Bionic Woman

Lucky magazine is all about shopping, and Lucy Hale hit their event in New York City earlier this week to pick up some swag.  She was with her new BFF and costar, Ashley Newbrough, from Lucy’s new show How to Survive the Filthy Rich.

Other celebrities who were swagging the same day as Lucy included Eliza Dushku, star of Joss Whedon’s new series Dollhouse, Molly Shannon, Bonnie Sommerville, Law & Order’s Jill Hennessey and Kathryn Erbe, and a host of others.  The day before Rainn Wilson from The Office was there, along with the cast from Gossip Girl, Brooke Shields, Connie Britton from Friday Night Lights, Daniel Dae Kim from Lost, Alison Sweeney from Days of Our Lives, Zachary Levi from Chuck, and various folks from 30 Rock.

Lucy Hale, who plays Becca Sommers on Bionic Woman, has been telling fans on her official web site that the show has definitely been canceled.  Meanwhile, NBC has apparently been communicating with fans and telling them that no official decision has been made to date.

False rumors about the cancellation of Bionic Woman have been swirling for months, and at this point so many people have reported that the show has been canceled that even many in the mainstream media believe it to be true. 

The reality is that no one connected with the show has made an on-the-record statement about its future, however, and there is officially still a chance the show could return in some form in the fall.  The show’s production offices are still open, according to local Vancouver newspaper the Globe & Mail, and the show’s episodes and information remain up on NBC.com even after other shows that have been canceled have been removed.

Last week, NBC Vice President Rebecca Marks apparently told a fan in an e-mail that no official decision has been made on the show:

“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.”

Over on LucyHale.com, however, the actress is being very clear with fans that she has been told that the show will not be returning:

“My manager was notified by NBC that the show was being cancelled [sic].  There has been a lot of rumor about the show, but unfortunately it is definitely over.  I’m sad, but it was such a good experience for me.”

In response to one fan’s opinion that NBC failed the show with its constant meddling, Lucy posted:

“I was disapointed to learn about the ending of the show, of course,  but it is just how this business goes. Thank you for being concerned about the cast! We will be fine though.  I appreciate the support.”

Lucy’s posts definitely make it harder to keep hope alive for Bionic Woman.  While this blog will not report the show is canceled until it comes from the network, it is plausible that NBC is telling its stars one thing and the fans another. 

The reality is that NBC has a very strong motivation to delay an official cancellation announcement, as the show has yet to start airing in many overseas markets.  Michelle Ryan, the show’s star, is proving herself to be a mature professional by continuing to do cheerful publicity for the show in Great Britain in anticipation of Bionic Woman’s UK debut this week.

As with all things Bionic Woman, fans will continue to have to wait and see.

Lucy Hale will be on the big screen this summer, when The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 premieres in August 2008. 

The Sisterhood movies are based on the popular novels by Ann Brashares, which follows the adventures of four teenage girls and their magical pants.  The original movie starred Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia) as Tibby, Alexis Bleidel (Gilmore Girls) as Lena, America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) as Carmen, and  Blake Lively (Gossip Girl) as Bridget.  All of the stars will be back for Part 2, which focuses on the events of the fourth Sisterhood book.

The sequel also adds Lucy, whose character Effie is Lena’s younger sister in the books.  The novel version of the character is more talkative and outgoing than Lena, who is typically described as a quiet and contemplative beauty who feels apart from the rest of the world.  Effie helps Lena be bolder and connect with others, and the choice not to include her character in the first Sisterhood movie was unpopular with many fans.  Effie’s character in the books is also clearly less beautiful than Lena, which may inspire some Lucy Hale v. Alexis Bleidel debates when the movie comes out. 

While the girls were in high school during the first movie, Part 2 expects to find them muddling through the summer between their freshman and sophomore years at college.  Effie plays a huge role in the events of the book, both in the romance department and in relation to the mystical pants.  The Sisterhood movies have been fairly liberal with the events of the books, however, so we are not sure how things will actually play out when Part 2 debuts in August.

No matter what happens, this is a great opportunity for Lucy.  All of the ladies in the original Sisterhood have had strong careers since the first movie debuted, so hopefully the Traveling Pants will be magic for Lucy as well.

Note from WatchingBionicWoman: 451 Press is still having trouble with its comments, so if you would like to leave a comment about this post please e-mail us through the Contact form or by contacting watchingbionicwoman@gmail.com and we will be happy to post it for you. 

We are consciously trying to avoid reporting on this week’s premature headlines announcing that Bionic Woman has been canceled, since so many people have been prematurely announcing that for weeks now. Roco has the scoop on the most recent rumors over at bionic-blog if you are interested. The show started off so strong, as the Entertainment Weekly photo here demonstrates, and now Jaime is everybody’s favorite whipping girl. What is it about this show that makes people gleefully long for the day that it goes off the air??

Isaiah Washington stole the show when he picketed with his former castmates from Grey’s Anatomy earlier this week. You may remember that Isaiah left a storm of controversy in his wake on the Grey’s set, which a controversial point of publicity for Bionic Woman this season. Ryan, ever the IW fan, gives his thoughts on this below.

There was some talk about Katee Sackhoff getting a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Sarah Corvus on Bionic Woman, but when the nominations came out earlier this week she was not on the list.

Lucy Hale, who plays Becca Sommers on Bionic Woman, was among the young stars who recently attended the DVD premiere of High School Musical 2.

NBC issued over $10 million in refunds to advertisers upset with the low ratings the channel is getting as a result of show hiatus issues and the writers’ strike.

And last but not least, if you are missing Michelle Ryan during the writers’ strike, you may want to check out these new Michelle Ryan desktops which are available for download.

Check out this video of Lucy Hale, who plays Jaime’s kid sister Becca on Bionic Woman. Lucy was a contestant on the reality singing program American Juniors a few years back, and the clip above shows her doing a fine job of singing “I’m Going to Make You Love Me” which got praise from the show’s judges.

The clip below seems to be of Lucy standing in line to audition for the show … be sure to watch the end where you get to see here mom for a brief moment.

To see her at the polar opposite end of the spectrum check out the bottom clip, which shows Lucy’s guest appearance on The O.C. If you can stomach sweet looking Lucy flippantly uttering “Hey Bitch!” as a greeting and discussing how horny she gets in the summer feel free to watch the clip, which also features Marissa Cooper using a faux strip tease to tie a bully to a chair.

Bionic Woman’s Lucy Hale hit the yellow and black carpet in Los Angeles last week for the premiere of the new animated flick Bee Movie. Looking cute in a Becca Sommers-esque tank top and goofy bee headband, Lucy’s fellow movie attendees included Bee star Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Nicolette Sheridan from Desperate Housewives, Jay Leno and the glowing and pregnant Jeri Ryan from Star Trek: Voyager, The O.C., and Shark.

Other stars in attendance included James Gandolfini, Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, Tina Fey, The Rock, Ray Liotta, James Caan, and Freddy Rodriguez (who recently joined the cast of Ugly Betty).

Lucy has been to more events since any other cast member since the Bionic Woman premiered, indicating that her shooting schedule is lighter than the other cast members and she has more chances to fly to Los Angeles from Vancouver. Michelle Ryan has been absent from the red carpet since August, and we have not seen Katee Sackhoff hit an event since the Emmy’s in September.

Lucy Hale, Los Angeles, Bee Movie, Bionic Woman, Voyager, Star Trek, Jeri Ryan, The OC, Shark, Jerry Seinfeld, Desperate Housewives, Ray Liotta,

Bionic Woman’s Lucy Hale was a presenter at the Movieline Hollywood Life Style Awards Sunday night at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood. When she is not sparkling on stage, Lucy plays Becca Sommers, Jaime’s little sister, on the show.

Lucy was in good company, as other presenters that evening included Hollywood legend Harrison Ford. After the show Lucy was photographed with Michael Ball, CEO of Rock and Republic, in the portrait area (show below).

It must have been a good after party, as Lucy’s fellow guests for the evening included Desperate Housewives‘ Terri Hatcher and Ricardo Chavira, pop couple Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz, Kim Kardashian, Movieline’s Hollywood Life Style Awards A Hit“>High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens, and My Name is Earl’s Jaime Pressly.

Since Lucy is underage, we hope she stayed away from the Bombay Sapphire martinis. She did manage to grab a spot in the Extra! montage of the event, however, so click here if you want to see Lucy looking pretty for the cameras on the red carpet. The Extra! clip also features quick interviews with Cindy Crawford, Teri Hatcher, and David Duchovny if you are interested.

Bionic Woman, Lucy Hale, Becca Sommers, Pacific Design Center, Hollywood Life Style Awards, red carpet, Teri Hatcher, Desperate Housewives, Ashlee Simpson, Pete Wentz, Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Hudgens, High School Musical, Harrison Ford, Cindy Crawford, David Duchovny, Michael Ball, Rock and Republic

Bionic Woman has won praise for casting Will Yun Lee from folks who want to see more Asian Americans on TV, particularly after episode two’s sexy scenes between his character and the blonde Sarah Corvus played by Katee Sackhoff.

Defamer slams Isaiah Washington for boasting that he was more popular than Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton combined. Perhaps Isaiah will run for President in 2012?

Roco at Bionic-Blog has found a music montage set to Breathe Me, the song that was playing while Jaime cried in the bathtub during the pilot.

Click here to watch Lucy Kate Hale talk about the love/hate relationship Jaime and Becca have and how she hopes it will mature as the season progresses.

The second episode of Bionic Woman got mixed reviews. If you missed it you can catch up with a detailed recap here.

Prefer to read about Bionic Woman in Spanish? Check out Bitacora Bionica!

Bionic Woman, Spanish, Isaiah Washington, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Breathe Me, Jaime Sommers, Sarah Corvus, Katee Sackhoff, Will Yun Lee