‘Through The Looking Glass’ With The Bionic Woman

26 Feb, 2008

Whilst NBC haven’t officially cancelled the show yet, it does seem strange to witness the show about to begin in the UK, whilst it languishes on it’s knees State-side.

It’s almost as if there are two different worlds running parallel yet opposite to one another - one in which the UK Press (understandably) don’t even mention the fact that the show is seemingly about to be cancelled, and one in which the US press gleefully take aim at the Bionic Woman’s kneecaps. You could call it the ‘looking glass’ effect.

Take this recent Observer interview with Michelle Ryan for example.

Bionic Woman starts in the UK next month (it’s so strange saying that!)

The Telegraph aslo have an article dedicated to Ms Ryan and her ‘upcoming’ role in Bionic Woman.

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Gary said in 2-26-2008 @ 00:53:51

I did mention in a previous post that it is quite common for British channels to show American series long after they have been cancelled. One of ITV2′s sister channels, ITV3, is currently showing Raines. Other recent examples include Killer Instinct, Tru Calling and Point Pleasant.

Michelle Ryan is a darling of the British press and there has been interest in this casting here ever since it was announced. There was always going to be interest in this series here and people will tune in just to see it.

Although there have been some trailers for BW shown on ITV1 and ITV2, they are fewer than those for its home-grown series. I actually think ITV toned down the pre-publicity for it when they realised the doubt about its future.

Also, ITV2 have done BW no favours with its scheduling. It will air on Tuesday nights, presumably at 9 p.m., which will put it in direct competition with CSI and the BBC’s hotel soap Hotel Babylon. I’m a CSI fan myself, fortunately I do have a video recorder…

Also, the delay in starting the run means that most of the other American series have already started their runs on British TV for this season. Virgin 1 is already showing The Sarah Connor Chronicles, so us Britons will soon get the same comparison which all American critics have just made. I must confess I saw the TSCC pilot and was impressed.

mla said in 2-26-2008 @ 16:58:31

While some stories are not mentioning that the future of the series is in doubt, there are plenty of stories in the UK talking trash about Bionic Woman and claiming the show is canceled. As your previous post discusses, the British tabloids love the idea that Michelle was “defeated.” Many of the stories have been quite cruel actually.

ryansxpress said in 2-26-2008 @ 20:15:12

Hopefully Michelle will let us know whats happening next week-she is to be a guest on the popular chat show “Friday Night with Jonathan Ross” BBC 1 10.35pm March 7
I look forward to some answers!

Roco said in 2-27-2008 @ 12:56:18

Gary, I think you’re right -ITV2 don’t seem to be prioitising the show despite one or two new ads appearing. I guess they have to put some effort in since they’re kinda lumbered with it now.

Good point mia, I guess it’s a mixture of the UK press using the cancellation to create sensationalist headlines (Ryan “Depressed” etc), or going the other route and completly overlooking the fact that show is potentially coming to an end very soon. I guess whilst some media-types are taking joyt at seeing Ryan’s career stutter, others would rather focus on the positives.

ryansxpress, thankyou for the headsup! That should be a very revealing and interesting interview. Let’s hope Jonathan plays nice ;-)

Page 48 said in 2-29-2008 @ 07:12:53

Sarah Connor falls somewhere between brilliant and BW. I enjoy SCC but the whole back and forth thru time requires a viewer’s full attention. I prefer the eppies which don’t have a lot of time travel. I do like Cameron’s detached creepiness, which is reminiscent in many ways to the actresses earlier role as River Tam on “Firefly”.

A killer for SCC, and BW for that matter, is the strike-shortened season. SCC just debuted a month ago and the “season” finale is coming up this week. Very difficult to cultivate a following that way. This could also adversely affect “Heroes”, a phenom last year, which struggled with a tedious Hiro storyline in its sophomore season. I think it will also be very difficult for “Jericho” fans to bring the show back next year. Seven eppies in a season isn’t enough to keep anyone but the most rabid fans interested.

How long can you jerk viewers around before they just move on?

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