Last week, I wrote less than favorably about the pilot of Bionic Woman. It was the worst new pilot I had seen this season: all exposition, no emotion, not much action, lots of random bits introduced. The thing played more like a prologue to the pilot than the actual pilot itself. BUT, as I mentioned, a bad pilot does not always result in a bad series. The Arrested Development Effect, as I like to call it, is when the pilot of a show is narratively and structurally different from the rest of the series, in a bad way, because it has so much set-up to do before the show can really get rolling.
Well friends, luckily for us, Bionic Woman is a victim of this effect, and so accordingly, last night’s episode was OFF THE CHAIN! It was terrific! Total proof of this AD Effect and a strong argument in favor of never writing off a show without giving it a fair chance. To me, this episode felt like the real pilot. The first episode was like, “This chick is bionic.” End of episode. With that out of the way, “Paradise Lost” was able to focus on character development and narrative arc development. Let’s take a closer look:
1. Jaime — My biggest concern with the pilot was that we didn’t get to know our leading lady. At all. She was as 2-D as they come, no motivations, no personality. This week? We got it all. Whether it was the smile on her face while watch little sis in the talent show, the palpable disappointment and inability to communicate with her old friends at the restaurant, or the soul-barring convo with Dr. Burke in the book store, Jaime was certainly not afraid to let it all hang out. Not only is it easier to get behind a protagonist once we know and understand them, but the experience of watching is so much more rewarding when you’ve got a real relationship with the character. Last night’s episode made such a connection possible.
2. Jonas & his private defense company — Sweet. Bionic Woman works for a private task force outside the government that protects the world from bad guys. Perfect setup. Future prediction — when Jaime realizes her full potential, will Jonas and Co. still be able to control her? Or will she chafe under the strain of servitude? Episode 5 or 6 maybe?
3. Starbuck — Not only is she badass, but she’s damn sexy. If I were that Asian dude, I wouldn’t be able to resist her either. She’s so difficult to read, so ambiguous in her sanity and allegiance. Is she good? Bad? Why did she kill Will? Who’s in control, man or machine?
4. Dr. Burke– a.k.a. Isiah Washington, the guy’s got chops. No denying it. The moment he entered the scene, you could feel his presence and missed it when he was gone. Brilliant casting choice by NBC. Too bad he’s only a guest star, and we all know what that means…(right? it means he’ll only be on a few more episodes, which means…well, I’ll leave it to your imagination).
5. One complaint — as cool as it is to see Jonas & Co. come in and disarm everyone, why weren’t there any real fights? Jamie barely beats up one dude (after getting her ass kicked, she decks him with that brick-punching bionic arm and he’s out), and that’s it? They better make for that by giving us some sweet fighting next episode. Oh, one question– how does having bionic limbs mean it doesn’t hurt her to get punched in the ribs, or have her non-Bionic arm twisted? Serious, serious liabilities for a superhero.
6. Jamie/sister relationship — Jamie guilt trips her little sister for ruining her, little sister responds by smoking pot at school, they fight, Jamie becomes a superhero and has a purpose again, they make up. Can this be over now? Great, thanks. As attractive as little sis is, if she’s going to be having cliche sisterly arguments, I say the less of her they show, the better. Until she learns about Jamie’s abilities, she’s useless.
A very, very strong offering from this infant show. We’ve go our episodic stuff set (Jamie will beat up different terrorist baddies each week), our serialized stuff (what’s the deal with Starbuck??), a lead character we can support (though I still need her to show deeper character traits– she’s a bit predictable/cliche at the moment), and sweet cyborg action. I don’t know about you, but my Wednesday’s just got a whole lot more exciting.
Grade: B+
Did you watch? What did you think? Share your opinions!
7 Comments
October 4, 2007 at 3:14 pm
[...] Media Musings describes the episode as “OFF THE CHAIN”, whilst acknowledging the pitfalls of writing off a show based on it’s pilot. [...]
October 4, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Great site! Can I put you on my link section?
October 4, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Thank you so much. Of course you can!
October 5, 2007 at 3:18 am
Your complaint about a real lack of action/fighting is well taken. We still need to learn more about the character and the company but something’s missing. It’s still too much discovery and not enough sense of urgency, not enough of the character and her strengths being tested outside of a laboratory.
There’s still a lot of promise here though. Looking forward to next week.
October 5, 2007 at 5:28 am
I watched the first episode (which I think was the pilot, I’m not sure), but I think the relationship established with Jamie and was sister was very well done. It set the precedence of showing how Jamie’s role of Bionic Woman will become much more difficult in future episodes, because of this relationship. I’d say put it in now as to not upset viewers rather than just throwing it in later.
October 5, 2007 at 11:37 am
Thanks for your comment, watchlist. I agree with you and I hope after an episode or two more of introduction, we’ll get to the show’s meat and potatoes. I’m confident this show is moving in the right direction and we should feel at home in the series with one or two more episodes.
October 5, 2007 at 11:42 am
Thanks for commenting, Wendy. I agree with you that the relationship between the two sisters will cause some tension in the future, but is this relationship going to change at all? Or is it just going to be little sister misbehaving and Jamie layin the smackdown? I think that until the little sister learns about Jamie’s abilities and can really get involved in the narrative, she’s no more than unnecessary nuisance. But she’s certainly a cutie.