SF Obscure: Electra Woman and Dyna Girl

So, the new trailer is out for the Wonder Woman movie. I plan to see it. I never saw Superman vs Batman and Gal Gadot’s turn as Wonder Woman in it, so I am anxious to see what she does with the character. I am told she was a bright spot in a movie with a rather lukewarm reception. Henry Cavill is a good looking Superman, though I’m still on the fence about the rebooted Clark Kent on the whole. Anyway, thought of superheroes made me think of the original 1976 series Electra Woman and Dyna Girl.

The Krofft Supershow was a variety show aimed at children for saturday mornings. In the 1970’s variety shows were a big thing-for adults they featured comedy skits and musical performances. The Krofft Supershow featured fifteen minute live action shows of which Electra Woman and Dyna Girl was one.These shows were   low-budget, paint by the numbers projects. Cheap costumes. Wooden acting. Cardboard sets. Silly plot lines.  All there in ready abundance.

Take for example, Bigfoot and Wildboy.  It’s about- you guessed it- Bigfoot who adopts a boy, “Wildboy” and thus they go on adventures. And by adventures, I mean each episode is clearly filmed with a handful of limited sets, one of which looks like a local public park. Bigfoot is obviously a man in a  costume.

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, to be fair, was intended to be a parody. It was a homage  to the original Batman and Robin-and once you know that it does make it more entertaining than the other Kroftt Supershow shows. The premise focuses on two journalists, Lori/Electra Woman (Deidre Hall) and Judy/Dyna Girl (Judy Strangis) who investigate stories and as a result, must turn into their superheroine alter egos Electra Woman and Dyna Girl. The fight villains with names like Spider Lady and the Empress of Evil. They also have a really groovy song.

“Electra Woman and Dyna Girl / Fighting all evil deeds. / Each writes for a magazine / Hiding the life she leads. — Electra Woman and Dyna Girl — Summoned to Electra-base / By Electra-comps they wear. / Lori and Judy dare to face / Any criminal anywhere. — Electra Woman and Dyna Girl.”

I would tell you more about the shows except there really isn’t anything to tell. The plots are not terribly deep and only last fifteen minutes. It’s not building up to much, but it’s fun to watch them run around in costumes and use their ElectraComs. The ElectraComs are multifunctional devices Electra Woman and Dyna Girl wear on their wrists to give them special powers. (Electra-Vison, Electra-Vibe, Electra-Beam etc.)

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl have somewhat of a cult following. There was an attempt to reboot the series in 2001 with an unaired pilot you can easily find online. There are also the 2016 webisodes  starring Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart.