• Hello and welcome to MSFC. We are a small and close knitted community who specialises in modding the game Star Trek Armada 2 and the Fleet Operations modification, however we have an open field for discussing a number of topics including movies, real life events and everything in-between.

    Being such a close community, we do have some restrictions, including all users required to be registered before being able to post as well as all members requiring to have participated in the community for sometime before being able to download our modding files to name the main ones. This is done for both the protection of our members and to encourage new members to get involved with the community. We also require all new registrations to first be authorised by an Administrator and to also have an active and confirmed email account.

    We have a policy of fairness and a non harassment environment, with the staff quick to act on the rare occasion of when this policy is breached. Feel free to register and join our community.

Bionic Woman to be rebuilt

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117951588?cs=1&s=h&p=0
"HOLLYWOOD -- "Battlestar Galactica" exec producer David Eick is teaming with feature scribe Laeta Kalogridis to reinvent "The Bionic Woman" for NBC.
Eick and Kalogridis will exec produce a new take on "Bionic," a 1970s spinoff of "The Six Million Dollar Man" in which Lindsay Wagner played tennis pro-turned-superwoman Jamie Sommers. Skein aired for two seasons on ABC before shifting to NBC in 1977 for its final year.

"It's a complete reconceptualization of the title," Eick told Daily Variety. "We're using the title as a starting point, and that's all."

NBC U Television Studio is producing the new take, which has been given a script commitment by the Peacock.

Eick and scribe Ronald D. Moore turned Sci Fi's Peabody Award-winning "Battlestar" into a series vastly different from its predecessor, making it a metaphoric examination of the post-9/11 world. Eick and Kalogridis are planning a similar "re-imagination" of "Bionic Woman."

Instead of focusing on terrorism and militarism, the new "Bionic" will explore the role of professional women in contemporary society and how they juggle their various roles.

"It's using the idea of artificial technology as a metaphor for what contemporary women sometimes feel is necessary to do everything that needs to be done," Eick said.

Eick, whose shingle is based at NBC U, said he'd been considering various titles in the Universal library that would be good candidates for a "Battlestar"-like revamp. He decided to take a stab at "Bionic," and then sought a meeting with Kalogridis.

"She met with me under the guise of a general meeting, even though I knew I was there to romance her about 'Bionic Woman,'" Eick said.

Kalogridis, who has a busy feature slate, wasn't looking to do a new TV project -- but changed her mind when she heard Eick's pitch.

"She basically indicated to me that 'Bionic Woman,' and the possibility of one day being able to do a (new take) on it, was one of the reasons she got into showbiz in the first place," he said.

While Eick wouldn't discuss details of the new "Bionic Woman," he did indicate the technology will be much advanced from 30 years ago.

"It's going to be a meaningful departure" from the original, he said, using words such as "nanotechnology" to hint at what's in store."

Coincidentally I have been watching episodes of the old show in recent weeks. Although the plot structure is different she was certainly the Xena of her day: a female hero getting her own show after she first appeared in the show starring the male hero. I definitely like the theme music.

Lindsay Wagner IS the Bionic Woman and it will be hard for anyone to replace her.

I think this would be the first time that a spin-off rather than a show it was derived from has been reinvented.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
Michelle Ryan is the new Bionic Woman: http://www.actressarchives.com/news.php?id=4082
"Actress Michelle Ryan becomes The Bionic Woman
BY: Actress Archives | Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Although Michelle Ryan may not be very well known in the United States, all of that is about to change as the actress best known in the UK as Zoe Slater on the hit BBC soap opera EastEnders has landed the lead role in the TV remake of The Bionic Woman.


Hollywood Reporter reveals that 22 year old British actress Michelle Ryan has snagged the lead role in an NBC remake of the classic 70's sci-fi TV hit The Bionic Woman. As reports further reveal, Michelle Ryan, who is best known in her native Britain as Zoe Slater on the long running BBC soap EastEnders will play Jaime Sommers, a woman who nearly dies in a fatal accident only to be reconstructed with $50 million dollars worth of high-tech parts.


According to Variety, Michelle Ryan beat out several big name Hollywood actresses to land the role of Bionic Woman Jaime Sommers, a role originally made famous by the lovely Lindsay Wagner. While producers of the new TV pilot have admitted the new version of The Bionic Woman will be a modern updated remake of the hit 1976 TV original, reports also reveal that the reason for selecting an unknown actress was due in part because producers felt that they wanted someone who will be a fresh face to American audiences, much in the same way that Lindsay Wagner was during the original run of The Bionic Woman.


In 2000, Michelle Ryan got her first big break on the popular BBC1 program EastEnders at the age of fifteen in the role of Zoe Slater. After putting in five years on EastEnders, Michelle Ryan left the series to pursue work in film and theatre. Ryan has since appeared on the cover of FHM magazine, and in 2005 Michelle had a part in the play Who's the Daddy by Toby Young and Lloyd Evans at the famed King's Head Theatre in London. In 2006, Michelle Ryan also appeared in an episode of Marple and the independent film, Cashback, as well as Jekyll, a modern version of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that starred James Nesbitt for the BBC. As well, Michelle Ryan was reported to have auditioned for the role to replace Billie Piper as the Doctor's companion in the new version of Doctor Who, but lost out to Freema Agyeman. Aside from The Bionic Woman, the Michelle Ryan will also be seen in the new adaptation of Mansfield Park opposite Billie Piper for ITV. An actress who’s in hot demand these days, Ryan will also play Lila in the film I Want Candy alongside Carmen Electra and Mackenzie Crook, which is scheduled for a March 23, 2007 release.


In the mid-1970’s, The Bionic Woman became a hit with fans as a spin-off of The Six Million Dollar Man, starring Lee Majors. Running on ABC from 1976 to 1978, The Bionic Woman starred Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers, a professional tennis player involved in a tragic skydiving accident. Barely surviving the fall, Jaime was rebuilt by Oscar Goldman, the same man that reconstructed The Bionic Man (Lee Majors). After the first season on ABC, The Bionic Woman jumped to NBC, where it enjoyed another season from 1977 to 1978. In total, the series produced 58 episodes. The Bionic Woman also appeared in various episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man as Steve Austin's girlfriend.


The first signs of a new television series about The Bionic Woman began back in 2002 when producers Jennifer and Suzanne Todd announced that they would be resurrecting the show on the USA network. Reports also suggested that Jennifer Aniston was being considered for the lead role, but after the original announcement nothing else came of the show until NBC/Universal announced in October 2006 that it was bringing The Bionic Woman back to life. After several rewrites of the script, The Bionic Woman TV pilot was given a green light in January 2007."
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
Here is 2 minutes from the pilot of Michelle Ryan as The Bionic Woman:
video.accesshollywood.com/player/?id=102461
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
NBC has made available a four and a half minute preview of the show on its website:
http://www.nbc.com/Fall_Preview/Bionic_Woman/index.shtml#

Love what I am seeing. It has the tagline of "Better" "Stronger" and "Faster" which is the tagline that The Six Million Dollar Man, the series responsible for The Bionic Woman's existence, is well known for.

Following on from the preview comes clips of the shows and interviews with Michelle Ryan and David Eick, the creator of this version of Bionic Woman.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
Andrew Mercado in today's Sydney Sunday Telegraph in writing about Bionic Woman on the television page says that the show will have its Australian TV debut next year.
However since it was only known this week that the show was going to be on NBC's Fall schedule in the US, Bionic Woman being on Australian TV next year is more probably an assumption than a certainty.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
According to TV Tonight Bionic Woman will either be on 7 or 10.
http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2007/05/ten-announces-new-us-acquisitions.html
"From NBC Universal Television, at least one of the following*:
The Bionic Woman – from the creative team that re-invented Battlestar Galactica comes a modern update of one of TV's most iconic female heroes. Stars Michelle Ryan (East Enders) as Jamie (sic as it is spelt Jaime) Sommers, who struggles as a bartender and surrogate mother to her teenaged sister. She's also the survivor of a devastating car accident thanks to top secret technology that comes with a heavy price.
........

*TEN and the Seven Network will choose from the new NBC Universal series"
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
According to TV Tonight Bionic Woman will either be on 7 or 10.
http://www.tvtonight.com.au/2007/05/ten-announces-new-us-acquisitions.html
"From NBC Universal Television, at least one of the following*:
The Bionic Woman – from the creative team that re-invented Battlestar Galactica comes a modern update of one of TV's most iconic female heroes. Stars Michelle Ryan (East Enders) as Jamie (sic as it is spelt Jaime) Sommers, who struggles as a bartender and surrogate mother to her teenaged sister. She's also the survivor of a devastating car accident thanks to top secret technology that comes with a heavy price.
........

*TEN and the Seven Network will choose from the new NBC Universal series"

Found out from Andrew Mercado in yesterday's Sydney Sunday Telegraph that Bionic Woman will be shown on 7 as 7 has a signed a deal for the show last week.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
7 has begun promoting Bionic Woman as I saw a brief ad of it with the tagline "Currently Under Construction" but no indication when the series will start on 7.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
While watching Ghost Whisperer saw the Fast Track ad on 7 about the upcoming new seasons of Prison Break, Heroes and ......Bionic Woman. The voiceover says that Bionic Woman is the show we all been waiting for. I definitely taking his word on this.

In case there are people who do not know what Fast Track means, 7 is showing these shows as close as possible to their US transmission.

With Bionic Woman to have its US debut on September 26, we Aussies should be seeing the show not long after this date.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
Finished seeing the pilot today.

I thought it had an unsettling start but was more relaxed with the second half.

Hopefully the rest of the series will be better.

I now know when my fellow Aussies will be seeing the show.

Found out from Madds at Buffy Down Under that it will start on 7 on Thursday October 4 8:30pm between Ghost Whisperer and the season 2 debut of Heroes.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
7 is really plugging in the show as I saw on my way to uni, a poster of Michelle Ryan as Jaime on a bus as it notes the October 4 debut.

I have to say I am really hoping this show does well as I prefer this over Heroes which comes after it and Bionic Woman's NBC Universal stablemate Battlestar Galactica.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
The Australian debut of Bionic Woman on October 4 is TV WEEK's Pick of the Day. Reviewer David Kettle wrote that although it is a remake of the 1970s show there are no retro references as it is strictly a 21st century affair and that he looks forward to the conspiracies being teased out.
 
P

Paulhanselluk

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
Is this the same one that has Zoe Slater from Eastenders in it (never thought I would use that in a post), or am I getting my wires crossed?
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
Recently while watching Prison Break and again during Ghost Whisperer, finally saw a proper ad for Bionic Woman. It had the taglines "Her normal life is over" and "A classic reborn" and ended with a glowing view of Michelle Ryan.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
In the tv guide in today's Sydney Sunday Telegraph, Michelle Ryan as Jaime is on the cover. She is wearing a black leather jacket and the headline on the cover is "Back to the future - Michelle Ryan rebuilds the Bionic Woman". In the article about the show Michelle in a quote from an interview she did with US TV Guide said:
"I want the show to be a success but I'm also a realist and I know that the chances of it turning into a huge hit are limited. I think with new shows you can never tell what will happen but regardless, we're all very proud of the show we've made."

Also in the guide is a picture of Michelle as Jaime in 7's ad for the series.

Just four days to go now.
 
A

Aerilon

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
Zoe Ryan is Hot. Should make an interesting character. :D
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
Michael Idato in the Sydney Morning Herald Guide has given a thumbs up for Bionic Woman which make its debut tomorrow.
However in the last paragraph Idato writes cautionally about the show's setup:
"Despite some early uncertainty, [Michelle] Ryan becomes a likable [Jaime] Sommers, leaving only the show's dark tone and relentless pace as potential problems. They are great for setting up the story but could become too much as the season progresses."
 
C

Creed

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
I am afraid that I did see her in eastenders and.... that is one of the big sticking points for the new show...

she didn't exactly demonstrate much ability to be believable at anything much more than a piece of chav trash...

and we really have to hope she's had some elocution coaching in the meantime...

"yeah I'm the bion'ik woman-like. In'it"
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
Pilot:
The series made its debut on Australian TV some hours ago and this pilot is slightly different from the original unaired version which I saw last month. The original pilot had Mae Whitman playing Jaime's sister Becca who was deaf.
This transmitted version saw Whitman being replaced as Becca by Lucy Hale and the character is not deaf.
I enjoyed the transmitted pilot more than the original unaired one and definitely shows promise.
Michelle Ryan makes a great Jaime and the character's middle name is revealed to be Wells. Undoubtedly named after the Dr Rudy Wells character from the original series.
 
A

Aerilon

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
do you think ????
uh Huh.

I am afraid that I did see her in eastenders and.... that is one of the big sticking points for the new show...

she didn't exactly demonstrate much ability to be believable at anything much more than a piece of chav trash...
I just watched her for her, not her acting ;)
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
Found out from Phantom at knowfirst.info that Bionic Woman won the ratings for last night's viewing attracting 1.590 million viewers (Sydney).

The promotions for the show definitely worked.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
To Australian viewers:
This morning I found out that Sci Fi will be showing the original series from the beginning this coming Wednesday October 10 at 8:30pm. However the voiceover said that it would only be for a limited time which is probably why the series is still being shown early on Saturday morning from the third season on TV1.

It would seem the scheduling of the original series on Sci Fi maybe a reaction to the ratings win of the new series debut last week on 7 since it is not mention in the guide in this month's issue of Optus Magazine.

Meanwhile TV WEEK's David Kettle is continuing to be positive about the new series as he has given episode 3 on Wednesday October 17, TV WEEK's Pick of the Day.
 

Majestic

Administrator
Staff member
Administrator
Seraphim Build Team
Joined
17 Apr 2006
Messages
18,326
Age
39
Thanks TS. :)
 
P

Paulhanselluk

Deleted Due to Inactivity
Former MSFC Member
thanks for the info, this will give us a picture of what will happen in the uk
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
You're Welcome.

Paradise Lost:
Don't really know what to make of the title sequence.

The dead town plot was also used for a Six Million Dollar Man episode.

Was surprise to see that this episode was directed by Tim Matheson.
I had a feeling that what was shown on the television was meant to be something familiar and was proven right as I read this at TV.com:
"This episode features a scene from the episode "Exodus, Part 2" from Battlestar Galactica, which shares producer David Eick and recurring star Katee Sackhoff with this show."
Love it when the paint can hit the soldier.

Overall not bad for a second episode.

Bionic Woman has again won the Australian ratings as Phantom at knowfirst.info posted that Paradise Lost attracted viewing figures of 1.417 million (Sydney). This is down from 1.59 for the pilot. This is a drop of 10.9% but still better than the 21% drop in US ratings.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
Sisterhood:
Like it when Jaime asked about Canada having an army. Cute.
Now we know how Sarah got the idea of driving truck onto the car with Sarah as Will as the exact thing happened when she was drving a car with her sister and her sister being killed from that accident.
Love it when brat girl was in the same room with Ruth.
This episode so far is the most time that Jaime and Sarah have a dialogue together and it has been played out well by the actors playing them.
Written by series creator David Eick it is a very good first episode for the series from him.

Unfortunately just as the series seems to be getting better, Australian ratings is continuing to go down. From Phantom at knowfirst.info, for Sydney ratings the series has now fallen from first to fifth place for Thursday night's viewings with 1.231 million viewers. Bionic Woman came one place behind Ghost Whisperer which got 1.244 million viewers.
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
Original series star Lindsay Wagner has made known what she thinks of the new show:
New 'Bionic Woman' Wants to Do it All while Original Thinks Remake is Nothing Special

""It's very different," Lindsay Wagner, who played the first Jamie Sommers back in the mid to late `70s, told the Los Angeles Daily News. "It's very much like what the shows are today, kind of dark and broody and violent - what people seem to be getting off on these days. So, it's not at all what we were doing. We were doing a show for kids intentionally and making it fun and make it in such a way that adults could enjoy it, too, with their children.""
 

Theta Sigma

Captain
Joined
26 Apr 2006
Messages
2,572
Age
44
Bionic Woman on Australian TV

Faceoff:
What a shock that Jaime only has five years to live before her bionics goes kaput. However in hindsight I probably could have figured this downside of being bionic.
Jaime has five years but the question is whether the show would even last that long.

The next episode on Thursday November 1 comes fourth place in TV WEEK's highlights of the day with reviewer David Kettle praising the cool fight sequences.
 
Last edited:
Top