OK, this post will sound a little weird for this blog, but here goes…
Anyone who was a kid in the mid to late 70’s remembers the TV shows “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman.” Who didn’t have the Steve Austin action figure (it was big enough technically to be a “doll,” but boys don’t play with “dolls,” right?) with the glass eye that you peeked through from the back of his head? Hey, I actually had one for Oscar Goldman, if you can believe that! Needless to say, it’s one of the few shows I can remember watching all the time when I was a little kid.
“The Bionic Woman” was a spin-off of “The Six Million Dollar Man,” and being the SMDM geek I was, I watched it too. So I was curious when NBC decided to revive the show and give it a 21st Century makeover. I started watching the new version every Wednesday night on NBC (9 p.m. Central time) and I kinda like it. It’s more serious and a bit darker than the campy original we grew up with, but I kinda like it. The action is much better (remember the slow-mo moves when Jamie would leap in the air and come back down, or when she hit or kicked someone?) and there’s more attention given to the character herself and what she’s going through as the show progresses. (I haven’t caught that “bionic” sound effect yet–hopefully I won’t. You know, the one we all imitated in the backyard–you know you did it, too!)
Unfortunately, there must not be enough of us Children of the Seventies who are watching it, and there’s a chance it may not survive the ongoing writers’ strike. I’d hate to see it be cancelled; frankly, it’s the only reason I watch NBC. If you like the new show and want to keep it on the air, please sign this online petition to NBC brass.
http://www.petitiononline.com/BWlives/petition.html
Now back to your regularly scheduled blog content!
Kevin D. McCann 