Super Freek Preview: ‘Electra Woman and Dyna Girl’

Photo Credit: Nerdist.com/Sid and Marty Krofft

My preview of the upcoming Electra Woman and Dyna Girl movie is now up at Examiner.com. There's seemed to be a misunderstanding of this film being a reboot series of the '70s Saturday Morning live-action kids’ show. It is a movie adaptation of the series, as stated on production company Legendary’s website. However, it will not be released on the big screen but online on digital platforms in June. That's not to say it won't turn into a series; if it does well enough it might. In my article, I talk about how this movie combines the super hero and retro remake trends of today. Hollywood seems to be obsessed with selling nostalgia to older generations, in this case Generation X. However, the Electra Woman and Dyna Girl movie may be more a then vs. now film than a nostalgic one.

For those not old enough to remember or who have never seen the reruns (which you can catch  on YouTube) Electra Woman and Dyna girl was a kids' live-action series produced by the Krofft Brothers who made other live-action shows for Saturday morning viewing, including ones inspired by fairy tales such as H.R. Puff 'N Stuff and Lidville. The series featured a female dynamic duo and was born out of the feminist movement that television reflected during that time through such prime time sitcoms as Mary Tyler Moore and sci fi ones such as The Bionic Woman. Like Batman and Robin, the two title characters, a young woman and her teen sidekick, fought crime with the help of genius gadgets.

The movie adaptation of Electra Woman, according to the trailer that came out earlier in the week, starts off with the two women (played by YouTube stars Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart) fighting common criminals in their spandex costumes very similar to the ones they wore in the original series. Then they move to Hollywood where they are given a new look and so new costumes that reflect today's super hero trend: darker toned, leather uniforms.

As I talk about in my article at Examiner.com, the movie is a straight out comedy rather than mere camp unlike the original series. It is a much more adult version than the original, which is reflected a lot in Electra Woman's immature, and therefore somewhat crude, hyper active character typical of many 20-something female characters today. In the original series she was much more level-headed which brought out her mentor relationship to Dyna Girl. This along with the change in costumes makes the movie come across as a criticism against '70s pop culture that so many people look down on today. And this is ironic because the movie is co-produced by the series’ producer, Marty Krofft!

I can't say how off Electra Woman and Dyna Girl will be from the original series, since I've only seen the trailer. So it may be better than what the trailer is conveying it as. But, because of its adult themes and seemingly down-criticism of a past era's pop culture, I don't think it will bring back that childhood nostalgia like many Hollywood movie adaptations try to do with kids’ shows. Legendary’s website explains that the movie is introducing these two '70s super heroes to a new generation of viewers, but it could just be a front for reintroducing the two to that older generation who grew up watching them, reintroducing them as characters re-made for their adult viewing.

To Come

I'm planning to publish a new blog, this one focusing on atom punk. Atom punk is a topic that is not very popular on the internet (or off for that matter) as geeky as it is. Because of that, it may even be more geeky than the other subgenres of science fiction such as steampunk. So I want to provide a source for this subgenre and sub-geek culture and am hoping to do that with this new blog. I don't have a launch date for it yet, but the best way to stay updated on it is to visit here every two weeks (my posting frequency). The easiest way to do that is by subscribing where it says "Subscribe to Post" above in the right-hand column. 

Until next time . . .

Check out these electrafying and dynamite Tiki Polystone busts beauties of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl! According to Amazon (as of this writing) there are only five of these sets left. So, if you're interested, hussle over there now by simply clicking the image!