Bionic Woman

A new Battlestar Galactica clip was put up on Hulu this weekend, a video blog entry from David Eick and the crew of BSG related to David’s energies on Bionic Woman.  It is very interesting viewing, considering what we know happened after this video was made.

The clip was obviously shot during the heady, optimistic months of last Spring when Bionic Woman was NBC’s most anticipated pilot and the show the marketing folks said had the best chance of being a hit.  It features David referring to BSG as “Bionic Galactica” and members of the BSG crew talking about his absence on their set like petulant teenagers … and the message is clear, everyone expected Bionic Woman to take off faster than a screaming Cylon raider.

There’s Grace Park, who plays Boomer and Sharon “Athena” Agathorn, talking about how David was “disowned” by his BSG family.  There’s Jen Halley, who plays Seelix, talking about how she wants to raid Bionic Woman’s craft services area.  There’s Tahmoh Penikett, who plays Helo, and Allesendro Juliani, who plays Geata, talking about how the show feels David’s absence.  And Michael Hogan appears without his Tigh eye patch to give a crusty blessing … assuming David will cast him in his new show.

But that was a year ago, and as we all know how the big hit did not happen.  The early detractors were right, Bionic Woman had major problems and the more the folks behind the scenes tried to fix them the worse the show became.  The show was hurt by many factors, not the least of which being the cocky lust for a hit that is seen so clearly in this Hulu clip.  It’s just another sad reminder of the bionic potential of this show, and how it was frittered away.

Entertainment Weekly has an four-page feature on blonde action heroine and former bionic babe Katee Sackhoff in this week’s issue, where the star talks about her roles on Bionic Woman and Battlestar Galactica as well as her plans for the future.

Among the more interesting revelations for Bionic Woman fans was Katee’s frustration about how watered down Sarah Corvus became as the show got more and more attention.

“She was sooooo much crazier than what ended up on the air,” said the actress.  “She kept being pulled back.  That’s the norm for network television, as far as I am concerned.”

It’s another insider comment about the stunted potential of what could have been a great show, and one that is especially intriguing considering the Sarah Corvus scenes that made it on the air were pretty crazy.  The Sarah we saw was needy, violent, homicidal, caring, self-destructive, palpably alive and yet slipping into psychosis while dying. 

What Sarah Corvus could have been, or would have been, if Sackhoff had been allowed to truly unleash her man-eating and scene-chewing glory will be a mystery for the ages.  As will the question of who she was with in the pilot, and what would have become of her complicated relationship with the elder Anthros played by Mark Sheppard.

The article also contained high praise for Katee from Bionic and Battlestar executive producer David Eick:  “You’ll see I tend to cast Katee in everything I possibly can … She’s a very special find.  Those actors who can combine the qualities of strength and vulnerability - they usually call those people movie stars.”

The magazine interview featured some gorgeous pictures of Katee looking fiercely lovely with flowing blonde extensions.  There are also videos of Katee from the shoot on the magazine’s web site for those who are interested.

It has been a long journey for WatchingBionicWoman, and while the hours of labor I put into this blog are nothing compared to how hard the cast and crew worked on the show it was still a huge disappointment to read last week’s announcement from David Eick.  I will post my thoughts on the cancellation news soon, but in the interim be sure to check out the Top Ten Things That Hurt Bionic Woman list and check out the news as it arrives.

Molly Price’s new movie, The Life Before Her Eyes, will premiere April 18 in the United States.  Molly plays Uma Thurman’s mother in the film, which surrounds the secret life of Uma’s character as she comes to terms with her guilt about a violent incident in her past.  Evan Rachel Wood plays Uma’s character as a young girl and you can see a glimpse of Molly in the movie’s trailer, which is below.

Word is that David Eick is refreshingly candid on his DVD commentary during the first episode of Bionic Woman, stating the show was “the most difficult production ever.”

Katee Sackhoff hit the road during the writer’s strike, taking her Harley out for a spin around some wineries with her Battlestar Galactica costar Tricia Helfer (”Number Six”).

Miguel Ferrer is mentioned as a possible link in the new game “Six Degrees of David Duchovny,” which could be the new “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”

Will Yun Lee apparently turned 37 this weekend … I never would have guessed he was a day over 30!  Happy Birthday Will, and may you land many great roles in the year to come.

Executive Producer David Eick broke ranks with NBC Universal last week, telling the press that Bionic Woman really is over even as the network has stood by its claim that no official decision has been made about the future of the series.

“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. The actress [Michelle Ryan] we found was wonderful. Some of the writing was good.

“We just didn’t ever bring it all together like we did with Battlestar,” he continued. “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.”

SciFi Wire got the scoop at last week’s SciFi Channel upfronts, where Eick was promoting Battlestar Galactica and the upcoming prequel series Caprica. 

The Toronto Star had some additional commentary from show star Katee Sackhoff, who played Jaime Sommers’ frenemy Sarah Corvus:

“It’s no one’s fault,” Sackhoff told the paper. “The hype was so big before the show came out, and they were so scared that it would fail, that everyone had an opinion. There were too many cooks in the kitchen, and they didn’t know what they were cooking.

“I mean, I know what went wrong. Had they given me the show, I could have figured it out. I could have told them exactly what to do. But then everyone would have put their hands in, and the same thing would have happened. You can’t blame anyone. That’s just how it goes.”

The Bionic Woman has stumbled out of the gate, losing viewers week after week.  This despite a great premiere audience.  So many actors and staff have left the show, and we are only five episodes in, you have to wonder what is going on behind the scenes?  Is Washington to blame?

The latest news according to SyFyPortal.com is that,

Jason Cahill has been named the new showrunner for “Bionic Woman,” permanently replacing Glen Morgan who left just before the show premiered in what appears to be a move that could signal a full-season pickup by the network.

This is the first time that Cahill has acted as a showrunner following a few writing stints on shows like “The Sopranos,” “Profiler” and “Surface.” However, he will be working with a core team that includes executive producers Jason Smilovic and current “BGS” executive producer David Eick on the show.

Personally, I don’t care who runs the show, but I do wish there was more evidence of David Eick’s fingerprints on the show.  BW has turned out to be poor quality next to its Battlestar sibling.  However, I am beginning to wonder just how much creative input Eick has on Battlestar.  I presumed, apparently erroneously, Eick as executive produce of BW meant the re-imagined Jaime Sommers drama would be just as a great as Battlestar Galactica.  This thinking was wrong.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that Cahill will solve all the show’s many problems.  Of course, one of those problems is Isaiah Washington.  Until he’s finally gone, nothing will help the show.

The NYT caught up with Bionic Woman series creator and producer David Eick to talk about the Wednesday premier and the general direction and style of the show.  Most notable to me, and disappointing, is his admission that BW will not be as dark as his other 1970s re-make, BSG.

According to Eick,

“I never thought this series should be as dark as ‘Battlestar’. It would be impossible to maintain the heaviness of the pilot, which is about a girl getting pulverized by a Mack truck, barely surviving and struggling to come to terms with this incredibly traumatic thing. You can’t do that story every week. Sometimes she has to feel that this is exhilarating, sometimes it’s terrifying and sometimes it’s just fun.”

Eick claims to have never seen the original BW and his original concept was to create a woman protagonist supporting her family through criminal means.

“It was about a female tycoon who, in the aftermath of an Enron-like debacle, retreats to her home and to her family, where she eventually launches a crime syndicate out of her kitchen,” he said. “There were all these shows with morally ambiguous male protagonists out there, like ‘The Sopranos’ or ‘House’ or ‘The Shield,’ and it seemed like the female heroes always were painted in primary colors.”

Thankfully, the network didn’t take to this idea.  No doubt his success with BSG led NBC to suggest BW.

Eick also talks about Katee Sackhoff’s character, Sarah Corvus, as the nemeses to Michelle Ryan’s Jaime Sommers.

[Sarah Corvus] has given in to the dark side of having nearly unlimited physical powers, a shadowy reflection of the temptations and dangers that come with Jaime Sommers’s new abilities.“Sarah was a good way of showing this as a cautionary tale,” Mr. Eick said. “And if you look at the storytelling tools of the great science fiction writers, it’s all about be careful what you wish for. H. G. Wells and Ray Bradbury are always talking about that which we create eventually destroying us unless we heed the warnings. And Jaime will have to make moral choices that may or may not move her down the path toward becoming another Sarah.”

And for those of us hoping their may be a Steve Austin in Jaime’s future, alas no.

Because the original series was a spinoff of the 1974 series “The Six Million Dollar Man,” which was based on a 1972 novel called “Cyborg,” there was an elaborate list of what could and could not be used in the new show. Basically, the Jaime Sommers name and the extent of her bionic abilities are the only specifics that can be used. Mr. Eick does not have rights to any mention of “The Six Million Dollar Man” or the title character, Steve Austin. And Jaime Sommers gets her bionic missions not from Oscar Goldman but from Jonas Bledsoe.

Although I have already seen the premier, reading interviews with the creators and cast make me excited for the series to finally premiere.

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Photo via bionicwebsite.com/NBC

I am so jealous, Alice Chapman Newgen of Comingsoon.net scored an interview with Michelle Ryan and David Eich. She got in some good questions. Here is a brief sampling of the topics covered.

Jaime Sommers meeting Isaiah Washington’s character.

Q: Can you give us a preview about the first meeting between Jaime and the character Isaiah Washington and where it goes from there?

Ryan: Initially Antonio Pope comes in and he’s quite threatening towards Jaime and abrupt. There is this whole triangle between Jae, Jaime and Antonio. Jae is trying to keep Jaime in touch with the human side and the spiritual side of herself so she doesn’t lose her identity as a human being. Whereas Antonio Pope is saying that you need to get into the machine and bring out the animal instinct otherwise your human side is your weak side. That is where the fight comes in where he and Jae are trying to train Jaime and they have very different styles of training her. Antonio Pope crosses the line when he does something that really offends Jaime. He

completely flips out and that is when this really intense fight comes out. He does bring out the animal instinct in Jaime.

BW and Sci-Fi.

Q: There is a ton of sci-fi and fantasy shows on the network TV this fall. What are your thoughts on that and what might be behind it? Was it because "Heroes" and "Lost" were successes, or are people rebelling against reality shows in general?

Eich: Certainly in the case of "Bionic Woman," it is sort of in its own category because you are talking about a remake. In addition to whether it is sci-fi or fantasy, you are also remaking a title that kind of puts it in its own category which will get it attention for that reason. I have only worked in the last five years in genre programming. It’s not the limit of my experience or appetite, but it is just where I have been for a while. You get a little myopic being in that world. It’s hard for me to say what might motivate other creators, writers or programmers to also move in that direction. I would characterize these times as troubling, to put it mildly and I don’t think that is any coincidence that you are seeing a lot more escape in fantasy in storytelling.

BW special effects.

Q: What was the process behind the special effects? Was there any talk about using the old slow motion and the sound effect when she moves?

Eich: We talked a lot about the slow motion thing in terms of things we knew we didn’t want to do. The goal is always to when you do a remake to look for details to reinvent. Oftentimes it is the larger purpose of the larger themes isn’t that different. In our case I would say they are more evolved past where they were in the late ’70s, but by and large it is still about a female point of view, a female perspective into an action adventure drama. That aspect of it remains but I think you are always looking for details to slant in different ways. With "Battlestar Galactica" we got a kick out of the fact that we are keeping the fighter pilot ships almost identical to what they were in the ’70s show, but making the "Battlestar Galactica" itself a complete departure. So that kind of thing is fun to do.

Fight on the roof with Katee Sackhoff.

Q: What were the challenges of fighting Katee Sackhoff on that rooftop in the rain?

Ryan: I think it was rain that was freezing cold. I love working with Katee and she is absolutely brilliant. She has so much energy and we get along so well. I think the biggest challenge was purely the rain. Katee is a very good fighter and I pick up routines very quickly. We have some amazing fight sequences coming up in some of David Eick’s new scripts. We have such a good time working together. There is such a good dynamic energy and chemistry.

Changes made to the original Pilot.

Q: The show has gone through some changes and revisions. Can you tell talk about the process on how you got to this point and where do you see it going for the rest of the season?

Eich: One of the things I learned very early on in my career when I was running a television company for Sam Raimi was that in genre, so to speak, whether it is horror, sci-fi or fantasy, there is so many connotations of what you are doing and more over what you are not doing. People will bring in their own perspective to that. Some people will come in thinking if it’s got some super strength it must mean it has to be kind of funny and kooky. People come in a say we’ve got someone with a tortured soul who’s had this thing perpetrated on her then it has to be very dark and twisted. Other people might say it should be very female and soft. I’m not just speaking about this show but I think it applies to all genre material. Defining the show is a very tricky thing. Having done non-genre shows like cop shows or detective shows or whatever, I think it is a different exercise and finding the people, not just people get it, but defining what the ’it’ is that you want everyone to get is its own separate endurance test. This is no different than the genre shows I’ve done and there is a lot of turnover in the process. That is just the way it works.

The entire interview is very good. Definitely check out the entire Q & A.

And for the record, Margie and I would happily interview any of the cast of BW. Just give us a call NBC.

UPDATE: Roco at bionic-blog.com posted about this interview earlier.

Bionic Woman, BW, NBC, Michelle Ryan, David Eich, Alice Chapman Newgen, Comingsoon.net, Isaiah Washington, Katee Sackhoff, bionic-blog.com, Bionicwebsite.com

Bionic Woman producer David Eick gave a recent interview where he shed some light on his views about the “woman” part of Bionic Woman.

“In the old days, it was about ‘women can do everything men can do.’ That doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue now,” says executive producer David Eick. Today, “it’s more about if we can accept that women can do what men can do, do we judge it differently? Backing that is what I call the Peter Parker ethos: someone who is not sure of him or herself as a person, let alone a hero. And I’m just applying that to a female perspective.”

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