Saturday Morning Cult-TV Blogging: ElectraWoman and DynaGirl: "Return of the Pharaoh"

In “The Return of the Pharaoh,” the villainous Pharaoh (Peter Mark Richman) and Cleopatra (Jane Elliott) plan to steal a relic called the Coptic Eye that is hidden in King Tut’s pyramid.

Lori (Deidre Hall) and Judy (Judy Strangis) must cut short an interview at that very pyramid (which has been moved brick-by-brick to the United States from Egypt...) to stop him. 

Meanwhile, Frank (Norman Alden) is at the Electra-Base and has come up with a new app for the Electra-Comps to help the superheroes stop the Pharaoh: Electra-vision, good for night tracking.

The Pharaoh traps ElectraWoman and DynaGirl in the pyramid and nearly drops a twenty-ton stone on them.

Later, he tries to stop them with his mummification spray, and Cleopatra threatens the heroines with her asps.

It’s campy business as usual in the final episode of the Sid and Marty Krofft Saturday morning series (run on The Krofft Supershow omnibus): ElectraWoman and DynaGirl (1976).

The inspiration that the series so clearly draws from Batman (1966-1968) is at its greatest here, with the return of a King Tut (Victor Buono) knock-off villain, the inclusion of the weekly cliff-hanger before a commercial break, and the villain’s inexplicable fondness for alliteration.

On the last front, the Pharaoh calls ElectraWoman and DynaGirl “despicable damsels of decency,” for example.

Perhaps realizing that the idea of a superhero-turned-villain worked so well on an earlier episode (“Ali Baba,”) this episode sees ElectraWoman hypnotized by the Coptic Eye, becoming a servant of the Pharaoh. She even paralyzes DynaGirl while under the influence.

Also (and again, like “Ali Baba,”) Frank proves helpful by acting quickly at the ElectraBase during a crisis.  He turns off ElectraWoman’s Electra-Comp. 

I have to say, it is very cool that these things have a “kill switch,” which is a function still not available on our smart phones.

Next week, I’ll begin a short stint reviewing episodes of Dr. Shrinker (1976), a series that also aired on The Krofft Supershow, alongside ElectraWoman and DynaGirl. 

Only four or so episodes are available for viewing (courtesy of YouTube), but I’ll watch and review those.