You can’t replace the Bionic Woman
NBC must feel pretty confident with its returning schedule
because it’s only premiering four new shows for the new fall
season. The shows are
”
Chuck,
”
”
Journeyman,
”
”
Life
”
and
”
Bionic Woman.
”
”
Bionic Woman
”
is an update of the Lindsay Wagner series that ran from 1976 to
1978. In the original Jamie Sommers was a tennis pro who was almost
killed in a skydiving mishap.
You can’t replace the Bionic Woman
NBC must feel pretty confident with its returning schedule because it’s only premiering four new shows for the new fall season. The shows are “Chuck,” “Journeyman,” “Life” and “Bionic Woman.”
“Bionic Woman” is an update of the Lindsay Wagner series that ran from 1976 to 1978. In the original Jamie Sommers was a tennis pro who was almost killed in a skydiving mishap.
Her boyfriend was Steve Austin (Lee Majors) “The Six Million Dollar Man” who was a cyborg (part human and part machine) and a secret agent for the government. He was a pilot in the air force and lost his legs and arms test flying a new plane. The government decided to rebuild him using bionic parts. They put him to work for the OSI where he fought spies, mad scientists and even Bigfoot.
In one episode he rekindles his love affair with his old high school sweetheart Jamie. They go skydiving together, her chute doesn’t open and she almost dies. Steve Austin convinces the government to use bionic parts to save her. They replaced both of her legs, one arm and her ear. After a few months her body rejected the parts and Steve watched her die.
Since her episode was a big ratings smash the viewers find out that she didn’t really die. In the premiere of her show, scientists were able to save her, but her memory was erased. She doesn’t remember Steve or their love affair.
They never said how much it cost to rebuild her, but she became a spy and battled bad guys while working undercover as a schoolteacher. At one point in the series she even had a bionic dog. Sometimes Steve Austin would make a guest appearance on her show.
The original show was fun. Lindsay Wagner, 27 at the time, was a former model who turned to acting. She was tall, pretty and athletic. Her charm helped make Jamie Sommers more of a real person than a cartoonish superhero. She even won an Emmy for the role.
In the new show Jamie Sommers is a bartender who gets into a car accident. Her boyfriend is a doctor and performs the life-saving operation that gives her bionic parts. In the preview clip it shows her legs being replaced, but I don’t know about any other body parts.
English actress Michelle Ryan plays the new bionic woman. She’s 5’7 and was ranked No. 4 by “FHM Magazine” among the 100 sexiest women in 2005. She’s done a lot of TV work in England, but this is her first American show. She is very pretty, but it takes more than good looks to be the bionic woman.
Her character seems to be darker and more conflicted. The original Jamie Sommers lost her memory of her previous life and gladly helped out the government. In the previews the new Jamie Sommers doesn’t seem very happy to be alive. I don’t know if she is going to fight crime. The plot outline says that she learns to deal with her bionic parts. I don’t think she will be as bubbly and cute as the original Jamie Sommers. The new one looks like more of an anti-hero.
The same team that does Battlestar Galactica on the SciFi network produces the new “Bionic Woman.” I’ve never seen that show, but I hear it’s really good and it has a huge fan base.
The original show was aimed more towards preteens. I was 9 and I watched it weekly. This one looks like it is trying to capture the same audience that watches “Heroes.” I don’t think that we will see her fighting Bigfoot. Today’s audience wants more realistic plotlines.
The rest of the cast includes Katee Sackhoff from “Battlestar Galactica” and Miguel Ferrer, who was in “Crossing Jordan.” Others include Molly Price, Lucy Hale and Chris Bowers. Isaiah Washington who was fired from “Grey’s Anatomy” has a four-episode guest-starring role.
The buzz on the Internet about the show is pretty bad. Most people are upset that they are updating the original. People who have seen it are writing that it’s one of the worst shows ever and that it will be the first cancelled show of the season.
I was a fan of the original so I’m going to at least watch the premiere episode, but to me Lindsay Wagner will always be the bionic woman.
“Bionic Woman” premieres Wednesday, Sept. 26, at 9pm.
