The New "Bionic Woman": Will it Live Up to the Hype

As a fan of the first The Bionic Woman, I was overly thrilled, and somewhat frightened, when NBC introduced a remake in their Fall lineup. Jaime Sommers was a woman of strength that I looked up to and wanted to immolate.

The ideal for doing the remake was first mentioned in August of 2002 in The Hollywood Reporter. The series was to be produced by sisters Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd, starring Jennifer Aniston, and airing on the USA Network. However, nothing ever came of that until October of 2006 when NBC announced the rebirth of the project.

The new series Bionic Woman, dropping the "The" from the original title has more than a few changes. Unlike the blond Lindsey Wagner, Jaime gets a new hair color with the brunette British actress, Michelle Ryan, portraying her. Jaime's hair color isn't the only thing that changes. The accident that nearly ends her life has changed from sky diving to car wreak. She is now a bartender in San Francisco instead of a tennis pro turned school teacher from Ojai, California. And, she is dating a surgeon, Will Anthros (Chris Bowers), who is responsible for her cutting-edge new limbs and life-saving operation, and not Steve Austin like before.

The show is the most anticipated new premiere of the 07-08 season. With the advancement in today's technology, any sci-fi fanatic and fan of the original would be drooling at the mouth for the visual effects that will be present this time and missing from the original. Maybe we won't have to suffer through those horrible sound effects that signaled whenever Jaime did something 'bionic'. Now, we can see it on-screen in a more dramatic way.