There are, however several things which I didn’t like about this episode – notably the crazy camera angles, which I sense they have borrowed from Battlestar Galatica. Sorry, but it’s not cool to disorientate the viewer! Jaime still does silly things – like speak in front of the bad guy whilst she’s on the phone to the guys from the Bat cave..sorry, ‘Burket Headquarters’. Seriously Jaime, discretion is important in your job!

Whilst I appreciate the fact that the creators consciously tried to marry the ‘A’ and ‘B’ story, it still felt somewhat coincidental and even random at times. I mean what are the chances of Becca having a crush on Vincents son? What was the point of that boy anyway, except to to bring the two storylines together? It seemed too forced and they will have to address this in the remaining 5 episodes.

Oh, and where did Jaime get all of that ice from?

I felt that Jae and Ruth were still vastly under-employed. Seriously, is there no real work to do at the Bat cave, I mean, Burket Group?

Despite a few criticisms there were several bright sparks in this episode. I loved the introduction of more cool Bat cave, I mean ‘Burket’ gadgets in the form of Jonas’ Visual Caller ID. But did Jaime even have to ask whether it is legal or not? This is Burket Jaime, get with the programme! ;)

I liked Jaime’s line to the receptionist at the Spa – “TV’s really important to us”. I felt that was a nod to the fans maybe?

I thought it was cool to see ‘Heroes’ referenced in this episode – I just hope Heroes repay the old ‘quid pro quo’ sometime soon! Or make that sometime in Fall 2008, seeing as the strike has crippled it’s 2nd season.

I thought there was some cool use of bionic abilities in this episode – in particular I liked it when she used her Bionic hearing and then Bionic strength in the car bomb scene. The filming of these scenes was much better than the ‘oh there’s a propeller, let me bend it’ scenes.

I did feel that this episode was a little ‘filler’ – I mean when you see Jonas doing the dishes you kinda know what’s coming! It was a little slow in places and a little sentimental – but I can kinda understand that because after the death of Antonio we really needed to see the ‘human’ Jaime..the Jaime who struggles with the choices she is expected to make, the Jaime who is torn by her own morality and ‘the greater good’. We finally saw Jaime make a heartfelt decision..one based on the love for her sister. She so badly wanted to confide in Becca – and I even found myself willing her to do so -but she realised that the more Becca knows, the more danger she is in. This is a simple thing, but it’s something which, as a viewer, I wanted to see addressed, instead of skirted over. It was great seeing Jaime nearly, but not quite being able to share her secret with Becca. I felt that the writers finally did something to advance the storyline – the decision Jaime made was the wrong one (in my view), but it’s totally understandable and debatable.

My episode rating: 7.5/10 (but with huge promise)

Why is Jaime so irresponsible?..you would think that she was Becca’s age – at least then it would be understandable! Like I mentioned in last weeks review, I like Tom and Jaime as a pairing, but they’re now far too forced. Why on earth would Jaime entertain his “what are you wearing?” conversation whilst she is on a mission? Doesn’t she know that she may be Bionic but other people (i.e. civilians) are not? Didn’t she ever watch Spider Man 2? “With great power comes great responsibility”..come on Jaime, sort it out girl! As for Tom, he’s far too casual to be a believable CIA agent..he’s more IKEA than CIA..that’s how laid back he is!

Also, the show has to get to grips with the inconsistencies in Jaime’s abilities – why is it she can stop and bend a blade with her bare bionic hand and yet that same hand, on some occasions, cannot help her to pull herself up with ease from a building ledge? Why is it that Jaime is unable to utilise her bionic speed when being held at gunpoint by a man she knows she can out manoeuvre? Why didn’t he windscreen of the car she crashed smash when her bionic foot stepped on it as it came towards her at at least 60mph?

And while I’m ranting let me ask why Jaime goes to missions with heels on? Does she want to damage her toe again or is she secretly hoping to spend some more quality time with Nathan in the repair room? Oh and why O why don’t Burket buy her a better car? I’ve nothing against an old skool SAAB, but considering they can blow $8million at the drop of a hat, you’d think that upgrading her with a faster and more secure car would be a mere drop in the ocean for Burket. What are they, the studios? Come on, share the wealth Burket!

Sorry to continue the rant, but can someone PLEASE get Jaime a new ringtone!!? Honestly, why she even has it on full blast is beyond me - she has bionic hearing!!

I’m being critical here but I feel these are all valid points (well, maybe the not the ringtone one) and aspects which the show needs to address if they don’t want viewers to feel that their intelligence is being insulted.

That aside it was a pretty good episode and things got fairly exciting for a moment back there didn’t they! I thought the episode had a much better ‘feel’ to it – I sensed that something big was at stake, despite Jaime’s laid back approach, this made the show much more exiting. Although I felt they dragged certain scenes out for longer than necessary on occasions, thus losing that extra ‘edge’.

I thought that Isaiah was very good as Antonio- he wont win any awards for his stint on the show but he at least gave it something extra that would otherwise have been lacking. The whole plot, well if I’m being honest, was silly and I just didn’t buy it for a second, but the pacing of the episode kept me entertained (despite a few scenes being a touch drawn out).

They need to give Ruth something to do, honestly, she gets her own office and good pay for what? For giving Jaime sessions which haven’t even begun to get under her skin yet? She needs to redo her psychology degree does our Ruth! I’m just surprised (but relieved) that they didn’t have Jae Lee mopping up the halls in his part time role as Janitor! Are they over-staffed (apparently not seeing as Jonas had to go to Halliburton in 1.02) or just really really bored down at Wolf Creek!? Ah well, I guess it was good to see Ruth leave the office to get a plant – though it would have been much more fun actually seeing her buying the damn thing! Hmm, do you suppose she will end up talking to that plant, seeing as both Jaime and Corvus have proven her sessions to be weak?

Speaking of weak, are they now going OTT with this ‘soft-guy’ Jonas approach? It was fun at first but seriously, let’s see some light and shade, let’s see him slam his fist down on a table or something! Hey, sometimes cliche’s work!

Nathan was good – once again delivering the best line of the episode when asking Jaime what she was wearing – you see Tom, some people have it and some people (like you) just don’t.

Also, I have to mention this – was it just me or was Jaime slow to react to a partner being shot? She’s bionic for goodness sakes, she should have ran him over to the hospital – ahh, but she has to be ‘discreet’ about her abilities right? That’s why she jumped up to a rooftop in broad daylight and why she apprehended a car by fly kicking it, before casually walking away with it’s contents in hand. Yup..discreet is our Jaime. Also, what happened to the optical relay thing? Did she convince Burket that she had a right to keep it turned off? Because I would really have liked to have seen that conversation. Not to mention the fact that a live relay to Burket HQ whilst on that mission would really have helped old Antonio out..Nathan’s insight might even have prevented him from walking into that bullet there.

Despite my ‘constructive’ criticism I did actually like this episode and the show is definitely showing great improvement – I’m just being honest (and perhaps harsher) in my review of this episode because I feel that the show is now at a stage where it can deal with it because it is getting better, faster and stronger. I want it to continue to improve but I feel that it needs direction and a firm hand (obviously not Jaime’s though ; )).

Well done to whoever wrote this episode..much better..far from being up to the level I expect but you gotta walk before you can run (maybe someone should tell Jaime that?), and now that we’re finally walking, let’s see if we can try jogging next week? Just a shame that the WGA strike has given the show cramp..
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Episode Rating – a promising 8/10

Best Actor – Isaiah Washington

Best Character – Antonio Pope

Best Quote – “What are you wearing?” (Nathan) – funny because Tom’s SO wasn’t.

Final Thought – I liked this episode even thought it’s hard to articulate why exactly. Please please build on this and make Jaime a bit brighter – is it just me or has she reverted back to her “Paradise Lost” days over the past 2 episodes? Hmm..

Oh, and no Corvus or Anthros..imagine what it would be like to actually include them in one of this ‘good’ episodes. Food for thought NBC, food for thought.

The interface of the iris recognition system that Nathan was using to detect Victor. Apparently the only way to detect Victor – who keeps changing his identity - was for him to look into Jaime’s eyes. Jaime also used this method to ‘upload’ the ‘list’ to Nathan.

This amused me slightly – the picture of Jaime that Burket use for her file (above) is the exact same picture that Jaime found hidden in Will’s secret dossier on her (below):

…So, either the props department we’re being lazy/having an off-day/couldn’t be bothered to mock up a ‘new Burket’ photo of Jaime…or this is a clue suggesting that Burket we’re involved in Will’s ‘grooming’ of the unsuspecting bartender.

The ‘bad guy’ (Victor) uses the Apple iPhone upside down – is this a terrible production error/an actors oversight..or is this NBC giving Apple the finger over their recent split?? Hmm..who said Hollywood was petty? :P

In truth, I’m not sure how NBC would have gone about convincing Eick/Cahill to ‘abuse’ the iphone like that – then again, they interfere severely with it’s sister show, ‘Heroes’, in so much as the Nissan Versa (the shows sponsors) is, to my annoyance, referenced in every other episode! Would NBC stoop so low and so feebly to stick it to Apple by using their phone wrongly in an episode of BW? Watch this space for Apples comeback..I hear they will be having Peacock for Christmas..

Jaime uses her bionic eye to relay the names on the ‘list’ to Nathan.

What Worked:

The opening scene where the man kills his fellow soldiers was awesome in that it instantly presented us with the theme of control and manipulation. This mirrors Sarah Corvus’ claim that she was hacked and ‘made’ to kill the Burket scientists and brought it to a whole new level with not only the notion of non-bionic hacking, but the proof that it can be done..even to ‘humans’. I mean if you can effectively ‘hack’ a human, you bet they can hack a machine, right? Corvus is innocent I say! (well, apart from all those subsequent murders maybe)

Nathan is SO the man! His whole protective rant at Jaime was so funny and believable. Gotta love the tech geek! He’s fast becoming my third favourite character – who would have thought?

Jaime going back to college. OK, so I thought that this would suck, but it was actually rather well done. Particularly the bit near the end where her roommate gave her the results of the paper Jaime completed for her – it was sweet to see Jaime fulfil, if you will,  her ambition to experience further education (something she had to give up due to looking after her sister).

Jaime & Tom. OK I was cynical. I don’t watch BW for the ‘romance’. I get enough pointless love stories watching ‘Heroes’. However, this was good. The chemistry between Ryan and Bridges was fantastic, he managed to bring out that sparkle in Ryan and I dare say she added to his performance too. They are certainly more ‘believable’ than her and Will Anthros (who by the way is no longer boring since his ‘death’), and I think the audience will care more about them as a couple as they lead their double lives and perhaps find solace and understanding in one another. Of course it wont be as simple as that..well, I hope not.

Antonio Pope. You have to hand it to Washington, he knows how to work the camera. I thought he was fantastic in this episode, not only because of his presence and intensity, but because he actually gave a more ‘subtle’ performance, which was perhaps helped by his script allowing his character to show more ‘compassion’?

Jaime’s ‘British’ accent. Yes Yes and YES! Now the only thing I’m left thinking is why they didn’t just make her an English Bionic Woman in the first place!? I think NBC are also wondering this as it almost seemed as if they wanted to see ‘our’ reaction to her accent (which is very clever by the way whoever thought of that script). Although Ryan has done a great job with her American accent, it must be hard work keeping it up when it’s not your natural way of speaking, and I actually think that this may be the reason why some people perceive her character lack ‘emotion’ or ‘life’. Maybe she’s concentrating so hard on getting the accent right that she is not able to harness the rest of her acting talents? After all if I were to suddenly have a new arm it would feel kinda foreign to me for a good few months and I’d imagine that co-ordination would be a problem. So, NBC, here’s my suggestion..ditch the American accent..find a way..get freaky-geeky Nathan to rewire her ‘programming’ (he has a fetish for the English accent, right?) and have her speak in her natural accent. You may get some stick for it, but this is the business you’re in..you’ll think of something. I really think it will be worth the risk because for the first time Ryan (as good as she has been) reminded me of her performance in the outstanding ’Jekyll’. Please bring back the English Bionic Woman..even ‘Tom’ (if that’s his real name) liked it!

What Didn’t Work:

The fight scenes. Was the camera person drunk? Seriously what was going on behind the camera? The filming of the fight scenes was so jumpy and disorientating.

The lighting/editing. What I mean is that the outdoor scenes look so ‘pale’. The colours aren’t ‘rich’ enough for what should be a glossy, super-slick show. I mean take a look at the other Sci-fi shows and they ‘look’ much richer on the eye. Unless it’s a dark scene the BW lighting/editing (whatever) just doesn’t look good. Please sort it out NBC because the visuals shouldn’t be noticeably bad – No-one talks about the great visuals on Heroes because they’re just that..great.

More random terrorists. OK, enough is enough – I know that “this isn’t your moms Bionic Woman”, but do we really need the random terrorist plot week after week?Yes, the world is a scary place, much ‘scarier’ than it was in the 1970′s (or at least that’s what they say) but honestly, there’s more going on than just terrorism. Yes, by all means drop it in there every once in a while, but not every. single . week! If something doesn’t work, get rid of it..that’s what I thought NBC were doing with this show, seeing what works and what doesn’t until the show finds it’s identity? Well, the random terrorist plots don’t work, they look silly and only serve to prop up the much more interesting themes – like neuro-hacking..nowTHAT’s a theme..run with that, heck leap from building to building with it, just cut out the random terrorist plots each and every week. We get it, the world is a scary place..but it’s much more believable when the corners of science and it’s often unethical application in society is explored.

Ruth. What have they done to her?? She’s vastly unemployed after such a promising start. Let the caged bird free..

Recommendation:

Other than the whole ‘bring back the British Bionic Woman’ and lose the ‘constant’ terrorism plots, what I recommend NBC do, is to give the Burket’s a barometer – bring a tangible rival organisation into the picture. Not the CIA, an actual rival ‘bionic’ agency. We need something to compare them against..Jaime is constantly questioning the idea that they are the ‘good guys’, so let’s put this to the test, let’s find out just how ethical Burket really are, let’s find out how far it is acceptable for an organisation to go before it becomes immoral and unethical. We have a plethora of themes and issues which should be explored here. Let’s see whether Jaime, who is doing this on her terms (apparently), is fighting for good, for the ‘greater good’, or for the interests of a few fatcats who simply want to shape the world as they see fit. It always gets sticky when the main protagonist finds out that not only are they a puppet on a string, but every choice they thought they were making, was actually a choice which was made FOR them. Let’s explore the notion of freewill, control, manipulation, personal gain and sacrifice. Let’s see this Bionic Woman become a pawn and then have her fight for her right to be free and to make her own decisions..real decisions which she believes in. Then you have the question of what IS real and what is controlled – we’ve seen it with Corvus..now let’s explore that cautionary tale.

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Best Actor: I’m pleased to say that it was Michelle Ryan. The lead actress is coming into her own! 

Best Character: Jaime Sommers

Best Quote: One of many from Nathan’s scenes! Oh and this one from Jaime’s room mate:

“I just like secret food, OK!”

I don’t know why that made me laugh, but that’s the whole point..great stuff!

Worst Quote: (Tom) “You’ve got something on your nose” (or words to that effect)

Excuse me whilst I cringe! ;)

Best Moment: The various scenes which showed people being ‘controlled’ (notably the opening scene).

Worst Moment: The fight scene (daytime). Apart from Jaime knocking the guy out with a Melon, watching it gave me a headache. Sort it out..maybe give the camera technicians some of those neuro-control transmitters (I’m kidding about the last bit..but seriously please sort it out)

Episode Rating: 8/10. I’m tempted to raise this by .5 but I hope that there is still alot more to come.

So now they have me interested again..I’ll admit it, I was beginning to wonder whether I had misjudged my excitement over the premise of this show, but although “TEoJS” wasn’t perfect, it was a continued improvement. I really do think that it will be worth being patient with this show as they find their groove. It’s almost like watching a ‘beta’ project at times, but the fact that they have a new show runner suggests that NBC are in this for the long haul, and if they keep on improving then my interest in the show will continue to peak. The biggest compliment that I can pay this episode was the fact that the lead actress did just that, she led and she was brilliant. Furthermore, four of my favourite characters were absent – Papa Anthros, Sarah Corvus, Jae Lee and Becca Sommers – yet I honestly didn’t care.

Now the bad news is that just when things get interesting, NBC decide to put another show on in it’s place for Halloween, so no new episode next week. Bionic Woman returns on November 7.

This week, I’ve broken my views down in to what I felt worked and didn’t work:

What worked:

-Jaime’s reaction to Becca ‘making out’ – This was actually a believable scene and it allowed us to see Jaime using her bionic installations for personal use – much to the displeasure of Jonas.

-Jaime and Nathan. I’m fast becoming a Nathan fan! I like his quips and the way he and Jaime interact. He SO wants her, but it does cross my mind as to whether he likes ‘Jaime’ or the technology that is inside of her. After all, he is a tech-freak.

-Sarah being carted away, ala Hannibal Lecter, as she makes small talk with Jaime as if she didn’t threaten to kill Becca the week earlier (or whatever the timescale currently is in this show). Funny stuff!

-Finding out about Jaime’s “5 year” bionic lifespan was a good device. Kinda knew it was coming seeing as we found out about Sarah’s the week before, but it was a good move. Just a shame we didn’t focus more on this potentially interesting theme.

-Fight scene between Jaime and Antonio (although I would like to know how Antonio escaped from ‘bad guy hideout’ in the first place..)

-The idea that Will Anthros was working outside of the Burket Group. As Jonas said: “I don’t think we knew Will as well as he thought”. Basically, Will is getting more and more interesting since his ‘death’! Was he selling bionics to the highest bidder, just like his father before him?

What Didn’t Work:

-Sarah’s escape. Fair enough they explained the ease of her capture by her admitting to Jae that she ‘wanted’ to get caught, but her escape was far to ‘easy’ and rather disappointing.

-Sarah and Burket interrogation. Apart from the line where Sarah admits to Ruth that’s she’s “crazy” and where she references “Mr. Ed”, I found the interaction between Burket (Jonas, Ruth, Jae) and Sarah, unbelievable. It needed more tension and better dialogue. A missed opportunity for some real character development methinks!

-Jaime’s decision making. OK, she saved the CIA guy, but why did she give him the flash file? Would she REALLY trust him enough to do that? Maybe I’m being picky, but that just made no sense…she previously didn’t strike me as stupid.

-Fan bending. I know what they were trying to do here (i.e. give Jaime something ‘cool’ to do), but what was the purpose of that fan other than to give Jaime something ‘cool’ to do, lol!? Also, would the fan really continue to work afterwards, and stop every single bullet that the bad guys fired? Perhaps it’s a super fan..

-The scene were she did her bionic leaps as the bad guys fired bullets at her was cool (it certainly looked cool in the trailers), but wasn’t it a bit convenient that she just happened to get shot and land in the exact spot where she would have ended up had she followed Mr. CIA man (which would’ve been the logical thing to do anyway!)?

-So Will, who works for a top secret agency, leaves all of his data on Jaime’s bionics on one flash file? Maybe limiting the data to one source is not such a bad idea, but the whole plot device about the CIA man getting caught just seemed so random!

All in all this was quite a mixed bag, however something kept me interested. Whether it’s the promise of things to come, the hope that Mark Sheppard might grace the episode with his presence or the faith that they will finally start driving home the powerful themes..whatever it was, I still enjoyed it enough to watch the episode in full. However it has to get better than this, I’m used to quality shows and demand that ‘BW’ doesn’t waste this opportunity to give us themes which no other show currently can. Come on guys, don’t waste this chance!

Best character: Antonio Pope – not great in this episode but he gives us that ‘curveball’ intensity and makes me laugh when he ‘tries’ to face off again Jaime..like duh, she’s bionic, dude! He must like getting kicked through walls!

Best Actor: Michelle Ryan (OK, Jaime was dumb in this episode, but I thought Michelle gave the best performance. Wasn’t feeling Katee this time, perhaps it’s down to her script?).

Best moment: The Antonio/Jaime fight (Incidentally is THIS why it was called ‘Face Off’? I can’t think of any other reason…except maybe for the capture of Sarah. But that was hardly a face off..more a passing glance!). Anyway, the fight sequence still rocked!

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Best Quote:

Ruth: “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink”

Sarah: “..If Mr. Ed wont drink, you grab him by the mane and hold him under…he’ll swallow”

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Worst Quote

Jonas (to Jae) “You want to help her..help her help herself”.

——–

Main Episode Theme: Trust, trust and trust..did I say TRUST?

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Overall Episode Rating: 7/10

*Coming soon: “Face Off” Episode Investigations

Wow, this was certainly a step up from last weeks episode! If this episode was an indication of things to come then no wonder NBC have ordered more scripts.

The title – “Sisterhood”

I thought this was a good title for the episode as it played into the central themes – the relationship between Becca and Jaime and between Jaime and Sarah. Despite not telling Becca the truth about her being half machine, Jaime clearly loves her sister and feels protective over her. However, in this episode she realised that Becca could be her biggest weakness, as people such as Sarah can target her as a way to get to Jaime..as a way to make her comply, or conform to their standards. Sarah Corvus and Jaime are virtually sisters themselves, both of them share a connectivity or a ‘sisterhood’, if you will, by the fact that they both have bionic implants which have been placed inside them without their total consent (though I was of the understanding that Corvus ‘volunteered’ for the programme, but there you go). I get the feeling that although Jaime’s priority is to protect Becca, she also empathises with Sarah and wants to help her..she just doesn’t know whether she can trust her – likewise, Jaime broke Sarah’s trust by using the self-hack trick to alert the Burket Group. Can’t blame her really, you just don’t mess with a girls sister. I would like to see this theme explored in greater depth because it’s obviously one which the actors can easily identify with and consequently it will be depicted with great realism and integrity, as it was in this episode. By the way, Katee Sackhoff was simply brilliant.

Jaime Sommers & ‘Grooming’

So, it would appear that Will did indeed target Jaime for Bionic installation years before they ‘met’, as the file she found in last weeks episode indicated. Not only is this creepy, but it raises some serious issues about a person’s right to freedom as well as issues of trust. So, Will was looking for someone with the right genetic/personality/physical etc make-up in order to try out his new and improved Bionic technology. Question – where on earth was he test running all of this? Was it directly under the Burket noses or did he have another agency that he worked for? I mean two years is a long time, and one would assume that during this time he was still perfecting and testing the implants..and on who? That’s what I want to know. We also have the issue of Jaime’s grandmother who may have been an early Bionic subject, which would suggest that my theory that Sarah is not, infact, the first Bionic Woman is correct. I think that Jaime’s genes are suited to Bionic installation and perhaps her grandmother (who had a so-called ‘genetic defect’) was an early Bionic test run?

Jaime & Sarah &’ Hacking’ into oneself

One of the most interesting themes from this episode – the fact that both Bionic Woman can ‘hack’ into their implants and ‘turn them off..and on’. How cool is that..and how cool was the nose-bleed aspect!? They’re beginning to present these BW more and more like machines..or computers and it’s a fascinating exploration into what it would be like to be bionic. I have a question though – how often can they hack into themselves before it starts to do irreparable damage? Sarah has been Bionic for what, 2-3 years, and already she is beginning to ‘erode’. This may be because her implants are inferior to Jaime’s but I would still imagine that Jaime’s lifespan is also limited? Another interesting aspect is the notion that if they can self-hack, then others can also hack into them – as Sarah claims (and I believe) happened to her when she killed those 14 BG scientists. I’m sure there would be no end of people who would want to hack into a BW, afterall, they’re part machines..machines that can be turned into the most dangerous and ‘effective’ of weapons.

Which brings me onto Antonio/Jae..

Embrace the machine or retain humanity?

These are the contrasting philosophies of Jaime’s two mentors – Antonio believes that she must unleash the ‘animal’ and embrace her machine side if she is to survive..whilst Jae, who has had to turn a gun on his own love, believes that “the machine is nothing without the woman”.

These are two crucial distinctions and it’s fascinating to see which one is most effective and which one Jaime will end up choosing. My bet is that she will have to choose BOTH if she is to survive. There may come times when she has to hold onto her humanity in order to keep her identity and possibly save her sister..but there will also be occasions when she has to make snap judgements for the greater good..decisions which may well mean ‘calling out the animal inside’ and stepping outside of her human morals and belief systems. As a BW she can no longer just think for herself..she has a wider picture to survey. No-one said being a BW would be easy..it’s the price she now has to pay for the curiosity of science and mans meddling with God’s work. Ah, and there’s another themes..natural evolution versus scientific evolution.

Sarah & her Sister

So, Sarah had a sister..I never actually considered that. It actually gives the most layered character even more layers, which is great as Katee Sackhoff is able to handle it..infact she seems like an actress who needs a challenge. Anyway, whilst my heart does bleed for Sarah’s loss, what I want to know is, who killed her sister? Afterall, it was surely no accident as it mirrored the way in which Sarah attempted to kill Anthros jnr..unless, of course, she is still so scared by what happened to her sister that she wanted to purge herself of the memory (guilt?) by inflicting a mirror ‘accident’ upon Will..? Eitherway, I felt bringing her sister into the game (yes Jaime, ‘game’) at this stage was great as it enhanced the episode and integrated with it’s central theme. Did I say Sackhoff rocks? And that’s coming from an anti-fanboy!

Papa Anthros

It’s amazing what Mark Sheppard does to an episode – perhaps next time we can just sit him in a room and have him talk about…anything! Seriously, the man is awesome..awesomeI tell you! So, Papa Anthros is quite the manipulator, it would seem. He obviously has his own agenda, which consists of getting his paws on Jaime’s bionics. Hmm, he must be pretty jealous that his son was able to create a more advanced Bionic Woman than his Sarah Corvus effort – is this why Will’s death doesn’t even seem to register with him? I knew there was some-kind of beef between the two of them. Anyway, enough about Will, he’s dead (or IS he?), what were those drugs that Papa Anthros gave Sarah? She must be at a very low ebb if she is trusting him, after all doesn’t she hate her creators?

We also found out that Anthony was in jail for treason – selling Bionics to the highest bidders. Now that is a storyline that has depth - it not only questions the ethics of the man, but it suggests that he is motivated by money (or the equivalent). Did he not care what the buyers of these ‘weapons’ did with them? Also, did he actually sell ‘Bionic Women’ to the highest bidders, and if so what has become of them? And why ‘women’? Sarah raised this issue in the episode, and it’s now made me question why ‘women’ seem to be the prerred gender for Papa and son’s Bionic installation programmes?

Oh, And where was Mr. Stitches? I miss his barrel of laughs..

Jonas and the Burkets

Loved Jonas this week, full of quips and witty comebacks! He is a pervert though (joking), and the issue of privacy is an important one. I mean, what do they do when Jaime is taking a shower? And did they really watch her and Will get it on (Yuck)? I guess it would explain why Jae was so quick to tend to Will’s ‘fatal’ shoulder wound and why Jonas was so quick to save Jaime’s dignity in last weeks toilet debacle -they’re monitoring her at all, well, ‘most’ times. So just to clarify, they (or rather Will) implanted an optical interface which is wrapped around her cerebral cortex and relays a live video feed or stream to BG HQ. So it’s in her brain and not her eye – which is perhaps why she is able to ‘hack’ herself – ‘if’ it was in her eye then surely no amount of concentration would allow her to turn it on and off at will? Although she could cut out her eye, but that’s another story (season 2 maybe? ;)). So yeah, Jonas and co. contravene her rights to privacy but then from their point of view she was a curveball who has $50 million of their machinery inside her body. So I guess Jonas has to keep track of his investment..hopefully he wont abuse that power on a late night at the office – he’s no longer married, right? Close your eyes whilst bathing Jaime..that’s my tip to you.

I could say much more about this episode as I thought it truly rocked! Last week was such a disappointment for me, so it’s only right that I congratulate the guys at BW for a fantastic episode this week. It wasn’t perfect but please let this be the start of many more good things to come. Everyone recognises that this show has potential, and if Eick and co. continue to tap into that potential then people will remain curious..don’t drop the ball guys!

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Best Performer: Katee Sackhoff (Did I say she rocks?)

Best Character Performance: Sarah Corvus & Papa Anthros (awesome..both of them)

Special Mention Award: Lucy Hale as Becca (great addition to the cast and an excellent character so far)

Best Quote:

Antonio: I’m about to go analogue on your ass!

Jaime: Bring it bitch!

Best Moment: Jaime hacking herself so that her optical interface came back online and alerted the Burkets of Sarah’s presence. That was an awesome moment!

Episode Rating: 8.5/10

One thing we do know is that Jaime will encounter Antonio Pope (Isaiah Washington), now this is set to be a really intriguing pairing, as Jaime looks to come to terms with the world she’s been thrown in to and try to balance being a sister and someone’s ‘property’.

Every show needs the odd guest star or two who propel the series on to the next level – Michael Emerson did that for ‘LOST’ (and he ended becoming a regular and possibly the best actor currently on TV!) and Christopher Eccleston did it for ‘Heroes’. Could Isaiah do it for Bionic? Early days I know but things look exciting.

So what about what we, the fans, want to see tonight?

I think it’s clear that the fans are already invested in Sarah Corvus and Anthony Anthros, so more of them tonight please. Corvus has presented herself as this machine embracing ego-maniac, but in truth there’s alot more to her than that. Anthony Anthros has escaped jail with the man who wants his son dead – what’s the deal with that!?? Papa Anthros is already an intriguing character and you get the feeling that with each scene he’ll become more and more layered. Excellent!

So what of the Burket Group? Who’s side are you on? At the moment I get the feeling that the viewers are generally undecided. Sure, they’re an unethical bunch, but in a way it’s not impossible to understand their viewpoint. Jaime was a “curveball”, and they’ve responded in the only way they realistically could. Least that’s what they like to think.

Let’s not forget Becca in all this – she’s a very astute girl, it wont be long before she knows that Jaime is hiding something. How long will it be before Becca is hacking into some government database and ends up sending her sisters Bionic’s haywire? Shocking thought, but it would be fun to see!

And so, grab your popcorn, a cold beverage and enjoy tonight’s episode! Don’t forget, you can vote in the various polls and leave your opinions in the comments section or in the chatbox. If you’re looking for a cool forum to discuss the show with fellow fans, check out Bionic Woman Central!

Oh..almost forgot - from what we last saw, Will’s life hangs in the balance..blah.

Episode trailer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Preview Clip:

Click here to view the embedded video.

thewest.com.au feature Miguel Ferrer, who reveals more about the role that his character, Jonas Bledsoe, and the Burket Group may play in the series:

“..it’s dark and it’s nasty and sci-fi and drama and action. Jonas is dedicated to stopping rogue organisations around the world that want to end civilisation as we know it,”

“That’s at the core of the plot, but there are a lot of avenues the story can take, that’s what makes it so good”

“He’s forced to make a lot of difficult decisions in the best interests of many, sometimes at the expense of a few.”

This is interesting as it suggests that this motives of the Burket Group will be more layered than it might first appear.

Ferrer also goes on to mention the 1970′s Bionic dog - he’s not a fan:

“There’s no Bionic Dog in this one. If there is, I’m probably going to leave”

Bizarrely Ferrer’s wife once lived with the Bionic dog as when the series ended her father adopted him:

“Yep, she grew up with The Bionic Dog”

I wonder whether this had any bearing on Miguel’s decision to accept the role?

Bionic Woman premieres in Australia on October 4.

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

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..