Writer: Jason Smilovic
Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Cast: Michelle Ryan (Jaime Sommers), Miguel Ferrer (Jonas Bledsoe), Molly Price (Ruth Truewell), Will Yun Lee (Jae Kim), Lucy Hale (Becca Sommers), Kevin Rankin (Nathan), Brian Markinson (Vincent Aldridge), Michael Brock (Nick), Brent O'Connor (Valet Parker/Matt), Ben Cotton (Javier), Julia Keilty (Hotel Desk Lady), Jonathan Kralt (Dreadlock Dude), Juno Ruddell (Spa Therapist), Sherry Klassen (Gift Shop Clerk), Justin Sain (Bodyguard #1), Gerald Paetz (Bodyguard #3)
Director: Gwyneth Horder-Payton
Cast: Michelle Ryan (Jaime Sommers), Miguel Ferrer (Jonas Bledsoe), Molly Price (Ruth Truewell), Will Yun Lee (Jae Kim), Lucy Hale (Becca Sommers), Kevin Rankin (Nathan), Brian Markinson (Vincent Aldridge), Michael Brock (Nick), Brent O'Connor (Valet Parker/Matt), Ben Cotton (Javier), Julia Keilty (Hotel Desk Lady), Jonathan Kralt (Dreadlock Dude), Juno Ruddell (Spa Therapist), Sherry Klassen (Gift Shop Clerk), Justin Sain (Bodyguard #1), Gerald Paetz (Bodyguard #3)
Jaime goes on vacation with Becca at a spa resort, but things go awry when she's pulled into a deadly game with another guest..."The way I see it you've got two options. Number one: I kill you. The other one is: you talk. And by talk, I mean you tell me everything I need to know to keep this technology out of North Korea. Which would you prefer? It doesn't matter to me, I just need to know whether or not to wear gloves."
-- Jonas Bledsoe (Miguel Ferrer)
The final episode before Bionic Woman's winter hiatus, Do Not Disturb finds the struggling series still unable to combine exciting bionic-based heroism with slick, compelling espionage thrills.
Here, Jaime (Michelle Ryan) and her Berkut Group colleagues raise a glass to dearly departed Antonio Pope in a bar, before Jaime is ordered by Jonas (Miguel Ferrer) to take some leave at a spa resort - -after she's delivered a briefcase to a contact in Montana.
Having done the deed, Jaime heads off on vacation with sister Becca (Lucy Hale), but pleasure soon mixes with work, when the Montana contact is killed in their hotel. Jaime is forced to work covertly and stop fellow hotel guest Vincent (Brian Markinson) deliver nuclear secrets to North Koreans -- with the added complication of Becca developing a crush on Vincent's son Nick (Michael Brock).
It all sounds like an entertaining mix of Jaime's personal and professional lives, converging together whilst on holiday and throwing up a variety of problems – but nothing really clicks. For one thing, Becca's crush on Nick is shallow and underdeveloped, so it never becomes a genuine concern. Vincent is also quickly revealed as more misguided than a genuine threat.
Fundamentally, by now it's just difficult to care about Jaime's relationship with her sister. This episode toys with the idea of having Jaime reveal her secret to Becca, but chickens out. What really irritates me is that I agree with the decision, because Bionic Woman is already struggling to keep things interesting episode-to-episode, so losing one of its main recurring threads would be madness.
Unfortunately, it means we'll have to put up with what I like to call "Lois and Clark Syndrome", which is very rarely enjoyable to watch these days. As a viewer, I'm already irritated by Jaime keeping her abilities a secret... I just wish there was enough going on elsewhere to make her telling Becca the truth a worthwhile sacrifice.
Elsewhere, there's a strange increase of in-jokes, too -- clearly aimed at any fanboys sticking with Bionic Woman. The briefcase contact quotes the opening narration of The A-Team, Jaime and Becca watch Heroes on television, their room is "108" (a familiar number to Lost fans), and Berkut geek Nathan (Kevin Rankin) has a Star Trek reference thrown at him! Genuine little gags from writer Jason Smilovic, or a somewhat trite way to try to entice fans to the show? If so, that's extremely patronizing. Hey, look kids, we reference all the shows you really love! We're on your level, y'hear? Hmmm.
On the positive side, the "bionic moments" are getting better, but you never feel Jaime is particularly threatening to anyone (Michelle Ryan's too baby-faced) and the thrill of seeing her throw people around and magnify images with her eye ran out ages ago.
Overall though, Do Not Disturb was another weak entry into a series with fundamental flaws in its make-up. No single actor or idea is particularly "bad", it's just that they cumulatively don't create any excitement or uniqueness.
It all just goes through the motions, making you wish they'd been more inventive with the show's premise – setting it in the future, creating more technological hurdles for Jaime to battle, providing a more interesting family unit for Jaime, crafting an ongoing storyline with cliffhangers, perhaps? All I know is: the standalone adventures of a bionic girl-next-door playing mother hen to her sibling isn't working...
28 November 2007
NBC, 8/7c pm
