Guest Author - Danielle Bruno

Move over, Lindsay Wagner, there's a new Jaime Sommers in town. Bionic Woman premieres Wednesday, September 26 at 9pm (EST) on NBC. Creator David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) may not have a bionic arm, but he does have some amazing ideas up his sleeve to reinvent the classic show. British beauty Michelle Ryan (EastEnders, Jekyll) breathes new life into the title character, along with cast mates Miguel Ferrer (Twin Peaks), Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), Will Yun Lee (Elektra), Chris Bowers, and Molly Price.

Jaime Sommers first appeared on the ever-popular show, The Six Million Dollar Man. Steve Austin and tennis pro Jaime were former flames who discovered there was still a spark between them. Nothing says romance like a skydiving trip, but their adventure soon turned to disaster, as a glitch in her parachute sent Jaime into a near-death nose dive. In desperation, Steve turned his broken beloved over to his boss, the head of the Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI), and Jaime was rebuilt by the bionics team.

With no Steve Austin on the air in nearly thirty years, the creative team of Bionic Woman had to create a new history for Jaime, with a modern twist. Jaime turns in her racquet for a bottle and some limes – bartending by night to help support the orphaned sister, played by Lucy Hale (American Juniors, Drake & Josh), left in her care. In a cruel twist of fate, she is nearly killed in a terrible car accident. When she regains consciousness, she discovers that her boyfriend Will, a physician, has performed a special operation to save her life.

Like the original, Jaime discovers she has extraordinary power, speed and strength. Thrust into a world of intrigue that is unfamiliar and unexpected, the new Jaime struggles with an array of issues as she learns to adjust to her new body and new life. For all our fascination with technology, would we really want to give up what makes us human to become machine? Bionic Woman examines that question through the eyes of a heroine who is simultaneously tough and tender.

Viewers will instantly recognize the modernization of some of the show’s best-loved signature devices, especially the familiar bionic sound effect, thatk kept The Bionic Woman on the air for two glorious years. Since the first rumblings of a Bionic Woman remake in 2002, with Jennifer Aniston as the proposed lead, producer David Eick and his team have pulled out all the stops to rework the original concept into an action-packed sci-fi hit series.

Could Bionic Woman give us the next great female action hero, since the departure of Alias' Sydney Bristow? I think so. I'll be tuning in to NBC on Wednesdays at 9 PM (EST) to find out!