Bionic Woman: What Happened?

[Stuart Sweet]

I thought this show had a lot of potential. Ronald Moore did a great job of reinventing Galactica. Katee Sackhoff knew how to play dark and tortured. Miguel Ferrer is one of my favorite character actors working today. Isaiah Washington brought a tinge of controversy. Michelle Ryan certainly had the potential to show up on the walls of limitless college students' rooms.

What happened?

For me, the boyfriend subplot put it over the edge, when combined with the highly convenient meeting of Isaiah Washington's character and his former lover.

It's always possible that the writer's strike will guarantee this one another season, but it's off my list.

[Doug Brott]

I never got hooked on this show from the beginning. Honestly for me it was the other Bionic Woman (the "evil" one) that did it for me and that was in the first episode. I was kinda hoping more for a save-the-world show and that back story didn't add to that at all.

[Earl Bonovich]

We watched the first three episodes... the rest are all on the hard drive.

My wife just didn't like the actress that is playing Jamie... or at least how the character was in the first three episodes.

We will probably finish watching them, especially since we are catching up on our backlog...

But count us as part of the disapointed crowd with this series.

[phrelin]

Hmmm. Well I liked the evil one and the back story. Didn't need the CIA boyfriend, however. The Isaiah Washington thing was too contrived. But these were initial episodes to create information for building the emotional framework of the primary characters. In today's "let's judge a show on the ratings of its first three episodes" environment, I don't know how else they can do all that. Not so many years ago, a decent show had three years to build its foundation.

[RunnerFL]

I think it's good and I've watched all of the episodes that have been broadcast now.

Some of the FX are kinda cheesy but that's kind of to be expected when you bring back a 70's TV show and try to update it.

Then again I'd watch Michelle Ryan do just about anything so maybe that's why the campyness doesn't bother me. :D

[Indiana627]

I didn't like the Katee Sackhoff character at all. I thought the recent episodes without that storyline were showing improvement. One thing that always annoyed me about the lead actress was her wardrobe (can't stand that jacket!) and how she walks (reminds me of the Seinfeld episode with Molly Shannon not swinging her arms). And I couldn't stand that cell phone she had either. Too small for TV. Looked like she was holding an empty hand up to her ear. I guess there was a lot I didn't like though I watched every episode.

[machavez00]

David Eick is the exec producer for BW (also co producer BSG) My brother went to high school with him

[Tom Robertson]

I made it thru 1 and a half episodes then hung this one up. I kept the SL for a short time, but then dumped it along with the remaining recordings.

I never felt a connection with this one. Perhaps has to do with the enjoyment from the original series'.

Happy Holidays!
Tom

[tonyd79]

The characters are bland. Don't care about any of them (except the Katie character was interesting...she went off the screen, so did I).

[bonscott87]

Gave up after part way thru the 2nd episode. Just drivel. And from what I've read they completely changed writers after the 4th or 5th episode and ongoing plots just disappeared and things just changed on a dime like it was a totally new series.

NBC did not order up any more episodes like they did Chuck and Life. And now with the writers strike I'd say this series is dead...Jim.

[Doug Brott]

The later shows are better IMHO ..

[Snoofie]

It just seems like the show doesn't know where it is going or what it wants to be. I know the show has changed hands a few times and early growing pains are normal, but it seems like they are trying to turn it into a father/daughter thing with Jamie and the head dude over the company she works for. I have had hopes that it would really get better and I haven't given up on it yet, but honestly I don't know that I would miss it if it didn't come back.

[tgr131]

Did it start to suck after the "Education of Jaime Summers"? I just finished that episode, and thought it was pretty good. Not the best thing on TV, but I did enjoy it.

[Stuart Sweet]

I think it jumped the shark with the Education episode because that's where the prettyboy boyfriend came into the picture.

[jodyguercio]

I think it jumped the shark with the Education episode because that's where the prettyboy boyfriend came into the picture.

Not at all, Jamie has never been comfortable with being bionic so she's learning how to have a "normal" life and that angle is just something else she would have to deal with and making him a CIA op makes it even more interesting because now not only does she deal with her job and keeping stuff from him but him keeping stuff from her.....

[SledDog]

They need to dump the "goody two shoes" Jamie and let Katee Sackhoff create as much havoc as possible....

If they changed the theme from "the bionc woman saves the world" to "save the world from the bionc women" it would be more interesting...

Let's start with Katee killing off Michelle Ryan's character.

[Wire Paladin]

I was looking forward to this show but after a few episodes I gave up on it and moved on to Criminal Minds.

[ThomasM]

I was looking forward to this show but after a few episodes I gave up on it and moved on to Criminal Minds.

So did I! Last season, I watched Criminal Minds once or twice but I never could stand Mandy Patinkin. So now Mr. prima-donna Patinkin QUITS the show and they replace him with Joe Montagna who is GREAT!! It's fun watching him spar with Thomas Gibson who isn't that amused that he came back to the FBI.

As for Bionic Woman, I liked Lindsay Wagner much better even with the cheesy slow-mo stunts. That version of BW was played tongue-in-cheek. The present one is played foot-in-mouth. If NBC wanted to introduce a new sci-fi series, they should have come up with something original. Actually, the present incarnation of BW reminds me of "La Femme Nikita" with Peta Wilson complete with the secretive below-ground HQ and the goofy spy missions. Who knows, maybe NBC got the sets from USA network!!!

[Snoofie]

Did it start to suck after the "Education of Jaime Summers"? I just finished that episode, and thought it was pretty good. Not the best thing on TV, but I did enjoy it.

That episode was the best acting that Michelle Ryan has done all season. I think her using her natural British accent really helped her relax or something because she was much better than she has been on any other episode.

[Snoofie]

As for Bionic Woman, I liked Lindsay Wagner much better even with the cheesy slow-mo stunts.

I remember before the new Bionic Woman started they said that there would be no bionic sounds and they wouldn't have her moving in slow motion. As the season has gone on I have noticed a more prominent bionic sound when she uses her bioinics and that past few episodes have had her moving in slow motion! There was a scene where she was running and the whole scene was in slow motion. I think they found out that the bionic sound is needed and slow motion actually works and has to be cheaper than digital effects.

[HDTVsportsfan]

I watched it for 3 episodes...my wife liked it. I dropped it. I found myself doing other things i felt were more important. Believe it or not...i think I ended up watching Kitchen Nightmares.

[OneOfOne]

maybe you should consider whats left of the regular network tv viewing audience. I gave up on network crap when I was 17 and read that they were collectively going after the 'lowest common denominator' to get the biggest audience. thats why the shows suck. almost every promo for tv shows is the same. 'this will change EVERYTHING' 'you wont believe what is going to happen'. yeah right. I have a brain. I am not ever going to watch this stupidity.

[cnmsales]

I enjoyed the first few episodes and thought it had potential, then it was like the writers went on strike ahead of the actual writers strike. I killed it after the first 5 episodes.

[Stuart Sweet]

I remember before the new Bionic Woman started they said that there would be no bionic sounds and they wouldn't have her moving in slow motion. As the season has gone on I have noticed a more prominent bionic sound when she uses her bioinics and that past few episodes have had her moving in slow motion! There was a scene where she was running and the whole scene was in slow motion. I think they found out that the bionic sound is needed and slow motion actually works and has to be cheaper than digital effects.

The slo-mo didn't work for me, although I didn't notice that they added sound effects because every time she did something bionic I said "naaNAANAANAANAANAAnaanaa" out loud :)

[Snoofie]

The slo-mo didn't work for me, although I didn't notice that they added sound effects because every time she did something bionic I said "naaNAANAANAANAANAAnaanaa" out loud :)

It's kind of a generic sound and not the original bionic sound, but they have definitely been using it more than when the show first started. I watched an episode of Six Million Dollar Man the other day and I really miss all the sounds that they used.

[Snoofie]

The slo-mo didn't work for me

The slow motion running wa much better in the original version because things were much more "free" back then. Even as a kid I was quite mesmerized watching Jaime run, slower and slower..........