I Saw Bionic Woman (and I’m not impressed)

In case you haven’t heard, Amazon Unbox is offering free downloads of various NBC fall premieres. Being a TiVo owner, I opted to watch Bionic Woman on television (versus PC or portable) and as the title indicates, I wasn’t overjoyed. Perhaps a two hour premiere or two-parter would have served the plot better – things seemed rushed and definitely progressed too quickly to be believable. I also felt like I was stuck in a Battlestar Gallatica reunion show – I know where to find Starbuck and Galen if I really want to see them. Maybe I’m just spoiled – can any show live up to the excitement and mystery provided by the first episode of Lost?

I’m not sure this is what NBC had in mind, but I thank them and Amazon for allowing me to save space on my DVR by killing the Bionic Woman Season Pass before it starts. Next up tonight: Chuck & Quantum Leap Journeyman.

11 thoughts on “I Saw Bionic Woman (and I’m not impressed)”

  1. Well, I think it might be highly unreasonable to expect a remake of a show to deliver an initial *pow* like the first episode of Lost.

    Really, the appeal of Bionic Woman is to a)see a woman capable of jumping from rooftop to rooftop and b)watch her slug bad guys into the next leap year.

    Granted, I miss the wa wa wa wa sounds, but what can you do except make them yourself when she jumps?

  2. You’re right, a modern variation of the classic sound effects would have been nice. I plan to get my female ass-kicking needs met by Netflixing early seasons of Alias. And I’m still hopeful the Sarah Connor Chronicles delivers.

  3. I’ve seen both the Bionic Woman pilot and the Sarah Connor Chronicles pilot. SCC is definitely better but don’t hold your breath…

  4. My wife and I watched it two nights ago, and I give it a solid “C”.

    I think they should have stuck with the basic premise of bionic woman, boyfriend, and OSI director (Oscar) and doctor (Rudy). Heck… they could have kept the basic idea of Jaime’s boyfriend also being the doctor intact.

    And, not to knock Katee Sackhoff being in a sleezy role (yes, I do find her attractive, even with the overly done make-up), but Sarah Corvus is a wasted character right now. This Jaime could easily have the instability the original character had back in the original two-part episode of The Six Million Dollar Man (the one where she died) and that would have easily handled the Sarah Corvus stuff. A cliffhanger of a pilot would have been nice, one where Jaime is off on the deep end and a threat.

    So, yeah… not one I’m going to follow.

  5. The early college games today were pretty lame, so we just watched Journeyman. Not bad at all! (The lead looks a lot like the new James Bond.) Its earned a Season Pass on the S3.

  6. I’m still lobbying for Journeyman to change its name to Quantum Leap: TNG.

    The show’s intriguing, but a bit annoying in that I don’t like any of the characters, so I’m not sure I’m rooting for anyone.

    Bionic Woman on the other hand seems like it would have done well squeezed between Xena and Cleopatra 2525 on Saturday mornings.

    Needless to say, I’ll be recording the first few episodes of both shows this season. I’m a sucker for pretty much any new science fiction show. And now that I’m living with a digital antenna and no cable, I’m stuck with network fare unless I like a show enough to pay for downloads.

  7. The pilot had some issues, but the premise is fun and the cast rocks so I am going to keep watching it. I love Katee Sackhoff and have faith that the writers will pull it together.

  8. I downloaded these this morning.

    I haven’t watched them yet, but my guess is that the over/under on how many make it through a whole season is one, and that’s just because NBC is “patient” compared to quick-trigger networks like FOX and CBS.

    The one I started watching first was “Life”, BTW.

  9. I quite liked Chuck myself. Course you have to get past the initial “watch high-speed video; inject facts into brain” thing. And they haven’t quite figured out yet what the point of the show is. But I’ve only seen the first episode. It was funny.

  10. Netflix-ing Alias will definitely bring some action-packed satisfaction. I actually watched the show while it was on and have the entire DVD set. The extras are great, too. I’m sad to see it off the air, but I think they pulled it at the right time. If it were allowed to continue, it may have strayed too far.

  11. I’m really disappointed in Bionic Woman. I liked the remake of BSG and I’d hoped they could do the same magic with Bionic Woman. Makes me think Ronald Moore is the talented one, not David Eik. This show is wood. It’s stiff and flavorless. I liked the commenter who suggested that the Sarah Corvus melt-down should have been given to Jaime. That would have made for a much better dramatic structure. The progression of the plot is too smooth. The acting is not good. The writing is worse. The plots are thread bare. And the characters are boring for the most part.

    In the second episode, we have bad guys with no apparent motivation. And the emotional plot point that makes Jaime want to work for the mysterious agency is so stupid and contrived as to be unbelievable. (A woman intends to jump off a roof and Jaime plays hero and saves her life. A much better resolution would be that Jaime runs into that woman later at the agency, confirming that they are manipulating her. But complexity is not in this show’s DNA. For a show of secrets and spies, this is one dumb show.

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