Bionic Woman

Regular readers know I think casting Isaiah Washington as a recurring character on Bionic Woman was profoundly stupid of NBC.  Setting aside Washington’s serial bigotry, it has been widely reported he is difficult to work with onset and created tension and drama over at Grey’s Anatomy.  William Keck of USA visited the set of GA during shooting for the upcoming season, and of course former cast mate Washington was discussed. 

Patrick Dempsey offered some insight to the new filming season:

“I think it’s really important to keep a light energy, more now than ever,” he says. “It’s my responsibility to come in, have my work done, do it quickly, and get in and get out and make it a pleasurable experience. I decided after all that happened last year to just have fun.”

He is, of course, referring to the controversy surrounding actor Isaiah Washington, whose contract playing Dr. Preston Burke was not renewed following months of discord after he uttered a homophobic slur on set.

Next up was Justin Chambers, better known to fans as Dr. Alex Karev.  Chambers, a former Calvin Klein model, tries not to let the success of the show go to his head and keeps the fact that the cast have to share trailers because of space limitations all in perspective.

“It probably keeps things from getting out of hand,” he says. “Me personally, I couldn’t give a crap. I’m from New York. I’m used to small apartments. But some …” He stops himself before daring to stir up any controversy.)

“That whole publicity craziness took on a life of its own and definitely had an effect on us,” says Chambers, who has not talked to Washington since his dismissal. Dressed in his surgical scrubs since early morning, Chambers is leaning on a prop newspaper rack outside the hospital, yawning. “Now I think the morale’s much better. We’re all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to come back to work.”

You just know he wanted to finish that sentence with an anecdote involving Washington.  Kleck also spoke with director Tom Verica, T.R. Knight and Katherine Heigl.  They all admit:

“The situation I walked into last year was the knowledge of what had trans-pired,” he says. “There certainly is an ease this year amongst the cast members — a feeling of playfulness, where one could say there was a little more going on last season.”

Knight believes the fun they are all having together on set will be noticed on-screen. “We’ve been around each other four years now, so we know what to expect. It’s been really great.”

Adds Heigl: “We know each other pretty well at this point and how best to work with each other. After a couple days off, I actually miss being there.”

After writing about a recent interview with Shondra Rhimes, an interview where she practically bites her tongue to keep from revealing how disruptive Washington was to GA, this interview with Washington’s former cast and crew is  only more proof that he is a poor choice for Bionic Woman.  For whatever reason, Washington is incapable of integrating smoothly into an ensemble cast and his apparent temperament, not to mention bigotry, make people uncomfortable.  Margie talked about Washington’s toxicity and the likely hood it will visibly affect Bionic Woman during a recent interview.  She’s right, Washington will only bring discomfort and misery to his BW cast mates.

Earlier we posted a clip of Washington meeting Michelle Ryan’s Sommers in a book store.   Honestly, if I didn’t know he had been fired from GA, I would have assumed it was a clip of his character, Preston Burke, from the upcoming season of Grey’s Anatomy.  His acting style is best described as “manufactured brooding”.  I am sure Washington thinks his faux-intensity adds authenticity to whatever character he’s playing, but honestly, it comes across flat and one dimensional.

After reading this latest interview with his fellow cast mates, you just know they must have collectively wondered why Washington wasn’t let go sooner.