Bionic Woman - The Changes Behind the Scenes

[N4H]

I don't know if this all means anything, or not. I'm not even sure if it's accurate, but this is what I've heard of so far.

* Michelle Ryan was a recasting of the lead.

* Controversial Isiah Thomas, and Katie Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica were brought in to shore up the cast.

* The deaf girl was written out of the pilot as a result of protests from deaf advocacy groups.

* One of the writers of the pilot quit.

* Showrunner (I think I heard he was to take over from Eick) and Executive producer Glenn Morgan (The X Files) quit citing creative differences.

* They brought in Writer-producer Jason Katims, who created the TV version of “Roswell” and currently serves as showrunner on NBC’s “Friday Night Lights,” to replace him.

* They're talking about a hiatus after the already filmed fifth episode to get things back together.

Nevertheless...

'Bionic Wednesday' is coming

With just over a week to go before the official start of Bionic Woman on NBC, the network is advertising Wednesday the 26th of September as 'Bionic Wednesday'. As things steam-roll towards the series debut, watch for both press and tv adverts to appear in abundance!

Alex7000.net : : : BIONIC WOMAN Current News (http://www.alex7000.net/d1/news.htm)

[goldenboy]

That's why the deaf girl's gone?! What the hell...

That would have made for a really compelling part of the show, deepened the themes. Bah. I'm still hopeful they can plow through all this pre-show BS and morph into a great series.

[teentitan]

If only half of the above points are true...seriously! Does anyone expect this show to survive???

[Vilandra]

Nope lol - I give it to midseason tops. Which is a shame cause I liked the pilot. But they have Laeta Kalogridis on this - no one can kill show like her.

Katims also did My So Called Life I think :)

[Vilandra]

teentitan agrees: Aren't we generous giving them until mid-season. Four or five shows...tops! That's just my opinion but then again I could be wrong.

Well I'm banking on them trying to keep it going because of the name recognition value.

[goldenboy]

Nope lol - I give it to midseason tops. Which is a shame cause I liked the pilot. But they have Laeta Kalogridis on this - no one can kill show like her.

Oh no. I see she worked on Birds of Prey. So we're going from Battlestar and X-Files helmers to Roswell and Birds people. Umm...

Is Eick still a part of this? If it's gonna be dark and broody, I'm there. But will that sell to the 'Heroes' crowd?

[Vilandra]

The Roswell part is good, the Birds part is baaaaddddd...

[goldenboy]

Actually, I never even saw a full ep of Roswell. I always figured it was just like a teen drama thing. I remember liking the way they shot the fight scenes in Birds of Prey. Can't remember much else about it—did it totally butcher the comic characters?

[Black King]

Birds of Prey had its moments at the end of the show but for the most part it was awful

[Vilandra]

They TOTALLY butchered the characters and the writing was awful. Horrible actually. Just a huge missed opportunity.

Roswell is pretty good, I still maintain the best pilot imo. You should check it out.

[N4H]

I always thought Roswell was Dawson's creek, except the super intelligent, gifted teenagers were aliens, and they lived in New Mexico. That doesn't mean it's bad. I liked it. I liked how started better than how it ended though.

[Vilandra]

Yeah Season 3 wasn't the best. When Katie cut her hair, it was all over lol (jk)

[prydain]

I don't think Roswell had that excellent of a pilot at all, but it IS a good show...

Anyway, I'd still honestly be surprised if Bionic Woman is a complete flop. I think it will do well, at least for the first few weeks, and even if ratings aren't spectacular, if NBC feels happy with the quality of the series and the fans are liking it, I think NBC will give it a full 22 or 23 episode season. I mean, look at Friday Night Lights last year.

A lot of the changes made to the show don't bother me. Michelle Ryan is excellent, to me she IS Bionic Woman already. Plus she's smokin' hot (not in the pilot, but still). The deaf sister didn't interest me all THAT much and the storyline with that would have been predictable. You just know they'd have her make a decision about her hearing and if she wanted bionic ears. So that change doesn't bother me for now, although that might change once I've seen the revamped pilot.

[N4H]

The deaf sister didn't interest me all THAT much and the storyline with that would have been predictable.

Yeah, because there's so many of those deaf sisters running around all over network TV. We need something fresh like one of those cute, cookie cutout, hollywood debs, who we'll give some special ability too like, oh, I don't know...computer hacker...because we've never seen one of those before * cough, Willow, Chloe, Mac *.

[Vilandra]

Yeah, I guess Marlee Matlin's the only deaf character allowed on tv lol

[prydain]

Yeah, because there's so many of those deaf sisters running around all over network TV. We need something fresh like one of those cute, cookie cutout, hollywood debs, who we'll give some special ability too like, oh, I don't know...computer hacker...because we've never seen one of those before * cough, Willow, Chloe, Mac *.

Oh spare me the sarcasm.

Just because there aren't many deaf character's on TV doesn't mean it's not obvious where that storyline would have ended up going. And pilots get revamped every year, and there's no reason to go around knocking around creative decisions until you've seen the revamped product.

[Vilandra]

Oh I totally agree with nixing the sister, though I think they should have got rid of her all together. I'm only annoyed at the report that it was because deaf rights groups were bitching about it, which is ridiculous.

[prydain]

It was a mix between that and an NBC executive thinking the show didn't need the deaf sister.

I am interested in her personal life though so I'm glad she still has a sis. :)

[N4H]

Oh spare me the sarcasm.

That sounded so Chris Crocker. :sad26:

You think my preliminary remarks are sarcastic wait until the finished pilot airs if it's anything but stellar. I don't like the suits messing with the creative process. I don't think it works.

[prydain]

That sounded so Chris Crocker. :sad26:


That was below the belt, N4H.

You better be glad I don't know where you live.

:)

[goldenboy]

Things are going to be heating up for "The Bionic Woman" -- and as that "Woman," Michelle Ryan, tells us, "It's definitely time." As the 23-year-old British actress says of her heroic character, "Everything she does is for others. The time has come for her to think of herself and have some fun."

That fun is being shared by actor Jordan Bridges (Beau's son) in the role of Tom, who was introduced to "Bionic" viewers last week. Tips Michelle, "He's going to be doing three episodes -- at least." She adds that the pairing "has a nice chemistry. I think it will be a good addition to the show."

That show has only a few more episodes to shoot before its seasonal hiatus, but Michelle gives the strong impression that the program will be given plenty of time to improve its ratings. "NBC," shares Ryan, "will be giving the series a big second launch in January."
Celebs & Gossip News The Hollywood Exclusive (http://www.la.com/celebs_and_gossip/news/10819786.html)

A 'second launch', that's a nice thought. Assuming the strike situation is resolved...

[prydain]

Ah, thank the stars. NBC seems to be invested in this show. I just hope they're willing to give Journeyman a chance too. Perhaps switch the two?

Both of those definitely need a huge relaunch.

[Vilandra]

And for god's sake let Michelle Ryan use her real accent lol