Those are impressive ratings and big critical positive response. I'm quite surprised of all shows to get those ratings, it's this new show.

Maybe the Bionic Woman like the Bionic Man is just embedded in the US TV history culture, it's like getting back your favorite show of a long time ago again, I only hope if Buffy or Angel get reinvented in 20 years time, it'll score bigger ratings because of the cult history of it.

Angel deserved the ratings of Bionic Woman, my favorite show fought the good fight even if most of the US was stupid enough not to make it bigger then it was.

Not since the X files I think has quality sci fi gotten the ratings it deserved, I think a show like Buffy and Angel on the Fox network or NBC with money spent on advertising, would of made them huge, some networks just never did enough for some shows, Angel itself easily could of been promoted as a event thing on US. Networks are a pain.

[ edited by SeanValen on 2007-09-28 15:08 ]

SeanValen | September 28, 15:04 CET

Let's not forget our dear "Chief" Aaron Douglas. It's because of him that daddy Mark Sheppard is out of prison, so we have him to thank for future Badger/Romo goodness.

Haunt | September 28, 15:18 CET

SciFi channel is re-airing Bionic Woman today. Which makes me happy, as I missed it in order to catch the season premier of Criminal Minds.

Shey | September 28, 15:37 CET

I thought it was pretty good. Especially the action at the end. And I love Katie. She's gonna be a great villain.

As far as why these 'types' of shows (with superheroes) are doing so well these days? I think it's all symptomatic of the war, terrorism, and a general feeling of helplessness by the American public. And perhaps some of it is nostalgia. Who knows.

kerfuffle | September 28, 15:50 CET

A very good sign for NBC whom was willing to take a gamble on a scifi genre and it paid off for them. Hopefully, the suits over at FOX are taking notes.

I've no doubt that Buffy will be "reimaged" sometime in our future. After all, Joss created a cult classic, someone will try to capture its essence. Can't wait.

Until then, I'm just waiting for HBO to place a certain call. "Hello, Mr. Whedon? We were thinking...."

Madhatter | September 28, 15:57 CET

Speaking of Criminal Minds on Wednesdays (sorry to go OT) does anybody know when Nick will start appearing? I'm not really interested in watching till then...

miri47 | September 28, 16:21 CET

...And I missed it.

:-(

UnpluggedCrazy | September 28, 16:21 CET

miri47, I think it's 8 episodes in. Could be wrong.

gossi | September 28, 16:24 CET

Trust me, these ratings are going down the drain next week. The pilot was a stinker.

MindPieces | September 28, 17:06 CET

Agreed MindPieces, I guess most pilots score well. I remember Star Trek Voyager having a huge ratings success for it's pilot, but after that, it never really got that audience back.


Long term season thinking.

SeanValen | September 28, 17:12 CET

Uhm, MindPieces, the ratings went up piece by piece as the episode went on. It finished with more viewers than started the episode, which - fairly rare.

We'll see how it holds. Personally I think they've got themselves a hit.

Most pilots score awful. That's why shows disappear a few episodes in, and few make it past first season.

[ edited by gossi on 2007-09-28 17:13 ]

gossi | September 28, 17:13 CET

I saw the pilot at Comic Con and was so disappointed. Could they have gotten a more uninteresting lead??

Rogue Slayer | September 28, 17:13 CET

I'm surprised by the criticism of the lead. I liked her, and to me she reminded me, superficially at least, of Jayne from Wonderfalls.

I've just rented the "clip show" episode of Eastenders (EastEnders: Slaters in Detention) and have added Jekyl to my Netflix Queue to learn more.

willbueche | September 28, 17:21 CET

I like the lead, and love Katee, but I am seriously disappointed in the recasting of the Bionic Woman's little sister (they had originally had a much more interesting actress and character in the pilot aired at Comic con). I do love seeing Mark Sheppard though.

embers | September 28, 17:38 CET

I don't know .. I watched and didn't like it. I thought it was mediocure and won't be watching it again. The few people I know that watched it, won't be watching again either. I guess the ratings for week 2 will tell the tale.

resa | September 28, 17:38 CET

Sorry, what was that? I was busy checking out Kate Walsh. What a glorious woman, I've always been taken by those "drop-dead" redheads. And they always break my heart...sigh. I'll never learn.

If I recall, the pilot of ST:Voyager was a boom towards UPN, something around 12 million viewers. May I ask how we got on this topic?

I'm siding with gossi, thinking Rhimes may actually pull this one off. Did I mention I was crazy about redheads?

Madhatter | September 28, 17:45 CET

I'm just curious. I enjoyed the premiere but it seems quite a few different people didn't. What kinds of shows do you think are good? We had a pretty big premiere week for new shows and I thought this was one of the better ones. Maybe I just had low expectations.

kerfuffle | September 28, 17:54 CET

People enjoy different shows, kerfuffle. I mean, the biggest TV hit of this year is Dancing With The Stars, which has climbed another 25%, but I doubt that many Whedonesquers count it as the number one TV show of the moment. But clearly a lot of people do.

gossi | September 28, 18:07 CET

kerfuffle ... I had no expectations for Bionic Woman. Just gave it a try out of the blue and was dissappointed. I watch Bones (and love the season 3 pilot). I love Dexter (although I can't watch it at 10:00pm and then go to bed ... too creepy), House and the Tudors. The only other premiere I watched was Dirty Sexy Money. And I watched that for Donald Sutherland. I must say (even though it's kind of a soap opera) I really enjoyed it and have put it on my list to watch. My all time favorites include West Wing, Farscape, ER and Quantum Leap. (Buffy and Angel head that list of course)

resa | September 28, 18:08 CET

Maybe the Bionic Woman like the Bionic Man is just embedded in the US TV history culture, it's like getting back your favorite show of a long time ago again, I only hope if Buffy or Angel get reinvented in 20 years time, it'll score bigger ratings because of the cult history of it.

Everything goes in 20-year cycles. The things we grew up with are the things we want to see when we have our mid-life crisis at 40.

Think of the success of Grease (1978) and Happy Days (1974), both harking back to the 50s. Or ST:TNG (1987) twenty years after TOS.

So expect Buffy:TNG in about 2020.

zz9 | September 28, 18:17 CET

As I mentioned in another thread, put me on the list of those who loved this show. Good cast, fine writing, and the coolest fight I've seen since Angel went off the air - what's not to love?

bigsofty | September 28, 18:21 CET

Is everything this season a re-hash? Journeyman re-hashing Quantum Leap. Chuck re-hashing Jake 2.0. Moonlight re-hashing Angel. The Bionic Woman re-hashing...The Bionic Woman. Hell, Reaper's a re-hash of the Brimstone idea. Its Deja-vu all over again.

[ edited by mangydog on 2007-09-28 18:28 ]

mangydog | September 28, 18:26 CET

Wow. This show may actually make it.

I have to agree with the people saying they don't like the lead character, though. I dont' know if it's the writing, directing, or acting, but she comes off as pretty dull and personality-less to me. Good thing Bionic Starbuck is there to liven things up. I'll be watching for at least the next 2-3 episodes.

RaisedByMongrels | September 28, 19:19 CET

So expect Buffy:TNG in about 2020

ZZ, I'm holding you to that one my friend.

Madhatter | September 28, 20:18 CET

First off, Katee is HAWT!
Okay, now that is out of the way...I really enjoyed the pilot. I wasn't expecting to but it was better than I thought it would be. I agree, the lead girl is sorta...blah. And she does remind me of Jaye from Wonderfalls. I only wish Katee would be on full time. Le sigh.

ooooo and Mark Sheppard. HEART him! Oh, and Aaron Douglas. YaY for Battlestar peeps.

death is my gift | September 28, 20:44 CET

I'm still meh on the show after seeing two versions of the pilot. While I don't hate Michelle Ryan, I find Katee to be a far more captivating screen presence. I would kind of love the show if they abruptly killed of Jamie and made Sarah the titular character. It would certainly be a twist that no one would be expecting. Overall, I'm a little sad I didn't watch either Private Practice or Gossip Girls.

Lady Brick | September 28, 20:58 CET

ZZ, I'm holding you to that one my friend.

Well I've written one script. All I need is more writers, the rights, $50m, some hot actors, a set, some really good caterers and a big office with some sort of giant fishtank with exotic fish. Nothing too showy.

zz9 | September 28, 21:17 CET

I would kind of love the show if they abruptly killed of Jamie and made Sarah the titular character. It would certainly be a twist that no one would be expecting.

That would make the show watchable, but then what would happen to all the colonists who need to find Earth???

Rogue Slayer | September 28, 22:46 CET

I watched the first half of the Grey's Anatomy spinoff (and by watched, I mean it was running while working on a project; and for once, I paid no attention to the TV), then changed the channel to BW after giving up. Bionic Woman actually caught my attention. Anyway, I'm trying this thing where I skip the pilot and jump in on the 2nd episode because I HATE pilots. So next week I'm giving BW a full try.

Arabchick | September 28, 22:50 CET

Having grown up with the original 'bionics' I wanted to like this show. It just didn't grabbed me.

The actors, action, and effects were good. However the plot and, more worrisome, initial aspects of the BW's universe didn't excite me.

Maybe it will get better. I hope it does, but so far it hasn't achieved "Must See" status for me.

Loose Deckplate | September 29, 02:42 CET

I have to disagree with those that preferred the original (def) character of the sister. I thought the new actress that played the sister was a much better choice than the original actress. Half the time I couldn't understand what the original actress was saying. And having a sister that is a hacker will be more useful than one that is def (nothing against def people). Also the new actress actually looked like the bionic woman's sister (the original looked like she was adopted). Also the new actress is hot and will attract more (male) viewers.

Zoic_Fan | September 29, 03:36 CET

All I need is more writers, the rights, $50m, some hot actors, a set, some really good caterers and a big office with some sort of giant fishtank with exotic fish.

Well, the fish maybe a problem here, may require approval from the US Fish And Gaming Commission. Otherwise, it's a good plan.

Guess we'll see how the ratings hold up this upcoming week for the second episode.

Madhatter | September 29, 15:13 CET

If you miss the Bionic Woman on Wed. night, you can catch it on Sci-Fi Channel on Friday night at 7pm ET.

BTW - this weekend DirecTV is having a freeview of Showtime which will include the premiere of Julie Benz series Dexter Season 2.

[ edited by RavenU on 2007-09-29 17:01 ]

RavenU | September 29, 16:59 CET

The pilot was pretty schizophrenic emotionally--- it was like they squished 3 hours into one hour. One moment the main character is dealing with raising her little sister, another moment about to have a child, then another moment is proposed to, then loses the child (though she gets over that part pretty quick--- in three seconds of screentime. Even as a tv show, I'd think there'd be a bit more impact over something like that.), then she freaks out more over seeing her legs glow (though not over the loss of the child---bizzare), then gains confidence enough to throw herself off the top of one building to another (for what reason? just for the sake of doing it, I guess) - then has problems re-bonding with her younger sister for being missing, then has a fight with Katee Sackhoff (who critics almost unanimously agree blow away the main actress off the screen whenever she's in the same scene), and then has immediate 'street toughs' in five minutes to threaten a FBI agent that she can eliminate anyone who crosses her.

It's almost like the pilot was a parody of itself. I'm not suprised, but glad to hear that either the network or producers felt it necessary to bring in the showrunner from Friday Night Lights to help out before the pilot even aired--- so SOMEBODY behind the scenes already knows it needs work... but the buzz is that the episodes improve right away (plus Katee Sackhoff is supposed to be around for six episodes, so that can only help), so hopefully they're right.

harvey chin | September 29, 22:09 CET

Also...while it's cool the post is here--- how does the bionic woman pilot relate to Joss Whedon again?
;)

harvey chin | September 29, 22:12 CET

Also...while it's cool the post is here--- how does the bionic woman pilot relate to Joss Whedon again?
;)

Hmmm...some guy named Mark Sheppard is on this show? Yes, that's it.

Yefa | September 29, 22:29 CET

Now that BW is past the obligatory origin/pilot episode, I am looking forward to the writers getting into the nitty gritty of the characters, surroundings (ie. the BW "universe") and story arcs. And of course more Katee immediately please!

The pilot, didn't kick my arse like LOST's pilot did (for example) but it did intrigue me enough to tune in to the next few episodes.

Hjermsted | September 29, 22:47 CET

"Also...while it's cool the post is here--- how does the bionic woman pilot relate to Joss Whedon again?
;)

Hmmm...some guy named Mark Sheppard is on this show? Yes, that's it."

Ah! :)

harvey chin | September 29, 23:27 CET

then gains confidence enough to throw herself off the top of one building to another (for what reason? just for the sake of doing it, I guess)

That's what i'd do if my legs glowed. Open invitation or what ?

(see Matrix, The and also 2, Spiderman - it's like, metaphorical, dude ;)

Saje | September 30, 01:23 CET

There was a Buffyesque quality when Michelle Ryan kicks the ass of the men who were about to rape her in an alley. But I was surprised that she was disturbed that she had almost killed them. It's hard to imagine a woman saying, "OMG, I almost killed my would-be rapists!!! How horrible!!"

In a David Eick interview, he says the show is supposed to be about a young woman coming of age and discovering her power and deciding how she'll use that power. Again, sort of like BtVS.

I read the Newsday and NYT reviews online, and they (at least one of them) raise the question of whether audiences can accept strong women only when they are young, beautiful and full of doubt.

Suzie | September 30, 03:56 CET

"In a David Eick interview, he says the show is supposed to be about a young woman coming of age and discovering her power and deciding how she'll use that power. Again, sort of like BtVS."

That sounds cool and fine, but I just wish the writing for the pilot was as good as BtVS. Fortunately, again, with the showrunner for "Friday Night Lights" joining the team, maybe following episodes are better.

"I read the Newsday and NYT reviews online, and they (at least one of them) raise the question of whether audiences can accept strong women only when they are young, beautiful and full of doubt."

I think strong or not, ALL television and movie stars have to be young and beautiful/good-looking for most audiences, whether they're male or female... otherwise audiences won't really accept them. Would BtVs be as interesting to such a wide audience if Buffy were in her 60's when we first see her in the pilot? But it's an interesting thought, nontheless...

And to Saje:
I know it's a Spiderman/Matrix thingee, but if my legs were glowing, I think I'd see a doctor or a specialist before jumping off rooftops, or I'd just wear long pants all the time. But, then again, I'm shy.

Also---and I guess this would also have to apply to Spiderman/Matrix (though those two films had more of a sense of humor to them than the Bionic Woman pilot had) I mean, since the show was taking itself so seriously--- it seemed more of a strain on crediblity to me that she would--- I mean, aren't there better ways to test abilities? Not to mention consequences- if she missed the building, wouldn't it suck for the person on the street that she'd land on? But then again, I'm the type that obsesses over those types of things. ;p

harvey chin | September 30, 07:38 CET

I didn't catch it, but heard a reviewer on NPR who said it "wasn't very good."

April | September 30, 14:18 CET

I liked it. I watched a slew of the new shows that I had taped during the week all yesterday. And Bionic Woman certainly kept my attention, even in that pile.
I couldn't stand the sister, though I don't know anything about the other. I think she was written that way though. Like an angrier, nastier Dawn.

Who was Mark Sheppard? Was he the boyfriend? Because I liked him.
When he was shot I was disappointed that maybe they were killing him off in the pilot.

Reaper was still my favorite though, for being able to incorporate some wicked humor with the genre.

Xane | September 30, 16:17 CET

Mark "Badger" Sheppard was the boyfriend's Father. The guy who master-minded the whole Bionic program and who was in jail, but is now out. I'm hoping we'll see a lot more of him, and of Katee "Starbuck" Sackoff, because we gotta love the original insano bionic woman!

embers | September 30, 16:58 CET

Oh, thanks embers. Yeah, I thought the father was an interesting angle as well.
And Katee Sackoff WAS cool.

Xane | September 30, 17:16 CET

It's almost like the pilot was a parody of itself. I'm not suprised, but glad to hear that either the network or producers felt it necessary to bring in the showrunner from Friday Night Lights to help out before the pilot even aired--- so SOMEBODY behind the scenes already knows it needs work... but the buzz is that the episodes improve right away (plus Katee Sackhoff is supposed to be around for six episodes, so that can only help), so hopefully they're right.

The show runner on Bionic Woman lost their job prior to BW even airing because it was massively over budget, and running late. The network were on about shutting down production at one point, it had gotten so out of hand.

That said, I'm not sure if that's a reflection upon the quality of the show. There are many shows where creatively the team can deliver good episodes, but in a television sense they can't do it on time or on budget, which is not a situation you can have.

Bionic Woman needed to be a hit right from the first episode. If the ratings had been bad, I don't think even a handful of eps would have aired.

gossi | September 30, 17:20 CET

Xane, you liked the boyfriend? Really? I found him incredibly boring and I didn't think there was an ounce of chemistry between them. I remember thinking when he got shot, "well, no loss there."

TamaraC | September 30, 18:46 CET

Well I agree that there wasn't a lot of chemistry, but I found the actor himself appealing, and I thought he was believable in the scientist role he was playing.
The relationship itself, not so much, but I kind of think that's over since she's pretty pissed at him.

Xane | September 30, 20:07 CET