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The web log for Delphi's Star Trek & Media Science Fiction Forum. We cover news and discussion about Star Trek and many other current sci-fi and fantasy tv shows and films.
8/7/07

Early Bionic Woman Reviews Are Mixed

NBC won't launch its remake of the 1970's action drama Bionic Woman until late September, but early reviews of the show's pilot episode are already leaking out.

The Futon Critic's Bryan Ford Sullivan writes the following review:
Michelle Ryan makes for a likeable lead and the story itself is fun in a pulpy kind of way, but...there's only so many leaps in logic a script can take. First and foremost is the fact that Jamie goes from freaked out girl to willing tough gal soldier in literally 20 minutes flat (feel free to count). It's a mad dash the quickly deflates the show's much more intriguing first half as the conclusion feels much more like an effort to satisfy "pilotitis" (i.e. set the table for how the show will work from week to week) than to service the characters they've created.
That being said, there's some interesting elements … and some solid action sequences, but they don't quite save the show from itself. Let's hope it grows into the fun, pulpy show it was meant to be.
Rating: On the fence (2 stars out of 4)

You can find Ford's entire Bionic Woman pilot review (which includes spoilers) here:
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/rant.aspx?id=20070713

TV Week's James Hibbard has a similar opinion:
For “Bionic Woman,” NBC should read the book “Good to Great.” The pilot is good … it’s just not great … and for anything to survive next fall, it needs to be great … but all the elements are there for it to be great with a little extra effort. Got it? Though many have compared “Bionic” to “Heroes,” they feel very different. “Heroes” is heavily serialized, “Bionic” is self-contained. “Heroes” is ensemble, “Bionic” is focused on Sommers. “Heroes” aims to be a living comic book, while “Bionic” embraces its 1970s spin-off roots. It’s not trying to reinvent the TV wheel, just give it a good spin.

You can read Hibbard's entire review (which also includes spoilers) here:
http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/upfront/2007/05/a_rather_early_look_at_bionic.php

Mediaweek's Marc Berman looks at Bionic Woman's chances of survival for Programming Insider:
The positive news for The Bionic Woman could be the potentially lucrative lead-in support from Deal or No Deal (unless, of course, the game show burns out from the over-exposure). But opposite four competing dramas (and not including Fox’s American Idol, which returns in January 2008), the odds of survival are slim-to-none. While aging baby-boomers may tune-in to revisit a classic from the past, keep in mind three things:
1. Remakes are never as good as the original.
2. Curiosity may tweak the initial ratings, but that does not mean viewers will come back for more.
3. Too much science fiction on NBC at present could be detrimental.
-Chance of Survivor for The Bionic Woman (Based on a scale of 1-1 to 10-1):
9-1

You can find Berman's commentary here:
http://pifeedback.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/21210316/m/51310716

Bionic Woman premieres Wednesday, September 26th at 9pm Eastern on NBC. Do you think the Bionic Woman remake has a chance to be good? Will you be watching when it premieres? Click the link below to discuss.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/startrek/messages?msg=19282.1

 

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