing of how unstable he has become. He drinks to drown his sorrows. Theo and Penny visit a wealthy yet sadistic resort for killing and the head Eliza, who can help them escape but only if he kills Ryan. Ryan works together with agent Lisa Campbell to dig into Theo's past and learn that, as a 10 year old, he had someone murder his family. They track the killer down only to discover that his step-sister Sophia (Penny's real name) assisted him calling Theo a demon. Mark and Daisy track down a hacker to discover of Tom's betrayal and reach out for Theo's help. Tom continues to hide his guilt but after agent Sloan discovers his lies, she is inadvertently killed by Tom during a struggle.
4212"The Edge"Nicole KassellJeff Eckerle & Marilyn OsbornMay 11, 2015 (2015-05-11)3J53123.21[11]
Theo goes to meet Daisy and Mark who reveal there is a corrupt FBI agent on the inside and that they intend to work together, Theo agrees but only on his terms. He goes to meet with Eliza who has ordered a hit on him but Theo kills her men. Ryan and the team work on the recent information and discover a location that may be a hiding spot for Theo and Sophia. Meanwhile, Tom tries to get rid of all evidence of the cameras in Max's apartment and the dead body of agent Sloan, only to be caught by Mark and Daisy who blackmail him. Theo goes to see Eliza, who gives in and agrees to give him a way to disappear with his sister. Ryan and Max find Sophia, but Ryan brings her to his apartment; with thoughts of Joe influencing him, Ryan tortures Sophia. Max discovers Tom's betrayal; Tom is forced to deliver Mike to Mark, where Tom is killed upon their arrival. Theo forces Mark to let Mike live in order to make a trade with Ryan for his sister.
4313"A Simple Trade"Marcos SiegaLiz Sczudlo & Mary Leah SuttonMay 11, 2015 (2015-05-11)3J53133.07[11]
Ryan agrees to Theo's trade and brings Max up to date on his actions. The FBI find their location and learn of Tom's betrayal. Mike attempts to escape, but is cornered by Mark. Not trusting him anymore, Daisy shoots Mark in his shoulder and he flees. Theo has the trade take place at a theater intending to kill them all but Max stops Daisy. As they make their escape Penny refuses to leave without making Ryan pay, she goes back to kill him but is killed herself in the process, Theo manages to escape with Daisy. Ryan returns home to talk to Gwen again who finally tells him she is pregnant. This gets through to Ryan and he goes back to rehab. Max and Mike reaffirm their love for each other, only to be ambushed by Mark who stabs Mike in the back four times. As he goes to kill Max, Mike uses what strength he can muster and shoots Mark dead. Max tearfully tries to save Mike and calls for help.
4414"Dead or Alive"Rob SeidenglanzBrynn Malone & Michael McGraleMay 18, 2015 (2015-05-18)3J53143.13[12]
Mike is rushed to the hospital while he undergoes surgery. Gwen is called for protection upon Ryan's request and gives him her ultrasound. Theo talks with Eliza who promises him a way to leave the country when Ryan is dead. Ryan briefly meets Eliza at her hotel, after which she becomes paranoid and requests that Ryan be kept alive. Theo and Daisy kidnap Mendez and her family forcing Ryan to meet him. Knowing of the trap, Ryan sets up a perimeter around the house. Mendez escapes with her spouse but is shot by Daisy. Max arrives and gives chase to Daisy and guns her down. Theo wounds an FBI Agent Barton and traps Ryan when he arrives.
4515"The Reckoning"Marcos SiegaBrett Mahoney & Alexi HawleyMay 18, 2015 (2015-05-18)3J53153.05[12]
After torturing Ryan, Theo kills Agent Barton for payback against Sophia. Mike awakens at the hospital and Max informs Lisa of Theo's location, who is revealed to be a mole for Eliza. Max and Lisa follow Theo's trail only to find a dead end. Eliza finds Theo and has her men torture him, while she interrogates Ryan on what he knows about her. While the latter knows nothing of her, she doesn't believe him and threatens to kill everyone he knows. Ryan and Theo escape, to which Theo learns of Gwen's pregnancy. He intends to raise the child as his own, and cause as much damage as possible to the child. He forces Lisa to assist him, then wounds her and kidnaps Gwen. A chase ensues; Ryan shoots Theo in the head and saves Gwen. However, Theo survives and he and Ryan fall over a waterfall. While Theo's status is unknown, Ryan fakes his death and visits Lisa in the hospital, aware of her betrayal. He questions her about Eliza then slips out of her room as her monitor alarm sounds, apparently having killed her.  Finally, he observes Gwen and Max with Mike in his hospital room and departs secretly, intent on taking down Eliza and her group.

text: Ratings[edit]

text:
DVR Ratings for season 3 of The Following

Episode No.

Title

Original air date

DVR18–49

DVR viewers(millions)

Total18–49

Totalviewers

1

"New Blood"

March 2, 2015 (2015-03-02)

1.1

3.08

2.7

7.94[13]

2

"Boxed In"

March 9, 2015 (2015-03-09)

1.2

2.92

2.3

6.43[14]

3

"Exposed"

March 16, 2015 (2015-03-16)

1.1

2.73

2.2

6.26[15]

4

"Home"

March 23, 2015 (2015-03-23)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

5

"A Hostile Witness"

March 23, 2015 (2015-03-23)

0.8

N/A

2.0[16]

N/A

6

"Reunion"

March 30, 2015 (2015-03-30)

0.7

N/A

1.8[17]

N/A

7

"The Hunt"

April 6, 2015 (2015-04-06)

1.1

2.68

2.0

5.62[18]

8

"Flesh & Blood"

April 13, 2015 (2015-04-13)

0.9

2.32

2.0

5.78[19]

9

"Kill The Messenger"

April 20, 2015 (2015-04-20)

0.9

2.31

2.1

5.71[20]

10

"Evermore"

April 27, 2015 (2015-04-27)

0.8

2.32

2.0

5.78[21]

11

"Demons"

May 4, 2015 (2015-05-04)

0.9

2.41

2.0

5.63[22]

12

"The Edge"

May 11, 2015 (2015-05-11)

0.7

N/A

1.7[23]

N/A

13

"A Simple Trade"

May 11, 2015 (2015-05-11)

0.7

N/A

1.7[23]

N/A

14

"Dead or Alive"

May 18, 2015 (2015-05-18)

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

15

"The Reckoning"

May 18, 2015 (2015-05-18)

0.7

2.05

1.6

5.10[24]


document_title: Wonder Woman (2017 film)

question_text: who plays wonder woman in the new show

question_tokens: who plays wonder woman in the new show

text: Wonder Woman (2017 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In present-day Paris, Diana Prince receives a photographic plate of herself during World War I, which prompts her to recall her past. The daughter of Queen Hippolyta, Diana was raised on the hidden island of Themyscira, home to the Amazonian race of warrior women created by Zeus to protect mankind. Hippolyta shares the Amazonian history with Diana, including how Ares, Zeus's son, became jealous of humanity and worked to orchestrate its destruction. When the other gods of Mount Olympus attempted to stop him, Ares killed all but Zeus, who managed to hurt Ares enough to force a retreat. Zeus left the Amazons a weapon, the "Godkiller", to prepare them for Ares' return.

text: Hippolyta forbids Diana to train, then relents by having her sister Antiope train Diana, but so long as her training is more difficult than that received by any other warrior in the army. As a young woman in 1918, Diana rescues American pilot Captain Steve Trevor when his plane crashes off the Themyscira coast. He is pursued by a German cruiser. The Amazons kill the crew and Antiope sacrifices herself to save Diana. Steve is interrogated with the Lasso of Hestia. He reveals that a war is consuming the outside world, and that he is an Allied spy. He has stolen a notebook of the Spanish chief chemist Isabel Maru, who is attempting to engineer a deadlier form of mustard gas, under the orders of General Erich Ludendorff. Diana believes Ares is responsible for the war. She arms herself with the "Godkiller" sword, the lasso and her armor before leaving Themyscira with Steve to find and destroy Ares.

text: In London, they deliver Maru's notebook to the Supreme War Council, where Sir Patrick Morgan is trying to negotiate an armistice with Germany. Diana translates Maru's notes and reveals that the Germans plan to release the deadly gas at the War Front. Although forbidden by his commanders to act, Steve, with secret funding from Sir Patrick, recruits spy Sameer, marksman Charlie, and smuggler Chief to help prevent the gas from being released. When the team reaches the Western Front in Belgium, they are halted by the enemy lines. Diana goes alone through No Man's Land and captures the enemy trench, allowing the Allied forces to help her liberate the village of Veld. The team briefly celebrates, while Diana and Steve grow closer romantically and spend the night together.

text: The team learns a gala will be held at the nearby German High Command. Steve and Diana each infiltrate the party, with Steve intending to locate the gas and destroy it while Diana intends to kill Ludendorff, believing that he is Ares and killing him will end the war. Steve stops her to avoid jeopardizing the mission. Ludendorff then unleashes the gas on Veld, killing its inhabitants. Outraged, and blaming Steve for intervening, Diana pursues Ludendorff to a base where the gas is being loaded into a bomber aircraft bound for London. Diana fights and kills Ludendorff but is confused when his death does not stop the war.

text: Sir Patrick appears and reveals himself as Ares. He tells Diana that although he has subtly given humans ideas and inspirations using Ludendorff and Maru as pawns, it is ultimately their decision to cause violence as they are inherently corrupt. She attempts to kill Ares with the Godkiller sword but he destroys it. Ares reveals Diana to be the "Godkiller", as the daughter of Zeus and Queen Hippolyta, but he fails to persuade her to help him destroy humankind to restore paradise on Earth. While the two battle, the others on Steve's team destroy Maru's laboratory. Steve pilots the bomber carrying the gas to a safe altitude and detonates it, sacrificing himself. Ares attempts to direct Diana's rage and grief at Steve's death by convincing her to kill Maru, but memories of her experience with Steve cause her to realize that mankind has good within it. She spares Maru and redirects Ares' lightning into him, killing him. Later, the team celebrates the end of the war. In the present day, Diana sends an email to Bruce Wayne thanking him for the photographic plate of her and Steve, and reaffirms her new mission to protect and give to the world.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Gal Gadot as Diana Prince / Wonder Woman:

text: Chris Pine as Steve Trevor:

text: Robin Wright as Antiope:

text: Danny Huston as General Erich Ludendorff:

text: David Thewlis as Ares:

text: Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta:

text: Elena Anaya as Isabel Maru / Doctor Poison:

text: Lucy Davis as Etta Candy:

text: Saïd Taghmaoui as Sameer:

text: Ewen Bremner as Charlie:

text: Eugene Brave Rock as Chief Napi:

text: Lisa Loven Kongsli as Menalippe:

text: Additionally, James Cosmo appears as Field Marshal Haig, Mayling Ng as Orana, Florence Kasumba as Acantha, Madeleine Vall Beijner as Egeria, Hayley Jane Warnes as Aella and Ann Wolfe as Artemis, all of whom are Amazons.[61][62][63][64] Dutch model Doutzen Kroes portrays the Amazon Venelia.[63] Samantha Jo was cast as the Amazonian Euboea, and previously played the Kryptonina, Car-Vex, in Man of Steel.[65] Zack Snyder also makes a brief cameo appearance in the film as an unnamed soldier.[66]

text: Production[edit]

text: Background[edit]

text: Development for a live action Wonder Woman feature film began in 1996, with Ivan Reitman attached as producer and possible director.[67] In 1999 the project became attached to Jon Cohen, who adapted Wonder Woman for producer Joel Silver, with the hope that Sandra Bullock would star.[68] By 2001, Todd Alcott was hired to write the screenplay, with Silver Pictures backing the project.[69] At that time, performers such as Mariah Carey and Catherine Zeta-Jones were also rumored to be possible candidates for the role of Wonder Woman.[70] Leonard Goldberg, however, focused on Bullock[71] who said that she was approached for the role. In addition, wrestler Chyna also expressed interest. Lucy Lawless, the star of Xena: Warrior Princess, was also under consideration, though she stated that she would have been more interested if Wonder Woman was portrayed as a "flawed hero."[72] The screenplay went through various drafts written by Alcott, Cohen, Becky Johnston, and Philip Levens,[73] and by August 2003, Levens had been replaced by screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis.[74]

text: In March 2005, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures announced that Joss Whedon would write and direct the film,[75] with a reported salary was of $2 to $3 million.[76] Since Whedon was directing Serenity at the time, and required time to research Wonder Woman's background, he did not begin the screenplay until late 2005.[77][78][79] Early drafts of his screenplay included Steve Trevor as the narrator, a fierce battle between Diana and her mother over Trevor's welfare, and after leaving Themyscira, his need to frequently rescue a Diana rendered helpless by the modern world.[80] Whedon was not able to complete a final version of his screenplay however, and left the project in 2007.[81][82]

text: Although Whedon stated in May 2005 that he would not cast the part of Wonder Woman until he finished the script,[83] actors such as Kate Beckinsale were linked to the part.[84] A few years later in 2010 however, Whedon admitted that he did have an actress in mind for the part, stating that "Wonder Woman was basically Angelina Jolie."[80][85] A few years later in May 2017, Indie Ground Films leaked a version of Whedon's script in-progress online.[86] Some reacted negatively to it on social media in June 2017, shortly after the release of Patty Jenkins version of the film.[87][88][89][90][91] When asked about this response to his script, Jenkins said in a June 2017 interview that she has not read it and that Whedon is "in the DC universe now, and I don't think there's any reason to go there [...] It was what it was. I'm lucky that I'm the person who got to do it. But I don't see what would be beneficial about comparing what he would've done versus what I would have done."[92][93]

text: A day before Whedon's departure from Wonder Woman, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures purchased a spec script for the film written by Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland. Set during World War II, the script impressed executives at Silver Pictures.[82] However, Silver stated that he had purchased the script because he did not want the rights reverting; while stating the script had good ideas, Silver did not want the film to be a period piece.[94] By April 2008, Silver hired Jennison and Strickland to write a new script set in contemporary times that would not depict Wonder Woman's origin, but explore Paradise Island's history.[95] In November 2008, Beyoncé met with representatives from DC Comics and Warner Bros., to discuss her interest in portraying Wonder Woman.[96]

text: In 2010, Warner Bros. stated that a film was in development, along with films based on DC Comics superheroes the Flash and Aquaman.[97] Both Wonder Woman and Aquaman were still under consideration for solo film subjects as of June 2013.[98] DC Chief Diane Nelson said Wonder Woman "has been, since I started, one of the top three priorities for DC and for Warner Bros. We are still trying right now, but she's tricky."[99] On October 5, 2013, WB chairman Kevin Tsujihara said he wanted to get Wonder Woman in a film or on TV.[100] Shortly afterward, Paul Feig said he had pitched the studio an idea for Wonder Woman as an action-comedy film.[101][102] The studio then began to search for female directors to direct the film.[103] While Michelle MacLaren was the studio's initial choice to direct (and while she initially indicated interest),[104][105][106] she eventually left the project due to creative differences.[107]

text: Development[edit]

text: In 2015, Patty Jenkins accepted an offer to direct Wonder Woman,[108] based on a screenplay by Allan Heinberg and a story co-written by Heinberg, Zack Snyder, Geoff Johns and Jason Fuchs.[109] Of this version, Gadot stated that,

text: for a long time, people didn't know how to approach the story. When Patty and I had our creative conversations about the character, we realized that Diana can still be a normal woman, one with very high values, but still a woman. She can be sensitive. She is smart and independent and emotional. She can be confused. She can lose her confidence. She can have confidence. She is everything. She has a human heart.[5]

text: This version was conceived of as a prequel to the first live-action, theatrical appearance of Wonder Woman, in the 2016 film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,[110] placing Wonder Woman in the 1910s and World War I (a decision which differs from her comic book origins as a supporter of the Allies during World War II).[111] As for story development, Jenkins credits the stories by the character's creator William Moulton Marston in the 1940s and George Perez's seminal stories in the 1980s in which he modernized the character.[112] In addition, it follows some aspects of DC Comics' origin changes in The New 52 reboot, where Diana is the daughter of Zeus.[10][113] Jenkins cited Richard Donner's Superman as an inspiration.[114]

text: Casting[edit]

text:
"I remember when I read in the news that Wonder Woman had been cast and my heart sank [...] I'm sure we wouldn't have made the same choice. And then I started paying attention to her, and watching her and looking at her and it was just unbelievable. Frankly, I think they did a better job than I could have because I don't know that I would have scoured the earth as hard to find her [...] They were looking for all the same things I would have looked for—all the values that Wonder Woman stands for exuding from someone in an honest way, and boy did they find it [...] She shares every quality with Wonder Woman and that's no joke. It's one of those rare things. You need someone who can appear to be Wonder Woman on screen [...] Every once in a while, there's superhero casting that transcends, because that person is so authentic to the character that it becomes identified with them, like Lynda Carter or Christopher Reeve."

– Director Patty Jenkins[115] in response to the interview questions: "Let’s talk a bit about Gal. You inherited her from Zack Snyder. Was it difficult to not get to choose your own Wonder Woman?" and "What is it about Gal that makes her such a good fit?"

tag: div

text: In late 2013, Zack Snyder cast Gal Gadot in the role of Wonder Woman for the 2016 film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice over Élodie Yung and Olga Kurylenko.[116][117][118][119] Some fans initially reacted to this choice by criticizing Gadot's appearance.[120] Snyder would later comment on his decision to cast Gadot, stating that he

text: tested a bunch of actresses, as you can imagine. But the thing with Gal is that she's strong, she's beautiful, and she's a kind person, which is interesting, but fierce at the same time. It's that combination of being fierce but kind at the same time that we were looking for.[121]

text: Gadot described Diana as having "the heart of a human so she can be emotional, she's curious, she's compassionate, she loves people. And then she has the powers of a goddess. She's all for good, she fights for good."[5] She also said that Diana has "many strengths and powers, but at the end of the day she's a woman with a lot of emotional intelligence".[122] As to how her character is different from her appearance in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gadot said "We go back 100 years to when she's more naive", further explaining, "She's this young idealist. She's pure. Very different to the experienced, super-confident, grown-up woman you've seen".[123] Gadot underwent a diet and training regimen, practiced different martial arts and gained 17 pounds of muscle for the role.[124][125] Gadot was previously offered a different role (as a villain) in Man of Steel, which she declined because she was pregnant at the time; this allowed her to later be cast as Wonder Woman in the film's follow-up.[126] Gadot signed a three-picture deal.[118] She was only paid a base salary of $300,000 for the film itself.[127]

text: Chris Pine was cast as Steve Trevor,[19][128] a character he described as a "rogue-ish, cynical realist who's seen the awful brutish nature of modern civilization" and added that he is a "worldly guy, a charming guy".[129] He signed a multi-picture deal.[19] Lucy Davis' performance as Etta Candy is the first live-action cinematic portrayal of the character.[130] As well, Elena Anaya's performance as Doctor Poison is the cinematic debut of that character. Nicole Kidman was in negotiations for the role of Queen Hippolyta, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Big Little Lies.[131][132]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Production began on November 21, 2015,[133][134] under the working title Nightingale.[135][136] Among the film sets were Lower Halstow, Kent,[137] Australia House,[138] and the Sassi di Matera,[139] Castel del Monte[139] and Camerota[140] in Southern Italy. Matthew Jensen was the director of photography,[141] filming in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.[142] Production in London ended on March 13, 2016.[143] On March 20, 2016, filming was underway in Italy. In late April, filming took place at a museum in France, where a Wayne Enterprises truck was spotted alongside Gadot.[144] Production ended on May 9, 2016.[145] Patty Jenkins and director of photography Matt Jensen revealed that the film's look was inspired by painter John Singer Sargent.[146] Reshoots took place in November 2016, while Gadot was five months pregnant. A green cloth was placed over her stomach to edit out her pregnancy during post-production.[147]

text: To find the perfect location to shoot the Amazon island of Themyscira, the birthplace of Wonder Woman herself, the film's producers searched all over the world, finally settling on the Amalfi Coast: a stretch of coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea, located in the Province of Salerno in Southern Italy.[148] It was chosen because most beaches in the world that sit below big cliffs disappear beneath the tide for part of every day. Production designer Aline Bonetto and her location manager Charles Somers considered 47 countries and visited several of them before they found what they were looking for. Bonetto explained that, "Italy had beautiful weather, a beautiful blue-green sea, not too much tide, not too much wave. Our effects team added some cliffs in post-production, and it was the perfect way to go".[149]

text: Post-production[edit]

text: Bill Westenhofer served as the visual effects supervisor for the film[150] and Martin Walsh served as editor.[141]

text: Music[edit]

text: On November 3, 2016, Rupert Gregson-Williams was hired to write and compose the film's music.[151] He was joined by Evan Jolly, Tom Howe,[152] Paul Mounsey,[153] and Andrew Kawczynski,[154] who provided additional music. The soundtrack was released on CD, digital, and vinyl the same day as the film.[155]

text: Australian musician Sia sang a song for the film, titled "To Be Human", featuring English musician Labrinth. Written by Florence Welch and Rick Nowels, the track is also featured on the soundtrack.[156]

text: Additional music featured in the film are: "Another Little Drink Wouldn't Do Us Any Harm" by Clifford Grey and Nat Ayer and performed by Edgar Trevor and Cecil Cooper; "Molly O'Morgan" written by Fred Godfrey and Will Letters and performed by Ella Retford; "It's a Long Way to Tipperary" written by Jack Judge and Harry Williams; "Sous les ponts de Paris" written by Jean Rodor and Vincent Scotto and performed by Lucienne Delyle; "I'll Walk Beside You" written by Edward Lockton and Alan Murray and performed by Ewen Bremner; "Green Grow the Rushes, O" written by Robert Burns and performed by Ewen Bremner; and "Schatzwalzer Op. 4" written by Johann Strauss II and performed by the Berlin String Quartet.[157] Also features samples from the movie's soundtrack "Is She with You" from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice composed by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL.

text: Release[edit]

text: Wonder Woman had its world premiere on May 25, in Los Angeles.[158] The film's London premiere, which was scheduled to take place on May 31, 2017 at the Odeon Leicester Square, was cancelled due to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.[159] The film had its Latin America premiere in Mexico City on May 27. It was released in most of the world, including in IMAX,[160] on June 2, 2017, after originally being scheduled for June 23.[161][162] Belgium, Singapore and South Korea received the film first, with May 31 openings.[163][164][165] On April 17, it was announced that Wonder Woman would be released in China on June 2, the same day as its North American release.[166]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: The success of the superhero television series Supergirl informed the marketing and promotion strategy used for Wonder Woman.[167] According to Time Warner chief marketing officer Kristen O'Hara, they wanted to approach the Wonder Woman marketing campaign in a light manner, similar to how they did with Supergirl. O'Hara elaborated that the modest campaign route they took for Supergirl aided in establishing a large central fanbase among women well in advance of the series, which reportedly generated 5 million female superhero fans in one week.[167] They were then able to model over time, and grow that audience leading up to the 15 months later release of Wonder Woman.[167] Though neither the film nor the series are aimed exclusively at women, the latter's campaign gave them their first opportunity to begin collecting data about female superhero fans.[167] In May 2017, a promo for Wonder Woman was released during the season finale of Supergirl, featuring a remix of the song "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and Supergirl (Melissa Benoist) wearing Wonder Woman's boots.[168] The promo included an appearance by Lynda Carter, star of the 1970s Wonder Woman, who plays the American president on Supergirl.[168]

text: The costs for television advertisements for Wonder Woman are higher in comparison to that of previous DCEU film Suicide Squad. Warner Bros. has spent over $3 million on advertisements for Wonder Woman, whereas they spent $2.6 million on advertisements for Suicide Squad.[169]

text: Ticket selling site Fandango reported that Wonder Woman rounded the final leg of its marketing campaign as the most anticipated blockbuster of summer 2017, according to a poll conducted by 10,000 voters, the biggest survey in company history.[170] Separately, Fandango also found that 92% of people surveyed said that they are looking forward to seeing a film that features a standalone woman superhero, and 87% wished Hollywood would make more women-led superhero films.[171]

text: In May 2017, NASCAR driver Danica Patrick drove her No. 10 car with a Wonder Woman paint scheme at the Go Bowling 400 in Kansas and at the Monster Energy Open in Charlotte.[172]

text: Home media[edit]

text: The film was released on Digital HD on August 29, 2017 and on Blu-ray, Blu-Ray 3D, 4K Ultra-HD Blu-Ray and DVD on September 19, 2017.[173]

text: Controversies[edit]

text: Bans[edit]

text: On May 31, Wonder Woman was banned in Lebanon after the Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel asked the Lebanese government's Ministry of Economy and Trade to block the film because its star, Gal Gadot, had served in the Israeli military.[174] The Lebanese government did not, however, ban Gadot's Fast & Furious films which did screen in Lebanon.[175][176] On June 7, Variety reported that a Tunisian court suspended the theatrical release of Wonder Woman after a lawsuit brought by the Al-Chaab party and the Tunisian Association of Young Lawyers to have the film blocked due to Gadot's Israeli citizenship, military service, and public comments in support of the Israeli military during the 2014 war in Gaza.[177] Jordan was reportedly also considering a ban of the film and suspended screenings pending a decision,[178] but on June 11, Al Bawaba reported that the government decided not to do so, as there was no legal precedent for it.[179]

text: Women-only screenings[edit]

text: Some men were unhappy with women-only screenings held at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, with some opponents of the gender-restricted screening stating on platforms such as Facebook that such screenings were discriminatory against men.[180][181][182]

text: A gay Albany Law School professor initiated a complaint with Austin's Equal Employment and Fair Housing Office claiming discrimination against male prospective customers and employees of the theater.[183] The chain responded with an online statement saying the event "may have created confusion—we want everybody to see this film" and announced a similar event at their Brooklyn location. Tickets sold out in less than an hour, prompting the chain to schedule additional screenings.[180] On July 18, Alamo Drafthouse proposed settlement offers of a Wonder Woman DVD to the complainants, stating "Respondent did not realize that advertising a 'women's only' screening was a violation of discrimination laws"[184]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: As of September 24, 2017[update], Wonder Woman has grossed $412 million in the United States and Canada and $408.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $820.4 million, against a production budget of $149 million.[4] Estimates for the number the film needed to surpass internationally in order to cover its production and promotional costs and break even ranged from $300 million[185] to $460 million.[186]

text: North America[edit]

text: In May 2017, early tracking had Wonder Woman opening with $65–75 million, and possibly as high as $105 million.[187][188][189][190][185] The film opened Friday, June 2, 2017, across 4,165 theaters and made $38.7 million on its opening day, including $3.7 million in IMAX. It was the biggest single-day gross for a woman-directed film, ahead of the $35.9 million opening Friday of Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight in 2008 and the biggest opening day for a woman-led comic book superhero film, ahead of Ghost in the Shell ($7 million).[191] This included $11 million it made from Thursday previews, also the best start for a film directed by a woman, surpassing Fifty Shades of Grey's $8.6 million which was directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, and the third biggest of the year, behind Beauty and the Beast and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Of that, $1.5 million came from IMAX screenings.[192][193]

text: Earning a total of $103.3 million on its opening weekend, the film recorded a number of records: the biggest domestic opening of all-time for a female director (surpassing previous record holder Fifty Shades of Grey by Sam Taylor-Johnson), the biggest DC Comics release without Batman or Superman (ahead of Constantine), the sixth-biggest non-sequel comic book superhero debut ever, as well as the sixth-biggest June debut weekend.[194] Its three-day opening alone made it the highest-grossing woman-led comic book superhero film ever (surpassing Ghost in the Shell).[195] It was also the 16th superhero film to cross $100 million in its domestic box office launch.[196] About 9% ($9 million) of the opening weekend came from IMAX screenings from 343 theaters.[197] In its second week the film grossed $58.5 million, again topping the box office. It marked a 43.3% drop for its second weekend at the box office, better than the average 50–60% decline superhero films tend to see, and was a better second weekend than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($51.3 million) and Suicide Squad ($43.5 million).[198] In its third weekend it grossed $40.8 million, finishing second behind newcomer Cars 3 ($53.5 million). It was the second best third weekend ever for Warner Bros. and was nearly double what Batman v Superman ($23.3 million), Suicide Squad ($20.9 million) and Man of Steel ($20.7 million) made in their third weekends. It earned $24.9 million and $15.7 million in its fourth and fifth weekends respectively, dropping just 39% and 36% despite facing rough competition from opening films Transformers: The Last Knight and Despicable Me 3.[199] It eventually became the highest-grossing film directed by a woman, surpassing the previous records of Jennifer Yuh Nelson's Kung Fu Panda 2 and Phyllida Lloyd's Mamma Mia!.[8] By August 8, the film had garnered $400 million in ticket sales, becoming the second female-fueled film (after Disney's Beauty and the Beast), Warner Bros.' third-biggest movie (after Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises), holding the record of the highest origin superhero film; supplanting the previous record held by Spider-Man (2002) and also becoming the highest-earning film with a female director in terms of domestic earnings, surpassing Frozen (2013).[200][201]

text: International[edit]

text: Internationally, the film was released day-and-date with its North American debut in 55 markets (72% of its total release), and was projected to debut with anywhere between $92–118 million.[185] It ended up opening to $125 million, including $38 million in China, $8.5 million in Korea, $8.4 million in Mexico, $8.3 million in Brazil and $7.5 million in the UK.[202] In its second week of release, the film brought in another $60 million, including holding the top spot on France, the UK, Australia and Brazil.[203] As of June 25, 2017, the biggest markets of Wonder Woman outside North America are China (US$90 million) followed by Brazil (US$34 million), UK (US$28 million) and Australia (US$24 million). In the Philippines, it broke 2017 box office record for highest earning non-holiday opening day – earning $4.7 million and becoming the 6th most successful commercial film of all time as well overtaking the record set by Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.[204][205][206] The film opened in its last market, Japan, on August 25 and debuted to $3.4 million, helping the international gross cross the $400 million mark.[207]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Wonder Woman received largely positive reviews, with some critics calling it the best film in the DC Extended Universe, and praising Jenkins' direction and the performances and chemistry of Gadot and Pine.[7][211] On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 344 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Thrilling, earnest, and buoyed by Gal Gadot's charismatic performance, Wonder Woman succeeds in spectacular fashion."[212] It is the highest-rated superhero film on the site.[213][note 1] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score of 76 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[214] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[215]

text: Critics commented favorably on Gadot's performance and Chris Pine's Steve Trevor.[216][217][210] Andrew Barker of Variety found the film to be more lighthearted than recent DC Comics films: "Never prone to stewing in solitude, and taking more notes from Richard Donner than from Christopher Nolan, Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman provides a welcome respite from DC's house style of grim darkness—boisterous, earnest, sometimes sloppy, yet consistently entertaining—with star Gal Gadot proving an inspired choice for this avatar of truth, justice, and the Amazonian way."[218] Vox stated "Trevor is the superhero girlfriend comic book movies need".[219] The San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle lauded the performances of Gadot, Pine, Huston, and Thewlis while commending the film's "different perspective" and humor.[220] Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times described Gadot's performance as inspirational, heroic, heartfelt and endearing and the most "real" Wonder Woman portrayal.[221]

text: A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that it "briskly shakes off blockbuster branding imperatives and allows itself to be something relatively rare in the modern superhero cosmos. It feels less like yet another installment in an endless sequence of apocalyptic merchandising opportunities than like ... what's the word I'm looking for? A movie. A pretty good one, too."[222] Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune compared the film to Captain America: The First Avenger, noting that as with "the first Captain America movie over in the Marvel Comics universe, DC's Wonder Woman offers the pleasures of period re-creation for a popular audience. Jenkins and her design team make 1918-era London; war-torn Belgium; the Ottoman Empire; and other locales look freshly realized, with a strong point of view. There are scenes here of dispossessed war refugees, witnessed by an astonished and heartbroken Diana, that carry unusual gravity for a comic book adaptation."[223] Katie Erbland of IndieWire commended its thematic depth, explaining that "Wonder Woman is a war movie. Patty Jenkins' first—and we hope not last—entry into the DC Expanded Universe is primarily set during World War I, but while the feature doesn't balk at war-time violence, it's the internal battles of its compelling heroine that are most vital."[224] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap similarly felt that, "Diana's scenes of action are thrilling precisely because they're meant to stop war, not to foment it; the idea of a demi-god using love to fight war might sound goofy in the abstract, but Jenkins makes the concept work."[225] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post praised Gadot and Pine's performances as well the film's detailed plot and narrative while comparing of some slow-motion action sequences to The Matrix.[226] Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine hailed the film as a "cut above nearly all the superhero movies that have been trotted out over the past few summers" while praising Gadot's performance as "charming" and "marvelous" and commending Jenkins' direction of the film as a step forward for women directors in directing big-budget blockbuster films in Hollywood.[227]

text: Elise Jost of Moviepilot observed that "Gadot's take on Wonder Woman is one of those unique cases of an actor merging with their story, similar to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman, and Wonder Woman is Gal Gadot."[210] Jost praised Gadot's interpretation of Wonder Woman as the one in which Gadot "absolutely nails the character's unwaveringly positive outlook on life. She's a force of nature who believes in the greater good; her conviction that she's meant to save the world is stronger than her bullet-deflecting shield. She's genuine, she's fun, she's the warm source of energy at the heart of the movie."[210] The Federalist suggests that Wonder Woman is "a story of Jesus". "The movie is wrapped up in faux Greek mythology, true, but there's no mistaking the Christology here."[228] "Perhaps Christ in the form of a beautiful and kick-ass Amazon is all that our contemporary society can handle right now", stated M. Hudson, a Christian feminist.[228] On HuffPost cultural critic, G. Roger Denson, who regards the superhero genre as a source of contemporary "Mainstream Mythopoetics" ("the making of new yet vitally meaningful, if not symbolic, stories filled with imagery reflecting, yet also shaping and advancing, the political, legal, moral and social practices of today"), wrote that the "No Man's Land" scene "that people are crying over in theaters and raving about afterward happens to be among the most powerfully mythopoetic scenes ever filmed at the same time it is one of the oldest myths to have been utilized by artists and writers after it had been invented by early military strategists and leaders." Specifically "used by director Patty Jenkins", the scene raises "the esteem for powerful yet compassionate women as heroes and leaders to a level equal with that of men for having won over a huge and adoring popular audience around the world".[229]

text: Steve Rose in The Guardian criticized the film for failing to explore the material's potential for "patriarchy-upending subversion".[230] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone criticized the film's over-reliance on exposition: "Wonder Woman is hobbled by a slogging origin story and action that only comes in fits and starts. Just when Gadot and director Patty Jenkins...are ready to kick ass, we get backstory."[231]

text: "Gas was intended to win the war. On that much Wonder Woman is absolutely right." said David Hambling in Popular Mechanics.[232] Rachel Becker of The Verge stated that despite the scientific liberties of using a "hydrogen-based" chemical weapon as a plot device, the film succeeds in evoking real and horrifying history. "First off, mustard gas is such a horrible, terrifying weapon, it doesn't need to be made more potent. But if you were a chemist bent on raining destruction on the Allied forces, you wouldn't do it by replacing the sulfur atom in mustard gas with a hydrogen atom. You'd know that sulfur is the linchpin holding together this poisonous molecule."[233]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Award
Date of ceremony
Category
Recipient(s) and nominee(s)
Result
Ref.

IndieWire Critic's Poll
December 19, 2016
Most Anticipated of 2017
Wonder Woman
Nominated
[234]

Golden Trailer Awards
June 6, 2017
Best of Show
Won
[235]
[236]

Best Fantasy / Adventure

Best Summer 2017 Blockbuster Poster

Teen Choice Awards
August 13, 2017
Choice Action Movie
[237]
[238]
[239]

Choice Action Movie Actor
Chris Pine

Choice Action Movie Actress
Gal Gadot

Choice Movie Ship
Gal Gadot & Chris Pine
Nominated

Choice Liplock
Chris Pine & Gal Gadot

Choice Summer Movie
Wonder Woman

Choice Summer Movie Actor
Chris Pine

Choice Summer Movie Actress
Gal Gadot

Dragon Awards
September 3, 2017
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie
Wonder Woman
Won
[240]

text: Sequel[edit]

text: Originally signed for three feature films, with Wonder Woman and Justice League being her second and third films, Gadot signed an extension to her contract for additional films.[241] Jenkins initially signed for only one film,[242] but in an interview with Variety, Geoff Johns revealed that he and Jenkins are writing the treatment for a Wonder Woman sequel and that he has a "cool idea for the second one". At the 2017 San Diego Comic Con, Warner Bros. officially announced a sequel would be released on December 13, 2019, and would be titled Wonder Woman 2.[9][243][244] Later, Jenkins was officially signed to return as director, with confirmation that Gadot will be returning as the titular role.[245] On August 19, 2017, actress Geena Davis stated that she would like very much to play a role in Wonder Woman 2 and that she is in talks with Jenkins about that matter.[246] Days later, the studio hired Dave Callaham to co-write the film's script with Jenkins and Johns.[247]

text: Notes[edit]

text: Jump up ^ This is by an adjusted Tomatometer with at least 20 reviews each that, uses a weighted Bayesian based formula to account for the differences in ratings.

tag: ol