Bionic Woman

[billybreen]

Well, I went into this one with really, really low expectations, and I think I benefited from those. I almost gave up on it a few times in the first half hour, but all in all it was kinda fun. I guess I'll be back next week, but I'm not sure for how long.

[colchar]

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell Zoe Slater (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Slater) is doing so far away from Walford (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walford).

[SmartDevil]

Not much of a tv watcher but made a point of watching the pilot as I have an interest in bionics and was curious about how they'd be portrayed in 2007.

Show was better than I expected though I'd be surprised if I ever watch it again more than once or twice whether it runs for six weeks or six years.

I didn't find the lead particularly appealing but she demonstrated pretty good acting skills and made what is essentially a comic-book heroine seem somewhat human.

[micah75]

I had to stop watching after 20 minutes, even using the FF. Just too gory for me. Morbid. A gal losing 2 legs, an arm, and an eyeball in a crash, bloody hospital scenes, then having fake limbs and an eye attached. It's probably a symptom of my aging process, but even the thought of cosmetic surgery, breast implants, and botox makes me a bit queazy. Robocop with a pretty face. I don't know. Maybe I can get over this in future episodes. For now though, it seems a little like Frankenstein reversed. Same head, just new body parts.

[alteran]

Wow. I guess I'm on a different page here.

I had high-ish expectations, and I though the show delivered.

I like the noire, La Femme Nikita / Alias underpinnings. The cast seems really strong, too. None of these are household names, but Katee Sackhoff (the "bad" bionic woman), Miguel Ferrer (the amoral boss), and Mark Sheppard (the prison escapee underboss) are all great scene-stealing character actors.

Speaking of actors, the pilot had three actors from Galactica in it. Is Ron Moore or one of the other Galactica folks associated with it? I'm getting nada on IMDB.

I thought the end (Jamie Sommers verbal confrontation of the boss) clunked a little, but it's a pilot so I cut it some slack. My biggest concern is if the lead can really carry the show-- some of the secondary actors seem more captivating.

Still, I'm optimistic on this one.

[Duvall]

Speaking of actors, the pilot had three actors from Galactica in it. Is Ron Moore or one of the other Galactica folks associated with it? I'm getting nada on IMDB.
.

David Eick (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0251594/) is co-executive producer for Battlestar Galactica and executive producer for Bionic Woman.

[colchar]

My biggest concern is if the lead can really carry the show-- some of the secondary actors seem more captivating.



Well Michelle Ryan has been on British tv for years, most famously as Zoe Slater on Eastenders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders), and she was pretty good in that so I think she'll turn out alright.

[Bluedawg]

Wow. I guess I'm on a different page here.

I had high-ish expectations, and I though the show delivered.

I like the noire, La Femme Nikita / Alias underpinnings. The cast seems really strong, too. None of these are household names, but Katee Sackhoff (the "bad" bionic woman), Miguel Ferrer (the amoral boss), and Mark Sheppard (the prison escapee underboss) are all great scene-stealing character actors.

Speaking of actors, the pilot had three actors from Galactica in it. Is Ron Moore or one of the other Galactica folks associated with it? I'm getting nada on IMDB.

I thought the end (Jamie Sommers verbal confrontation of the boss) clunked a little, but it's a pilot so I cut it some slack. My biggest concern is if the lead can really carry the show-- some of the secondary actors seem more captivating.

Still, I'm optimistic on this one.

i did not know who Michelle Ryan was and i was impressed with the show. i was a big fan of the original BW http://blog.instantcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/01/unibrochure_bionicwoman.jpg and i was glad they used her same name.

I'm a big fan of Miguel Ferrer. I was glad to see him working so soon after Crossing Jordan went off.

It may not be a ratings bonanza but hopefully it can help pull NBC out of the sewer in ratings.

[JasonEvans]

It may not be a ratings bonanza but hopefully it can help pull NBC out of the sewer in ratings.

Good news for Bionic fans, the show had great ratings (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3648) for its debut.

--Jason "I have it on TIVO and have not watched yet... will do so tonight probably" Evans

[dball]

Thought the bad BW angle had a Galactica/Species feel/look to it

[elvis14]

I watched it out of curiosity. I wasn't really all that impressed with the first show. The transition from accident victim to bionic woman should have been more gradual and more traumatic (and happend over the course of a couple of shows). I know they want to get things started but to me the first show showed a serious lack of depth. That doesn't mean I'm giving up on it because now that I expect newer shows to just be her being the fully capable BW, it's all about the weekly adventures and the arch rival. Could be fun to watch....could be crap :-)

[Master Shake]

Well Michelle Ryan has been on British tv for years, most famously as Zoe Slater on Eastenders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EastEnders), and she was pretty good in that so I think she'll turn out alright.

Yeah I don't think I could watch BW cause I would keep expecting her to say something like "Oh leave it, Kat". Same reason I can't watch House-- "I say, Blackadder. . ."

[Udaman]

Finally watched it last night. I don't think I could have been more disappointed.

The writing....was horrible. The worst I can remember seeing, and that is saying something. The interactions with Jamie and her Dr. boyfriend, with Jamie and her sister, with Jamie and Starbuck (evil bionic woman from Battlestar)....all of them were just badly written and almost completely unbelievable.

Then the premise was bad and confusing? How did Starbuck know where they would be? If she was trying to kill the Dr., why didn't she after the wreck? If she was really trying just to injure Jamie so they would make another one - that is beyond dumb. The wreck should have killed her. Note, that when there is a T-bone collision at that speed, the people in the car that is hit almost always are killed. The body can't absorb a hit from the side, and your spinal cord is severed (this from Dr friends). Head to head collision - you can be OK. Side impact with big truck and speed - see Six Feet Under's dad.

Finally, the last fight scene was laughable. First, once Starbuck noticed that Jamie only had one bionic arm (and she had two), the fight would over. She would simply rip her arm off. In fact, at one point it looked like she did snap her wrist, but apparently only enough to make her scream in pain, but actually do no damage, since they kept fighting. Ughh.

This pilot was brutal. It takes a lot for me to write off a show after on viewing...but I'm there with this show. If it hangs on, maybe I'll check out the DVD come next summer.

[colchar]

Yeah I don't think I could watch BW cause I would keep expecting her to say something like "Oh leave it, Kat". Same reason I can't watch House-- "I say, Blackadder. . ."

I didn't think there was anyone else here who would watch Eastenders. The fact that you do is either really cool, or really sad (and this is coming from someone who is absolutely addicted to that show). If a character named either Den or Dennis is introduced on BW, I'm tapping out and will never watch it again. Come to think of it...just for fun, they shoulda named the bad bionic woman character Sharon.

[Clipsfan]

I thought that the show was only so-so at best, I really wasn't paying a ton of attention while it was on. I can't help thinking that it's great if the limbs are bionic, but that doesn't mean that she would have the mass to handle the things that she does. It would be great to exert that much force, except that her arms should tear off and she should probably go flying the opposite direction. I didn't get the accident at all, it seemed like a poorly contrived way to set up some enmity between the two bionic women. As mentioned, it would have killed everyone in the car (not to mention, wouldn't losing that many limbs in an accident probably lead to bleeding out very quickly/intense trauma?) I've still got it Tivoed for whenever it shows this week, but I don't expect much.

[JasonEvans]

I too watched it after letting it sit on my TIVO for a couple days. I echo much of the frustration expressed here.

Science fiction is a much more accepted and common storytelling medium today than it was when the first Bionic Woman came out. I would have thought that would allow the folks behind this show to make it more realistic and believable-- that is the essence of good sci-fi in this modern age. Instead, they went for simple stuff that made no sense. The accident does not bother me, but almost everything about her recovery did. It all just felt simple and not even moderately clever.

The acting was horrid and the script was super-lame. Still, I am not going to give up on it... yet. I often find that pilot episodes suffer from trying to intrioduce us to characters and themes. It is tough to tell what a show will really be like from a pilot. So, I am giving this a couple more chances. It seems like there could be a couple interesting storylines developing.

--Jason "I'll be very interested in seeing how week 2 ratings go" Evans

[Master Shake]

I didn't think there was anyone else here who would watch Eastenders. The fact that you do is either really cool, or really sad (and this is coming from someone who is absolutely addicted to that show). If a character named either Den or Dennis is introduced on BW, I'm tapping out and will never watch it again. Come to think of it...just for fun, they shoulda named the bad bionic woman character Sharon.

Don't watch it anymore-- it used to come on BBCAmerica in 2 hour block summaries every Sunday but BBCAmerica took it off several years ago, presumably to run more Ground Force or other fix it up show (the last time I saw it Alfie and Kat were an item and Pauline was still on the show). Pretty fun show, campy, and about as realistically East End as Dukes of Hazzard is rural Georgia-- now I occasionally catch Days of Our Lives, which makes Eastenders look like Proust.

[billybreen]

At the 15 minute mark, I'm really unsure I can make it through the rest of episode 2. This sucks.

Ugh: I stuck around to the end. I think I'm done with this show.

[colchar]

Don't watch it anymore-- it used to come on BBCAmerica in 2 hour block summaries every Sunday but BBCAmerica took it off several years ago, presumably to run more Ground Force or other fix it up show (the last time I saw it Alfie and Kat were an item and Pauline was still on the show). Pretty fun show, campy, and about as realistically East End as Dukes of Hazzard is rural Georgia-- now I occasionally catch Days of Our Lives, which makes Eastenders look like Proust.

Luckily for me, BBC Canada still plays it every day, although we are two years behind the British episodes. Right now, Kat has just returned and Sharon and Dennis will be reappearing next week.

I had watched it with my parents when I was younger but hadn't watched it in forever. A couple of years ago, I was flipping channels on a Sunday and happened to catch it. The episode that was on was the one immediately after the one in which Den returned (although he had just appeared in the final scene of that episode). Since he had apparently died 15 years before, I had to watch (after calling my Mum to check if she was watching) and have been absolutely hooked ever since.

[FewFAC]

Whoever wrote this show should be shot. More action, less contrived plot.

[billybreen]

Yikes, its ratings suck (http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/james-hibberd/2007/10/abc_triumph_private_practice_o.php). This one may not be around for long.

I haven't seen last night's DSM yet, but it managed to keep 100% of its audience, even with its lead-in dropping viewers. Hopefully that bodes well.

[Bluedawg]

Yikes, its ratings suck (http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/james-hibberd/2007/10/abc_triumph_private_practice_o.php). This one may not be around for long.

I haven't seen last night's DSM yet, but it managed to keep 100% of its audience, even with its lead-in dropping viewers. Hopefully that bodes well.

If they give BW a chance it'll develop a following...

[billybreen]

If they give BW a chance it'll develop a following...

How so? I think writing, acting, and other such redeeming qualities are prerequisites for a following.

[colchar]

How so? I think writing, acting, and other such redeeming qualities are prerequisites for a following.

Then how do you explain the abomination known as reality tv?

[billybreen]

Then how do you explain the abomination known as reality tv?

You know what you are getting with reality. If someone is choosing to watch a scripted show, they expect something a bit more. They expect a script and, um, a show. As far as I can tell, BW has neither.

But you're right. People suck. Who knows what they want.

[colchar]

You know what you are getting with reality. If someone is choosing to watch a scripted show, they expect something a bit more. They expect a script and, um, a show. As far as I can tell, BW has neither.



Yeah I know. I was just taking a shot at reality tv because...well because it sucks. In a big way. And the fact that people watch it is both sad and frightening.

[billybreen]

Yeah I know. I was just taking a shot at reality tv because...well because it sucks. In a big way. And the fact that people watch it is both sad and frightening.

Oh, I fully agree. I think all reality stars (sic) should be treated thusly (http://www.wwtdd.com/post.phtml?pk=2963).

[colchar]

Oh, I fully agree. I think all reality stars (sic) should be treated thusly (http://www.wwtdd.com/post.phtml?pk=2963).

Danny Bonaduce is my new hero.