As you may or may not know, this upcoming series of ‘Bionic Woman’ is a ‘re-imagined’ concept, which means that it borrows from the 1970′s original but is essentially it’s own..well, independent woman. No doubt the parallels will be made between old and new, and NPR produced an interesting piece on the difference between Wagner led 1970′s version and Michelle Ryan led 2007 version. The piece has been brilliantly reviewed by Ryan over at Watching Bionic Woman, who goes on to expand on the disparity between themes of the two versions – in particular ‘freedom’ (1970′s) and ‘fear’ (2007), with technology (Bionics) dictating the mood of the times.

I find it interesting how the show has come full circle (to an extent), yet the despite the advancement of technology, the Bionic Woman is now much ‘darker’. Indeed, this is a reflection on the times we live in – although was the world really that much ‘safer’, ‘lighter’, ‘happier’ in the 1970′s (I don’t know firsthand, I wasn’t around then)? Do the times we live in require us all to be ‘better’, ‘faster’, ‘stronger’? I guess that’s something Jaime Sommers will have to find out – but what of the sacrifices? I mean there’s got to be sacrifices right? No ‘gift’ (or indeed curse?) comes without a cost.

How will Jaime fight the internal battle of woman Vs machine? As I’ve said before, I believe that these themes will be crucial in keeping the audience hooked. As Ryan  points out, the audience is alot different from the 1970′s viewers..heck, one year alone is a long time in TV land, so it will indeed be interesting to see how Eick and co. deal with, and present these themes to us.

Personally I think they have a GREAT concept on their hands..I just hope they don’t drop the ball – if they do i’ll suggest some Bionic repairs..;)

Anyway, you can catch more thoughts on the difference between the two versions here -and many thanks to Margie for the original headsup!