Bionic Woman

After taking a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, NBC has a new Bionic Woman tonight at 9 EST.

Titled, “Do Not Disturb,” the official release says:

Jaime’s spa vacation with Becca is disrupted by a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with another guest.

Hmmmm.  This sounds lame, because it is a Becca centric episode.  Let’s hope there are several Nathan scenes to numb the pain.

Here’s the preview.

Tonight’s episode looks interesting because Jordan Bridges guest stars as a possible new love interest for Jaime Sommers.  Does this mean Will is really dead and Chris Bowers was discarded a la Mae Whitman?

Remember, Bionic Woman airs 8/9 CST on NBC.

Here is the preview of tonight’s episode, entitled, “Sisterhood”.  This week’s episode looks Katee Sackhoff heavy with the bionic women, Jaime Sommers and Sarah Corvus, relying on each other to escape a deadly situation.  Margie wondered if Katee Sackhoff’s Sarah Corvus would become more “frenemy” than complete enemy.  Maybe this episode we will find out.

I can’t wait to see them on screen and hopefully there will be another battle scene just as rockin’ as the rooftop fight in the pilot.

Here’s a glimpse of Isaiah Washington meeting Jaime Sommers for the first time in an upcoming episode of Bionic Woman. 

Jaime is browsing in a bookstore and reading What Color is Your Parachute.  Washington introduces himself as “Antonio [Pope]” and explains that the book changed his life.  After reading it, he tells her that went on to start a “non-profit group that sends clean water systems to third world countries.”  He then introduces his Jack Russell Terrier, “Scraps,” and is quick to point out that he didn’t name him, but his niece did.  

Apparently, Washington’s character will help Sommers adapt and train for her new life as a bionic woman.

Spoiler alert….

Pay particular attention to what Sommers reveals about her boyfriend.  She says, “I just got out of a relationship.  He died actually.”  Did Anthros die from Corvus’ long range snipe shot at the end of the pilot, “Second Chances”?  Interesting.

Clearly I am not happy with Isaiah Washington joining the cast of BW.  His bigoted slurs and difficult work persona were so egregious they got him fired from Grey’s Anatomy.  It escapes me why NBC would employ this toxic actor on arguably its most prized new show for 2007 and alienate a potential gay and lesbian audience when there are plenty of better actors who could have filled the role. 

NBC should not wonder why it is third among the broadcast networks.  Decisions like these show just how out-of-step NBC executive are with the viewing public.  Grey’s Anatomy is a top ten show.  They fired him for a reason:  ABC and series creator Shonda Rhimes didn’t want to damage their reputation and good will with the gay and lesbian community because of his bigotry. 

As a side note, I will give the writers of BW props for introducing Washington in a scene using one the most famous books about coaching people to move on after being fired from their job.  As Michelle Ryan might say in the U.K., “Spot on.” 

Maybe, just maybe they will make his character gay. 

In a recent interview, Michelle Ryan mentioned a character named Vivian who Jamie will encounter in future a future episode of Bionic Woman.

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Ruth Truewell is one of the most intriguing characters in the Bionic Woman pilot. The NBC website, however, contains no biographical information for this character. Instead, the website only shows the biography of Molly Price, the woman who plays her. This is interesting given the vital role that Ruth plays in Jamie’s first few days as the Bionic Woman.

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW

Ruth’s role at the Berkut Group is unclear, but she seems to be well-respected and involved in the mental evaluation of Jamie (and perhaps other employees as well). As the pilot progresses, it is Ruth’s assessment that Jamie is well-grounded and mentally strong that leads the other members of the Berkut Group to begin to see Jamie as a potential asset instead of a potentially disastrous liability.

It is Ruth who sides with Will, Jamie’s boyfriend, and convinces Burket chief Jonas Bledsoe to let Jamie escape. It is Ruth who convinces Jae that she could take a different path than the lethal one chosen by an unstable Sarah Corvus. And it is Ruth who chooses to treat Jamie as a woman instead of as a machine. It will be very interesting to see, as the series progresses, how the relationship between these two characters develops … and what more we can learn about the mysterious Ruth Truewell.

Ruth Truewell, Bionic Woman, Molly Price, Berkut Group, Jonas Bledsoe, Sarah Corvus

Now this is interesting. Up until recently it was fairly easy to find detailed Bionic Woman spoilers on the web. The extremely spoiler-friendly Bionic Website had the titles and basic plot details of the first six episodes as recently as this weekend. Now all of that information has been “removed at the request of NBC Universal.” Interested readers can still catch a few spoilers on Bionic Blog … read ‘em while you can!

One place you won’t find Bionic Woman information is the show’s woefully inadequate IMDB.com page. IMDB does not even report Katee Sackhoff is part of the cast, much less upcoming guest actors and other spoilers.

Bionic Woman, BionicWebsite, NBC, Universal, spoiler, IMDB, Katee Sackhoff

According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC has brokered a deal to allow Bionic Woman to be seen on demand starting September 10th. The deal includes over 30 cable systems across the country, and will potentially allow millions of viewers to see the pilot early in a way that is legal and free of charge.

The move is part of the network’s aggressive plan to build viewers for the show, and was inspired by the success of last season’s Heroes which was downloaded via Yahoo! by over 300,000 people before it premiered on television:

We’re engaged in the most aggressive sampling of any of the networks, and we have the research to back it up,” said John Miller, chief marketing officer at NBC Universal Television Group. “We generally feel (that) if someone has seen a show and liked the show, they will tell others and come back for more regardless of where they saw it. That builds ratings.”

This is great news for Bionic Woman fans, as we all know the secret to the show’s success is to attract as many viewers as possible. Other NBC shows that will be available as part of this plan include Chuck, Life, and Journeyman. The shows will also be available via DVD at Blockbuster.

Bionic Woman, television, TV, cable, VOD, NBC, cable, Heroes, Yahoo!, Universal, Chuck, Life, Journeyman, Blockbuster, DVD

The spoiler-friendly BionicWebsite.com has several photos from the second episode of Bionic Woman up already, so be sure to check them out if you are the spoiler type.

If you would like a couple preliminary spoilers and rumors about Episode Two of Bionic Woman, you can read more after the jump.

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A little birdie dropped the Bionic Woman pre-air pilot in my lap and it’s obvious this isn’t the 1970’s version I grew up with (and loved). I hope the rumors that the pilot has been re-done are correct because there are serious missteps almost right out of the gate with this pilot.

WARNING: Spoilers after the jump.

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