Michelle Ryan
And let's hope for her sake, it all nets out better than the short-lived NBC reboot did!
Michelle Ryan, who of course starred as EastEnders' Zoe before attempting to fill Jaime Sommers' shoes stateside, has been tapped to guest-star on a Doctor Who special premiering this spring on BBC One.
In the Easter special, which is (perhaps ironically?) titled "Planet of the Dead," Ryan will play ...
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Michelle Ryan by Mike Marsland/WireImage.com
Fans of Michelle Ryan (and we know you're out there), don't cry for the former Bionic Woman. She's already gone on to her next TV project — but you'll have to go to the U.K. or wait for its arrival on BBC America to catch it. The BBC reports that Ryan has returned to her Beeb roots and is currently filming Mr. Eleven, a two-part romantic comedy. Ryan plays a teacher who's determined to marry her 1lth lover. (It's a numbers thing.) Her lovers include Meet the Spartans' Sean Maguire, who also had an ill-fated fling with American TV in the CBS sitcom The Class. We expect Katee Sackhoff will not play a role. — Ileane Rudolph
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Michelle Ryan by Carole Segal/NBC
Will Bionic Woman, which before the WGA struck was hoping to reverse its fortunes with a two-part January "relaunch," ever get the chance to fine-tune its engine? Although there were earlier reports that not only had the NBC series exhausted its supply of scripted episodes but had been altogether scrapped, a spokesperson for NBC Universal Media Studios tells TVGuide.com, "Bionic Woman has not been canceled. Production was shut down due to the WGA strike. In addition, we have not completed the initial 13-episode order, which will be the first order of business when the strike ends." What's your take? Is Bionic Woman beyond repair? Me, I think they could kill off Jaime, somehow merge her memory circuits with Sarah's, and then set Corvus out to avenge her successor.
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Hello again faithful TVGuide.com fans! Joshua Green here, reporting for the most revamped show of the fall!The momentum that began with "The Education of Jaime Sommers" continues with the focus on Michelle Ryan's Jaime Sommers and her CIA pseudo boyfriend covertly known as Tom. Their chemistry continues to shine and prompts me to think that Jordan Bridges as Tom will soon become a series regular. Jordan's comedic chops help him stand out among the cast and allows the show to be almost — gasp — fun!I groaned when there was yet another dull training session between Jaime and Jae Kim. Granted, I usually whimper whenever Will Yun Lee is on the screen, but I absolutely detest these mundane training sequences. What have they actually accomplished? Jaime has been able to control her bionics solely because of her calm and self-control. Nevertheless, the training continues with tonight's episode but also serves for the reintroduction of Tom. All of a sudden this scene has a purpose...
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Question: I am shocked that in the many comments made about Bionic Woman, no one has mentioned the completely flat and robotic acting of lead Michelle Ryan. When I tuned in to the show to give it a try, I was completely turned off by Ryan's dismal performance. What could the producers and NBC have been thinking with that casting choice? One of the reasons Alias was such a critical and cult favorite was because of the fantastic lead performance of Jennifer Garner, who not only kicked butt, but also infused character Sydney Bristow with warmth, depth, intelligence and angst. Her multilayered performance "garnered" her several richly deserved Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and even a Globe win. Sadly, I would not predict the same for Ryan. Do you agree that her lack of both acting skills and charisma will contribute to the failure of Bionic Woman?
Answer: I hardly thought this was a big secret. Seems to me lots of the negative commentary about this show has focused on the dour,
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Michelle Ryan and Isaiah Washington in Bionic Woman by Carol Segal/NBC Photo
Jeers to Isaiah Washington for his tragically lethargic performance on Bionic Woman. The former Grey's Anatomy lightning rod was clearly brought onto NBC's sci-fi remake to generate controversy — and ratings — but he sucks the life out of every scene. As Antonio Pope, the trainer/guru of Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan, who's no party herself), he's adopted a too-cool-for-school acting style, mumbling his lines and only coming to life when he's kicking somebody's ass. Washington needs to take a cue from his Bionic cast mate Katee Sackhoff and amp up his energy level several notches. He should be better, stronger... and less boring.More Cheers & Jeers: Read and react to Bruce's opinions on Damages, Heroes, Housewives and Friday Night Lights, then share your own raves and rants about other shows on the new Reader Cheers & Jeers discussion board. Your comments could wind up in TV Guide magazine!
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Question: Thanks to a Showtime free preview weekend from my satellite provider, I was finally able to catch an episode of Dexter, the Season 2 opener. All I can say is: Really? I get the strength of the lead performance, and, being a former Buffy-ite, loved seeing Julie Benz doing something new. But I found the whole thing very inconsistent. The sets looked so fake and tacky, and some of the acting (Debra, Vince and especially Sgt. Doakes) seemed very amateur at times. All of this distracted from what I can see were some great story beats. Pulling up out of the sea crevasse to reveal the dozens and dozens of Dexter's dumping bags was pretty cool. I guess I'm surprised the series as a whole is getting as much acclaim given some of these production miscues. I felt the same way about Bionic Woman, which had the opposite problem: It looked great but felt awfully hollow. I thought most of the lead performances, especially Michelle Ryan's, felt more than a tad off. But Dexter gets the ...
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Well, if you agreed with last week's blog question about Jaime's boyfriend being "utterly meh" then you're probably not too sad to see him dead. But his passing — and that loose floorboard — gave her some guidance toward who he really was and what he was involved with.I don't blame her for trying to walk away from it all and return to her normal life under the radar. But when she was a little too strong for "Mr. Right Now" to have a good time, and the ringing in her ear was too hard to ignore, she had no other choice. Plus, saving that suicidal woman gave her a little bit of a high, huh?And with one trip to Jonas' office, she was suddenly a player in "The Game." Enter ex-Dr. Burke. Forget about whiny interns, this is a whole other ball game in terms of saving lives. Isaiah Washington definitely has the aura of a leader — as we saw on Grey's Anatomy — so I'm intrigued by his role as Jaime's supervisor. And order No. 1 was to start training.Her session with Jae was...
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Lucy Kate Hale, Michelle Ryan and Molly Price in Bionic Woman by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Photo
First, an important public-service announcement: Tonight on The War, we relive D-Day, a momentous turning point in military history brought to vivid life by those who lived through it, courtesy of Ken Burns' masterful way with documentary narrative. I know this is premiere week, and Wednesday is the most competitive night for new shows this season, but I wouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't remind everyone that this is TV you not only shouldn't miss, but it's an experience you'll never forget. (The reality, though, is that PBS is giving viewers multiple opportunities to see these episodes, and I can't think of a better gift DVD for holiday season.) Back to the network game, where only one of the nine new series being launched on Wednesdays is MIA: ABC’s marvelous Pushing Daisies, its premiere pushed back a week by the tsunami-like launch of Dancing with the Stars, which once again is turning out to be the ratings monster everyone expected. (And the men, by and large, had a bla...
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Jaimie Alexander and Matt Dallas, Kyle XY
Sorry, Kyle XY fans, but after tonight's episode (8 pm/ET, ABC Family), there won't be anything new from the test-tube teen and his crew until early 2008, when the last 10 episodes of Season 2 air. TVGuide.com caught up with star Matt Dallas shortly after his return to the Vancouver set from what he calls "a little three-week hiatus," to probe him for tidbits about the summer finale and next winter's plots. TVGuide.com: How has your summer been?Matt Dallas: I was at Comic-Con. It was great. You get to talk to the fans and you don't get any jerks, because people who waited in line for two hours love your show. They're the true fans.TVGuide.com: Did you get to meet other sci-fi stars?Dallas: Doing the TV Guide panel was awesome because I got to meet some great people, especially
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