Bionic Woman - Series 1 - Complete DVD > Reviews > Complete bionic series

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Good
Soundtrack	Good

Advantages:	good acting and special effects
Disadvantages:	continuity of storylines and depth of characters

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is the 2007 remake of the 1970s series starring Michelle Ryan as the Bionic Woman.

Michelle Ryan stars as Jaime Sommers who is given bionic body parts by a private organisation, the Berkut Group, after a horrific car accident. Jaime struggles to balance being a superhero and providing stability for her younger sister, of whom Jaime is the primary carer.

Jaime's bionic enhancements include:

• a bionic ear for amplified hearing
• a super strong right arm
• fast legs enabling her to run faster than a car

Jaime agrees to work for the Berkut Group, a private group whose objective is to rid evil, to help them save people. As the series develops. Jaime is assigned a mentor to help hone her fighting skills and use her bionic strength correctly.

In the first episode we see Jaime meet Sarah Corvus (the first bionic woman in this series, who appears to have fallen out with Berkut) and they engage in a superbly choreographed and acted female fighting scene, which provides context on Sarah's involvement in the series.

Delving into the series a bit deeper it emerges that Sarah Corvus is not well as the bionic enhancements made to Sarah were in the early immature stages of Bionics. Sarah tries to enlist Jaime's help but then resorts to using Jaime's sister. It emerges that Sarah's sister died as a result of Sarah's actions.

The series seems to jump about a bit I feel. In one episode you have the focus as Sarah's plight, then in the next Jaime is off on an assignment with no mention of Sarah or Jaime's sister Becca. The stunts are very impressive but the interweaving of storylines is not so slick and it lacks continuity.

Michelle Ryan is good as Jaime Sommers and even gets to use her own British accent in one of the episodes.

Lucy Kate Hale plays the younger sister and acts out the typical attention starved teenager by staying out late and going out with boys,

Katee Sackhoff plays Sarah Corvus who wants both revenge against Berkut and help/allegiance from Jaime.

Isaiah Washington plays Jaime's mentor - you may know him as Burke from Grey's Anatomy

This DVD is not out yet here but I got an early release. The set includes the following special features:

• Pilot Commentary with Executive Producer David Eick
• The Making of the Car Crash
• The Stunts
• Profiles
• Real Life Bionics

The first 8 episodes are contained on this DVD:

1 Pilot
2 Paradise Lost
3 Sisterhood
4 Faceoff
5 The Education of Jaime Sommers
6 The List
7 Trust Issues
8 Do Not Disturb

The series has not yet been picked up for a second season as it got affected by the writer's strike. This means that the current series has not really ended with a proper finale and leaves you asking questions.

I hope the season is completed at least. It is a good show but I don't know if it has the longevity of other series.