One of the exec producers of the reimagined BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is resurrecting another old series from the Universal vaults: THE BIONIC WOMAN, a spin-off from THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. Variety reports that David Eick has hired screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis to tackle his latest reimagining for NBC.
"It’s a complete reconceptualization of the title," Eick told Daily Variety. "We’re using the title as a starting point, and that’s all."
"It’s going to be a meaningful departure" from
the original, he said, using words such as "nanotechnology" to hint at
what’s in store.
Well, Lindsay Wagner’s still around, doing ads for mattresses. Will she get a bionic dog again, too?
Could work… The invasion of technology has only accelerated since the original.
They already tried that nanotechnology angle in Jake 2.0, which was swiftly cancelled after airing about 8 or 9 episodes. I loved the Bionic Woman as a kid and have always been a fan of Lindsay Wagner, but this “reimagining” is not going fly.
I dunno. If they get the angst and darkness right, it could click.
I mean… BATTLESTAR GALACTICA? The original was the least nutritious glob of processed cheese on the entire TV schedule.
Keeping the title might be a mistake. What kind of audience can they drum up for The Bionic Woman? I’m sure there’s a fanbase, but it’s probably small, and a big reason why good shows like Battlestar Gallactica and Veronica Mars can’t find an audience is because of their titles. (a lot of people actually seem to think Veronica Mars is a sci-fi show!)
The U.S. military is experimenting with equipment that would turn its combat soldiers into cyborgs (sort of). So the concept is hardly outdated… it was the execution of the concept, in the original version, that was cheesy.
For this to work as TV, the thing is to establish strict rules and limitations for what the Bionic Woman can or can’t do. (If you just keep adding abilities you get an all-powerful character, and that doesn’t really work.)
For example: how much battery power does she have? Can she recharge? (By plugging into a wall socket?) Are the nanobots sensitive to radiation or an Electromagnetic Pulse? What sort of private life does a Bionic Person have? And so on…
We were discussing this sort of thing over on my blog here:
http://d2dvd.blogspot.com/2006/09/give-it-reboot.html
“Reboots” are interesting exercises in figuring out shows and how they work.
Most importantly: Will it finally address the burning question of my 10 year old self, which was/is, how does brushing back your hair activate super-duper hearing and, if her hearing is always super-duper, how does she sleep at night?