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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 60416" data-attributes="member: 23">ANSCHLUSS '77 / THE MAN WHO COULD MOVE THE WORLDUnlike many other TV shows, it's curious how different seasons of Wonder Woman take me back to different, unconnected times in my life rather than one specific block of years. For example, I have very clear memories of watching Season Three at a young age when it first aired (BBC1 aired it at 5.05 on Saturdays). It's the first show where I can remember the excitement of anticipation. In terms of TV shows, it takes a lot to excite me these days, but back then it was full-on season premiere eagerness every week. Whereas Season One I probably watched a decade and a half later in the early to mid Nineties.As I mentioned in a previous post, my earliest memory of these early Season Two episodes fell in between these two times: at some point around the mid-Eighties when they were shown on weekday mornings during a school holiday, which was a thrill. I didn't have a VCR back then, never mind DVD boxsets and I had to take my Wonder Woman as it came along. This was the first time the show had been on in perhaps half a decade or longer. A long time to someone who still had fractions in his age. As I remember it, Anschluss '77 was the first episode shown (so it was probably a Monday morning) and because of that impact some scenes from it still remind me of watching it then.Despite the big dramatics of the Nazi plot and the Hitler clone, the little moment that made the most impact on me back then was that of Steve and Diana arriving at the deserted house in Cordova. Steve found the door open, turned to Diana and teased "after you" at which point she pushed him in. It's a nice, natural moment that feels unscripted and free. Watching last night, and for similar reasons, I also enjoyed a small moment where Steve, Diana and Joe Atkinson were walking in the IADC corridors and Diana asked Joe about his daughter's birthday. Again it felt quite ad libbed and unrehearsed and had the benefit of giving Norman Atkinson a little bit of business and making him feel a little more fleshed out. Small touches like this are scattered throughout these first Seventies-set episodes and they work well. It's easy to see that Carter is more relaxed here than in the period setting of the first season, which works in the show's favour.These early S2 episodes also feel like WW at its most classic for another reason: clips of many scenes from these episodes would find their way into the live action title sequence which would first appear seven episodes from now and continue through to the show's end. Anschluss '77 is very rich with these, including Steve driving the jeep and jumping from the ridge; WW skipping down the hill, running up to the peak, stopping the tank, throwing the bombshells and the controversial helicopter riding scene. If I'm not mistaken, the head shot of WW smiling which was used for Carter's credit and the closing titles is at Bronson Canyon, so possibly from this episode too.The Hitler cloning scene is the creepiest thing in the show to date. Far more effective than I remember it being. The dismal, strobing red lighting; the darkened room; and Hitler himself materialising and opening his eyes probably freaked some young viewers right out.It's a little ironic that having updated to the present day to broaden the pallette, the first two regular episodes tap into WW's Second World War heritage. First Hitler and then the telekinetic guy who was out for revenge believing WW had killed his brother during WWII. They're both good episodes though, so I'll take having them all together rather than dotted in among some other stories.</blockquote>

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