Check out this interesting Katee Sackhoff interview:

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I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground for any news on NBC’s plans for Bionic Woman. However, on my travels I have encountered what I can only describe as ‘bashing’ from fans and critics disappointed with Michelle Ryan’s (MR) contribution to the floundering Bionic Woman series.

Some of the comments on the nytimes tvdecoder blog, in particular, leave no doubt as to their feelings regarding MR’s performance. Here’s a sample:

It’s pretty simple: Michele Ryan is a car wreck, and there’s no rebuilding her. She mistakes oogling her giant, expressive eyes for acting. The writing is generally stiff and unengaging. — Posted by Janet V

Michelle Ryan? Bless her heart- awful. Really, just about the worst actor I’ve seen a show built around since Emeril Lagasse. Not many people can make a line that reads as bad as “That saving the world thing? I’d like to give it a try,” and deliver it so it sounds even WORSE. Ryan sunk to the occasion. — Posted by howlless

The problem in a nutshell: Michelle Ryan ain’t no Jennifer Garner. Nor is she a Lindsey Wagner.

— Posted by Phil

Whilst I realise that these views are supplemented with many positive views about MR, from what I have seen a lot of the recent criticisms of the show are beginning to focus on the lead actress. I am surprised that MR is under such attack - sure, she wasn’t outstanding but in my opinion she’s miles better than the entire female cast of ‘Heroes’ and Evangeline Lilly from ‘LOST’ (no offense, Evie), yet I don’t see them getting bashed for their acting ability, not to this degree.

Sorry, but I have to defend Michelle Ryan’s corner because she has shown vast improvement over the course of 8 episodes. Doesn’t that deserve credit? The main problem with BW is the writing - it has been terrible, it has been disjointed and it has been ‘insecure’ - it has tried to please, but has failed to find it’s voice after the first showrunner left. Sure, great actors can sometimes carry a show - heaven knows Jack Coleman has just about carried Season 2 of Heroes - but Ryan is not a great actress, not ‘yet’ (that’s not to say she won’t be). She is a fresh actress, in a new country, with her first breakout series. Yes, she does deserve criticism, as does every person who is judged on performance, but personally I don’t think she should shoulder the blame for Bionic Woman’s ills. Could anyone else really have made the show ‘better’? I’m not so sure they could - not when the likes of Miguel Ferrer, Isaiah Washington and even ‘cult hero’ Katee Sackhoff, have at times, struggled in their own performances.

It’s good, however, that the show is still provoking so much opinion - that’s what it’s all about and that’s what NBC need to recognise. Yes, the show has, by and large, sucked so far, but the show is STILL a major talking point and still has so much in reserve. Let’s just hope that Michelle Ryan and friends get the chance to give the fans something positive to talk about.

C’mon NBC, give us the ‘edgy’, ‘dark’ and ‘captivating’ Bionic Woman we were promised! Remember that? Can’t we, like, just go back to that?

—————–

* I should add, that in regards to the crisitsms being laid at Michelle Ryan’s door, she is also receiving much love from some quarters. Keep your head up girl!

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Last week news broke that Katee Sackhoff had distanced herself from ‘Bionic Woman’ and crisitsed co-star, Michelle Ryan.

Today SyFy Portal report that this is simply not true , and they actually have real-life quotes and everything, to back their story up! ;) In response to the accusations that she had been unprofessional in comments made at a recent Battlestar Galatica convention, she said:

“I have no plans to leave ‘Bionic Woman,’ and Michelle Ryan is doing a great job. There’s not one ounce of bad blood between us.”

“It’s sad because you want to connect with the fans, and then they throw it in your face in a negative light,”

Good on her for coming out and putting the record straight - I know what it’s like to have words or gestures twisted or presented in a malicious way, it’s not a nice feeling and the thing you want to do most is speak out and let people know the truth. As for her reference to the fans - I hope she’s not making a sweeping statement here, because a lot of people (certainly myself and many of those who commented on this blog) expressed our opinion, on the story that RoadrunnderDM broke, with honesty but also with the possibility that it may have been a sensationalised ’story’.

I’m not saying that’s what happened - perhaps the person who broke the news genuinely believed that KS was inferring the things she was said to have been inferring? Who knows? All I know is that it’s a good thing that KS has expressed her side of the story.  However, I do hope she doesn’t make snap judgements about ‘all’ fans. After all we’re in the entertainment business (or rather we respond to news, in and around the entertainment business, that interests us, I don’t want to sound corporate ;-)) and so a ’story’ like this was always going to provoke a response from fans and cynics alike. KS is now ‘fairly’ big news in the sci-fi fan communities, and these days she will be talked about more than at any other time in her career, I would imagine.

But it’s not just about KS, as fans we (I say ‘we’ to be diplomatic) sometimes go over the top, but I hope that most of us take any news story with a pinch of salt and with the potential that it might actually be untrue. To be fair, most of the comments that I read had this in mind, so maybe KS hasn’t been reading Bionic-Blog lately? ;-)

Anyhoo, it’s disappointing ‘if’ this story was ‘intentionally’ made-up. I know it’s the silly season and there’s also writers strike, so we’re all in need of some new content to speak about, but we also don’t want to be making things up and upsetting people now do we?

Some of you may be wondering whether we should take Katee’s word for it, whether she is just covering her tracks? Well, we simply don’t know but in the absence of real evidence I’m inclined to take the word of someone who I struggled to believe would say these things in the first place. I’ve commented on what she ‘apparently’ said, as I’m a viewer and blogger of BW, but I always left room for the story being a load of you know what.

Now Katee, hows about you tell us how that meeting with the producers went? :-)

Those are my thoughts on the whole affair, but what are yours? Feel free to share them!

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A few days ago it was reported that Katee Sackhoff insinuated that she was done with Bionic Woman. I thought that it would be interesting to see how the fans (that’s YOU guys) would feel towards the show if she did happen to leave - would you stop watching or would you continue to watch regardless? ..that was the question.

Let’s take a look at the current results of this poll:

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Interestingly the overwhelming majority have (so far) stated that they would continue to watch BW even if she left, suggesting that KS isn’t the be all and end all of the show. Incidentally, I also voted that I would continue to watch (assuming the show didn’t become unwatchable, of course). It’s not that I’d continue to watch just to spite Katee - heck, she’s a good actor and I respect her work. It’s because at the end of the day no-one person makes a show (although LOST’s John Locke comes close!) and the last few Katee-less episodes have actually been quite good..which is testimony to how the show has improved.

But maybe I’m of this opinion because I’m still fairly new to KS? I’m a fan (of her work on BW), but not a fan-atic, if you will. I didn’t know much about her until she landed on primetime TV, and I’m sure I’m not alone in that. Which makes her ‘apparant’ disassociation with the show that gave her more limelight all the more baffling.

If KS does leave BW (whether or not the show survives), it will be interesting to see what she does next. Of course she is a cult icon on Battlestar Galatica, but is that show ‘mainstream’ enough to propel her career forward? Or is it cool to be cult?

I just wonder, with the writers strike tipped to soon end and talk of a “relaunch” still up in the air..could Katee Sackhoff soon regret being on the outside looking in:

(’assuming’ she does want out of BW ; ))

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It is being reported on various sites that Katee Sackhoff, who plays Sarah Corvus, has no plans to return to the show when and ‘if’ BW gets relaunched after the strike. This is potentially big news because although we knew her role was only recurring, it would be a major major blow for the show to lose her..and Sarah Corvus.

This news comes from the BSG convention where it was rumoured that Katee Sackhoff (KS) did little to hide her distaste for the show and fellow co-star Michelle Ryan. It is believed that she has a meeting with the producers after Thanksgiving.

The source of these rumours is the Roadrunner blog who has posted the following:

Katee Sackhoff is donewith Bionic Woman, and not just because of the strike. She has a meeting with one of the producers after Thanksgiving, but does not expect to return to the show even if it does resume production (which I don’t personally believe will happen anyway). She is even already trying to divorce herself from being associated with Sarah Corviss. Katee never came out and explicitly stated the reason for her departure from the show, but her thinly veiled sassy comments made it pretty apparent that there isn’t a lot of love going on between her and Michelle Ryan. (Frankly, I’d go so far as to say that Katee was skating a fine line toward being rather unprofessional at times. I’m no fan of Michelle Ryan or Bionic Woman, but it’s bad form in any industry to insult your co-workers in front of the customers, and Katee needs to be careful that she doesn’t start burning bridges.

Crucially there is no word or even a hint of a quote from KS herself, which either means this is a sensationalised story or someone is reading between the lines. What I do find strange is that KS and Michelle Ryan (MR) would have any beef between them. Of course, I don’t know these ladies but all of the previous reports and interviews suggested that they enjoyed working together and had a lot of mutual admiration for one another. Things can change on set as in life, but I struggle to believe that MR is so big a ’problem’ for Katee that she’d want to leave the show as a result. If Katee is to leave the show I believe it would be because of the backroom changes or because the show has not met her own expectations.

However ‘if’ (and it’s a big if) KS is leaving the show and did insinuate that she is leaving due to MR, then that’s just poor form and very unprofessional. However like I said, I doubt this is the case, I think that we have a sensationalised story which might hold ’some’ truth.

Until there is official word there’s not much we can do but speculate. Is it just me..in the course of this show I feel like I’ve spent more time talking about the comings and going and things surrounding the show, rather than the show itself? Hmm, I’ve got an idea for NBC..a way to make this all better..and i’ll post it tomorrow.

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TV Guide have an excellent interview with Miguel Ferrer who plays Burket boss Jonas Bledsoe. I’ve posted the Bionic related parts below: 

TVGuide.com: Already we have seen some evolution in Jonas. He started off as such a hard-ass with Jaime, and now he’s more like a father-figure type.
Ferrer: Yeah, yeah — and he’s catching himself surprised by that. He’s got more humor, and you’ll see more humanity, but at the end of the day, the guy is a pragmatist who is forced to make difficult decisions for what he believes are the right reasons.

TVGuide.com: Are we going to get any more backstory on him?
Ferrer: His wife died and he’s got a daughter who no one has seen yet but has been alluded to. They have a difficult relationship. I learn more every episode.

TVGuide.com: The teaser for this week’s episode says, “Becca ends up in jail, and Jonas must bail her out.” What’s going on there?
Ferrer: [Laughs] Jaime goes away to do a mission in Paris, and before she leaves, she gives Becca Jonas’ phone number, saying, “If there’s an emergency, call this guy.” Becca winds up in a ton of trouble and calls Jonas, and they have a very….

TVGuide.com: Is Becca like, “Who are you?!”
Ferrer: Yeah. “Who are you? Is my sister really selling timeshare condos?” [Laughs] It’s a couple of nice scenes with the most unlikely pair on the whole show. It was a lot of fun.

TVGuide.com: Are things starting to “settle down” now with Jason Cahill coming on?
Ferrer: Jason hasn’t started yet, but he’s about to. They’re in the middle of the changing of the guard from Katims to Cahill. This is our third Jason! [Laughs] But seriously, even before that, it really is starting to normalize finally. The scripts are finding a voice and finding a tone. This kind of show, in the beginning it’s just so big and expensive there are going to be growing pains, a learning curve. We’re coming to the tail end of that.

TVGuide.com: Have you started shooting, or have you seen the script for the two-part episode that will serve to “relaunch” the show in January?
Ferrer: I have not seen a script. We started shooting the episode before that one [on Nov. 1]. We’re still a good week and a half off from that.

TVGuide.com: Are there still secrets we have yet to learn about the Berkut Group?
Ferrer: I think so…. I can’t tell you what they are, though!

TVGuide.com: Do you think Jaime is fully committed at this point, or is there still a part of her that wants her old life back?
Ferrer: It seems like she is onboard with reservations at this point.

TVGuide.com: Everybody wants to be a hero.
Ferrer: Yeah. She likes that idea. But it’s not like, “Hey, I’m bionic! This is bitchin’!” It’s not quite there yet, not that I think it should ever be there.

TVGuide.com: Do you think it unfair to Michelle Ryan that fans keep comparing her to Katee Sackhoff? Obviously, Sarah Corvus is supposed to be splashier….
Ferrer: Sarah Corvus gets all the sweet lines! That’s why I’ve enjoyed my long career of playing many bad guys.

TVGuide.com: If you’re quotable, you’re memorable.
Ferrer: Absolutely. That’s what they’re there to do — stir things up. They don’t sit there and wait for things to happen.

TVGuide.com: Do you think that as Jaime gets more comfortable in her own skin, the character might gain some attitude?
Ferrer: Probably. That’s definitely already happened to an extent, especially when she and Isaiah Washington’s character faced off. There were some pithy exchanges there. But in terms of it being unfair that Katee is getting some nice attention, who said that any of this s–t was fair? [Chuckles] That’s just how it is.

TVGuide.com: Any interest yet from Lindsay Wagner in swinging by for a cameo?
Ferrer: I haven’t heard a word.

TVGuide.com: I think there was an interview with her a few weeks ago where she wasn’t liking the show. She had some self-righteous take on it.
Ferrer: Oh, god, I love that. A couple of months ago I was in L.A. and Richard Anderson, the guy who played Oscar [Goldman on the original Bionic Woman], was driving by. His license plate still says “BIONIC.” [Laughs] All I can tell you is if in 30 years my license plate says BIONIC, you have complete permission to cut my throat.

TVGuide.com: Obviously there are a lot of sci-fi shows out there, a lot of characters full of crazy powers…. What do you think it will take for Bionic Woman to have legs and survive and fulfill its promise?
Ferrer: First and foremost, it’s got to be on the page. It starts with the writing. It’s got to be drama that can be taken seriously, with elements of sci-fi and action. But if it’s cheesy on the page, we don’t have a chance. There’s a lot of talent, and Jason Cahill comes with an extraordinary pedigree. I’m hoping for really good things.

Interesting stuff, especially the regarding ”2 part episode” which will serve as the relaunch. I’ve been wondering what they meant by ‘relaunch’. Also, he’s right about the foundations of good sci-fi - the writing.

You can read the entire interview here.

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Mark Sheppard narrowly beat Katee Sackhoff as the most anticipated Bionic actor back in September..now that we’re almost half-way through the planned 13 episodes for season 1, let’s see who you guys think has been the best performer. Has Sheppard lived up to his promise? Has Katee lived up to her hype? What about Michelle Ryan..has she been your leading lady?

Feel free to cast your vote for your best performing actor so far by using the Poll in the sidebar (will be moved to archive in a few days, where you can still vote).

Here is my top 3 so far:

Katee Sackhoff : Still holds the number one spot for me because she’s such a badass in the ‘nemesis’ role. However it’s not simply the bravado and sex-appeal that she brings to Corvus which makes me sit up - it’s also her more tender moments, like when she pulled Jaime’s hair back to comfort her as she was dealing with her first bout of sensory overload, and the time when she pleaded with Jaime to help her to extend her lifespan. It’s this light and shade which Katee has brought to the role of Corvus that has made the character far from one dimensional, even though she could easily have been.

Michelle Ryan: I know that she has her critics and those who say she doesn’t express enough emotion but all things considered I think that she has grown into the role and shown noticable improvement. This is important because it mirrors Jaime’s journey from being uncomfortable and unsure of herself, to owning both the machine and the human side. Of course neither Jaime or Ryan are there yet, but it’s this mirrored improvement which certainly deserves recognition.

Kevin Rankin: He’s given the show some much needed comic relief. Whilst the likes of Isaiah, Price and Ferrer have struggled at times with the more humorous aspects of the show, Rankin has shone brightly and Nathan’s obsession with Jaime is both sweet and hilarious - He has great chemistry with Ryan and if we see more of him I think he could well be a fan favourite.

Others who have impressed: Isaiah Washington has been good, not great but ‘good’. I feel that his character has a lot of potential if only they can give him a better script to work with. I would also give props to Molly Price because she is clearly made for this role if only they can give her more to do! Mark Sheppard has been superb but we have seen so little of Papa Anthros. Oh and I can’t forget Lucy Hale, I’ve enjoyed her performance so far and we need to see more of her - hopefully they can weave Becca’s ’computer hacking’ background into the storyline (why haven’t they??).

So there you have it, my half-term report of the main actors - what are your thoughts on the actors..who has impressed you and who has left you feeling cold? Oh and don’t forget to vote!

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It’s that time of week again, and this time our target, erm, I mean ‘choice’ is Katee Sackhoff from her 1998 role in Fifteen and Pregnant. I almost didn’t recognise her in this piece, she looks like another person! Also, does anyone think that she sounds like Michelle Ryan’s portrayal of ‘Jaime Sommers’?? Anyway, Katee shows her natural acting style with this performance, enjoy:

Strange not seeing her in a kickass role isn’t it! Stay tuned for next weeks choice!

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Bryan over at 411mania.com believes that the pilot episode of Bionic Woman was good, but asks why the show didn’t start differently, with Jaime Sommers already a Bionic Woman:

I finally got a chance to watch the first episode of the new “Bionic Woman” series, and the biggest question I have is why did they start this show at the beginning? Why was it absolutely necessary to start out the series with Jaime Summers not already a bionic woman? Now, I’ve always been a proponent of starting out at the beginning, starting simple, and then building up from there to more complexity. To me anyway, that’s when drama is most successful. But, much like the “it’s always scarier and more artistic not to show the monster” is a bunch of hooey, always starting out at the beginning is not always the best way to go. Or, origin stories are not all they’re cracked up to be.What exactly would have been the harm in starting out the new “Bionic Woman” with Michelle Ryan’s Jaime Summers already activated or whatever the heck the evil government group run by the always great Miguel Ferrer calls it? Nothing. Granted, there wasn’t much in the way of needless exposition in the “BW” pilot (which is why it’s one of the better pilots I think I’ve ever seen in that regard), but then, too, not much else happened. We saw the wicked nasty car crash that “allowed” Summers to become the BW, that blonde chick was walking around like she was a Eurotrash scumbag in a vampire movie (yeah, that smoking stuff was reallycool. Way to stick it to the smoking Nazis there), and after Summers was transformed there were some fast running stunts and an anti-climactic fight in the rain on top of a building between Summers and the blonde woman.Yeah. So why should I watch again? Because Michelle Ryan is hot? Because Miguel Ferrer gets to be a bad guy again? Because of that awful techno theme music (although I will say it’s cool to hear an actual sort of theme music as opposed to some lame alternative whine song as the show’s music)? I’m sort of intrigued to find out what exactly the BW is going to be called upon to do, but beyond the fighting and fast running skills we’ve already seen, I have no idea what any of these people do beyond going up and down on that elevator. And I’m not sure why I should care.Which is why this show should have started in a different fashion.

And then there’s the whole “If I do this I do this on my terms” line that Summers gave at the end of the episode. Please. That’s something she would have said after a mission or two and would have told Ferrer in his office or over a radio, not right after finding out that she can climb walls and use chain linked fence as a catapault. And since this whole “Berkut” group is so black ops and secret and all that, why wouldn’t they go into extreme crisis mode as soon as they found out that the blonde woman, the first BW, wasn’t dead? Why wouldn’t the whole show then be about that, the government and or Berkut going after her? Maybe that’s too “A-Team.”

It’s an interesting thought, I guess they could haveused Lost-style flashbacks to fill in the ‘origins’ of the BW story, but using the current storyline as an example, I think witnessing Jaime’s evolution in contrast to Sarah’s devolution (if you will), could prove to be fascinating. Also I think seeing a glimpse of Jaime’s life before she was made bionic has opened up many powerful themes..and anyway, what Bryan is perhaps unwittingly suggesting is that we start with twoSarah Corvus stories! From the outset Sarah Corvus was representative of the already ‘bionic’ protagonist, she serves as a cautionary tale and so we needed to see Jaime pre-installation, in my view.

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Michelle Ryan, Katee Sackhoff and Krav Maga! Take a look inside Bionic Woman and see what goes into making those scenes:

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