Stick a fork in her: The Bionic Womanis done. What? She’s bionic; she’ll heal fast. Rumors of the show’s demise persisted for months, but its status remained in seemingly eternal limbo, thanks to the writers’ strike. While NBC has yet to officially pronounce the show DOA, last week Bionic
co-executive producer David Eick confirmed the cancellation to Sci Fi Wire, dashing the hopes of its dozens and dozens of remaining fans. Now, I realize this news is probably, well, duh to anyone who watched even a couple of episodes. The incredible hype surrounding the freshman series fizzled to a barely audible meh as the season progressed. Eick attributes the failure to the show never coming together as hoped:
“I just felt that the process was so frustrating, and the conditions under which we were making that show never really came to fruition in such a way that I felt like we could make the show well. The actress (Michelle Ryan) we found was wonderful. Some of the writing was good.”
Wonderful? Well, her abs were wonderful. And some of the writing was good? That must mean some was bad. Which, of course, it was. Bionic Woman had that killer combo of uninspired dialogue, unintelligible storylines and an underwhelming lead. Also, God, how boring was her boyfriend? Snore. If he’s a secret agent, than he must be 00Zzzz. You could count me among some of the most excited pre-fans as I eagerly awaited its arrival last fall. Heck, I think I even drooled a little. But once the dream became a reality, oh, how the wheels came off. Granted, I stuck with it so much longer than I should have. The potential of Sarah Corvus was that strong. Still, even I didn’t bother to watch the show’s final pre-strike (and now, ever) episode. I have only so many hours in my life; why waste one more?
So the Bionic Woman has been banished to the dust-bin of failed Next Big Things, where it joins Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and countless others anointed before their time. In the end, I’d like to think that Bionic‘s bombing is proof that the despite the deployment of the full force of a major broadcast network’s promotions, marketing and public-relations machines, people still would rather watch good things on TV. OK, fine, even I don’t understand the success of Two and a Half Men. But the exception proves the rule, right? So, goodbye Bionic Woman. We’ll always have those one-armed pull-ups.
