Though I've never actually heard the sound of a producer shooting himself in the foot, I'm sure that the Pepper people must have, for mangling the potential that the "Wendy" series ought to deliver on a regular basis. In this particular case, they've taken a concept of cartoonish proportions (as is the leading lady) but never endow it with the er, animation it deserves. With a plot that defies rational explanation, do-good lawyer Wendy fins herself selling out to the corporate machinations of law firm head Austin Moore, who haltingly dances around his lines like a minefield inspector. Moore's bent on freeing the rabid tree killer David Greenpea Soupé (Jonathan Morgan, affecting a French accent thicker than a cement quiche), while defective detective Jake Williams sniffs out, among other things, clues from Moore's Gal Friday, Tina Tyler.

Williams' and Tyler's desktop liaison kicks the vid into gear, with fine oral ministrations from the always-underrated Tina, but the scene suffers from intercuts-itis as it bounces back and forth to another dialogue set up. Luckily, Jake snags a heated encounter with Ona Zee in the pokey, made all the more effective by evocative angles and lighting, which the rest of the feature fails to capture. It seems that every time Wendy takes off her clothes, the passion grinds to a halt. Given the chance, Wendy has charm and screen presence, even a flair for comic timing, but I'll be hanged if she can breathe life into a sex scene. Though Jon Dough tries his damndest to eat her into ecstasy, or plow her considerable cleavage, Wendy just lies there like a water-balloon, sloshing around listlessly. What this series needs is aggressive direction and razor-sharp editing to make the comedy come alive. However, since others of this series have been more highly rated, market this with them. also appearing: Lynden Johnson.