Bionic Woman

The alter ego of cute CIA agent Tom, Jordan Bridges, will star in a comedy called Say Hello to Stan Talmadge that is scheduled for release later this year.  The film is a nostalgia comedy set in 1979, when the title character takes his family on a cross country adventure:

“Set in 1979 and told in flashback, the film follows the misadventures of the title character (Gary Cole), an estranged ex-husband who tries to reunite his family with a cross-country motor-home trip to a ‘Family Feud’-style game show called ‘Beat Your Neighbor.’”

Early word is that Jordan will be playing the host of the game show.  It sounds like Jordan’s role will be more goofball than hardball, and he probably won’t have much use for the hand-to-hand combat skills he displayed on Bionic Woman.

“Stan hopes that by getting his family on TV, it will make them a real family again,” writer and director David Moreton told The Hollywood Reporter last May.  Moreton is also producing the project with Rob Aitro and Jenny Hinkey.  The Hollywood Reporter also said that “Aitro describes the screenplay, based on Rick Barrett’s unpublished short story ‘Feud,’ as ‘a charming indie in the tone of Little Miss Sunshine.’“

Jordan’s co-stars in the movie will include Teddy Dunn, who played Duncan Kane on Veronica Mars, and Jennifer Coolidge, who is familiar to audiences as “Stiffler’s Mom” in the American Pie movies and also for her long-standing membership in Christopher Guest improv comedies such as Best in Show and For Your Consideration.  Jennifer will be playing Stan’s drunken wife, the type of role she excels in based on her previous movies.

Controversial Bionic Woman actor Isaiah Washington recently blogged about DNA memory on The Huffington Post, a website that features political and entertainment news from a liberal perspective.

The post appeared on February 19, and arose from Washington’s Gondobay Manga Foundation, an organization he founded that encourages African Americans to trace their ancestry through DNA tests. After Washington underwent a DNA test in 2005 he discovered he was was a direct descendant of the Mende Temne Peoples of Sierra Leone, which inspired him to visit that extremely impoverished country and learn more about its people and its low infant survival rate. During his visit, he was given the name “Chief Gondobay Manga” which he then used as the name of his foundation.

“I researched Sierra Leone for 8 intense months, reading one horror story after another about Sierra Leone after its Independence from British Rule in 1961,” Washington wrote in his blog post. “But the thing that interested me the most, was Sengbe Pieh, or ‘Joseph Cinque’ — the Mende leader that lead the revolt on the slave ship, Le Amistad.

“I said, ‘Wow! This guy is one of my ancestors! What now?’” Washington continued. “My answer? I decided to go see the country and Sengbe Pieh’s people, my people, for myself. Mind you, I had no idea how this trip was going to even begin to come together, but I prayed and planned on having everything and everyone that I needed to make the journey. Many phone calls and several bizarre ‘coincidences’ later, I had a full a budget, Visas, Camera Crew, a Corporate Council on Africa Sierra Leonean Representative, a Architect, a Special Agent, a Plastic Surgeon and a NAACP Human Rights Attorney getting on a plane with me headed for Sierra Leone in May 2006!”

He also writes about the more mystical aspects of his experience, like how the features of the people of Sierra Leone reminded him of his relatives in Houston and how he instinctively knew the area because he had dreamed about it since he was a teenager. The DNA test made him feel more connected to his roots and to African American history as a whole, which inspired him to help raise global awareness of the people there and their needs.

Washington also feels inspired to help other African Americans reconnect with their roots. He appeared at the Golden Globe swag suites in January, explaining the importance of DNA testing to his fellow celebrities and encouraging them to get their DNA tested as well. The tests were done right there along side the free sunglasses and other giveaways under Washington’s watchful eye.

As with all things Isaiah there are some controversial passages in the post as well, but Washington seems resigned to the fact that not everyone will agree with him these days. His post generated 26 comments, a relatively low number on a site where comments can be in the thousands for top stories, most of them discussing genetic theories or recommending books for further reading.

Michelle Ryan presented the award for Best International Album at the Brit Awards at Earls Court in London this week.  The evening was hosted by The Osborne Family and featured great performances by pop stars like Mika.

The winner of Michelle’s category were The Foo Fighters, who beat out fellow nominees Arcade Fire, The Eagles, Kings of Leon, and Kylie Minogue. 

And as always Michelle had people talking, as she remains a tabloid staple and a source of fascination for people in the United Kingdom.  The BBC’s backstage blogger noted that Michelle is one of the most beautiful women he has ever seen up close.  Her outfit won kudos from fashionistas, who loved her simple and short black Gucci dress.

Click here to watch a quick interview with Michelle on the red carpet for the second time this month, where she advises people to leave plenty of time to get ready (she waited till the last minute and had to do her nails in the car) and reveals that her favorite karaoke song is Dusty Springfield’s “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself.”

Michelle Ryan has been doing a lot of press in the United Kingdom, promoting the BBC premiere of Bionic Woman and enjoying being back in London.

In an interview with The Guardian, Michelle admitted it was had being compared to icon Lindsay Wagner but the experience made her learn to separate herself from the criticisms of the press. 

Michelle has publicly admitted that the harsh treatment of the British press has made her depressed in the past, so it is wonderful that she has grown stronger and more resilient through her experiences with Bionic Woman.  In the interview she says she had not been enjoying her life for many years before she did the show, but making Bionic Woman made her commit to enjoying herself.

Michelle also had lunch with a reporter from the London Telegraph last week, where she talked about her transformation into Jaime Sommers and her hopes for the future. 

Michelle has some great quotes about balancing the rigorous demands of the fitness regime mandated by the show with her penchant for indulging, and the article talks about how the swimmers shoulders that made her slump on East Enders made her a good match for the athletic demands of being the Bionic Woman.

The interview also contained a great quote about Michelle from James Nesbitt of Jeckell:

“Michelle’s an ambitious girl, but not in a desperate way,” Nesbitt says. “She thinks that this isn’t just her job, it’s her vocation, and she will do as much as she can. She’s very experienced and very technical. But equally she doesn’t take it too seriously - we had a very good laugh making Jekyll.”

In other interviews, Michelle talked about missing London when she was living in Vancouver.  Apparently she particularly missed department store Marks & Spencer, giving the chain tons of free publicity — perhaps they should sign her up as a spokesperson.

Bionic Woman star Michelle Ryan hit the red carpet in London last night for the annual Elle Style Awards, a celebration of beauty and fashion that accompanied London’s Fashion Week.

Michelle looked lovely in a plum dress with a plunging v-neckline and crinkled skirt by Balenciaga.  She wore her hair down and chose a black purse and open toed shoes for the event.

The Elle Style Awards have been labeled the “fashion Oscars” of the United Kingdom, and were held last night at the Westway Studios in London.  Other celebrities in attendance included Kiera Knightley, Kate Hudson, Kylie Minogue, Kelly Brook, Stella McCartney, James McAvoy, Twiggy, Kate Nash, Lilly Allen, Amanda Holden, Naomi Campbell, and many others.  For a list of the night’s winners and more news about Michelle, click here.

To see more photos of Michelle on the red carpet at the event, please click the link below.  It’s been far too long since we have seen Michelle out and about, so hopefully this is a sign that she will be making more appearances in the near future.

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Michelle Ryan looked stunning in plum on the red carpet for the Elle Style Awards in London last night.

The Bionic Woman star made her first red carpet appearance since the show went on hiatus due to the writers’ strike, which ended today.  She talked more about her fitness routine and doing her own stunts for the show, and told the Daily Mail that she had enjoyed being back in London due to the strike:

“I loved filming in Vancouver and the people were really welcoming. But I really missed being at home,” Michelle told the newspaper. “It has been great being back with my family, thanks to the writers strike. So I don’t really mind if it carries on.”

The Daily Mail was extremely harsh in its coverage of Michelle at the event, mislabeling the color of her dress and quoting yet another anonymous source claiming Bionic Woman is over.  Anonymous sources have been consistently wrong when it comes to Bionic Woman, so it is a wonder that any organization would report that as news, but Michelle has a large tabloid following in London where certain circles seem to root for her to fail with an almost Britney Spears-esque fervor. 

The Daily Mail also reported that Bionic Woman’s lack of ratings was all Michelle’s fault and she was not pretty enough or charismatic enough for American audiences.  Anyone who has watched the show knows there were plenty of problems with Bionic Woman, and blaming the lack of ratings on Michelle is inaccurate and unfair.

When he is not heading up the Berkut Group on Bionic Woman, Miguel Ferrer sometimes plays in a band called The Jenerators.  Miguel plays percussion and drums as well as sings some vocals for the Southern California rock group, which has three albums out to date. 

You can hear samples of the band’s work and purchase their albums at www.indieclectic.com.  The group’s most recent effort, Pony Up, features a cover of “Knockin on Heaven’s Door” with Miguel on lead vocals.  The song can be purchased for 99 cents or the whole album for $6.99.

The eclectic group includes another scifi favorite:  Bill Mumy from Lost in Space and Babylon 5.  Bill played Will Robinson on the former series (as in “Danger Will Robinson!”) and Lennier on Babylon 5.  He was also part of Barnes & Barnes, the group that recorded the famous novelty song (and Dr. Demento staple) “Fish Heads” and is an established singer and songwriter who has supplied tunes to a wide range of musical acts including rock band America.

Other members of The Jenerators include Tom Hebenstreit, David Jolliffe, Chris Ross, and Gary Stockdale.  Stockdale is known to Hollywood insiders for his musical direction at awards shows and his composition skills, which include his long-running partnership with magicians Penn & Teller.

It’s no surprise that Miguel would have musical talent, as his mother was Hollywood legend and musical star Rosemary Clooney.  If you saw White Christmas on cable this holiday season, then you saw Miguel’s mother singing love struck duets with Bing Crosby.

Busy actor Kevin Rankin, who plays fan favorite Nathan on Bionic Woman, was in Los Angeles last week to help promote his other show, Friday Night Lights.

The event was presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences as a celebration of Friday Night Lights, which is a critical favorite on ABC.  Kevin has become a fan favorite on that show as well, where he plays the snarky wheelchair pal former quarterback Jason met in rehab:

Based on this description from the TV Guide site, Herc is another memorable Kevin Rankin character:

“Are you familiar with Herc? In case you are not, here is a little back story on him. When Jason was moved from the hospital into rehab, he was introduced to this cocky little guy suffering about the same type of paralysis as Jason. He was very instrumental in getting Jason through the initial sorry-for-himself stage. He was very good at pushing his buttons. At one point they were going at it so hard and furiously they both ended up overturned on the floor. Jason sheepishly asked “What do we do now?” Herc told him “Don’t worry. Eventually somebody will come by and help us out.” They both cracked up and have been friends since then. Herc also introduced Jason to wheelchair rugby.”

Other stars at the event included Connie Britton, Taylor Kitsch, Jesse Plemons, Adrianne Palicki, Aimee Teagarden, and tabloid sensation Minka Kelly.

Executive Producer Jason Katims, who cast Nathan on Bionic Woman and was one of BW’s many showrunners, was also there for the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences event.

Katee Sackhoff looked stunning on the red carpet last week, wearing a fabulous green silk dress to the Los Angeles premiere of Over Her Dead Body.  She added oversized gold earrings and a chic gold purse to complete the look.

It’s been awhile since we have seen Katee on the red carpet, as filming both Bionic Woman and Battlestar Galactica in Vancouver keeps the actress busy and away from the bright lights of the premiere circuit.  Katee has a packed schedule between her two shows, and she also makes appearances at conventions and does promotions for her other projects. 

Over Her Dead Body stars Desperate Housewives Eva Longoria Parker as a woman who is killed on the day of her wedding and proceeds to haunt her new husband from the afterlife.  The film has gotten mediocre reviews, mostly because Eva’s character is apparently pretty mean. 

“Unlike Patrick Swayze in Ghost, Kate isn’t focused on gazing adoringly at her beloved or trying to ease his transition into life without her,” says Mary Pols of the Mercury News.  “This meanie is there to make sure he’s never happy again.”  The San Francisco Chronicle also slammed the film, saying everything from the acting to the plot was horrible and Eva was so orange from spray tanning that she looked like an Oompa Loompa.  Yikes!

Even if the movie got bad reviews, party looked like a lot of fun.  Eva’s sister housewives Felicity Huffman, Nicolette Sheridan and Brenda Strong also attended the party.  Geek fan favorites Zachary Levi and Sarah Lancaster from Chuck were also at the party, along with Cashmere Mafia’s Bonnie Sommerville, and Mario Lopez, Michael Bolton, and Christina Applegate.  Jason Biggs and Lake Bell, who also have roles in the movie, were at the party as well.

To see more pictures of Katee at the event, click the button to go to the jump.

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Today we continue the Will Anthros Wish List, a list of ten actors we wish had been cast as Will Anthros on Bionic Woman instead of Chris Bowers.  This is the eighth person on the list, whose previous members have included Michael Rosenbaum from Smallville, Blair Underwood from Dirty Sexy Money, and Bionic Woman’s own Will Yun Lee.

While previous entries have focused on people who have had notable television roles, today’s entry is a shoot-for-the-stars wish for an actor who has never taken a series role on television:  Matt Damon.

How You Know Him:  He’s an Academy Award winner, an A-List celebrity, a member of George Clooney’s new Rat Pack, the other half of Ben Affleck’s life-long bromance.  He rose to fame in Good Will Hunting, and has continued to find success with the Ocean’s Eleven and the Bourne trilogies among other movies.

Why He Would Have Been a Good Choice:  He’s cute, he’s talented, and he’s freaking Matt Damon.  We had to include one huge reach on the list, and we included Matt because he has an Academy Award for writing.  Given Bionic Woman’s script troubles, why not choose an A-lister who could have helped writers with the script problems?

Could He Have Played a Convincing Scientist?  Yep.

Could He Have Played a Convincing Boyfriend?  Yep.

Would He Have Taken the Part?  Not a chance in hell.  He’s rarely appeared on television, aside from a few guest appearances and the reality show he and Ben did about filmmaking (Project Greenlight).

Clip of Evidence:  We could have picked any number of Matt’s great performances, but it’s Matt’s real life comedy that often goes unnoticed when people talk about his work.  So check out this great moment from The Late Show With David Letterman, where Matt does a spot on impression of the frequently-shirtless Matthew McConaughey.

It’s Monday and we are back with the rest of our Will Anthros Wish List, a list of ten actors who we think would have been a better choice to play Will Anthros than Chris Bowers.  So far the list has included Michael Rosenbaum, Sean Maher, Ian Somerhalder, Will Yun Lee, and Blair Underwood.

We also included Jennifer Connelly, asking you guys to "imagine for a moment that "Will" was short for "Wilhemena" and Will Anthros on Bionic Woman was played by Jennifer Connelly … how hot would that be??"  We got great response from that, (although several folks reminded us that Jennifer has already played a scientist in The Hulk), so we changed our list a bit to add another fierce female: Gina Torres.

How You Know Her:  If you like science fiction, you have probably seen Gina.  She played bad ass Zoe on Firefly, and has played serious spy games on Alias, The Matrix movies, and Standoff, and last year she played Chris Rock’s wife in How I Met Your Wife.

Why She Would Have Been a Good Choice:  She’s a bad ass who can play the femme fatale or the noble soldier, who can handle both complicated dialogue and crazy stunts.  And she’s hot.  Why does this woman not get more parts??

Could She Have Played a Convincing Scientist?  Probably, she can play serious and she has a history of handling dialogue with a lot of syllables.

Could She Have Played a Convincing Girlfriend?  She seems to have chemistry with all of her costars, so there is no reason to think she can’t handle making out with Michelle Ryan.

Would She Have Taken the Part?  Possibly … she has done a lot of television, and a lot of scifi (did anyone see Cleopatra 2525? or remember her on Xena: Warrior Princess?), which indicates she is open to the possibility.  And we will see her on the small screen sometime soon: when Dirty Sexy Money comes back on the Gina will guest star as the ex-wife of Blair Underwood’s character, Simon Elder.

Clip of Evidence:  This passionate and pragmatic moment from The Matrix trilogy.

We are taking a break from The Will Anthros Wish List this weekend to talk about an actor who was actually cast on Bionic Woman.

Before he was working with the CIA and romancing Michelle Ryan’s Jaime Sommers in Paris on Bionic Woman, Jordan Bridges was suffering through the horrors of an early law career on the short lived Dick Wolf drama Conviction.

If you missed the series, Jordan was the fresh faced son of a legendary lawyer who passed up the opportunity to practice with his father’s "tall building" firm in order to prosecute cases in NYC.  The series also starred Stephanie March, reprising her role of attorney Alexandra Cabot from Law & Order: SVU, and Julianne Nicholson who went on to play a detective on another Wolf series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.  Eric Balfour played yet another character with intimacy and dependency issues, and Milena Govich was a D.A. here before she went on to play another D.A. in last fall’s K-Ville.

Conviction did not last a full season, as it suffered many of the problems that plagued Bionic Woman.  Last minute casting changes, inconsistencies of character and plot, and a lack of firm direction eventually tanked the series.

Nevertheless, all thirteen episodes feature Jordan Bridges’ charm and big brown eyes so I suspect I will be checking them out eventually.  But here is a bionic mystery: how big of a strike sin am I committing by actually watching them on Hulu?  And is it a sin I can wash away by, say, buying x dollars worth of pencils for the Pencils to Media Moguls campaign?  If you have any thoughts on that, please let me know.

Today we present entry number six on our Will Anthros Wish List of ten actors who we wish had been cast as Will rather than Chris Bowers.  Chris did not work in the part and they had to kill off his character, and when they did most of the stories that had been planned for the season died with him.  If a different actor had been cast, the storylines could have been kept and the show would have been stronger as a result … thus, the Will Anthros Wish List.

Previous entries on the list have included Michael Rosenbaum, Sean Maher, Ian Somerhalder, Will Yun Lee, and Jennifer Connelly.

How You Know Him:  Blair’s currently playing mind games against Donald Sutherland on ABC’s Dirty Sexy Money, the latest in his long line of sexy roles going back to his days on L.A. Law.

Why He Would Have Been a Good Choice:  He’s smart, he’s hot, and he can (and has) played just about anything.  He’s old enough to convince us he is a world-famous surgeon but young enough to still look damn fine without his clothes on (as Dirty Sexy Money fans saw when he recently bedded Darling socialite Karen).

Could He Have Played a Convincing Scientist?  Sure, he’s played everything else … including another doctor who mixed business with pleasure, when he romanced Cynthia Nixon’s Miranda Hobbs on Sex and the City.

Could He Have Played a Convincing Boyfriend?  Definitely, see the love scenes referenced above and the many others on his resume.  The man has moves.

Would He Have Taken the Part?  A better than average chance of yes, as his role on Dirty Sexy Money indicates he was entertaining roles during last year’s pilot process.  Back then Bionic Woman was a hot property, although from today’s perspective he made a wiser choice.

Clip of Evidence:  Watch Blair stay cool during a poker game so high stakes that money becomes meaningless and the players wager Manhattan real estate.  Dirty Sexy Money, indeed.

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Imagine for a moment that "Will" was short for "Wilhemena" and Will Anthros on Bionic Woman was played by Jennifer Connelly … how hot would that be??

Today we present entry number five on our Will Anthros Wish List of ten actors who we wish had been cast as Will rather than Chris Bowers.  Chris did not work in the part and they had to kill off his character, and when they did most of the stories that had been planned for the season died with him.  If a different actor had been cast, the storylines could have been kept and the show would have been stronger as a result … thus, the Will Anthros Wish List.

Previous entries on the list have included Michael Rosenbaum, Sean Maher, Ian Somerhalder, and Will Yun Lee.  To get to Jennifer, take a step back and think about the role which was centered around love, manipulations, and a potentially overwhelming need to break out from the long shadow of a genius father.  Jennifer could definitely handle that type of complexity, and by making Jaime Sommers a lesbian the show could have played to the gay audience that still adores the original series.

How You Know Her:  Jennifer’s been acting in films and on television since the 1980s, with roles that included Russell Crowe’s wife in A Beautiful Mind, a journalist attracted to Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond, and a young girl pursued by David Bowie in Labrynth.

Why She Would Have Been a Good Choice:  She’s got more acting awards and nominations than you can shake a stick at, she’s smart, she’s hot, and she would make a damn fine love interest for Michelle Ryan’s Jaime Sommers.

Could He Have Played a Convincing Scientist?  Yep.  See the "more acting awards and nominations than you can shake a stick at" part. 

Could She Have Played a Convincing Girlfriend?  If she can create chemistry with Bowie, she can create chemistry with anybody.

Would She Have Taken the Part?  The changes are about as good as NBC allowing Bionic Woman to write the Will Anthros role for a woman.  So … probably not.  Jennifer has a couple more good movies coming out this year, plus she has a kid who is starting school so we don’t see her moving to Vancouver.  Still, this is a "wish list" so we can dare to dream.

Clip of Evidence:  A scene from the money-obsessed show The $treet, where Jennifer puts a subordinate in his place.

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Today we have part four of our list of ten actors who we think would have been a better choice to play Will Anthros, Jaime Sommers’ scientist boyfriend. 

We have been vocal about our thesis that casting Chris Bowers as Jaime’s boyfriend, Will Anthros, is a big part of what went wrong with Bionic Woman’s first season.  He was not a convincing scientist, he was not a convincing boyfriend, and he was not a good package overall.  

When the show was forced to kill Will because his character was not working, they also had to scrap most of the plotlines they had planned for season one.  Gone were the plot lines about Will’s true motives for making Jaime bionic, his ongoing troubles with his mad scientist father, the connections between Michelle Ryan’s Jaime Sommers and Katee Sackhoff’s Sarah Corvus, the whole season … wiped away, because of one actor’s onscreen death.

So for ten days we plan to present, in no particular order, ten actors we think would have been a better choice for Jaime’s boyfriend.  Previous candidates have been Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor on Smallville, Sean Maher, who played Dr. Simon Tam on Firefly, and Ian Somerhalder from Lost.  Today we suggest another Will who is already familiar to Bionic Woman viewers: Will Yun Lee.

How You Know Him: He currently plays Jaime Sommer’s trainer and Sarah Corvus’ former lover, Jae Kim, on Bionic Woman.

Why He Would Have Been a Good Choice:  Have you seen the show?  There is no question that Sarah Corvus not only gets the better lines, she got the better guy as well.  Will Yun Lee’s calmly seductive performance has won rave reviews from critics and won Will many new fans.

Could He Have Played a Convincing Scientist?  Definitely.  Will has already convinced us that his character has a grasp of the bionic technologies pulsating around the Berkut group, and it’s not hard to see his steady and serious hands performing surgery.

Could He Have Played a Convincing Boyfriend?  Probably, if his scenes with Sarah Corvus are any indication.  And Will certainly had chemistry with Michelle Ryan as well, although the show has not taken their roles in that direction (yet).

Would He Have Taken the Part?  Probably … he is playing Jae already, and based on the pre-show publicity Will Anthros was originally written as a larger and more challenging role.

Clip of Evidence:  .Since most of the readers of this blog are already familiar with Will, we offer up this tribute video from YouTube set to the song "Secret Agent Man."

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