I came across a rather interesting article by Richard Leis Jr, where he slams the updated Bionic Woman for being too pessimistic. He writes:

Show creators apparently hate technology, especially when used to successfully save lives. At what price, they want to explore, do we do so? A character who suffers terrible trauma must continue to suffer long after they have transcended their human weaknesses and been relieved of their pain. The price, we learn, is generally too high, and it would have been better if the character had just died. Because they did not die, they now must spend the seasons performing altruistic acts, to give back to simple unenhanced humans who are owed some unexplained debt. The moment the transhuman start enjoying her powers, she will be taught a terrible lesson.

This bionic woman is a creation of nanotechnology and cybernetics, packaged in a beautiful and indistinguishable-from-human body. A simple bartender enriched by her involvement with a man of education and science must now pay the ultimate price for becoming transhuman. We do not learn in one episode, of course, exactly what price she will pay during her upcoming ordeals, but we can be sure it will be gratuitously gory and tearful.

Modern medicine is marvelous and technologies in labs and on the horizon suggest great things ahead. We know from experience that most people in pain, experiencing great suffering, or nearing death, will, no matter what their prior belief system, embrace relief. Relief is so obviously joyful that relief as horror as depicted in fiction simply rings false, yet writers go back to that same dark well over and over again.

Could there be conflict in a depiction of a transhuman that was joyful and thankful for her transcendence? Absolutely. We have already seen one such character on television, albeit with her own moments of angst and depression and confusion. Her name was Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and she was always at her best when she gave into the morally valid pleasures of her power.

And Buffy Summers, of course, was partly inspired by another woman of incredible power who could, sometimes at least, enjoy her powers. She was the original Jaime Sommers in the original 1970’s Bionic Woman. If her joy was not always apparent, she was a superior role model compared to the current ungrateful incarnation. Until writers embrace the potential joys of transhuman existence, they will continue to “re-image” old material while popular storytelling continues to stagnate.

He also says that the show is a “disaster” and labels Katee Sackhoff’s portrayal of Sarah Corvus as ’painful’ and “badly acted”.

Whilst I did enjoy reading his article and can appreciate several of the points that he made, I disagree about the performance of Sackhoff and his calling the show a “disaster” – afterall, he’s only seen the Pilot..and that was far from being a ‘disaster’. As for his point about the show not celebrating the ‘gift’ of ‘transhuman’ abilities, I can understand his viewpoint, however doesn’t the show also have a responsibility to reflect the potential reality of such a ‘gift’? Afterall, most ‘heroes’ (if you will) are burdened with responsibility – “With great power, comes great responsibility” – being in a position of power is often a lonely burden..one could call it the ‘gift and the curse’ effect.

Yes, it would be nice to explore the joys of human transcendence and I’m sure that along the way Jaime will experience moments where she is at one with herself and ‘happy’ with her role. However, it’s much more fun and realistic to experience the light and the shade of the human condition..because that’s what life is often about..light and shade. Nevertheless, it’s a great piece and you can read all of it here.

Earlier I posted some information on The Sykes Group, one of Sarah Corvus’ previous employers. As promised I also have some more information on the Burket Group and in particular it’s leader Jonas Bledsoe. The screenshots below indicate something I posed a few days ago regarding the ‘role’ Jonas Bledsoe wanted ‘Bionic Soldiers’ will play in society.

In the above section Jonas talks about our “baser instincts – Fear, Anger, Greed, Hatred” and the urgent need to master these emotions. He talks about the evolution of technology in the face of the ever changing, more dangerous world..

He talks about the way that war has changed and is no longer conventional – he speaks of terrorism, computer hacking and fraud. He also highlights the idea that the biggest threat does not come from nations sending troops out to war but from ’individuals’. Interestingly – and you can really see where ‘Bionic humans’ fit into his thinking – he says “what we need is not more..but BETTER”. He openly acknowledges that these unconventional techniques are not necessarily ethical..which interests me no end as I would like the show to explore this theme. He goes on to say that FREEDOM can be achieved by employing these ‘counter methods’ (i.e. Bionic humans) – however at what cost..that’s what I would like to know?

He says that the “next World War will be the last World War” and emphasises that technology will play a bigger role than ever. He calls for a radical overhaul of homeland security and says “we need it yesterday”.

Wow..don’t know about you but I think Jonas is an exceptional speaker. However I think there are loads of ethical and moral holes in his thinking. Sure the world is changing, but what price do you pay to counter these dangers? And is there another option..one which doesn’t de-humanise innocent people..one which doesn’t stink of hypocrisy?

Those are some of the questions I can’t wait to find out. Jonas just got interesting!

Screenshots taken from NBC.com

Mild Spoilers from Pre-aired Pilot

The other day I wrote a piece on the Burket Group - the shadowy pseudo-Government group who apparenly ‘own’ Bionic Woman, Jaime Sommers. However there’s also another group who might make an appearance in the show – enter the ‘Sykes Group’. Not much is known on them either, but we do know this: they were Sarah Corvus’ previous employers before Jonas Bledsoe convinced her to join his Burket Group instead. According to Corvus’ profile over at NBC.com, the ‘SG’ were a “private military and security firm”. The question I’m now asking is whether Corvus once again works for the Sykes Group – after vengefully massacuring the BG, did she return to the SG? (put that together and you almost get ‘BSG’..David Eick you clever man!;))..or does she really work alone? Afterall, she is ‘supposed’ to be dead..

Perhaps the show itself will lend some more info over time? As a ‘LOST’ fan I know the excitement and intrigue that can be drawn from rival groups acting as the string-pulling pupeteers, battling it out for some unknown goal which usually something to do with their respective views on saving the world. Anyway, you’ll also find a top-secret paper on Corvus – if you’re willing to click around the ‘hidden’ buttons on NBC’s Bionic Site..but if you’re not, i’ve capped a copy for your viewing pleasure:

What does all this mean – i’ll tell you what it means, it means that Sarah Corvus is kickass and you don’t want to mess with her! As if we didn’t already know ;)

By the way, why the ‘Sykes’ Group? and why name the Burket Group, the ‘Burket’ Group? Surely these aren’t random names plucked from the NBC sky? If anyone finds any relavence in those names i’d be glad to know (You can tell i’m also LOST fan)!

Next up, i’ve got some more insight into Jonas Bledsoe and his apparent motives..

Warning: Thoughts based on Pre-aired Pilot follow:

Dark, gritty, modern..all words which have been attributed to this re-imagined Bionic Woman series. With that in mind I wonder what the Burket Group ultimately have in store for her? Whilst they look set to send her out on ‘missions’, could this just be training for her later objectives?

Whilst watching the pre-aired Pilot it struck me that they (‘they’ as in the Burkets) view her as a soldier. Soldiers are traditionally and unfortunately viewed as expendable objects..property of governments who often take it upon themsevles to fight for the ‘greater good’. Yes, I hate that term too – afterall, the ‘greater good’ is nearly always subjective.

With millions of Burket super equipment inside her, will Jaime be made to go to war..to fight on the front line? Given what Eick has said about the nature of the show, that is unlikely..so it seems her ‘missions’ (if she chooses to accept them) will be closer to home?..but what tasks and obstacles will she face in her day to day battles? We know that she already has a nemesis in the form of Sarah Corvus..but will Sarah turn out to be more friend than foe? Do friends really hit you head on with a truck and almost cause you to lose your life? Hmm..perhaps those two with have to sort that little issue out before they get too friendly?

It’s all very well having the ultimate fighting machine..but what happens when that machine rebel’s and fights back? Corvus has shown us just what can happen when you try to control a Bionic Woman, as she left a bloody trail of Burket scientists in her wake during her rampage a few years back. It all seems to boil down to one crucial aspect..CONTROL. The Burkets seek to impose it..whilst the Bionic Women battle to keep it..to be in sync with their own body and mind – to protect themselves from those who wish to use them..to make the right choices based upon their own morals and ethics and not on the power and greed of others.

In a world where everyone wants to be in control..who wins..woman, machine or those who wish to play God? We could be about to find out..

Bionic Woman Premieres Sept 26, 9/8c on NBC

 Warning: Spoilers from Pre-aired Pilot and first few episodes follow:

Much like ‘Heroes’ ‘Primatech’ and ‘LOST’s’ ‘Hanso’, ‘Widmore’ and ‘Dharma Initiative’ groups, the ‘Burket Group’ is set to cast a shadowy figure over the upcoming Bionic Woman series. Little is currently known about the group – though many of you who have been on the Ethical Bionics and BAT-TEST sites may already know more about them than you first thought.

It is highly likely that the Ethical Bionics site is a ‘front’ for the in-show Burket Group. However, whilst in the show the Burket group divulge in the kind of unethical science seen forced upon Jaime Sommers (and Sarah Corvus before her), the Ethical Bionics Organisation promote positive and ethical science warning people not to cross the line between ‘man and machine’ – the perfect cover story, much like Dharma in LOST and ‘Primatech’ in Heroes.

The alternative idea is that Ethical Bionics Org. are a rival Bionics group to the Burket folks, thus offering a polar approach to Bionics and it’s role in modern day society..or perhaps acting as a unofficial governing body? You can make your own minds up, but it’s my guess that Ethical Bionics and the Burket’s are one in the same.

What else do we know?

• Jonas Bledsoe appears to be the leader – or at least the visible leader as there’s likely to be a ‘man behind the curtain’, if you will.
• He has a few trusted wing commanders in the shape of Jae Lee, Ruth Treadwell and Isaiah Pope.
• The Burket Group appear to be a top-secret government agency. Their actual motives are unknown, but it appears that they wish to re-shape the world - using Bionics as a vehicle to effect their will.
• Will Anthros, son of Anthony Anthros works for the Burket Group - In a desperate bid to keep his virtually dead girlfriend (Jaime Sommers) alive he bypasses authorisation to use his top-secret Bionic implementation procedure on her. Burket boss, Bledsoe is not best pleased but agree’s not to terminate her (for now), after some convincing from Ruth Treadwell that she is “smart” and could be the one they were looking for.
• Bledsoe mentions that if need’s be they could “terminate” Jaime later. Which alludes to the idea that they can tap into her Bionics via remote device..or they could just kill her the normal way like they (thought they) did to Sarah.
• Jaime appears to have two mentors in the shape of Jae Lee and Isaiah Pope. Whilst Lee tries to persuade her to keep hold of her ‘human side’, Pope asks her to embrace the machine within – a most interesting ying/yang theme – perhaps we’ll eventually see Jaime combining both for optimum effect?
• Jae Lee was involved in a relationship with the ‘first Bionic Woman gone bad’ Sarah Corvus- he ended up killing her (or so he thought) after her Bionics apparently went haywire and she massacred a whole heap of Burket scientists.

Well I hope that’s enough to get you going – more on the Burket Group (and other stuff) in the days leading up to the network Premiere (Sept. 26) . I will also be posting my review of BOTH the pre-aired Pilot and the final cut Pilot over the coming days.

Less than a week after Glen Morgan split from Bionic Woman, Mark Ausiello (TV Guide) reports that they’ve already found a replacement in the shape of Jason Katims(‘Friday Night Lights’ Producer).

According to sources, Friday Night Lightsexecutive producer Jason Katims has agreed to lend a helping hand on the Peacock’s highly touted redo as a consultant. I’m told Katims will split his time between Bionic and FNL.

Well, i’m not sure what to make of that – FNL is a decent show, but it remains to be seen as to whether he can add value to the void that Morgan has left. Oh well, at least Eick wont be spread too thin, what with his ‘Battlestar Galatica’ work and all.

In other news – I’m currently building up to the big day (you know what the big day is right? Yup..Sept 26..Bionic Woman Premiere!) by covering some of the potential themes and aspects that may appear in the show. I’ve come across this interesting article on ‘Anthrasites’, as aspect of the show which may tell us more about these new Bionic Women and why they can do the things that they can. Check it out as there’s not much info on this in relation to it’s application in BW. I wonder whether the application of ‘Anthracites’ will cast a parallel to the use of drugs in sport to facilitate quick recovery times etc? Hmm..

Some mild spoilers from pre-aired Pilot episode below.

For those of you who have seen the pre-air Pilot, you may recall Burket leader Jonas Bledsoe say that they “could always terminate later if needs be” – in relation to the unauthorised creation of the new Bionic Woman (Jaime Sommers). This intrigues me because does this mean that they can turn her off, if they so choose? Is Jaime nothing more than a TV set in relation to their remote control?

In fact, in a recent interview with comingsoon.net, producer David Eick gave mention to a scientific concept where a computer programme is injected into a larvae of a moth and when it grows into a moth it’s movements can be controlled by remote control. Do we have a similar situation with Jaime? Obviously they can’t control her every move, but do they have the ability to control some of her movements via remote control – or will they have to appeal to her human characteristics in order to get her to comply with their wishes? Will they terminate her if she doesn’t comply?

And what of Sarah Corvus? She was supposedly terminated (albeit with  several bullets to the head as opposed to a remote device of some-kind) and yet she is very much alive..

Perhaps mans (‘mankind’) control over machine is as futile as his control of humanity? A theme i’d like to see explored.

Comingsoon.net have an excellent interview with Producer David Eick and the Bionic Woman herself, Michelle Ryan. The Interview is very recent (8th Sept.) and they ask Eick about Glen Morgan’s departure and a possible early show hiatus - Eick doesn’t rule out some downtime and pays tribute to Morgan’s contribution, whilst indicating that perhaps Morgan’s vision for the show was too specific and wasn’t flexible enough:

We don’t have a short break planned yet. Although you always look for opportunities to give yourself time to catch up on scripts, even if there are surprises. On just about every show I have ever done we’ve taken a week that was unplanned and unbudgeted and you get the studio to pay for it. You sort of shut things down and go on hold just to catch up or adjust your navigation. I don’t that yet, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we did. It would be unusual if we did. As for Glen, things will change because he is a very specific personality with great leadership skills and a real clear vision of the show. To some extent some of that is going to undergo some adjustment. He is going to be missed. I think we all agreed that what he was helping to build toward the show to come was quite good and valuable. We will be using a great deal of it.

Comingsoon asked most of the questions I would’ve asked had I been doing the interview and one such question concerned the choices that Ryan’s character will be faced with – the tantalising theme of Woman Vs Machine..Sister vs Soldier. Interestingly, Ryan relates the battles that Jaimehas to face with her own journey as a young lady in today’s world, which I think is an honest insight to her as a person and will hopefully make for a great portrayal on screen (beware slight spoilers follow):

I think it is absolutely the human side… Yes, she has these super abilities, but at the core of it, there is a woman’s journey of self discovery and her right to empowerment. I feel like I am on that journey. I just felt an instant connection. I know this young character (Vivian), who also has sudden abilities, she comes along farther down the series and Jaime takes her under her wing immediately. She is very compassionate and she questions every step of the way when Jonas and Antonio say, ‘We are the good guys.’ She questions everything. I love that. She is just this very grounded multi-layered character and person. That’s why I felt, yeah, there is so much potential to play with her character, aside from the action sequences. The sci-fi element at the core of it is this human being who has got so much depth. That’s the woman I want to be like. I want to find my voice and I want my voice to be strong and confident. I feel playing Jaime is helping me get there.

It’s an exceptional interview which gives great insight into the mechanics and aesthetics of the show. I will no doubt come back to some of the issues it raised but for now you can read the entire interview here - it’s quite long, but well worth it.

I recently read a piece by Jace at the Televisionary Blog, in which he suggests that Michelle Ryan’s character in the BBC hit drama ‘Jekyll’ is far more sexy than her portrayal in the pre-aired ‘Bionic Woman’ Pilot.

Now this may be true, but surely the reason for this is that they’re two completely different characters? Her character in Jekyll (Katherine Reimer) is a self-confident doctor who has strong feelings for ‘Jekyll’ and knows what she wants. Whereas Jaime Sommers is less of a sex symbol because in the Pilot she gets her life forcibly taken away from her, loses a child, goes on the run and gets chased by a shadow organisation..oh and she see’s her boyfriend potentially killed by her new nemesis..basically she’s extremely vulnerable. I just think that it would be a bit off-key if they made her confident and sexy from the get-go..it just would’nt be believable in my opinion.

I suspect that we will see a more sexy and provocative Jaime later on in the series, once she begins to master her new found abilities and comes to terms with her new identity. In the meantime Sarah Corvus (Sackhoff) will bring plenty of sex-appeal for both characters..as will Becca (Hale) for that matter.

To be fair to Televisionary he does accept that this is intentional move from the producers of the show..though personally I would say that it’s more than intentional but a crucial part of Jaime’s story arc and character development.

What do you guys think? Should they make Jaime more sexy from the get-go..or would that be too soon?

Word on the www. is that Michelle Ryan has been preparing for her upcoming role as Jaime Sommers by climbing mountains and learning ‘Krav Maga’. “What’s Krav Maga?” I hear you say..well, it’s an old fighting discipline which focuses on close hand-to-hand combat. Originating from Israel, this style of fighting is based around self-defence, but don’t let that fool you because it has the potential to be brutal and leaves no holds barred! The aim of using this fighting style is to effect maximum damage (if not death) to the opponent in as short a time as possible.

Wow..so perhaps Katee Sackhoff (Sarah Corvus) should be worried when they next meet for a face/off? Speaking of which, I wonder what fighting style will be used in the show itself? I was too busy with my mouth open to pay attention to the techniques adopted by Jaime and Corvus in that rooftop scene. Perhaps we’ll see some Krav Maga in the show itself, afterall bringing such a brutal discipline into the show should help with the realism-factor, which I think NBC are aiming for.

All this talk of ‘Krav Maga’ and roof-top fight scenes has actually reminded me of an interesting article I read earlier today which comments on the apparent return of strong woman to our TV screens. If Michelle and Katee are anything to go by they could well be right. From what Ive seen of the (pre-aired) Pilot, both of their characters (at times) displayed steel and strength. But what is strength..how can we quantify it? Personally I think that Corvus is without a doubt a strong lady – she’s been through a lot from what Ive seen and read. As for Jaime, in the space of one episode she’s goes from being vulnerable and pregnant to being vulnerable and kicking butt. Of course I don’t want to give too much away to those who haven’t seen the pre-aired Pilot (which has been re-shot by the way), but I find it interesting how she seemed to tread the fine line between strength and vulnerability ..even at this early stage. That’s something which I will be looking out for in the future episodes – how will she handle the changes that have been forced upon her? Will she embrace them or try to run away from who she is..who she has become..?

I wonder what Lindsay Wagner would make of the way the women look set to be portrayed in this new series? She is a cult icon, largely due to her portrayal of 1970′s Jaime Sommers. She helped bring women’s empowerment to the screen and I would imagine that alot of people gained strength and encouragement from that. It’s perhaps too early to compare Michelle with Lindsey, but you know it’s going to happen anyway.

As a series this new version will be alot grittier and strength will be depicted in different ways than it was 30 years ago – and well it might, the times has changed and so has technology and women. Let’s not forget the men in all of this – namely Dr. Will Anthros (Chris Bowers), who has come in for some almighty stick from what I’ve read online. The fans are bashing him because of what he does to Jaime in the first episode..but was his choice really that simple? I submit that sometimes we hold onto what is dear to us in any way that we can, but ultimately love always comes with sacrifice and Will, it would seem, is paying the price, as is Jaime..as is Corvus..as is Jae.

You can check out some sweet pictures of Jaime Sommers in combat in our Spoilers section! You can read up on Krav Maga here, and if you’re looking for some info on the 1970′s and current Bionic Woman you should check out Watching Bionic Woman, who have recently posted up some helpful quicklinks.