I rarely think remakes are a good idea. I was appalled when they decided to redo Battlestar Galactica. When I finally gave in and watched it, though, I got sucked in (though I do have some issues with that show) and had to grudgingly admit it was a good chunk of television. So when I heard they were going to remake Bionic Woman, I was equally dubious, and then when I found out it was being remade by David Eick, I decided to give it a chance.
It seems a little odd, really, to remake Bionic Woman. After all, it was a spinoff. So why didn't Eick decide to start with The Six Million Dollar Man? Maybe he just prefers to rework shows that weren't quite as hot the first time around? I suppose I shouldn't complain about that detail, since this way we get a show with a female lead (Michelle Ryan). A British female lead, faking an American accent, which seems to be a trend for NBC this season. See Journeyman. Okay, he's not female, but he's definitely faking an American accent. Like Dan, Jaime is going to have a job of work hiding her accent and her freaky new powers. And it was a little disconcerting seeing Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff, playing Sarah, the first Bionic Woman--wait I thought that was Lindsay Wagner) and Chief Tyrol (Aaron Douglas) popping up. Oh, and that guy from Firefly (Mark Sheppard). Freaky. They must be filming in Canada.
Anyway... This show struck me very much like Battlestar Galactica does. It seems solid, and involving, with decent writing and good acting and lots of intrigue and menace lurking around the edges. What it's missing, though, is a sense of humor. Again, like Battlestar, the unrelenting grim seriousness is probably going to make it hard for me to relate to this show on a regular basis. Also, I expect the writers will follow a similar arc, with the characters being so gray and flawed that it's hard to really identify with any of them, another issue I have with Battlestar. I like my heroes heroic, thanks. Jaime didn't get much characterization in this hour, other than to go from insecure waitress with incredibly bratty sister to kickass chick with superpowers. And her boyfriend--wow. Talk about a control freak. "Look, you got broken so I fixed you! Oh, sorry I didn't ask first." Yeah, I don't like him. Although I have to give him (minor) props for having sex with Jaime after her transformation, since she obviously could have crushed him to a painful and messy death with her bionic thighs. Kind of wish she would have, actually.
So I see some things here that might make this show not a favorite in the long run. But since I've got nothing else on the schedule for Wednesday nights, I'll probably give it a chance.
