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Pan or Praise: "Bionic Woman"

PopSugarUK — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 07:30:00 -0700

Last night ITV2 launched four new shows and little Zoe Slater from EastEnders became the Bionic Woman, pulling in over 2 million viewers to the channel.

I enjoyed it, Michelle Ryan's American accent for her character Jaime Sommers seemed fantastic – I was convinced! Seeing her as a more mature actress was a bit of a difficult thing for me to get my head around but by the end of the episode I had almost forgotten who she was. I do hope Jaime gets a little warmer in future episodes though.

I've also had a sneaky peek at the second episode, and I think that if you watched the pilot and quite liked it, you should stick around for the second as everything starts to slot into place in that one – there's a lot more explanation and less scene-setting. (FYI: This may be the only season of the show as there's a lot of talk that the show has already been cancelled by NBC after 13 episodes. Sigh.)

But despite all that, we want to know: what did you think of the show?

Photo courtesy of ITV.com

Which New Show on ITV2 Tonight Are You Excited About?

PopSugarUK — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 03:00:00 -0700

ITV2 is currently showing top TV programmes - including American Idol, Coleen's Real Women, Entourage, The Office: an American Workplace and Hey Paula - and it's about to get bigger: the channel is launching a bevy of new shows tonight...

Bionic Woman (9pm) follows Jaime Sommers (Eastenders' Michelle Ryan) as she learns how to use the superhuman powers she has gained from her new bionic prosthetic limbs.
Keith Lemon's Very Brilliant World Tour (10pm) sees Leigh Francis' character (last seen on Big Brother: Celebrity Hijak) travel the world with a celeb guest in each country.
Laura, Ben and Him (10.30pm) is an eight-part sketch show from Perrier Award winners Laura Solon and Ben Willbond, and Extras’ Marek Larwood (the Him of the title).
Comedy Cuts (11pm) provides a showcase for new comedians to present their talent at stand up or sketches and will feature 40 performers who will show their skills on location.

As well as these new programmes, ITV2 will be finishing off the week with another exciting new series, The Passions of Girls Aloud, which starts on Friday at 10pm. But back to tonight: which show are you most excited about?

Photos courtesy of ITV.com

Link Time! 2/21

BuzzSugar — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:34:55 -0800

MTV Movie Blog's Josh Horowitz makes his very own Oscars opening montage, and it's rather hilarious.
Popwatch wants to know: What are the greatest duets of all time?
The TV Addict jokingly (I hope) imagines what Friday Night Lights might look like on various other networks.
Cinematical wonders if Jon Stewart will rock the Oscars. What do you think?
Rolling Stone's Rock & Roll Daily says brace yourself: There's much, much more on the way from Paula Abdul.
TV with MeeVee wonders who's to blame for the demise of Bionic Woman.
Stereogum has us take a listen to Janet Jackson sampling Daft Punk in her song "So Much Betta."
TV Squad weighs in on whether the presidential election is shaping up like The West Wing's final season.

Link Time! 12/6

BuzzSugar — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:31:25 -0800

USA Today is featuring some of the new, vibrant, candy-colored photo stills from the Speed Racer movie.
TV Bloggin has a steamier version of the Bones-Booth kiss.
Jason Bateman continues to talk to MTV Movies Blog about the possibility of an Arrested Development movie, and this time he sounds quite hopeful.
Stereogum has the Michel Gondry-directed video for Bjork's "Declare Independence."
Need a laugh? Check out some bloopers from the British version of The Office, courtesy of Give Me My Remote.
FilmExperience brings up a good point: If Juno is nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, it will be "the most youth-skewing entry" in a long time.
TV Squad explains why things don't look good for Bionic Woman.
Idolator has a new candy-colored video from The Pipettes.

"Bionic Woman" Gets Her Butt Kicked

FitSugar — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Michelle Ryan - she's "Bionic Woman" if you don't know her face - has been spotted doing some serious working out at the gym with her trainer. From weight training, to hitting the elliptical to boxing, this girl sure has a well rounded workout, but I guess that is what it takes when you're the "Bionic Woman."

Take it from Ryan and try to switch it up at the gym. Your brain and your muscles will be a lot less bored and you should see results from the variety. Besides, who doesn't love to show that punching bag who's boss from time to time?

While I don't really have a point of reference as to how Ryan looked prior to "Bionic Woman," the girl looks super fit and healthy now!

My girl BuzzSugar got an exclusive interview with Ryan recently, and Ryan gave her the scoop on her exercise and diet. To check the interview out, just read more

Buzz: How much time are you spending in the gym?
MR: About three and a half hours a day I would say. Two hours of personal training, or two hours of dance, and an hour and a half of circuit training.

Buzz: Were you that athletic before -- did you always spend so much time working out?
MR: No, I mean if I didn’t have to I wouldn’t. I used to dance and swim and do gymnastics but this really has got me into shape, it’s like I really have a reason to now be healthy.

Buzz: Has your body changed at all?
MR: Yeah, definitely, I’m getting abs and my muscles are getting bigger and I definitely feel like I’m being much more conscious to eat healthier.

Buzz: How has your diet changed?
MR: Just eating more like sushi and fish and fruit…

Buzz: And protein?
MR: Yeah and vegetables and cutting out -- I’ve got such a sweet tooth, so cutting out chocolate

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Source and Flynet

What Are You Watching Tonight at 9?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 15:18:51 -0700

One of fall TV's toughest time slots is Wednesday at 9 p.m. (that's 8 p.m. for you folks in the Central time zone). Tonight, it will be especially tough with two buzzworthy new shows and Mandy Patinkin's swan song on "Criminal Minds" joining the fray. What will you be watching?

Fall TV Preview: Five Total Toss-ups

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:30:00 -0700

All summer long, I've been giving you my first impressions of the networks' new shows. Now, with fall TV upon us, it's time to tell you which shows are deserving of space on your TiVo and which ... well, aren't. Yesterday, I told you about five shows I'll be skipping this fall, and on Monday, I'll be revealing my top five picks for the season. But today, I'm focusing on the shows that could go either way, just as likely to become megahits as they are to sink like stones.

5. "Bionic Woman" - "Bionic" has seen quite a bit of upheaval since the pilot I saw was filmed. One supporting part (the bionic woman's younger sister) has been recast and reconceived, and - just within the past couple of weeks - one of the executive producers left the show. In the version of the pilot I saw, lead actress Michelle Ryan didn't seem to have the sort of fearless toughness you'd want in an action star, and the whole thing seemed surprisingly low-energy. But now, "Friday Night Lights" producer Jason Katims will be consulting on the show, and NBC has ensured a steady stream of publicity by hiring Isaiah Washington for a guest spot. I'm still not confident about this remake, but I think it has an equal chance of being a breakout hit and a flop.

4. "Carpoolers" - I'm really of two minds about "Carpoolers." On the one hand, the whole idea of inane car banter is why I try not to catch rides with casual acquaintances. On the other hand, this pilot made me laugh surprisingly hard, and I'm finding myself rooting for it. The writing may not be completely there yet, but the comic timing from funny guys like Jerry O'Connell, Jerry Minor, Fred Goss, and potential breakout star TJ Miller gives me hope - as does that Phil Collins video. I'm not sure if I see it getting more than a "Knights of Prosperity"-sized following, but if enough people give it a chance, maybe it will be a small hit.

Three more tossups - plus a brand-new clip of the first few minutes of one of them - so read more

3. "Moonlight" - "Moonlight" is a toss-up in the truest sense of the word because it's gone through so many changes. Virtually everyone except lead actor Alex O'Loughlin has been recast since the spring, and I haven't seen either the old or the new versions of the pilot. I generally suspect this will be a cheesy mix of vampire myth and cop drama, and its Friday night timeslot tells me CBS doesn't have a ton of confidence in it either. On the other hand, CBS has had a good sense of humor in promoting the show - witness this "Interview with a Vampire" clip and the creepy vs. sexy video - and I think there are legions of "Angel" and "Buffy" fans who might latch on to this show.

2. "Aliens in America" - Of all the pilots I watched for the fall, this one about a friendship between a small-town Wisconsin kid and his family's Pakistani exchange student, left me the most conflicted by far. On the one hand, it made me laugh harder than any other comedy pilot, and the two young actors in the lead roles are charming and perfectly cast. On the other hand, many parts of the pilot made me squirm because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be offended or amused. I have no idea where the show will go from here, and - more than that - I have no idea how people will react. Will they think it's sweetly hilarious or blatantly over the line?

1. "Private Practice" - So far, this show is nothing but a giant question mark. It's the only pilot the general public has seen, and so we've all had almost four months to rip the very special episode apart - and nobody's been shy about doing that.
Some critics who have seen the proper first episode of the series say the show has gotten itself together, while others say it's even more inane than we feared. For me, the whole point of Kate Walsh's Addison on "Grey's" was to be sassy, complicated, and tough-as-nails; on the snippets of "Private Practice" I've seen, she seems gigglier and girlier, without the backbone that made her such a gem. Creator Shonda Rhimes has said this show won't be "Grey's 2.0" - but it's too early to tell whether "Private Practice" will be able to capture any of the magic that made that show a hit. Just for good measure, here's the newest preview clip:

"Private Practice" and "Carpoolers" photos copyright 2007 ABC, Inc..
"Moonlight" picture courtesy of CBS
"Aliens in America" photo courtesy of The CW
"Bionic Woman" photo Source
"Moonlight" photo courtesy of CBS

How Bionic are You?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 08:30:00 -0700

Apparently, I would not be a very good candidate for obtaining bionic body parts and saving the world. I've already spent more time than I should probably admit taking the Bionic Aptitude Test NBC has set up to promote its fall series "Bionic Woman." (Side note: How cool is the URL bat-test.com? Seriously.)

Anyway, lest you think that being bionic is easy, I should warn you that these tests are tough. Five short games make up the overall test, and my scores on them ranged from pretty good to completely helpless. The one testing reaction time and hand-eye coordination was my forte, as was the one where you have to memorize a key sequence and type it back (I guess the endless rounds of Simon I played as a kid have paid off). The one that tested how well I processed details in a series of photographs was OK, too. But the other two tests were a bit more disastrous; one involved doing a lot of math quickly (it's only addition and subtraction; I'm just that bad at math), and the other involved typing words using a baffling, non-standard keyboard layout.

In the end, I finished my first round at 49 percent bionic. After several more tries, I've finally edged over 50 percent. But I think it's probably best for everyone if I remain a mere mortal.

Source

Comic-Con Videos: Almost As Good As Being There

BuzzSugar — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 10:28:17 -0700

If you love TV, and you read Phasekitty's reports from Comic-Con with envy, then here's some good news: NBC filmed the Comic-Con panels for returning favorite "Heroes" and new shows "Chuck" and "Bionic Woman," and highlights from them are now available online.

Even people at Comic-Con couldn't get into the "Heroes" panel, where it was announced that Kevin Smith will direct an episode of "Heroes: Origins." The line wrapped all the way around the convention center - several times. Luckily, the whole thing is available on NBC's video site; start here with part one.

The "Chuck" crew also showed up, and you can watch an interview with Zachary Levi (aka Pop's crush) showing off his Nintendo Wii scar.

Still want more? The TV Addict has rounded up fan videos of many of the other panels - and while they're pretty shaky, they get the job done. You can also watch highlights from the "Heroes," "Chuck" and "Bionic Woman" panels if you read more

"Heroes":

"Chuck":

"Bionic Woman":

Pilot Watch: "Bionic Woman"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:30:00 -0700

The networks have announced their fall schedules, but which of the series will actually be worth watching? Throughout the summer, as I watch the pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. Note that a lot can change before a show actually makes it to air, so these aren't comprehensive reviews, just quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's installment: NBC's "Bionic Woman."

What's it about? A remake of the 1970s classic, the show focuses on a bartender named Jaime who is nearly killed in a horrible car crash and is rebuilt with superhuman technology that gives her incredible strength, amazing vision and a whole slew of other powers. With the technology comes a whole slew of new responsibilities - and new enemies.

Who's in it? Michelle Ryan, Miguel Ferrer, Chris Bowers, Will Yun Lee, Molly Price. Katee Sackhoff of "Battlestar Galactica" will also star in several episodes, as will Isaiah Washington.

The good: The show is well-paced and slick-looking, and - though I'm admittedly not a special effects junkie - the effects looked cool to me. For a remake of a '70s show, it feels modern. Ryan makes an appealing main character.

The bad: Ryan might not be enough of a badass to be believable as a woman on a mission to save the world; Sackhoff comes off so much tougher in all the scenes the two share. The entire story line about Jaime's deaf sister has been reconceived since the pilot was shot, so there's a lot I can't judge yet.

Will I watch? I'm curious to see how the show works with a new actress in the sister role and a little time for Ryan to grow into her tough-chick persona.

To watch a preview for the show and see a gallery of photos, read more

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