Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Sydney's Iconic to Jamie's Bionic


Nearly three years ago when I started this little slice of Alias wonderment, I signed myself up to receive TV Guide. I figured I needed to have THEE magazine dedicated to the ins and outs of TV and it’s programming. I also began receiving weekly e-mails from TVguide.com, which is great now that my subscription to the magazine has expired.

This morning I received such an e-mail and this week’s cover story? The Bionic Woman. And what did TV Guide have to say about The Bionic Woman? Tons of good stuff! Like this…


“So while Jamie Sommers will still have supersonic hearing and speed, the new bionic babe will feel more like a character out of 24 or Alias.”

YAHOO!! I’ve been missing Alias a lot lately- the fast action genius of such a fantastic drama/action with all the characters I love and want to be friends with. So, seeing this little line of happiness made me, well, happy! I know we’ve all been looking for something to fill the void- clinging to the return of our favorite actors to TV (Ron Rifkin, Michael Vartan, Victor Garber, David Anders) hoping we can taste a little bit of what we crave so much. Perhaps this new show- that looks and feels very much like Alias to me- will be the extension of Sydney Bristow and her gang of do-gooders. Perhaps we will connect with this Jamie Sommers as she discovers that her doctors have made some fairly important decisions regarding her future without her and that she must adapt and cope with the changes. Maybe we will become increasing interested in her love life. Maybe, just maybe, we will dig in and root for this girl has she uses her new physical powers to take down the bad guys.

I don’t want to get our hopes up- because you know, Alias can never be replaced- but I would like to have hope again, wouldn’t you?

Check out the article here at TV GUIDE and check out The Bionic Woman at NBC.com.

18 comments:

Page48 said...

NBC just spiffed up the BW website this week, no new content, just sweeter presentation.

Changes on BW are coming at breakneck speed these days. Some changes are bigger than others. Two characters have undergone surname changes (where I come from, we call that tweaking), deaf cigarette sucking punk sister Mae Whitman out, hearing computer hacker sister Lucy Hale in. And, of course all the buzz this week is about "Grey's Anatomy" castoff Isaiah Washington being signed up for 5 eppies (friend or foe is yet to be decided, apparently). Me personally???? I'd rather have Denzel Washington on board. I don't follow "Grey's" but I gather there is a bad vibe following Isaiah around town.

I understand they spent 8 million bucks on the pilot, and now they have new names and a new sister. Are we talking another 2 million dollars to reshoot around the changes??

People on the NBC board are beside themselves over the lack of bionic sound effects and slo mo, as in the original. Many are also keeners to have Lindsay Wagner and Lee Majors appearing in some capacity. Well, if they want the show to suck, then I say go ahead. To anyone else, I would recommend a trip to Youtube to get the original BW out of your system. 70's sci-fi shows (or any other dramas from that era) do not stack up well against shows like "Alias". If all I was expecting was a show that "lived up to" the original, I wouldn't even bother.

I've been downloading the BBC's recent production of "Jekyll" from mininova.org, which, at least in early eppies, featured Michelle Ryan prominently, and I've seen her in "Eastenders" since she was 15, so I'm quite happy with her in the lead role. I'm not familiar with the rest of the regular cast members, but I was in the same situation when I started watching "Alias", and look how that turned out.

I want this show to work because "Alias" is toast and "24" registered high on the lame-o-meter this past season.

Sites I have bookmarked are bionicwebsite.com (on top of things) and bionic-media.com (not so much on top of things just yet but comes from the maker of alias-media.com so should have great screen caps when available).

I will leave you with a quote from the TV Guide article GS mentions. This is from David Eick, the driving force behind bringing BW to the tube this fall: "I just liked the concept of an unassuming girl next door who could really kick your ass".

Somebody give me an "amen".

Bonkers for Bristow said...

A-MEN!!

I can't help. A little hope has sparked in my heart. I know from experience that once it's there, it's hard to suppress. Perhaps Bionic Woman (which I had no interest in until you guys started talking about)is just the thing to fill the void. No - that's the wrong phrase. Heal the pain Alias's loss and disrespect has inflicted.

SRM said...

hm, I honestly haven't had any interest in BW until this post. Because I'm lazy and avoiding a lot of website in case of HP spoilers, does someone know when the pilot for BW is going to air? Thanks :)

Girlscout said...

Lindsay Wagner now appears in Sleep Number Bed commercials! How can people be that gung-ho about her and the fake 70's graphics. Give me a break! Embrace change people! It's 2007, we can do tons with technology and graphics, the show has the potential to be amazing visually.

I am a huge Grey's fan, but not a fan of Isaiah Washington. He is floating around with a bad smell, I hope he doesn't ruin it.

Also, the love love love the blonde chic in this- with the spikey hair. She was on Third Watch. Love her! And Jose Ferrar- son to Rosemary Clooney and cousin to Geroge, who used to play Dr. Macy on Crossing Jordon. Love him!

This show has tons going for it- the budget, the actors, the whole idea of a bionic human being. I mean, I am sure people looked at the Alias promos and were like, "What the heck? Is she CIA or not? What is with the red wig? Who in the heck is Rambaldi?" And then it became a smash hit, and JG is famous. I think BW is just what we have been looking for.

Page48 said...

srg-alias, BW debuts Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 9:00 p.m. What is HP? I'm drawing blanks.

GS, I had no clue that Miguel Ferrer was George Clooney's cousin. I mean, who knew? No family resemblance going on there.

I've never watched "Third Watch", so I'm not familiar with blonde, spikey-hair chick. The other blonde, Katee Sackhoff, comes over from the "Battlestar Galactica" cast, where she seems to have quite a cult following (probably among the lads).

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Wil Yun Lee starred in "Elektra" with Jen.

I never saw a promo for "Alias" before it hit the air. I had no idea it was going to hit the air until launch night. I wonder how many cast and character changes the "Alias" pilot went through before it became the classic we know as "Truth Be Told".

Anonymous said...

HP- Harry Potter, yes??? :)

Page, you are so funny- Truth Be Told is your favorite episode, isn't it? seems like you find a way to mention it in most of your posts. haha! I love this blog!

I'm off to check these sites you mentioned, GS- it would be nice to have a new show to look forward to...

Girlscout said...

Ah yes, Miguel, not Jose, I knew it was something Spanish. Hahahaha! I think Jose was his dad.

Page48 said...

Oh, dang! Harry Potter, of course. I was thinking TV shows and all I could come up with was "Hidden Palms".

Page48 said...

Summer is brutal for TV. All I can find is the Mariners/Orioles game, so I thought I would use this break in the action to bring the uninitiated up to speed on the new Jaime Sommers.

Follow the URL below to see a fan-made musical montage of the scene (and eppie) that really put Michelle Ryan on the map in England. This is about 2 years into her tenure on "Eastenders" and originally aired 6 years ago, shortly after 9/11.

The first line you hear, "you can't tell me what to do, you ain't my mother" is probably the most memorable line delivered in the 22 years that this show has been on the air.

http://youtube.com/watch?
v=wkTTe7z7BdY

Again, for the uninitiated, Zoe (Michelle) lived for 17 years believing she was Kat's sister, when actually she is her daughter, thanks to Kat being raped by her Uncle Charlie when Kat was 13.

Zoe, unaware of the facts which led to her existence, and wanting a change of scenery, now wants to go and stay with her Uncle Charlie at his offshore home, which forces Kat to step up to the plate and turn Zoe's world upside down in order to prevent her from going. This is classic British soap.

Watching that clip, whoever would have thought that the cute English girl with the bangs would soon cross the pond to become a butt-kicking Bionic Woman?

Not me.

SRM said...

thanks page! and yup "HP" stands for Harry Potter, lisa's got me covered. ;-)

Page48 said...

Interview with Bionic producer:

http://www.ifmagazine.com/
feature.asp?article=2241

SRM said...

wow, that's a white blog, I was almost blinded when the page loaded! :) Nice to change it up though.

Girlscout said...

Yeah, it was time. I thought I would go back to something fresh and clean, since we are back talking about Alias full force.

Page48 said...

White is the new black.

Page48 said...

A description of the format of BW from writer and producer, Jason Smilovic:

"The idea being a show that is a hybrid of a serialized show and a self-contained episodic show. The self-contained episodes can be watched and comprehended whether or not you came the week before and the week before that. If you did come in the weeks before there’s going to be more for you; there’s going to be a greater comprehension. Every story is going to have a beginning middle and end. There’s going to be a resolution in each episode, but with an undercurrent of mythology running throughout the season."

So, no "Alias"-type cliffhangers? This kind of reminds me of the way "X-Files" conducted business for many years.

Speaking of "X-Files", Glen Morgan, late of "X-Files" and "Millennium", amongst other shows, is an executive producer on BW, and his brother, Darin Morgan, also an "X-Files" writer, is on tap to write eppie 1.9.

I understand that Darin Morgan wrote goofier eppies of "X-Files", and I have to say that I am not a fan of goofy episodes of my favourite shows. I like my shows played straight, thank you very much. Can you imagine comic-relief episodes of "Alias"? They used to do that with "Bonanza", as I recall.

Girlscout said...

"very story is going to have a beginning middle and end. There’s going to be a resolution in each episode, but with an undercurrent of mythology running throughout the season."

Mythology?? Please don't be a 15th century prophet. I can't handle it!

SKlaft said...

Okay, here is my problem with the Bionic Woman.

It is on Wednesday at 9:00 PM. Anyone know what what is going to interfere with that, or are you just LOST?

-R.

Page48 said...

I'm fortunate in that I can watch shows in pretty much any time zone on the dish, so "Bionic Woman" coming on at the same time as "Lost" isn't an issue. Whew!!

However, for those not so lucky, BW is rerun Saturdays at 9:00, according to NBC's Fall Preview Schedule.