Anyhoo, enjoy this weeks fan video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

A bit later than usual, but here are the Bionic Investigations for episode 1.04 – “Face Off”: 

A shot of the newspaper the ’bad guys’ made Dr. Stevens hold up to the camera. I believe this was to prove the ‘date’ (of transmission) to the American authorities.

Jaime burns her hand and it heals at an exponential rate.

A nice shout out to ‘Hannibal’, as Burket cart away a restrained Sarah Corvus. All that’s missing is the mask seen on Hannibal Lecter in the image on the right.

Confirmation of the location that Stevens was being held – “Ciudad Del Este – Paraguay”

The image to the left shows Jaime using her Bionic eye to measure the speed of the fan in order to catch one of it’s blades and stop the rotation – seen in the image to the right.

Jaime uses her Bionic eye to great effect yet again, but seeing which buttons on the alarm system had the most recent finger prints. From the 4 digits Jaime gave him, Stevens then used this to work out the highest probability (most likely order of the alarm deactivation code).

A internal shot of the bullet which is nested inside Jaime’s body. We can see that instead of ‘rejecting’ the bullet like a human body, Jaime’s bionics are attempting to meld the bullet into her installations.

“Look, another of my bionic implants has failed. The one that allows me to make the Star Trek ‘Live Long & Prosper’ gesture.

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Great stuff! Thanks for all the entries – there have been some great ones so far – and stay tuned for the next Caption Contest which will be up later on today!

So what does episode four have in store for us? Here are my WANTS and WANT NOT’S:

WANTS:

• More Sarah – in particular it will be interesting to see her state of mind after being rejected by Jaime, hunted by Burket and toyed with by Papa Anthros. Despite all of this we saw, perhaps for the first time, some humanity from her – she spared Becca and appealed to Jaime’s senses. Interesting theme alert!
• More Papa Anthros (and Mr. “Stitches”) – Despite being on the run, he’s in a position of power at the moment. I would like to see more interaction with the despairing Sarah, and some acknowledgement of his son’s apparent ‘death’ (though the cast list for tonight’s episode suggests that Chris Bowers – Will Anthros – will make an appearance, so make of that what you will). Also, what does Burket make of Anthony’s ‘escape’, and importantly, what does the “extremophile” make of them..? Just where are the battle lines?
• I like Jaime, but she needs to develop more emotion (Sisterhood was on the right path). By ‘emotion’, I don’t mean screaming or shouting every 2 minutes, but she needs to display more range more often. I appreciate that this is partly because she is now half computer, but the time has now come see her struggle more with the situation imposed upon her and her sister.
• Becca, more Becca! Some people think she’s cheesy or cliche, I quite like her and she makes me laugh. So yeah, more Becca..and perhaps we could actually see the ‘computer hacker’ Becca?
• More good music. The BW soundtrack has been pretty good so far with the likes of Sia’s “Breathe Me”, Rihanna’s “Breakin Dishes” and Sonic Librarians “Amplified” (granted that was only for the “Paradise Lost” promo)

WANT NOT’S:

• Please..please for the love of all that is good in this world..please Mr. Eick..please no more ‘Vivien’ or ‘Heaven’. Becca’s a brat, but she’s a lovable brat..
• No more disjointed storylines! Yes “Sisterhood” was a giant bionic leap in the right direction, but “PD” still haunts me..
• STOP with the randomness!! Explain things, like WHO the terrorists in PD were, and WHY Jaime took ‘Heaven’ (more like Hell) out to a nail-bar when she knew that Serbian ‘gangsters’ where looking for her?? Also, can someone please explain to me, since WHEN did shoulder wound become fatal? I mean Burket have SOO much technology, which I’m sure Will’s fragile shoulder would have appreciated! Unless of course he’s not really dead (Shh!)
• ‘Radio Silence’. Ok it’s not that bad, but it would be nice if the creators of the show were a little more interactive with the fans, y’know like Calton and Damon from LOST or Tim Kring from Heroes. Make it happen guys, get a weekly podcast or something..interact.

Now time for the episode – if you happen to miss it, fear not, just download it from Amazon Unbox.

Add a witty caption to the following image of Sarah Corvus being..Sarah Corvus, and I’ll announce the best one next week. Go on, it’s all in the name of fun!

Send your answers in to Bionic-Blog using the comments section below this post or via email

Seriously Eick, when are we going to get our first lesbian kiss? You can’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind? ..after all  – high heels, rooftops, rain, leather, bionic babes…

It’s not like Michelle Ryan hasn’t got on-screen experience - see this video below for footage from Ryan’s former show, Eastenders, where her character shares a kiss with her best friend:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Or in a braver move, they could make Isaiah Washington’s Bionic character gay? Sorry, but I don’t have any past footage of Isaiah in an intimate ‘gay moment’..

It has been noted that Ruth Truewell could be have a potential Lesbian storyline – likely, after Heavens response to Jaime telling her that Ruth will give her a “test run”, but if anything I’d like to be surprised and have Jaime and Sarah come together in an angst filled romantic moment, if you don’t mind, Mr Eick. Or is it Katims who’s running the show these days?

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

I think I’ve been a bit too hard on Bionic Woman. It’s not that this week’s episode made me think, “By Jove, I’ve been looking at this show completely incorrectly! This is genius on par with ‘Hamlet’, ‘Metamorphosis’, and the later film work of Corbin Bernsen!” But I do think I brought a Battlestar Galactica mentality to this show, which wasn’t quite fair. Had a Battlestar producer, had some Battlestar actors, and even had the Battlestar modern remake in its favor.

But Bionic is its own, very flawed beast, and while it’s insanely far from perfect, there are some honest-to-goodness cool things amidst a currently mediocre show. I feel almost as if we’re peeking in on a weekly workshop production of Bionic Woman, almost as if NBC is showing us an ever-evolving product and asking us for feedback. It’s a show in transition, and I never root against a show trying to find its feet. Well, unless of course if that show involves Freddie Prinze Jr., in which case I bust out my magic markers and get to picket sign making.

In this week’s episode, “Sisterhood,” Sarah Corvis once again took center stage, with her relationship to the Berkut Group, the Anthros family, and Jaime herself coming into slightly clearer focus. Turns out that being Bionic Woman 1.0 has its drawbacks, what with the initial bionics causing her nervous system to go on the fritz unless a member of the Anthros family supplies her with a drug fix.. Watching Sarah go through withdrawal, and then shoot up, then shake like a leaf, then shoot up again, I thought two things:

This better not end up like Trainspotting, with a bionic baby crawling on the ceiling. This is why I never buy the first generation of any electronic device.
Anthony Andros, founder of the Burket Group, father to the possibly duplicitous Will (more on that soon), has convinced Sarah that Jaime’s bionics are the key to curing her fatal condition. The title “Sisterhood” centers around three such relationships: between Jaime and her younger sister Becca, Sarah and her younger sister (who died in a crash seemingly simulated when Sarah crashed into Will and Jaime), and Sarah and Jaime, connected through their unique biologic/electronic composition.

Sarah has been working for Anthony from the beginning (albeit through an intermediary until now), which begs the question: why did Anthony want his own son dead? Did his son ultimately sell him out? Will himself is no longer above reproach, even though he was so deadly dull in the pilot episode that they decided to write him off the show with the world’s first lethal shoulder wound. Between the secret files Jaime found last week, and Sarah’s assertion this week that Jaime was groomed for years as the heir apparent to the faulty first model, and you have an Anthros clan whose yearly family picnic you’d do well to avoid.

The “grooming” aspect is one I find interesting, and well worth exploring in the show. (I prefer this to “I’m going to tell Hillary Clinton you’re violating my human rights, Mr. Miguel Ferrer!” or whatever stupid line they made Michelle Ryan utter tonight.) I find all this grooming especially interesting due to Becca’s bit of dialogue about their great grandmother, who had a genetic disorder that nearly killed her around Jaime’s age. I wonder if this particular genetic disorder is what started the work of the Berkut Group in the first place? Perhaps Sarah was just in the wrong time at the right place, with the Anthros family unable to risk the first procedure on the woman who could truly make their bionic work flourish.

But what does it mean to “make their bionic work flourish”? I’m wondering now about Antonio Pope, aka, Dr. McHomophobe-y, and his responsibility for just how Sarah turned out. When first we saw her in the pilot, she was essentially feral. And tonight, we had him encouraging Jaime to unleash her inner “animal.” With Papa Anthros out of the picture, don’t assume there aren’t those still in the Berkut Group following his orders. Keep a close eye on him.

Read more here.

“I just try to think of a person that’s completely misunderstood,” Sackhoff says, “that has her own set of goals. Everything she does, there’s an ulterior motive. So as long as I keep that in mind, there’s always something going on in her eyes that is completely separate from what is going on in the scene.”

I think that Sarah had an agenda in sleeping with Jae. Not that she doesn’t still have feelings for him, but I think she has a bigger goal in her sights than a night at the Yellow Rose hotel.

Katee goes on to tell us more about the inner workings of Sarah Corvus:

“I see her as a woman who has seen a lot of tragedy in her life. She’s had a lot of things taken away from her. She was a soldier, so she’s seen a lot of death. She’s seen a lot of things that have changed her and made her hard. “So everything that she does is a means to protect herself, whether it be physically or emotionally.”

She also reveals how she dislocated her leg whilst going toe to toe with Michelle Ryan (Jaime Sommers) in that rooftop battle, seen in the pilot episode:

When I straightened my leg,” she says, “I popped it back. It was, like, three months of rehabilitation, so the first couple episodes of ‘Battlestar’ were kind of a nightmare.”

Perhaps we’ll find out more about Sarah’s true motives in tonight’s episode?

Source

Head on over to the Spoiler Page to see the other 4 images from this episode!