I know the new version of the Bionic Woman has been around since September of last year but I hadn't seen any of it until yesterday and I'm now slowly working my way through the 8 episodes available.
I'm into episode 4 at the moment and I'm really enjoying it despite all the negativity its received in the U.S. The Bionic Woman role has gone to the ex Eastenders star Michelle Ryan and her American accent isn't too bad, I was half expecting her to speak cockney!
The story follows Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan), a woman who barely survives a terrific car crash losing both her legs, one arm, an ear and an eye. Fortunately her partner is a top bionic expert and she's quickly whipped to his lab to have all her damaged parts replaced. You later find out the parts are owned by this rich guy (Miguel Ferrer, the same guy that built Robocop!) who leads an anti terrorism crew, which she eventually gets drafted into so that she can help save the world.
Whilst all this is happening another bionic woman, the first known as Sarah Corvus (played by the excellent Katee Sackhoff - Starbuck from Battlestar Gallactica) is following Jaime. As the prototype she has many psychological problems brought on by the bionic implants, twisting her into a deranged weapon on her own path (I'm not entirely sure if shes evil at the moment). Totally obsessed with having new implants and doing the updating herself. She's addicted to new bionics. Sarah is a really cool dark character and she gets into some really awesome fights with Jaime and others.What I like the most so far about the show is the way the bionics work with both the women. Although not visually obvious (there's no shiny endoskeleton underneath the skin (like the Terminator), wires or any other robotic cliches) most of the technology is on a nano technological scale. Jaime has nanobots inside her blood stream, enabling quick repair of her body. I also like the way that the technology has evolved with the times, she now has a GPS chip in her brain and her bosses can see through her bionic eye. Another cool thing which I've seen is that she can be hacked by others or can hack herself (to disable certain functions like the GPS). That sounds a bit confusing but trust me, its a really cool idea.
The show has some really decent female leads, similar to the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Its refreshing to see!
Unfortunately if the rumours are correct the show has been canceled although I'm hoping its just stopped due to the writers strike. Thats apparently now been resolved so I'll keep a look out to see if the show continues.
