Bummer of the week

Joss Whedon (whose name, like Wile E. Coyote's, should always be followed with the honorific Genius) has walked away from Wonder Woman.

Another Whedon project crushed in its infancy! And I was really looking forward to this one — if there was anyone out there I'd trust with the WW legacy, it'd be the brains behind Buffy.

I remember several spirited discussions with some coworkers about a year ago (hey, beats workin') as to who should be cast as the Amazon Princess. Kate Beckinsale? Too petite. Lauren Graham? Too hip. Lindsay Lohan? Too Hillary Duff.

I was pulling for Charisma Carpenter, who (like Lynda Carter before her) looks the part, has the right stature and the athletic build, and has kicked ass before (sort of) on Buffy and Angel. She even sounds like an Amazon (“Antiope! Artemis! Hippolyta! Charisma! To arms!”), and her previous work with Whedon made her seem a likely candidate for the tiara and the lasso. Sadly, his departure from the project probably rules her out as well.

Which leaves only one logical choice.

Lucy Lawless. 5'11! With a tough and determined face set off by kind, sympathetic eyes. And she'll kick your ass anyhow. Good with a sword, and well-versed in the foibles of a warrior princess. Plus, her character on Battlestar just got put in the freezer for who knows how long, so she's available. Sure, she's 38, but isn't Wonder Woman supposed to be an immortal?

They'll probably end up casting Kate Bosworth, so she can bring the same nothing to Diana that she brought to Lois Lane.