TV Review: Bionic Woman - Page 2

All things considered, Bionic Woman isn’t so much just a new version of an old show as it is an amalgam of many sources that are mixed together to create a new and entertaining brew. The skeletal outline of the old series is here, but the new Bionic Woman shows the influence of many sources, including movies such as RoboCop, the Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Universal Soldier,and even Frankenstein. Of course, the fingerprints of many previous television series are evident, ranging from Alias and The Pretender from a few years back to the old It Takes a Thief spy series. Most of all, however, the new Bionic Woman shows the influence of the television series La Femme Nikita, the series from ten years ago starring Peta Wilson that was adapted from the movie of the same name.

Early critical opinion about Bionic Woman is split. Writing for the New York Post, critic Adam Buckman called the show a “total loss.” Critic Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe, meanwhile, gave a more positive assessment, saying that the pilot episode was “Sleekly engaging.” Overall, it's too soon to say what the final word will be.

If you’re looking for a startlingly original series with a sci-fi twist, Bionic Woman may not quite fit the bill. It is derivative, of course. After all, it’s a remake. Most viewers are probably not only looking for total originality, though.

Many of us will happily settle for a series that is entertaining, competently produced, and achieves what it sets out to do. So much the better if it throws in a few references to previous productions that we remember fondly. Make a show like that, and we might just watch.

Depending on where the producers take the show, Bionic Woman has the potential to be a show like that, which is just fine for many of us.

Article Author: G. Arnold

G. Arnold is the author of several books, including The Afterlife of America's War in Vietnam, and is editor of Winter Street Review, an online journal on popular culture, the arts, media, and politics.

Visit G. Arnold's author page — G. Arnold's Blog