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Bionic Woman (2007)

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 12, 2015 9:40 pm    Post subject: Bionic Woman (2007) Reply with quote




I was so disappointed when this show was cancelled back in 2007.

I was so surprised when Bulldogtrekker and his lovely wife sent me a box filled with DVDs for my birthday recently.

And I was so pleased when one of them was a two-disc DVD set containing the eight Bionic Woman episodes that were produced -- especially since I didn't even know a DVD of the series had been released!

The critics didn't have many nice things to say about the series -- and I'm quite sure I don't know why. The first 20 minutes of the pilot prove that the show was extremely well written, well directed, and well acted.

The rapid pacing and the slick style (with great FX) make it look like a big budget movie instead of a series pilot.

How many series that were successful did not have a great pilot, much less eight exciting episodes right out of the starting blocks?

High points: Jaime Sommers escapes from the secret underground complex and flees into a forest -- where she discovers she can run really fast. What we get is a fine special effect of her streaking through the woods at 60 mph.

What we don't get is a slow-motion shot that's allegedly super-speed running, while we're treated to reverberated electronic sounds that go "nee-nee-nee-nee-nee-nee!"

This is clearly not your father's Bionic Woman . . .

At the 30-minute mark, while Jaime is working as a bartender, there's a well-done scene of her suddenly discovering that her bionic eye and ear have started working. And two minutes later, when she's threatened by a knife-wielding punk in an alley, Jaime deals with him very efficiently.

An awesome ten-second action scene.

By the time you get to the 40-minute mark you know you're a fan of this show and you hope it runs for years.

And then the pilot concludes with a battle on a rooftop at night in the pouring rain between Jaime and an evil blond bionic woman who was the first to receive the robotic parts and implants. It drove her crazy and made her scary-mean.

The rooftop battle does NOT look like something filmed for a television series.

It's awesome.

How did this series not succeed?

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Dec 29, 2022 2:20 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2015 9:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

BW deserved to make it as it was a very well done show with an appealing cast.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 9:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The box set (two discs, eight episodes) I got as a birthday present from Bulldogtrekker is still sitting on my coffee table, and I actually haven't finished watching all the episodes yet because I hate the fact that there are so few of them.

I'm dolling them out slowly. Maybe that way when I finish the last one I'll be ready to watch the first one again.
Very Happy
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 09, 2015 11:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I remember how impressive looking it was when we saw her bionic limbs done via CGI in the hospital scene.

Made me recall the superb Outer Limits episode by Harlan Ellison "Demon With A Glass Hand."

In it Trent, a robot, has a hand that could now be done with CGI that was not available at that time.

Hmmm, wonder if anyone has considered remastering The Outer Limits (TOS) as they've done with Star Trek (TOS)?
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
Hmmm, wonder if anyone has considered remastering The Outer Limits (TOS) as they've done with Star Trek (TOS)?

What a spectacular idea, Pow! I've never truly warmed up to The Outer Limits, partly because of the budget constraints which just didn't allow for the kind of FX I really wanted to see.

I suspect the effort to enhance The Outer Limits might be hampered by the fact that it was in black-and-white instead of color — but then again, that might make the job of redoing the FX easier, in a way.

However, there's always the possibility that they could colorize it (which has never been done well, unfortunately), and then provide enhanced color FX!

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon May 30, 2016 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Remastered Star Trek does such things as space ships, planets, cities, comets, etc.

However, I gotta believe that technical advancements will be able to remaster other types of visuals.

On Facebook there is a fascinating morphing of a set with live actors. They took a scene from an episode of ST:TOS that takes place on the bridge of the Enterprise & replaced it with the bridge of the E from the ST movies. Flawlessly.

Sometimes our favorite episodes of a sf tv show are saddled with mediocre sets. This can be redone.

Shows with poor or mediocre make-up for aliens, or body suits will one day be remastered through the wizardry of CGI.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

On the other hand, here are 20 amazing FX that were NOT done with CGI — believe it or not! Shocked

You'll have to pause it a lot to read all the interesting notes that flash up. But it's certainly worth it.

________________________________


_ 20 Movie Special Effects You Won't Believe Aren't CGI

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 2:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some of the best SFX WERE without CGI.

Most of the films made before CGI. Ya' know; Harryhausen, Disney, M-G-M, Pal, O'Brien, Mann.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 12:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Robert (Butch) Day wrote:
Some of the best SFX WERE without CGI.

Most of the films made before CGI. Ya' know; Harryhausen, Disney, M-G-M, Pal, O'Brien, Mann.

I agree completely, Butch, of course. But comparing CGI and practical FX is sort of apples-and-oranges, isn't it?

We all know that FX done prior to CGI had the added appeal of being hard to do. In other words, in addition to their aesthetic appeal, we were often awed by what the filmmakers had to do create them.

They have "sweat equity". Very Happy

And even though we know that great CGI doesn't just spring into existence when Samantha twitches her nose, all those hours of work at a computer by talented artists just doesn't impress us the same way a massive team effort does when it involves dedicated people who build sets and models, rig explosive charges, arrange careful lighting, time multiple tasks precisely, and have one chance to get shots like these.

___________

It's a little like the difference between playing a football video game . . . and watching the Super Bowl.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Tue Jul 14, 2020 1:03 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has 5 trivia items for this movie. Here’s a few of the ones I found the most interesting, in the blue text. Very Happy
________________________________

~The series was discontinued after 8 episodes due to a massive drop in ratings.

Note from me: This is bogus. The show was put on hiatus because of a writer's strike, and the NBC numbskulls didn't have the balls to continue it. Rolling Eyes

~ English actress Michelle Ryan puts on an American accent for her role as Jaime Sommers.

In episode 5, Bionic Woman: The Education of Jaime Sommers (2007), however, she speaks in her natural English accent, a fact to which subtle references are made throughout the episode.

When Jonas (Miguel Ferrer) tells Jaime she is to pose as an exchange student from Oxford, he asks her "How's your British accent?" When Nathan (Kevin Rankin) is talking to Jaime over the radio and asks her why, when they are the only ones there, she is still speaking in a British accent, Jaime replies, "because I'm a method actor".


Note from me: I didn't know this. The late, great Randy Everett sent me beautiful DVD-Rs of all eight episodes, and the next time I watch them I'll be aware of this interesting fact. Very Happy

~ At least three versions of the pilot episode were produced.

The first version had Mae Whitman cast as Jaime's deaf sister, a character that sparked criticism from hearing-impaired rights groups when it was learned the actress wasn't deaf in real life. This version of the pilot was one of several widely circulated on the Internet during the summer of 2007.

At the 2007 San Diego Comic Con, an edited-down, half-hour version of this pilot was shown to audience members as a preview of the new series. For broadcast, however, several scenes were filmed, and the cast changed with a new actress playing Jaime's sister, and the hearing-impaired subplot being eliminated.


Note from me: And our take-away from all this? The producers of this series poured their heart and soul into making it great . . . and succeeded. I have all eight episodes, and they are magnificent.

Life is rarely fair. Hollywood is even worse. Smile

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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