La donna bionica

Even now, from over 20 years distance from "the bionic woman" - she is still quite an example for women heroines in the entire Television history. She is beautiful, witty, brave and non-compromising - a lot thanks to Lindsay Wagner which performed her roll in such an elegant way. Jaime was one of the first women in television, to be shown as more then just another pretty face - at first, as a sidekick for the six million dollars man but soon enough, in behalf of herself. To bad the series didn't last longer - there was a lot of potential - the series combined both action and drama, and even humor now and then. Jaime always encountered intriguing and complex situations, and always handled them very well. All and all, I think that what made Jaime so special was the fact that bionic or not - she was human, very human and emotional but one of a strong character.

I absolutely adored this TV series, which unfortunately I've not been able to find in recent years on re runs. For me it was much more entertaining than its predecessor, The Six Million Dollar Man, possibly because being female, I identified more with its heroine. Also, I agree with another comment made that Steve Austin (Six Million Dollar Man) is more a comic book figure, while Jamie is a real multi dimensional person.

The series revolves around a lovely young lady, Jamie Sommers, who suffers severe injuries in an airplane crash and is then rebuilt with bionic legs, one arm, and an ear. This first female cyborg is then sent undercover on spy missions by the Office of Scientific Investigations (OSI), using a high school teacher front as her cover.

Lindsay Wagner is simply perfect here, charming and endearing as Jamie Sommers. Jamie's bionic colleague, Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors) occasionally joins her on missions. However, the other star I recall best from the series is Max, the wonderful bionic German Shepherd and her frequent companion.

Jamie uses her special bionic speed, strength, and hearing in each episode to hunt down assorted spies and mad scientists. The episodes feature lots of action adventure and surely one of the most appealing heroines in television history. Jamie is beautiful, intelligent, affable, and compassionate...vulnerable in a sense (despite her powers) but strong and resourceful. Her strength is not simply bionic but strength of character. She would make a wonderful role model for modern young female viewers. In the intervening decades, television has never come up with a female action adventure star to equal her.

Even though I was a huge fan of "The Six Million Dollar Man", I was also a fan of this show. The main thing I liked about the series was that while Steve Austin was more or less a comic book character come to life, Jaimie Sommers was more of a real person. Jaimie had more of a private life and she still had time to enjoy that life. Also, you could see she was more vulnerable and was not afraid to show her softer side. You could also see that she had her self doubts about her job, which also made her a more endearing characacter. Also, this had some more comic elements to it and that's what helped to distinguish it from the show from which it was spun off from.

All I can say is I love Lindsay Wagner! She was my favorite actress as a child and The Bionic Woman was my favorite TV show of all time! I would rush home after school so that I could see her battle it out with Steve Austin against the evil Fembots! When Stephanie Powers starred in "The Return Of Bigfoot" well, all I can say is "did it get any better?" As I watch the show now, it's still fun to see the super-human strength Jamie had as she went undercover for many a mission for the OSI. As cheesy as the "special effects" look now, you have to admit they were pretty cool in their day and made the show a lot of fun, especially the series when Jamie & Steve were surrounded by the evil and powerful FEMBOTS! To all the shows creators, producers and directors I applaud you for a job very well done! Lindsay, if you ever read this, I love your causes and your efforts and the fact that you will always be my heroine! PS: If anyone would like to exchange emails, drop me a line sometime! Martin Gatin, Calgary Alberta, Canada. Email: mlgatin@shaw.ca PSS: If anyone has any screen shots taken from the TV show's introduction I could add to my collection I would very much appreciate it!

Even in this day & age The Bionic Woman is a spectacular show. Jamie is a tennis player who goes skydiving with boyfriend Steve (The Six Million Dollar Man)...The adventure turns to disaster when Jamie plunges to the ground. Steve convinces the OSI (place of employment) to give Jamie Bionic legs, arm, & ear. She learns to use her super strength, super speed, & super hearing to go to work for the OSI. The Six Million Dollar Man was an excellent show as well, but, The Bionic Woman is the one to watch. There were a few follow-up's to both shows including "The Return Of The Six Million Dollar Man & The Bionic Woman", "The Bionic Showdown", & "Bionic Ever After". The shows rarely air, so if you get the chance, without a doubt, watch them! 1-10 Bionic Woman(10)...Six Million(9+)...Return of(8)...Showdown(9)...Ever After(6)