Category: Bionic Woman

In what was certainly an unintended moment of irony, this week's Bionic Woman revealed that Sarah Corvus has been diagnosed with a terrible truth: her body is killing itself and only an injection of new-and-improved bionics can save her. If only it were that easy.

While Jason Katims may be the new blood running Bionic Woman, I'm beginning to think the problems facing the show can't be solved by transfusion. Yes, Michelle Ryan continues to underwhelm in the lead. And its true the show is remarkably free of suspense whenever Katee Sackhoff steps off stage. But its the shaky framework of Bionic Woman's ill-defined and rather bland world that sends my red flag flying high. Week after week, I've tuned in to see a vague woman vaguely working for a vague organization against a vaguely-defined threat.

One of the reasons B-movies were so successful in their Fifties heyday, was because they embraced their inner cornball. They told us up front that giant atomic-powered ants were coming to kill us --- and then, wham! What's that coming up over the sand dunes? Giant ants coming to kill us. But Bionic Woman has taken a concept worthy of a B-movie and proven it's not at all comfortable with the inherited cheese.

If Katims is to breathe any life into this quickly flatlining show, he'd be wise to check out a previous superhuman series for inspiration: 1990's short-lived The Flash While it lacked a strong direction or a recurring villain, The Flash had one thing that kept it on track for a time: the titular hero used his powers, regularly, in inventive and surprising ways and even -- gasp! -- actually seemed to be enjoying himself while doing so.

It helped of course, that the Flash had a career, a personality, a weakness, a sense of humor, and an equally fleshed out supporting cast to share the screen with. Michelle Ryan's Jaime Sommers is thus far a cypher with a sister. And what few supporting players we've met are given importance one week but treated like furniture the next, revealing themselves to be nothing more than gears in the machinery of the plot.

I'm trying to like this show. Scout's honor, I am. But when it presents half-drawn characters and colors its heroes and villains with so much grey as to make them interchangeable -- all this while shamelessly recycling dialogue from Return Of The Jedi (Jaime to Sarah: "There is still good in you...I can see it") -- well, it's not exactly meeting me halfway, is it?

This post was authored by Jim Titus, a man worth significantly less than Six Million Dollars

I completely agree with you about this show. I've been tuning in each week just in case I might actually like the show. I've been hoping that the show would some how redeem itself but so far, I find the characters, plot, and mainly the entire show bland and a bit boring.

Does she need these injections constantly, or was it a one-time thing?

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