At the end of the Pilot episode a determined Jaime told Jonas: “If we’re gonna do this, what ever this is, then we’re gonna do it on MY terms”. A stupid line if ever there was one, but that aside, what ever happened to Jaime ‘doing things on her terms’??

I was actually looking forward to seeing Jaime claim her independence only to realise that it would be more complicated than she had envisaged – or something like that. Instead we’ve seen very little of Jaime working for Burket on her own terms. Sure, she’s had the odd day off here, finished work a few hours early there, but I had associated ‘doing things on my terms’ with her making conflicting choices regarding right and wrong, possibly leading to her working outside of the organisation that made her. After all, this was the cautionary tale – Sarah Corvus served as a warning to what could become of Jaime. However Jaime has instead led a rathered sheltered life – not once have I got the impression that she was in any REAL danger (either physically or psychologically), or that she could be ‘changed’ by an event which ‘could’ lead to her taking the ‘Sarah Corvus route’ in self preservation.

Perhaps I’ve just missed the parts when any of this happened? Perhaps I haven’t been paying close enough attention? Perhaps I’m being unfair? Hey, I’ll admit it if this is the case.

I actually think that two of the biggest problems with the Jaime character is that she relies too much on men (or when she is ‘ballsy’, as they say in the UK, it’s unconvincing), and she never seems to be in any great risk. What’s the point of being bionic if you’re never in any real peril – even Superman had Kryptonite! This is why I really wish they had expanded on the whole ‘Bionic Lifespan’ storyline (what happened to that? Heck, what happened to Corvus!?) – now THAT was interesting! I get the feeling that they thought we were too unintelligent to grasp such a storyline..that, or they didn’t want to get too ‘scifi’ on us…HA!

Anyway, my main point is that I don’t think Jaime stayed true to herself – perhaps I am overlooking moments when she did things on her terms? If I am, I fear that they were too insignificant or not important enough to make me remember!

*I realise that alot of my complaints are down to the problems that the show has encountered, but hey, this is a blog and until the show gets cancelled I’ve gotta get my BW thoughts/frustrations out there!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Fantastic song and really shows what a powerful tool music can be in capturing an audience. More of the same please NBC.

Download/info

[poll=5]

So far it appears that most of you thought the episode was ‘Very Good’ with 42% of your votes, followed by ‘Great Episode’ gaining 32%. 8% of you thought the episode was ‘Good’, with 4% voting ‘OK’ and 4% voting ’Meh’. As it stands no-one thought it was a ‘DPoor’ and only 2% have marked the episode a ‘Disaster’.

I think NBC would find these results interesting as I think fans of shows like BW are honest in their assessment. When we consider how badly the show was knocked over the summer, this poll indicates that in actual fact BW has real potential and has already built strong foundations. I’ll leave the poll open for those who haven’t voted yet – a new poll will feature tonight, but in the meantime thanks for sharing your opinions!

Let’s see how tonight’s episode fears! look out for previews and build-up throughout the day!

I touched on this in last weeks Bionic Investigations: In the first episode, Sarah Corvus proclaims that she is the first Bionic Woman. But is she?

Just before she makes love to the man now dubbed “Mr. Stitches”, she asks him if she reminds him of ‘her’. He replies by suggesting that her skin does. Could this “her” with the Sarah-like skin have been a previous Bionic Woman? Was she another experiment of Anthony Anthros..or perhaps more likely, Will Anthros, seeing as “Stitches” wanted him dead..?

All this makes me wonder what a living version of an earlier Bionic Woman would do to Sarah’s ego? Whilst she seems more intriuged rather than de-throned by newer model Jaime, perhaps the existence of an earlier Bionic Woman would make her feel less ‘original’..less special? Afterall, she does seem to have a needy side to her, despite her bravado.

Of course this is mere speculation right now, but it’s something to consider, perhaps.

Place your bets below (Poll closes after Wednesdays episode, so get your vote in!):

[poll=7]

1.01: “Second Chances” 

Finally..I get to watch the ‘real’ version of the Bionic Woman Premiere. I previously reviewed the ‘pre-aired’ Pilot and thought that it was good with lots of potential, after watching this final cut version, I feel much the same way.

I’ll try to focus on the aspects which I haven’t already mentioned here - Basically this episode is super enhanced, much like Jaime herself, it’s a familiar world yet those little modifications make all the difference. It’s glossier, crisper, neater and oh yeah, there’s Lucy Hale as Becca! I wasn’t Mae Whitman’s biggest fan in the first version, but I thought Lucy was really good – the chemistry and interaction between her and Michelle was so much better. Although a few people have said that Becca’s computer hacking background is cliche, I actually think it sets the backdrop for some interesting future plot-lines – there’s alot of irony in the fact that Jaime effectively has these micro-computers inside her whilst her unwitting sister is a computer whiz – let’s see you hack into that, Becca!

I thought Jaime’s super-speed-running was alot better – I really liked the CGI exploration into Jaime’s bionic legs..now that..was COOL! However the annoying little girl in the car..that was belittling my intelligence. Speaking of Bionic legs, it was cool to see how they changed the way they were first revealed to Jaime..gone were the metal plated drum-sticks and in their place were synthetic legs with visible anthracites coursing through her veins..neat! Still, she almost took my ear out with all that screaming!

I also have to give special mention to the excellent soundtrack, some of the music used in this episode was fantastic – particularly Sia’s “Breath Me”, which left me breathless.

I genuinely liked this episode and I’m so excited for this show – it wasn’t a Pilot of ‘LOST’ proportions, but I don’t think it’s too far behind last years ‘Heroes’ Pilot..and thinking about it, was Heroes really ‘all that’ from episodes 2 to 6? I think BW has created solid foundations from which to build on..the episode wasn’t perfect..but neither is Jaime…YET.

Onwards and upwards..bring on next week and more Sarah and Anthros..Anthony that is..not Will ;) 

EPISODE RATING: 8/10 (All things considered)

STAR PERFORMER: KATEE SACKHOFF

SPECIAL MENTION: MICHELLE RYAN & MARK SHEPPARD

BEST IN EPISODE CHARACTER: SARAH CORVUS!