Pilot Review: The Bionic Woman

The Bionic Woman
NBC PILOT
Michelle Ryan, Chris Bowers, Katee Sackhoff
Miguel Ferrer, Will Yun Lee, and Mae Whitman

Concept: A re-imagining of the 1970's TV series about a woman implanted with super-human bionic body parts. Here, she is a 22-year-old bartender who is saved from a tragic car crash by her scientist-doctor boyfriend in the hopes that she will serve his secret company's purpose once she is healed.

Review: I really liked it. Overall, it felt very 24 meets Battlestar Galactica. There was a lot of heart to it amongst the action and the characters seemed pretty relatable and interesting. Even though its a remake, I would definitely watch this series.

Michelle Ryan. I wanted to not like her for some reason going in, but I found myself liking her a lot. She plays this strong yet oddly vulnerable woman that works so well for this character. She's very multi-dimensional and I feel like she was a strong choice for this role.

Katee Sackhoff. LOVE my BSG peeps! I was so excited to see her on the screen here; I think she's a phenomenal actress. At first it was very clear to me that she had taken some tips from BSG co-star and real-life best friend Tricia Helfer because I definitely saw a lot of Number 6 in Sackhoff's "Sarah." It worked well for the character, so I don't hold it against her, and towards the end, she definitely infused a lot of her own interpretation into the character of "Sarah" that emerged.

Chris Bowers. Of all the characters, I liked him the least. He's dry and a bit boring at times...its really hard to buy him as the romantic lead. Hopefully he'll be able to pick up the pace a bit once the series gets underway.

Miguel Ferrer. I always like this guy, he's a great actor and while he doesn't especially stand out, he's a great addition to any cast. He's consistant and always manages to develop a very human character that the audience can relate to and be interested in.

Will Yun Lee. Will is another solid actor that always brings something interesting to every cast. He's typically pretty dry, but unlike Bowers it works well for his characters because there's almost an eery quality about him that keeps the audience wondering.

Mae Whitman. Oh, I love her. She's such a fabulous young actress who has been in the business for years in great roles, but who also manages to stay under the radar (my favorite is the dorky yet adorable little girl from Hope Floats). Here she plays The Bionic Woman's rebellious teenage sister who is also deaf. Its a great role for her with a lot of depth and I'm excited to see what more she brings to the character.

Honorable Mention: Molly Price. I thought she was great as the one female scientist, kind but strong.