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Bionic Woman

PatrickMM

01:13 / 05.10.07

Anyone else saw the first couple of episodes of this? It's got a lot of interesting elements, but things aren't gelling for me so far. What works is Katee Sackhoff, who rocks every scene she's in. Her badass rain look in the pilot alone made it worth watching.

However, she's only got one scene in episode two, and the other Bionic Woman, the actual main character, remains decidedly boring.

What really interested me about the first episode was the parallels to Grant Morrison's Bulleteer. Here, we've also got a guy who gives his girlfriend against her will, forcing her to reluctantly accept a role as a crimefighter. However, most of the deeper thematic layers of that series are absent here, since she pretty quickly accepts her bionic-ness. Of course, it's a lot easier to be bionic than to be covered in metal. Still, there's a lot of potentially interesting stuff there. Shame that they killed the boyfriend after one episode, so it will never be explored.

Spaniel

08:03 / 05.10.07

But what is interesting about this series, for us Brits at least, is that is stars Zoe Slater, or Michelle Ryan as she's known outside Albert Square.

I think I'm gonna have to watch this just to see how she fares.

Summerwind

12:13 / 05.10.07

I’m actually hopeful about this. I’ve watched the first two episodes and I see good potential. It is a good concept, and has good effects, good supporting cast, decent directing, and decent writing. Where my mixed feelings come in are in Michelle Ryan’s scenes. It just feels like she hasn’t completly gotten the part yet. She has moments where she really clicks into the character but sometimes it just feels like she’s just reading the script out loud for the first time.

One note about the boyfriend; I don’t think we actually see the body so I wouldn’t be surprised by an unexpected reveal down the road.

I’ll keep watching to see how things go…

Mouse

00:23 / 06.10.07

My main concern is it'll turn into Dark Angel, but I've been pleasantly surprised so far. Nothing groundbreaking, but not terrible either.

uncle retrospective

11:27 / 07.10.07

Just seen the first 2. It's very Warren Ellis. The company seem to be Global Frequency, there's a hard nosed smoker kicking ass and some techno nonsence. It's just missing Ellis' bite. I'll watch the next one though.

Spaniel

12:22 / 07.10.07

There's someone called Corvus and people pumped full of technology. Weirdly Ellisian.

PatrickMM

23:46 / 08.10.07

I liked the first episode a lot more than the second. The second felt almost exactly like Alias, with its mix of normal life and secret identity, sprinkle in a little X-Files and you're good. Ultimately, I'm just not interested in mission of the week storytelling. And, the focus on creating iconic visual moments from the pilot was gone, replaced by rather perfunctory direction. However, I'll give it another episode, as next week's seems to promise more Katee Sackhoff.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

19:03 / 28.10.07

I've just watched the first episode. It seems to be making the same mistake as Dark Skies from waybackwhen, in which the hero character works at arms length from the incredibly powerful Megacorp for absolutely no sensible reason whatsoever. Nothing in the first episode makes me the remotest bit interested in anything to do with Jaime Summers, except thinking of nasty things that could happen to unsympathetic brat sister, and cliched secret Government agency also bores. The show seems to be trying too hard to replicate the magic they worked on BSG and, without the excuse of a global thermonuclear apocalypse, the constant use of grey tones, darkness and people walking round with ANGUISHED! CONSTIPATED! expressions is incredibly grating.

I'll give it another few episodes, at least so I can play 'watch for the BSG cast' if nothing else.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

15:38 / 11.11.07

Episode two was a vast improvement on episode one. I'm going to give it a little longer, but I understand it's been having behind the scenes problems in the States. Writers strike notwithstanding, is this show in as much danger as a Tim Minnear show on Fox?

Keith, like a scientist

16:53 / 12.11.07

It's absolutely suffering from the behind the scenes changeups in showrunner/writing staff. The pilot was excessively promising and there have been 1 or 2 good episodes since then, but it's not holding a lot of cohesion. I think they are on their 4th showrunner now and it shows. They can't exactly decide what the show is.

H3ct0r L1m4

10:48 / 14.11.07

i've only watched the pilot so far and was surprised at how gutless it was. jamie's life is very sad, than there's a promise of sunshine then it's sad again and oh, you almost died but we got you new legs ['argh, wtf omg!'] then it's, ok, i'm a cyborg now, boo.

there was no remote sense of awe, except biefly for the running scene, everyting is just too trivial, like becoming a superhuman was as exciting as making a shopping list. haven't watched the other eps. or the FLASH GORDON remake for that matter, but i guess the producer duo will not hit the mark on every reworked 70's property on their own.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

16:14 / 15.12.07

I'm up to episode six and it's not awful. This is mainly because of the scuzzy computer technician guy who looks like Carmine de Gorgeous from CSI:NY (back off Belknapp!) so this may be a particularly niche interest. Whoever is at the helm seems to be backing off from BSG grimness and heading towards Tom Clancy writing Totally Spies! but if it doesn't reappear on the other side of the Writer's Strike I don't think anyone will mind.

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