Bionic Woman (2008)

[Just Jeans]

For those of you interested in the new Bionic Woman series starring Michelle Ryan, the people behind KryptonSite (http://www.kryptonsite.com) have erected a Bionic Woman site where by you can keep up with the latest news, rumors and spoilers:

BionicWebsite (http://www.bionicwebsite.com/)

[Shoesalesman]

I loved the show as a kid, I'm sure it'll bring back lots of warm memories when I see the new one. I'm hoping for something from The Six Million Dollar Man, but I'll get my bionic fix this way too. :hypno:

[CampNewBlood]

I love the original. I will definately give this a try.

[Jason's Storm]

I'll give it a try, since I never saw the original. If they where going to do, the 6 million dollar man, they would have to make it 6 "billion" dollar man. Apparently you can't get much shit for 6 million dollars

~JS

[DrLar]

Oh man I loved it!!!! BTW topic should be renamed Bionic Woman (2007)...

Absolutely in love with Michelle (since Jekyll), she does a pretty good American accent IMO.

Too bad they didn't show how they attached her bionic parts, would be interesting to see, well.

Awesome cast! Miguel Ferrer from Crossing Jordan, Katee Sackoff from BSG, Aaron Douglas also BSG, future stars like Isaiah Thomas from Grey's, etc.

[The Dark Vampire]

I'll have to give this a miss as I don't like Michelle Ryan as I said before she just gets on my last nerve she was a bad actress even for Eastenders and none of them are Oscar winners.

I don't think they should of done it the way they have they could of still had The Bionic Woman without having to recast Jamie Summers they should of made a new Bionic Woman and made this a continuation from the old series and establish that Jamie--Steve & Co existed.

[hack slash]

I thought it was really good and I have to agree with the critics when Sackoff was on screen she stole every scene she was in
hard to believe just a few years ago we saw her head rolling down the stairs in Halloween: Resurrection:D

[Shoesalesman]

I'll give it a try, since I never saw the original. If they where going to do, the 6 million dollar man, they would have to make it 6 "billion" dollar man. Apparently you can't get much shit for 6 million dollars

~JS

Unless it's in Canadian funds. Nyuk nyuk. ;) :p

[Cody]

I think the line in this new Bionic Woman pilot was that her parts cost $50 million.

I thought it was decent, I'll keep watching for a while.

[Patrick]

I really enjoy this new Bionic Woman. After watching the episode titled "Education of Jamie Sommers", (October 24), I agree with one site that said the producers should have let Michelle Ryan keep her English accent. It just kinda adds a little "flavor" to the character and the show...something extra.

[Just Jeans]

Bionic Woman' Too Violent, Original Star Says (http://www.syfyportal.com/news424418.html)

Among the many people who are not tuning in each week to see "Bionic Woman" is original series star Lindsay Wagner.

Wagner, who portrayed Jaime Sommers in the 1970s as well as its subsequent movie spinoffs, told WENN that she is not a fan of the new NBC series starring Michelle Ryan, because the show is far more violent and appeals to a much different audience than the original series did.

"It's very much like what the shows are today ... kind of dark and broody and violent," Wagner said. "It's not at all what we were doing. We were doing a show for kids intentionally and making it fun in such a way that adults could enjoy it, too."

Of course, television has changed a lot in the 30 years since the original series aired, but whether it be because of its darkness or for other reasons, the show that includes "Battlestar Galactica's" David Eick has an executive producer, has already lost half of its audience from its so-so premiere, and is in danger of not lasting past the first season.

And if that weren't enough, it seems that "Bionic Woman" has irked Apple fans as well. A recent episode of the show featuring Callum Keith Rennie (who plays Leoben in BSG) featured the use of an iPhone (with a covered Apple logo). Great to see the iPhone being used in the show, except for one thing ... the actors were talking into it upside down. Can you hear me now?

NBC Universal, which produces and distributes "Bionic Woman," had already irked Apple fans earlier this year when they abruptly ended their contract to distribute episodes on iTunes.

"Bionic Woman" airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

[Patrick]

YAY! NBC has announced that Bionic Woman will not be cancelled! I have emailedf them 3 times begging them not to. There were also thousands of replies on the message boards on NBC's site. Maybe it helped. It was just getting really good when this strike shit happened...with the inclusion of the slow motion scenes (as in the original with Lindsay Wagner) and the bionic sounds as it shows her running in slow motion......I LOVE THAT!

From TVGuide.com:
UPDATE: BIONIC WOMAN HAS NOT BEEN UNPLUGGED

Will Bionic Woman, which before the WGA struck was hoping to reverse its fortunes with a two-part January "relaunch," ever get the chance to fine-tune its engine? Although there were earlier reports that not only has the NBC series exhausted its supply of scripted episodes but it has been all together scrapped, a spokesperson for NBC Universal Media Studios tells TVGuide.com, "Bionic Woman has not been cancelled. Production was shut down due to the WGA strike. In addition, we have not completed the initial 13-episode order, which will be the first order of business when the strike ends."

[Just Jeans]

They're also not saying that it won't be canceled, just that they'll fill the initial 13 episode order.

[Patrick]

Well atleast it's better than nothing at all. We will get ATLEAST 5 more episodes. The ratings could pick back up and NBC could contiue with more.

I hope they will comtinue to make more. The last 2 or 3 episodes have really been better

[DrLar]

My hopes of getting a second season are way low, at least the 13 episode ones are still going strong... many have said that it's over, Until NBC officialy says so I'm crossing my fingers...

OK people this will be a long cold TV-less winter, bring your DVDs out of storage...

[Patrick]

COOL! Universal is releasing Season One Volume One on March 18!

Here is the cover art.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l174/P-Trick06/bionicwoman2007v1dvd.jpg

[Shoesalesman]

That's a nifty cover.

[Spade]

I'll buy it.

[Patrick]

Better pics with Menu Screens:

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l174/P-Trick06/BionicWoman2007_V1.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l174/P-Trick06/BionicWoman2007_V1_menu1.jpg

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l174/P-Trick06/BionicWoman2007_V1_menu2.jpg

[Just Jeans]

According to SyFy Portal (http://www.syfyportal.com/news424708.html), Bionic Woman is finished:

The second casualty of the season (the first being “Journeyman”) is the re-vitalized “Bionic Woman.” The series was expected to be among the top-hitters of the new television line-up, but following the pilot episode, viewership for the series declined rapidly. Not too long ago it looked like the “Battlestar Galactica”-inspired series would have a chance to prove itself after the picket lines dissipate but now all signs are pointing to the disassembly of all bionics.

Given that the first episode had 13.91 million viewers, and the last had only 5.99 million, I won't be surprised if NBC decides to leave it gone.

[Cody]

Too bad, there were storylines I was interested in seeing continue. I'll miss getting a weekly dose of Michelle Ryan.

[Just Jeans]

She's got five years worth of EastEnders under her belt. Maybe she can go back to that? :X

[Spade]

According to SyFy Portal (http://www.syfyportal.com/news424708.html), Bionic Woman is finished:

I hope it doesn't get canceled. I like the show.

[Just Jeans]

Unfortunately, it's almost certain to go. The ratings just weren't holding. They were on a steady decline throughout the season, bottoming out at about 5 and a half million viewers. For NBC, that's not a strong showing. I think the network will probably cut its loses (Knight Rider will probably replace Bionic Woman next season, if the TV Movie does well).

[Spade]

Ah well I guess I can always buy the boxset.

[Patrick]

Yea this fuckin blows. Hopefully it's not true. I have emailed NBC/Universal numerous times voicing my disgust at how this show was treated from day one. First, they give it a 45 minute SERIES premiere. You can't do that with this type of show. It needs a 2 part series opener. Secondly, they rushed every storyline they had. Third, they took out everything that made the original a classic....the slow-mo scenes, the bionic sounds, all that. They then tried to incorporate that back into it the last few episodes, but alot of people had stopped watching it by then. It's NBC/Universal's fault this show didn't do as well as expected.
I love the show and hope it comes back. That pisses me off about that Knight Rider bullshit getting a 2-hour movie and possibly a series if it does well. What a CROCK.

This fucking pisses me off.

[Just Jeans]

First, they give it a 45 minute SERIES premiere. You can't do that with this type of show.

They do it regularly with these kinds of shows -- Smallville, Heroes, Doctor Who, Primeval, Torchwood, Eureka, Pushing Daisies, The X-Files... just to name a few. And all of those shows have done just fine.

Secondly, they rushed every storyline they had.

Perhaps there just isn't a very good production team working on the franchise?

Third, they took out everything that made the original a classic....the slow-mo scenes, the bionic sounds, all that.

Probably rightly so, as those things were staples of that era. It would have been a little silly not to modernize the concept.

It's NBC/Universal's fault this show didn't do as well as expected.

Or perhaps it just didn't stick? These things happen from time to time. science fiction is a hard sell on national television (which is why the critically loved, award winning Battlestar Galactica was moved off NBC's line-up and shunted away exclusively on SCI-FI after the mini-series).

That pisses me off about that Knight Rider bullshit getting a 2-hour movie and possibly a series if it does well. What a CROCK.

A bit unfair, don't you think? It's hardly Knight Rider's fault that Bionic Woman might have been shit canned (I'm suddenly having flashbacks to the Farscape fans blaming Tremors: The Series fans for Farscape getting canceled). The Knight Rider TV film was greenlit long before Bionic Woman started slipping in the ratings.

In any case, given that NBC promoted the living hell out of the series in the run up to the first episode, and that they were expecting to draw the same kind of audience figures Heroes got last year, I hardly think they set out to sink it before it even got going.

[Spade]

Yea this fuckin blows. Hopefully it's not true. I have emailed NBC/Universal numerous times voicing my disgust at how this show was treated from day one. First, they give it a 45 minute SERIES premiere. You can't do that with this type of show. It needs a 2 part series opener. Secondly, they rushed every storyline they had. Third, they took out everything that made the original a classic....the slow-mo scenes, the bionic sounds, all that. They then tried to incorporate that back into it the last few episodes, but alot of people had stopped watching it by then. It's NBC/Universal's fault this show didn't do as well as expected.
I love the show and hope it comes back. That pisses me off about that Knight Rider bullshit getting a 2-hour movie and possibly a series if it does well. What a CROCK.

This fucking pisses me off.

I'm really disappointed as well.

They do it regularly with these kinds of shows -- Smallville, Heroes, Doctor Who, Primeval, Torchwood, Eureka, Pushing Daisies, The X-Files... just to name a few. And all of those shows have done just fine.

Perhaps there just isn't a very good production team working on the franchise?

Probably rightly so, as those things were staples of that era. It would have been a little silly not to modernize the concept.

Or perhaps it just didn't stick? These things happen from time to time. science fiction is a hard sell on national television (which is why the critically loved, award winning Battlestar Galactica was moved off NBC's line-up and shunted away exclusively on SCI-FI after the mini-series).

A bit unfair, don't you think? It's hardly Knight Rider's fault that Bionic Woman might have been shit canned (I'm suddenly having flashbacks to the Farscape fans blaming Tremors: The Series fans for Farscape getting canceled). The Knight Rider TV film was greenlit long before Bionic Woman started slipping in the ratings.

In any case, given that NBC promoted the living hell out of the series in the run up to the first episode, and that they were expecting to draw the same kind of audience figures Heroes got last year, I hardly think they set out to sink it before it even got going.

All good points James. I would like to add that yes Sci-fi is a hard genre to sell on tv. Tremors and Firefly were both two good Sci-fi shows that were canceled way too early. Not to mention other genre shows like Dead Like Me and Dark Angel. Man the list goes on and on. I guess this will get added to the list of shows I enjoyed that were canceled too soon.

[Just Jeans]

Tremors and Firefly were both two good Sci-fi shows that were canceled way too early.

The sick thing about the cancellation of Tremors is that it was Sci-Fi's number 1 rated program while it was on air. Despite this, it wasn't renewed for a second season. It's madness.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been really good, and it's struggling with ratings, too. Science Fiction is just a damn hard sell on television.

As for the future of Bionic Woman:

Bionic Woman
No new episodes expected. Ever.

:X

[Spade]

Yeah the Tremors cancellation really shocked me.

No new episodes ever... bummer.

[Patrick]

I'm just pointing out that IMO, Bionic Woman SHOULD have had a 2-hour premiere. IMO, you can't have normal, everyday person get into a horrific car accident, make half her body bionic, and have her up and living a "normal" life by the end of 42 minutes. That, in itself, it ridiculous.....and for that I blame NBC/Universal. Whether or not Knight Rider was greenlit a month, year, or ten years before Bionic Woman was even considered is beside the point I am trying to make. NBC/Universal should have given BW a longer premiere. Period. I am not the only one saying this. Fans of this show on NBC's official boards have expressed this as well. And it's true.
All the bionic sounds, slow motion, etc. is not dated. Why would you have bionics on a BIONIC show and not emphasize that aspect of it? Obviously towards the end of the series before the strike, NBC was trying to correct their errors with incorporating these features into the shows.

The ONLY good thing NBC has on now is Amercian Gladiators. No wonder their station is at the bottom of the totem pole. All they have running it are idiots.

[Just Jeans]

I'm just pointing out that IMO, Bionic Woman SHOULD have had a 2-hour premiere.

And I'm only pointing out that a one-hour premiere didn't single handedly sink the show. The ratings didn't drop to under 6 million over night, it happened over the course of eight weeks. A two hour premiere wouldn't have changed that.

I realize it's a bummer that the series failed, but that's just how it is. Sometimes, things don't stick.

Why would you have bionics on a BIONIC show and not emphasize that aspect of it?

Which aspect? The corny sound effects aspect? Possibly because they were trying to give it a Battlestar Galactica overhaul. It worked for BSG, but not so much here. It's unfortunate, but as I say -- it happens.

NBC was trying to correct their errors with incorporating these features into the shows.

And yet the show continued to lose viewers rather than leveling out and maintaining the audience it has. So obviously the inclusion of some 70s sound effects really don't matter.

Furthermore, I doubt whether the NBC hierarchy had anything to do with these changes. It was probably entirely down to the production team, as these decisions often are.

[Patrick]

Corny to YOU. NOT to me. You don't speak for everyone dude. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's shitty. There seems to be alot of that on this forum.

I think, as do alot of fans, that NBC/Universal...and the last time I checked they were the ones making the show.....made the series fail. With the writers changing 2 or 3 times in the span of 9 episodes. NBC should have had their shit together BEFORE releasing this.

And I don't give a shit who says what, I believe that Bionic Woman could have benefited from a 2-hour series premiere. Whether it WOULD have a made a difference or not is moot at this point. But obviously, we will never know.

[Just Jeans]

NBC pulls the plug (http://www.syfyportal.com/news424740.html):

If NBC cancels a show that no one was around to watch, will it make a sound? Will anyone care?

After spending the recent Writers Guild of America strike expressing confidence in its ratings-challenged show, NBC has finally admitted the disaster that was "Bionic Woman" and has cancelled the series before it completed even its first season.

Although NBC hasn't announced it officially just yet, TV Guide's Michael Ausiello (who mentioned SyFy Portal in his popular "Ask Ausiello" column this week) said that the cast and crew of the Vancouver, B.C.-shot show were told that the series was no more, and to start making other plans. That means executive producer David Eick can go back to concentrating on "Battlestar Galactica" full-time and new showrunner Jason Cahill doesn't have to worry about being anything more than just an asterisk in the Bionic Woman history.

The show was one of NBC's most-hyped leading into the fall, even going as far as using the show to anchor its Wednesday nights. The pre-premiere publicity worked, as "Bionic Woman" pulled in pretty decent ratings as far as new series were concerned. But by the time the final pre-strike episode aired on NBC, nearly 54 percent of its premiere audience had abandoned the program. Not even the controversial addition of Isaiah Washington, who was fired after making homophobic remarks about a gay cast member, was enough to get people to tune in.

Since this hasn't been confirmed by NBC just yet, please treat this as you would any other rumor.

"Bionic Woman" joins "Journeyman" as the two genre shows cut by their network so far this season, and both came from NBC. CBS has two shows on the bubble, "Jericho" and "Moonlight," and although ratings have been slipping for "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," it does seem that Fox has every intention of bringing that show back for the fall.

[Spade]

I was hoping they would change their minds, but I guess not.

[Just Jeans]

Corny to YOU. NOT to me.

Obviously.

You don't speak for everyone dude.

The ratings speak for themselves.

Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's shitty.

Throw on the breaks, reverse, and take a minute to re-read what I wrote -- I said it was corny and dated, but I never said that I disliked it. Please refrain from putting words in my mouth.

Look, the simple fact is that it didn't work. NBC had big ideas about making Bionic Woman the next Heroes in terms of viewership, and it misfired. We may never know why it happened, but it did. It's unfortunate, but good shows with strong concepts often flounder (Carnivale, Deadwood, Firefly, Surface, Raines, Bionic Woman) while other shows thrive. That's just how television works.

There seems to be alot of that on this forum.

I know it sucks to have a favorite show shit-canned -- I've been through the process of letting go four or five times since the turn of the century -- but that's no reason to make the whole mess personal.

[TheShowstoppa]

I hate to say it, but the first episode was pretty lacking. I watched about 3 episodes then couldn't pull myself to do it anymore. I got bored with it and the characters. The first episode, while I did say it was lacking, had a few really good moments, but then it just trailed off from there. I got pretty bored with it and just nixed it off of my DVR. It's not that big of a loss to me, since I had lost interest by the time the writer's strike was announced. Sadly though, I was hoping it would have been a good series. Alas - Not everything can be perfect.

And I agree with everyone here: Sci-Fi is a hard thing to sell on TV. It does better with movie budgets. I hope Terminator doesn't meet this same fate, because I absolutely love that show.

[Just Jeans]

Just stumbled across Ausiello's actual report:

It's now official: The Commander in Chief award for the most spectacular freshman flame-out of the 07-08 TV season goes to... Bionic Woman!

Although NBC isn't talking, I'm told by multiple sources that Bionic staffers were informed late last week that the troubled reboot has indeed been canceled. That means no spring relaunch under new show-runner Jason Cahill — which is too bad. Cahill's a talented guy (see: The Sopranos), and I was anxious to see what he would do with the show. But I guess it wasn't meant to be.

At least now the first stage of grief can get under way. No, not shock — the snarky postmortem! What do you think felled Bionic Woman in the end? Was it the lackluster pilot? The absence of a clear, creative vision? Not enough Starbuck? Too much Isaiah Washington? All of the above?

It would have been interesting to see what Cahill did with the show (he may have been the one responsible for some of the changes toward the end of the run), but I guess it's not to be. A shame. :(

[Patrick]

I bought the dvd's today of Bionic Woman Volume 1. Over on the official NBC message boards, someone posted their email that they had sent to NBC/Universal's Rebecca Marks, NBC U TV Group publicity exec VP concerning the fate of the show. She apparently responded with this:

"Thanks for your support on Bionic.
I think it is a great show too.
We are still determining its future.
We should know more in May
Hang in there."

Whether that response was just a ploy to sell dvd's or whatever, it still makes you have a glimmer of hope. I have emailed them 4 or 5 times asking them to keep it on. Maybe the dvd sales will have an effect on the shows potential future. Best Buy was sold out of them today. I'm not sure how many they got, but there were spaces on 2 different shelves for it and they were all gone. Target only had 4 left and I got one. Wal-Mart had 3.

So maybe there is still a chance for the show to make a come back of some sorts. I hope it does. Michelle Ryan was quoted on a British site...Digital Spy I believe...that in the event that Bionic Woman is given a reprieve, that "everyone will go back with renewed enthusiasm".

So obviously it has NOT been officially canceled by NBC. If it has, then they haven't said.

[Just Jeans]

Ausiello is one of the most well connected people in the television industry. Very rarely is he incorrect when he reports a cancellation. If he says that it has been canceled, then chances are that's the case. It seems to me NBC is stringing people along at this point. :meh:

Whatever the case, we should know for certain in less than three months whether the show will be renewed, because they'll have to get the cast back together to start work on the fall season. But if the cast and crew have been told to look for other jobs, as Ausiello suggested, I'd say it's looking unlikely. A renewal at the 11th hour would be nice, though. They might not be able to get the entire cast/crew back, but that wouldn't be too terrible.

[Patrick]

Well, in any case, I am going to try something new....keep a positive outlook on it.

From Moviehole.net:

Update! : SKNR.net has an update on the situation, saying : ""Bionic Woman" was cancelled by NBC. BUT... There's rumours of UK's Sky 1 keeping Bionic Woman alive if Sci Fi will partner with them (similar to their BSG season 1 arrangement). It'll all depend on BW's ratings sustaining good numbers instead of tanking the way they did here".

Though the network doesn’t have the balls to tell him, Co-Executive Producer of the NBC series, David Eick says “Bionic Woman” is done.

"I just felt that the process was so frustrating, and the conditions under which we were making that show never really came to fruition in such a way that I felt like we could make the show well," Eick tells SciFi Wire "The actress [Michelle Ryan] we found was wonderful. Some of the writing was good."

But, he added: "We just didn't ever bring it all together like we did with Battlestar. At a certain point, when it becomes that frustrating, I think you're better off to say, 'Let's try again another time,' and let it go."

Maybe it will do well enough in the UK that it will be renewed through the Sci-Fi channel as they mentioned.

I hope so.

[kramerfan]

Hi can anyone tell me if this show with Michelle Ryan is still on?

[Jason's Storm]

No it got canceled, just after the writers strike ended. It wasn't doing so hot anyways.

~JS