prdeller Reviews

Bionic Woman (2007)

Not as Bad as the Mauling it Got

[6/10 · 12 July 2021]

Having recently re-visited the original seventies Bionic Woman it was only logical to move on and have another look at the 2007 attempted re-boot. At the time this got absolutely slaughtered by the critics and fans of the original show alike. But it's not actually as bad as people would have you believe.

On a technical level it was far superior to the seventies show and clearly showed just how far technology and special effects had come on in the thirty years between the two shows.

Where it failed badly was that it completely failed to capture the humour or the warmth of the original show. None of this was Michelle Ryans fault. Michelle Ryans Jaime Sommers - a woman whose life was already difficult then thrown into a new set of circumstances beyond her comprehension in a world where she no longer knows who, if anybody, she can actually trust - is, in some ways, more believable than Lindsay Wagners Jaime Sommers was.

The problem was that the show was just too bloody dark. Completely joyless and humourless. Everyone was just too hard-bitten and dour and cynical. If you can't get your audience to feel any connection to feel any connection or empathy with the people in the show it's doomed. None of the characters are remotely sympathetic or likeable. Whether that would have changed if the show had been allowed to develop, I don't know. The difference for me was that everybody fell in love with Lindsay Wagners Jaime Sommers almost instantly, whereas Michelle Ryans Jaime Sommers was, at least at first, much harder to like as a character. More realistic maybe in some ways (there must have been some sort of post-bionic my whole world has just been changed and I don't know who or what I am anymore trauma with Lindsay Wagners character. We just rarely saw it) but harder to like. Maybe it's just where TV was in 2007 reflecting a post 9/11, post Iraq war, dark and dangerous world.

Technically good, but a hard show to like. In some ways, the seventies was too silly and corny at times. But this went too far the other way to try and overcompensate. Maybe one day, they could have another go at The Bionic Woman but I fear this probably killed it off for good.

And, I say again. None of this was Michelle Ryans fault. She did the best she could with the part she was given and was the only likeable thing in the entire show for me. Worth a watch for the curious and fans of twenty first century dark TV. Just don't expect to smile much.

The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987 TV Movie)

Enjoyable reunion romp

[8/10 · 10 July 2021]

First thing I noticed from this is that the eighties really haven't aged any better than the seventies did really. Some of the music and the fashions and the hairstyles now look hideously dated- but somehow oddly nostalgic as well if you are someone who lived through those times. Did we really wear that? Did we really talk like that ? Yes. Yes we did. The film itself is solid enough and does a very good job of picking up where the TV shows ended. This is exactly where you imagined the two main characters would be ten years later. Jaime in particular is doing exactly the sort of work that you thought she would now be doing. It's not the most in-depth of plots and the main focus of the film is catching up with two of our most loved TV characters from our childhoods. Not a classic but if you are part of the generation that grew up with Steve and Jaime you'll probably like this.

The Bionic Woman: On the Run (1978) Season 3, Episode 22

Best of series 3 and a nice goodbye

[9/10 · 9 July 2021]

Even the biggest fans of The Bionic Woman would probably admit that series 3 was patchy at best with a lot of rehashed, dull, unimaginative plots that rarely lived up to what potential they had, but this last episode - the very last episode of all - was a nice send off and a good way to say goodbye to a much loved show. Stripping away nearly all the silly espionage stuff and bad science fiction this just goes right back to a good basic character led drama show and is so much better for it. Very much a case of art imitating life as Jaimes reasons for wanting to leave the OSI (tired, overworked and feeling that it had taken over her entire life and wanting to return to normality) are exactly the same as Lindsay Wagners reasons for wanting to leave the show. I will always the show with a mixture of affection for one of the most loved and inspirational TV characters of the entire 1970's and frustration that with a bit more time and care and better quality control over some of the plots and the writing this could have been up there with Buffy the Vampire Slayer as one of the greatest shows ever. A nice farewell. Thank you to Lindsay and everybody who helped put the show together and make it what it was. Even today there have been few more inspirational and better role models for life than Jaime Sommers.

The Bionic Woman: Sanctuary Earth (1978) Season 3, Episode 16

A Bit Rushed

[7/10 · 7 July 2021]

Another series 3 story with several germs of good ideas that never quite bloom into a great story. Alien Princess stranded on earth certainly wasn't a new plot at this point (Wonder Woman did something very similar). A good, if slightly nervous performance from a very young Helen Hunt and a good performance from Lindsay as she plays Jaime's caring, compassionate teacher swallowing her doubts about an impossibly far-fetched sounding story to bond with a clearly very lost and frightened teenage girl very well. So much more convincing when - unlike Escape to Love - the frightened teenager is actually a frightened teenager. Biggest problem with this episode for me - apart from the zero budget dreadful special effects - is that it all feels a bit rushed and the ending feels very forced and unsatisfactory because the episode had run out of time. One of very few series 3 episodes that might have worked better as a two parter to allow more time for Jaime and Auras relationship to develop. Like most of series 3, no better than ok and a feeling of 'They could have done this better with a bit more time and work ' disappointment.

The Bionic Woman: The Martians Are Coming, the Martians Are Coming (1978) Season 3, Episode 15

Could have been so much better

[5/10 · 7 July 2021]

Like a lot of series 3 there are some germs of good ideas here and with a bit more work it could have been a much better story than it turned out. Thanks to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, UFOs and UFO hoaxes were a hit with the public at the time so a story that touches on those themes was probably inevitable. An episode that disappointed me I'm afraid as it doesn't come close to fulfilling it's potential. Even Lindsay Wagner seems to be struggling to muster much enthusiasm for this one. And even by the fairly low standards of seventies TV, the special effects in those episode are excruciatingly bad and cheapen and demean the whole thing. A great shame and hard to view this as anything other than a wasted opportunity.

The Bionic Woman: The Antidote (1978) Season 3, Episode 14

A glimpse of what might have happened next

[8/10 · 7 July 2021]

Something that The Bionic Woman rarely did was to make any use of it's supporting cast. Most of the time Lindsay Wagner was largely carrying the plots and the episodes almost single-handed, bouncing off whoever that weeks guest star was. Only very rarely did the stories put Jaime in real danger either. This episode attempts to do both and mostly does it pretty well. After Jaime is hospitalised (yet again. For a super heroine this girl seemed to spend an awful lot of time in hospital) by a near-fatal poisoning it's up to Calahan, Chris Williams and Max to save Jaime and save the day. Great use of Max and Chris Williams who is starting to be fleshed out into a proper recurring character and a genuine love interest for Jaime who save Jaime's life several times over in this episode. A sinister nurse who bears a fairly obvious debt to Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest is a nice touch too. With hindsight, we know that the show was already on the way out for several reasons (Falling ratings, Network losing interest and Lindsay Wagner's desire to leave the show) but with greater use of the people around Jaime to add some variety to the show and lighten the load on both Jaime and Lindsay, this is a tantalising little glimpse of a direction it could have gone in if it had continued. A bit ham-fisted in places but I enjoyed this one.

The Bionic Woman: The Pyramid (1978) Season 3, Episode 13

Here come the aliens....

[6/10 · 6 July 2021]

Given the huge worldwide success of Star Wars it was inevitable that all the popular TV shows of the day were going to start shoehorning aliens and outer space into their storylines and The Bionic Woman was no exception. Not a bad thing as the OSI have had their secret codes stolen AGAIN plot had already been used beyond all endurance. The old alien intervention sped up human evolution line isn't a new one and it's handled reasonably credibly here. Biggest surprise here is the years ahead of it's time talk of how damage to the ozone layer was going to start to be a threat to life on earth. An issue that I didn't think the world really became aware of until well into the eighties. Like a lot of the series three episodes it's not one of the greatest but it often threw up bits that made you stop and think. And Jaime dressed up for a date, I don't think Lindsay ever looked lovelier than she did in this one.

The Bionic Woman: All for One (1978) Season 3, Episode 12

One of the best episodes of Series 3

[8/10 · 6 July 2021]

I think it's fair to say that Series 3 of The Bionic Woman was patchy. But I thought this was one of the best episodes of the series. OK, it's not heavy on action, but it has a coherent plot and raises some important moral issues and questions. Is stealing to use it for good actually acceptable ? Why - even today - is it so hard for poorer people to get access to higher education ? I don't know if this was one of the first TV shows to highlight it to if someone else got there first, but showing the world the future perils of cyber crime in a computerised world was years ahead of it's time and still rings true today. Possibly even more so today. Only thing that lets this episode down for me is the overuse of seventies slang which now sounds excruciatingly dated. Did people really use to talk like that in the seventies ? Mind you, they will probably saying the same about us in thirty years time. Good episode.

The Bionic Woman: Over the Hill Spy (1977) Season 3, Episode 11

Some Nice Ideas But a Bit Leaden

[6/10 · 6 July 2021]

Quite an enjoyable episode with some interesting ideas. How old is too old ? And the clash between Jaime and retired agent Terry Quinn as they try to overcome the generation gap and learn to trust each other and work together is fun to watch. Older doesn't necessarily mean wiser and younger doesn't necessarily mean stupid is a good message to put across to the audience in a family show. It was a good message to put out that old enemies can finally reconcile and that the Cold War didn't have to last forever too. I think that was a message that the audience and the world needed to hear in 1977 when we were all living under the shadow of nuclear armageddon. So, yeah, some good ideas. Just a shame that the episode never quite manages to pull it off and sits uneasily between spy drama and slapstick and never really succeeds in either. Like much of series 3 you can see the enthusiasm and the energy starting to run out of the show. And, if you want to look for things that were maybe never there, it's more possible foreshadowing and another reminder to Jaime of just how hard it is to leave the espionage world behind you.

Solid enough but could have been better.

The Bionic Woman: Max (1977) Season 3, Episode 10

A Nice Episode

[8/10 · 5 July 2021]

As an episode i quite enjoyed this but I'm not sure what the point of it was. Nice to see some different characters. Val and Bobby were likeable. Not sure if this was meant to be a possible pilot for a spin-off show (which, as adorable as Max is, could never have worked because of how limited its plot possibilities would have been) or if Lindsay Wagner was unavailable for this episode. Enjoyed it but it only barely qualifies as a Bionic Woman episode as Jaime is confined to hospital throughout and hardly appears for more than about five minutes in the entire episode. Nice just a bit pointless.

The Bionic Woman: Escape to Love (1977) Season 3, Episode 9

Solid but a bit dull

[6/10 · 5 July 2021]

An ok episode but like much of the third series can never escape the feeling that the show was starting to feel tired and was running out of stories and enthusiasm. Whether it was the writing or the casting or the acting I don't know, but the whole 'someone falls in love with Jaime on a mission' theme just never feels real or believable. Even the whole 'rescue someone from behind the iron curtain' storyline had already been used before on the show. Possibly the only interesting part for me - and even then, I'm not sure if it was an unfolding plot development leading towards the show's conclusion or if it just came out that way by accident - is Jaimes growing unhappiness with the way the OSI are slowly taking over her entire life.

The Bionic Woman: Brain Wash (1977) Season 3, Episode 8

Corny but ok

[6/10 · 5 July 2021]

Not the worst episode but certainly not a classic. One of my criticisms of The Bionic Woman is that it rarely made much use of any of it's supporting cast so it's nice to learn a bit more about Calahan and see something of her as a person. Ok, the plot is pretty far-fetched but this was the time when Bulgarian agents were assassinating people with poison tipped umbrellas in real life so drugged shampoo isn't actually that far-fetched. An ok episode but viewing with hindsight it is starting to look a bit tired.

The Bionic Woman: Once a Thief (1977) Season 2, Episode 22

Hate to say it but the worst episode ever

[2/10 · 5 July 2021]

I know the third series of The Bionic Woman has it's critics but I'm glad that they made it just so that this abomination of a story wasn't the last ever episode. There may have been some mileage in a 'someone discovers the secret of Jaimes bionics and uses it to blackmail her' story, but this was just awful. The funny bits aren't funny, the human and emotional parts have no resonance whatsoever and the dialogue - even allowing for this being made in the mid seventies - is at times excruciating. Lindsay tries her hardest to make it work but there is no saving this and it is the only episode I've seen so far that I know I will never watch again. A really disappointing end to what was a very solid 2nd season of the show.

The Bionic Woman: Motorcycle Boogie (1977) Season 3, Episode 7

An absurd romp down nostalgia lane

[9/10 · 4 July 2021]

Well, it was nice to be eleven years old again for an hour. Evel Knievel and the Bionic Woman in the same show ? Could you get any more 1977 than that if you tried ? If you want to be po-faced about it, the wafer-thin plot borders on non-existent most of the time and the show is little more than Jaime doing bionics and Evel doing motorcycle stunts and if you want to be REALLY po-faced about it, it is clearly both a totally shameless plug for Evel Knievel and a totally shameless attempt to boost ratings for The Bionic Woman. But I LOVED this. Lots of spectacular action shots and several absolute laugh out like lines in the banter between Jaime and Evel. If you aren't at least smiling after this utterly preposterous and absurd episode than your soul is dead.

Not the greatest ever episode but one that people of a certain age probably remember most of all about The Bionic Woman. Great fun.

Does this review contain spoilers ? C'mon what plot was there to spoil ?

The Bionic Woman: African Connection (1977) Season 3, Episode 6

Enjoyable

[7/10 · 4 July 2021]

Not a bad episode. Jaime's sparky mutual mistrust relationship with cynical mercenary Harry Walker carries most of the episode. Raises a few moral questions along the way about just how much the white western world should be interfering in the internal affairs of African countries too, without ever being overly preachy or self-righteous about the subject. But if you want to just sit back and enjoy the show it's not a bad one.

Only reservation I have is that it bears an awful lot of similarities to the first series episode "Angel of Mercy'. I know there were only so many plots to go round in seventies action and adventure TV (everybody had a go at the Killer Robots plot for example) but when a show is starting to cannibalise it's own previous episodes it's not a good sign and maybe a sign that The Bionic Woman was starting to run out of steam.

The Bionic Woman: Rodeo (1977) Season 3, Episode 5

Entertaining but a bit alien to a Brit

[5/10 · 4 July 2021]

It was only a matter of time before they did a Bionic cowboy episode and here it is. As a British kid growing up in the 1970's the whole Cowboy/Wild West/ Rodeo thing was an alien impossibly glamorous world to me. So watching a lot of what was going on in this was like looking at a fantasy version of another world that I could only dream about. A pretty thin plot that does exactly what it says on the tin. If you're expecting serious depth and plot twists you won't find them here. A nice, warm-hearted, enjoyable, not too serious romp with perhaps the first tiny, tiny little hints that Jaime is starting to tire of the bionic OSI agent always having to wear a disguise and lie to everybody all the time double life.

The Bionic Woman: Fembots in Las Vegas (1977) Season 3, Episode 3

Better than I Feared

[7/10 · 4 July 2021]

I'll admit I approached this with a great deal of trepidation.

"The Return of...." anything stories rarely hold up and any mention of Las Vegas usually means cheesiness and tackiness to the extreme, but this actually holds together pretty well and is visually one of the most spectacular stories of the entire series. Nice to see Jaime really cutting loose with her bionic powers - something that she only very rarely does as she is so reluctant to harm a human opponent. Even the plot just about makes sense. Spectacular and fun. As always, if you can suspend your disbelief and don't take it all to seriously, you'll enjoy this.

The Bionic Woman: The Bionic Dog (1977) Season 3, Episode 1

Good thought-provoking story.

[9/10 · 3 July 2021]

A much better episode than I was expecting. Raises questions to to both the audience and Jaime herself about the ethics of animal research testing and makes Jaime question her future when her life now depends on bionics that may well eventually kill her as well as face up to the truth that neither she nor Steve Austin would be alive without Max. Great acting from Lindsay Wagner as always as she bonds instantly with Max, perhaps recognising in him the same one of a kind uniqueness that she feels about herself. Second episode falls away a little bit and largely relies on action sequences rather than plot but overall a good and important part of the overall series story arc. Definitely worth watching.

The Bionic Woman (1976–1978)

Worth revisiting

[2 July 2021]

I was ten in 1976. Probably too young to really appreciate how good this show was and how fantastic Lindsay Wagner was in the role of Jaime Sommers. Lynda Carters Wonder Woman was a fun show to watch watch, but Lindsay was a far better actress and brought far greater emotional depth to The Bionic Woman. There are several episodes (Doomsday is Tomorrow and Deadly Ringer in particular) where her acting is nothing short of incredible. It's not all great I have to admit. Some of it has dated pretty badly and some of the storylines were very seventies cliched cornball. But it was always an entertaining watch. I was never a fan of the Six Millon Dollar Man crossover episodes as it seemed like they could never decide whether Jaime or Steve Austin was the star of the show. I've recently been revisiting this show several decades after I last saw it. It's worth revisiting. I bet Joss Whedon was a fan of The Bionic Woman. I can certainly see where I got a lot of his ideas for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Jaime Sommers. Buffy Summers. Just a coincidence ?

PS; If you want this on DVD go for the Complete Collection as it includes all the Six Million Dollar Man crossover episodes and the three reunion movies too. Give it a go.