Writer: Kerry Ehren
Director: Alex Chapple
Cast: Michelle Ryan (Jaime Sommers), Molly Price (Ruth Truewell), Miguel Ferrer (Jonas Bledsoe), Lucy Hale (Becca Sommers), Isaiah Washington (Antonio Pope), Kevin Rankin (Nathan), Jordan Bridges (Tom Hastings), Roger R. Cross (Bomani), Stefanie Samuels (Sniper/Julianne), Aubrey Arnason (Girl Agent), Jason Coleman (Guy Agent) & Julian Christopher (President Rudan)
Director: Alex Chapple
Cast: Michelle Ryan (Jaime Sommers), Molly Price (Ruth Truewell), Miguel Ferrer (Jonas Bledsoe), Lucy Hale (Becca Sommers), Isaiah Washington (Antonio Pope), Kevin Rankin (Nathan), Jordan Bridges (Tom Hastings), Roger R. Cross (Bomani), Stefanie Samuels (Sniper/Julianne), Aubrey Arnason (Girl Agent), Jason Coleman (Guy Agent) & Julian Christopher (President Rudan)
Jaime and Antonio must stop the assassination of an African head of state on US soil, but Jaime begins to wonder if she can trust her colleague..."Is that why James Bond never had a steady girlfriend?"
-- Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan)
After seven episodes, Bionic Woman is still chasing a winning formula, but it could all be academic. The concept and its execution are just too predictable and old-fashioned to grab my attention, and nearly every episode just seems to be going through the motions.
In the current climate of high-concept, imaginative science-fiction, simply outfitting a sexy woman with "super powers" and dumping her in a clandestine government agency is terribly stale. Still, with better creative direction, it may have become a super-charged Alias replacement, but there's no evidence of the freshness and spark J.J Abrams endowed his female spy series with.
In Trust Issues, Jaime (Michelle Ryan) helps Antonio (Isaiah Washington) protect an unpopular African dictator from assassination, although matters are complicated when she overhears Antonio colluding with the assassin. Back at home, new CIA agent boyfriend Tom (Jordan Bridges) is invited to dinner, to meet Jaime's younger sister Becca (Lucy Hale).
On the surface, this would seem to have all the ingredients for a diverting adventure (with some juicy betrayal thrown in), but it's all played out very straight and never holds your interest. This is mostly because the political elements (being fictional) are difficult to get involved with, while President Rudan (Julian Christopher) isn't very sympathetic, so I actually hoped the assassin would put a bullet through this tyrant's head.
The subplot with Jaime hoping to get her sisters approval of Tom isn't terrible -- but it's distracting, and makes you question how Jaime can so easily juggle work and home commitments. Her profession is almost treated like a nine-to-five job, with Jaime only occasionally being called to action at inopportune moments.
I'm just not invested in any characters or situations here, and Jaime herself seems to be getting quite mouthy and irritatingly back-chats psychiatrist Ruth (Molly Price) in one scene. I think Michelle Ryan is doing the best she can with the material, but she only really shines in the home-life interludes with sister and boyfriend.
Interestingly, this episode does end with a moderate bang at a horse racing track – with a wonderful leaping visual for Jaime, and the surprisingly death of a main character.
Of course, the death has zero emotional effect on the audience, as the only regular character worth caring about is Jaime. The whole of the Berkut Group could die in a horrible gas attack, and I'd actually be glad the show has a chance to recast – although Kevin Rankin is proving quite amusing, despite a clichéd role as tech-geek Nathan.
The culling of a character was either an intentional move by the writers to streamline their messy cast, a pre-planned "shock" that hasn't worked because the writing has been lacking for that character, or the actor just asked to leave – and became the first rat to leave this sinking ship...
I really want to be enthralled by Bionic Woman, but it's a pale shadow of other spy-based shows, and seems unable to make its bionic concept count for anything. Imagine if Alias gave Sidney robotic limbs? Or if 24's Jack Bauer was also a prototype cyborg? The shows would write themselves! But the writers of Bionic Woman only seem capable of sub-par terrorist stories and reheated teen drama -- with a bit of super-hearing, sniper-vision and amazing jumps thrown in for good measure.
14 November 2007
NBC, 8/7c pm
