NBC has released its first look at the all-new Bionic Woman series set to debut this Fall. Produced by Battlestar Galactica Veteran David Eick, The Bionic Woman re-imagines the 70’s classic that starred Lindsay Wagner as Jamie Sommers, an accident victim involuntarily repaired with robotic parts.
The new Jamie is played by Michelle Ryan (AKA #21 in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women 2004.) So far the plot is not that different from the original; as with Galactica, though, it is anticipated that the show will depart onto very different territory than its lineage. Don’t expect to see Sommers taking on Bigfoot, in other words.
Eick, along with partner Ron Moore, achieved notoriety for the daring liberties they took with the classic “Battlestar Galactica” in crafting their reinvention for the SciFi Channel. The fan base for the original “Bionic Woman” have yet to bristle publicly at NBC’s reinvention, but then again the information released so far hardly resembles the gutting that Galactica received.
Many of the themes of the original have been preserved in this iteration; Sommers is the victim of a horrible (as yet undisclosed) accident, and awakens to find herself the recipient of unauthorized experimental surgery. Her legs, an arm, an ear, and a few other organs have been replaced by robotic equivalents, giving her superhuman capabilities. Once the full scope of her new abilities is realized, Sommers is conscripted into a government-run black ops spy program.
Bionic Woman purists, if there are any left, will have to deal with the fact that some tweaking has taken place to Sommers’ configuration as well, particularly the rumored inclusion of The Bionic Man’s Cyborg eye. In addition, the series offers a much darker tone, as evidenced in the promo stills released by NBC.
Besides Ryan, Miguel Ferrer (Dr. Garret Macy “Crossing Jordon”) is on tap to play the equivalent of the Oscar Goldman character from the original, the character who masterminds Sommers’ bionic reconstruction and guides her subsequent efforts as a force of good. Battlestar Galactica vet Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck), will be appearing as Sommers’ first, and perhaps ongoing, bionic nemesis. The story details of the first episode are being closely guarded, but those privy to the details have described it as dark and violent.
Confidential sources have described the plot of the pilot as being similar in tone to “Batman Begins”, Sackhoff, a bionic prototype, trains Sommers in the use of her new super human capabilities, only to wind up revealing herself as the project’s villain leading to a protege vs master showdown.
“The Bionic Woman” will air as part of NBC’s Fall 2007 Schedule.
– Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source – Access Hollywood
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
