Word on the www. is that Michelle Ryan has been preparing for her upcoming role as Jaime Sommers by climbing mountains and learning ‘Krav Maga’. “What’s Krav Maga?” I hear you say..well, it’s an old fighting discipline which focuses on close hand-to-hand combat. Originating from Israel, this style of fighting is based around self-defence, but don’t let that fool you because it has the potential to be brutal and leaves no holds barred! The aim of using this fighting style is to effect maximum damage (if not death) to the opponent in as short a time as possible.
Wow..so perhaps Katee Sackhoff (Sarah Corvus) should be worried when they next meet for a face/off? Speaking of which, I wonder what fighting style will be used in the show itself? I was too busy with my mouth open to pay attention to the techniques adopted by Jaime and Corvus in that rooftop scene. Perhaps we’ll see some Krav Maga in the show itself, afterall bringing such a brutal discipline into the show should help with the realism-factor, which I think NBC are aiming for.
All this talk of ‘Krav Maga’ and roof-top fight scenes has actually reminded me of an interesting article I read earlier today which comments on the apparent return of strong woman to our TV screens. If Michelle and Katee are anything to go by they could well be right. From what Ive seen of the (pre-aired) Pilot, both of their characters (at times) displayed steel and strength. But what is strength..how can we quantify it? Personally I think that Corvus is without a doubt a strong lady - she’s been through a lot from what Ive seen and read. As for Jaime, in the space of one episode she’s goes from being vulnerable and pregnant to being vulnerable and kicking butt. Of course I don’t want to give too much away to those who haven’t seen the pre-aired Pilot (which has been re-shot by the way), but I find it interesting how she seemed to tread the fine line between strength and vulnerability ..even at this early stage. That’s something which I will be looking out for in the future episodes - how will she handle the changes that have been forced upon her? Will she embrace them or try to run away from who she is..who she has become..?
I wonder what Lindsay Wagner would make of the way the women look set to be portrayed in this new series? She is a cult icon, largely due to her portrayal of 1970’s Jaime Sommers. She helped bring women’s empowerment to the screen and I would imagine that alot of people gained strength and encouragement from that. It’s perhaps too early to compare Michelle with Lindsey, but you know it’s going to happen anyway.
As a series this new version will be alot grittier and strength will be depicted in different ways than it was 30 years ago - and well it might, the times has changed and so has technology and women. Let’s not forget the men in all of this - namely Dr. Will Anthros (Chris Bowers), who has come in for some almighty stick from what I’ve read online. The fans are bashing him because of what he does to Jaime in the first episode..but was his choice really that simple? I submit that sometimes we hold onto what is dear to us in any way that we can, but ultimately love always comes with sacrifice and Will, it would seem, is paying the price, as is Jaime..as is Corvus..as is Jae.
You can check out some sweet pictures of Jaime Sommers in combat in our Spoilers section! You can read up on Krav Maga here, and if you’re looking for some info on the 1970’s and current Bionic Woman you should check out Watching Bionic Woman, who have recently posted up some helpful quicklinks.
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