The New "Bionic Woman": Will it Live Up to the Hype

As a fan of the first The Bionic Woman, I was overly thrilled, and somewhat frightened, when NBC introduced a remake in their Fall lineup. Jaime Sommers was a woman of strength that I looked up to and wanted to immolate.

The ideal for doing the remake was first mentioned in August of 2002 in The Hollywood Reporter. The series was to be produced by sisters Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd, starring Jennifer Aniston, and airing on the USA Network. However, nothing ever came of that until October of 2006 when NBC announced the rebirth of the project.

The new series Bionic Woman, dropping the "The" from the original title has more than a few changes. Unlike the blond Lindsey Wagner, Jaime gets a new hair color with the brunette British actress, Michelle Ryan, portraying her. Jaime's hair color isn't the only thing that changes. The accident that nearly ends her life has changed from sky diving to car wreak. She is now a bartender in San Francisco instead of a tennis pro turned school teacher from Ojai, California. And, she is dating a surgeon, Will Anthros (Chris Bowers), who is responsible for her cutting-edge new limbs and life-saving operation, and not Steve Austin like before.

The show is the most anticipated new premiere of the 07-08 season. With the advancement in today's technology, any sci-fi fanatic and fan of the original would be drooling at the mouth for the visual effects that will be present this time and missing from the original. Maybe we won't have to suffer through those horrible sound effects that signaled whenever Jaime did something 'bionic'. Now, we can see it on-screen in a more dramatic way.

I have to admit that the changes frightened me. It seems as if the only thing that stayed the same is the fact that she is a bionic woman, becoming that way after a life-threatening accident. She is no longer the first female cyborg; instead the first one, Sarah Corvus (Katee Sackhoff), becomes her nemesis. She now has a little sister, Becca (Lucy Hale), which she is taking care of; who is also a budding hacker and probably will become useful to Jaime's missions some point in the series. As a matter of fact, most of the characters aren't in the original.

While I applaud the network for bringing such a strong female role model back on the air, I don't want to see another great show from the 70's ruined by today's standards. If the writers and actors found a way to stay true to the original and, yet, brought us something fresh and new, I will be more than a fan. Not that I have a problem with change, I don't. I just think that the entertainment industry has a tendency to overdue it sometimes. Past experiences have left me doubtful when dealing with a remake.

With all my cynical thoughts, I do think that this show is worth checking out. From what I've seen and heard about the show so far, I think that the writers were able to put my fears to rest. I really hope that I haven't scared you away from the show, especially if you are a fan of the original. The show is new; introducing new characters for us to meet and eventually fall in love with. The basic principles of the show is the same; Jaime is still smart, reliable, strong, and of course, bionic.

Along with Sarah, Will, and Becca, other new characters are Jonas Bledsoe (Miguel Ferrer), Ruth Treadwell (Molly Price), Jae Kim (Will Yun Lee), Antonio Pope (Isaiah Washington), and an unnamed character who is a high ranking operative in the Bionics program played by Bruce McGill. Jonas Bledsoe is the director of the Bionics program. Ruth and Jae are team members in the Bionics program. Antonio is an advisor to the Bionics program who can go either way with fate of Jaime.

Bionic Woman premiers Friday, September 21^st, on NBC. I will be watching, will you?