WGA strike

Due to a strike by the Writers Guild of America, production of the series was halted in mid-November 2007,^[11] and the regular actors were suspended on half-pay for a period of five weeks.^[12] At the time of the strike, the series had aired all of the episodes that were completed before production halted.^[13] Several websites ran with rumors that NBC had canceled the series, but an NBC Universal Media Studios spokesperson told the press that the show had not been canceled and that production of the first season would continue when the WGA strike ended.^[14] Upon the resolution of the strike, an Associated Press story classified Bionic Woman as being "on the bubble", and predicted that the remaining episodes would not air until the fall of 2008, "if ever".^[15] NBC later published a report regarding initial series renewals, and no announcement was made regarding whether Bionic Woman would return in the fall. The report also indicated that despite the earlier statement by NBC Universal, production of the series' first season was considered to be concluded.^[16]

Main characters

• Michelle Ryan as Jaime Sommers – a bartender who is involved in a near fatal car accident and becomes the Bionic Woman.
• Miguel Ferrer as Jonas Bledsoe – a member of the Berkut Group who is responsible for Jaime and assigns her missions; the Oscar Goldman analog of the series (though his personality and ethics hew closer to that of Oliver Spencer, featured in the first Six Million Dollar Man pilot film, and who was replaced by the less-ruthless Goldman character for the remainder of that series and the original Bionic Woman).
• Molly Price as Ruth Truewell^[17] – Bledsoe's second in command.
• Will Yun Lee as Jae Kim – a specialized operations leader with the Berkut Group, and was romantically involved with Sarah Corvus.
• Lucy Hale as Becca Sommers – Jaime's teenage sister. In the unbroadcast pilot episode, the character was hearing impaired and was played by Mae Whitman, but the character was retooled and all scenes with the original actor were re-shot with the hearing impairment angle eliminated. Becca has no analog in the original series in which Jaime was an only child.
• Chris Bowers as Will Anthros – Jaime's boyfriend; he performs the operation that gives her the bionic implants, but is shot and killed by Sarah Corvus soon after. He is the analog of the original series' Dr. Rudy Wells, as well as Dr. Michael Marchetti who was a love interest for the original Jaime during her initial appearances on The Six Million Dollar Man (as well, as, superficially, Steve Austin who was Jaime's fiancée prior to her bionic operation).
• Mark Sheppard as Anthony Anthros – the father of Will Anthros and one of the original developers of the bionic implants. He escapes prison at the end of the first episode. He is a rough analog of Dr. Franklin, a villain who appeared in the "Kill Oscar" trilogy that crossed between both original series. Although intended to be a recurring character, the series left the air before he could return and further his story arc.

Recurring characters

• Katee Sackhoff as Sarah Corvus – the "first Bionic woman" and a nemesis of Jaime. Corvus' bionics are malfunctioning; she believes that Jaime's newer bionics may be the key to repairing hers. Jaime has mixed feelings about Corvus. The cancellation of the series left this character arc unresolved. The original series has no equivalent character, however The Six Million Dollar Man did feature Barney Hiller, a bionic-powered adversary similar to Corvus (an actual equivalent character similar to Corvus was created by Kevin Smith in his comic book reboot of The Six Million Dollar Man called The Bionic Man, named Avery Hull, a 'first Bionic man' who is now insane due to the nuclear fuel used to power his bionics running off into his brain-the nuclear fuel was supposed to be emptied properly, but in Hull's case, it wasn't.)
• Isaiah Washington as Antonio Pope – an advisor in the Bionics program described as an "outsider with a mysterious agenda" with the power to either help Jamie or bring her down.^[18][19] Pope is shot and killed by a former colleague at the end of the seventh episode. He is a rough analog of Chris Williams, Jaime's OSI mission partner, from the final season of the original series.
• Kevin Rankin as Nathan – one of the Bionic team members. He works as a technician and routinely monitors Jamie during her missions.
• Jordan Bridges as Tom – a member of the CIA and Jaime's new boyfriend.

Casting

The pilot starred Michelle Ryan, Miguel Ferrer, Molly Price, Will Yun Lee, and Mae Whitman. In June 2007, TV Guide reported that Mae Whitman was being replaced in the role of Jaime's sister. An NBC spokesperson confirmed this, stating, "The decision was purely creatively driven. It is very common to change storylines, characters, actors after the initial pilot is shot." The character, who was originally deaf, had her hearing restored when requested by an NBC executive.^{[citation needed]} Lucy Hale was later cast as Whitman's replacement in July 2007.^[20][21] In announcing the recasting, it was confirmed that the deaf trait of the character had been dropped.^[22] Instead, Hale's version of the character is depicted as a rebellious teen and budding computer hacker.

As Ryan is from England and naturally speaks with received pronunciation, she affects an American accent for her role as Sommers.^[23] One notable exception to this occurs in the episode "The Education of Jaime Sommers", when Jaime assumes the guise of a British exchange student, allowing Ryan to use a variation of her natural accent.

Katee Sackhoff was cast as Sarah Corvus, the first Bionic Woman, and her character subsequently appeared in four episodes of the series, in addition to the series pilot. Sackhoff has compared the role to that of Number Six, a character in Sackhoff's concurrent series, Battlestar Galactica.^[24][25] Sackhoff is joined by fellow Galactica co-stars Aaron Douglas as a prison guard appearing only in the series first episode, and Mark Sheppard as Will Anthros' father Anthony Anthros. Isaiah Washington appeared in five episodes of the series, making his first appearance in "Paradise Lost", the first post-pilot episode.^[18]

Bruce McGill was cast to play an as-yet-unnamed character who is a high ranking operative in the Bionics program.^[26] McGill's character had not yet appeared on the series by the time the WGA strike halted production.

Crew

David Eick, Laeta Kalogridis, Jason Smilovic and Michael Dinner originally served as executive producers and writers. Dinner also directed the pilot but exited his post as executive producer in June 2007.^[20] Glen Morgan, writer and producer on The X-Files, Space: Above and Beyond, and Millennium, joined the production team of Bionic Woman as an executive producer in May, only to leave four months later,^[20][27] citing creative differences.^[28] In September, Friday Night Lights executive producer Jason Katims joined the show as a consultant.^[28] Katims ran the writer's room until late October, when Sopranos veteran Jason Cahill was hired as the new showrunner.^[29]

Critical reception

The series met with a largely negative reception. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times wished that the episodes following the pilot were just as good as the pilot itself, and wanted Katee Sackhoff to play the lead role.^[48] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times felt that Bionic Woman was more about "fembot martial arts and slick Matrix-ish special effects" oriented toward young male viewers "[rather] than about character development".^[49]

Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle felt that the remake was "a lot darker than the campy original",^[50] but said that "trouble lies in the casting and the concept". Goodman thought that "Ryan seems too inert, not nearly aggressive enough for the role", and that even Sackhoff was "infinitely more likable as an antiheroine". He said that they either "got the wrong bionic woman", or "they need to let the bad bionic woman get a whole lot more screen time".^[51]

Michael Idato of The Age said that since the series had gone "through a series of writers and producers", it was "no surprise that what finally lands is a little messy". However he said that "despite some early uncertainty, Ryan becomes a likable Sommers, leaving only the show's dark tone and relentless pace as potential problems." He said that they were great for setting up the story, "but could become too much as the season progresses".^[52] Not all reviews were as optimistic; Michael Hinman of SyFy Portal referred to the show as "a disaster".^[36]

Australia ratings

The first episode rated 1.6 million viewers, making it the most-watched program of the night. Ratings began to dive with the third episode rating 1.2 million viewers. The fifth episode only rated one million viewers. Viewer numbers soon fell below one million.^[53] Sci Fi Australia picked up the show from Channel Seven - the first episode aired Friday, June 24, 2008, at 8:30 pm EST.