After standing in an incredibly long line, 3500 fans were able to get in to see the “Bionic Woman” panel. Many of the fans in the hall were there early for the “Heroes” panel later in the day, but there was a definite interest in the new sci-fi series. The panel started by actually showing the full pilot of the show.
The series introduces Jamie Summers, a bartender in San Francisco. She takes care of her rebellious, deaf, 15 year old sister. Her boyfriend also happens to be a lead biomechanical scientist for a top secret military operation. But when Jamie and her boyfriend are involved in a traffic accident, he saves her life by using advanced bionics to replace her legs, right arm, right eye, and ears. She’s initially held captive at the facility, but soon breaks free and starts learning the capabilities of her bionics. However, Jamie also learns that she’s not the first bionic woman. The first one, Sarah Corvis, is now renegade and is out to get Jamie and her scientist boyfriend.
The pilot was really cool and an impressive setup for the series. Any fan of “Heroes” or “Battlestar Galactica” is going to definitely want to check this one out. BSG fans will be amazed by several cameos by the BSG cast including Aaron Douglas. And yes, they briefly used the Bionic Woman sound effect. The bionic effect is seen within Jamie’s body as well as occasional glowing lights on her skin.
Later, the Bionic Woman herself Michelle Ryan appeared on stage along with the executive producers, producers, Mark Shepard and Katie Sackhoff (both from “Battlestar Galactica”). They discussed the elaborate fight scene in the finale of the pilot, the influence of women behind the scenes on the development of the series, and the casting of Michelle Ryan. Sackhoff also discussed how much fun it is to play a villainess. They also revealed that the actress who played Summers’ deaf sister has been recast, so a different girl will be seen in the pilot that debuts in September. Those scenes will be reshot later. When asked if the ‘fembots’ and the Sasquatch would appear from the original series, they got a good laugh and said they wouldn’t. They also stated that they will be playing up the fact that Jamie doesn’t know how to use all her powers correctly and would have problems along the way.
Overall the crowd was very receptive to the show and it looks like NBC has another sci-fi hit on their hands.
