'BIONIC WOMAN' Still Not Dead (Yet)
Though some reports had it as a done deal weeks ago, NBC's Bionic Woman has not been officially unplugged.
The extended writers strike has brought most scripted TV productions to a stop, and few series are feeling the stoppage more than NBC's remake of Bionic Woman. Before the hiatus, Bionic Woman was collapsing under the weight of declining ratings, and the cancellation buzzards reportedly were circling. Some news sources, in fact, decided to treat it as a foregone conclusion.
However, NBC-Universal still has not released a statement to support the rumors. And at least some of the cast hope they never will.
"The show was getting its feet under it before the strike happened," actor Kevin Rankin, who plays Nathan the bionics guy, told The Los Angeles Daily News's GREG HERNANDEZ, "but I'm not sure if it's coming back. I just don't think it got a fair shake. I'd love to see it come back."
Will Bionic Woman ever get the chance to fine-tune its engine? Some critics would say the show already had that chance, as Rankin's presence would seem to suggest.
"At the beginning of the season, they did a lot of retooling," explained Rankin, who also appears on Friday Night Lights. "They fired some of the producers and writers. The guy they brought on to fix the show was [Lights show-runner] Jason Katims. Within a week, he called me up and...said come up and try and instill some humor, and ground it in reality a little bit."
That "retooling" also involved bringing in "regular guest stars" like the controversial ex-Grey's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington, and making Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff more prominent, since her performance as the evil original bionic woman had received a much friendlier reception than had British thesp Michelle Ryan as the lead, Jamie Somers.
Still, the Bionic team was counting on a January two-part "relaunch" to act as CPR for the show. The WGA strike has thrown that lifeline out into dark waters.
But, despite earlier reports that the supply of scripted episodes had been exhausted, an NBC Universal Media Studios spokesperson told TVGuide.com on Dec 17, "Bionic Woman has not been canceled. Production was shut down due to the WGA strike. In addition, we have not completed the initial 13-episode order, which will be the first order of business when the strike ends."
So, don't believe the buzz until you hear it straight from the studio. There may be life in the "new" girl yet.
[Thanks to Superhero Flix for the link.]