"Do Not Disturb"
My time with
Bionic Woman has become an equivalent of an educational experience. I take my television shows very seriously and only watch programs that offer me characters with whom I can sympathize. And since Jaime is the
only character with any real depth, I would have normally given up on this show after watching just the pilot. But due to my duties as a TV GUIDE blogger, BW offers me the chance to better understand how a flawed show constantly attempts to better itself. BW is a vastly improved product from it's less than auspicious debut, but it has also lost more than half of its original viewers. "Do Not Disturb" is BW's last original episode that was completed before the inopportune* WGA strike. With NBC striving to reclaim the ratings dominance it once held, they might decide that BW is a show that is not worth reviving. So for what might be the last time, let me present my views on "Do Not Disturb."
Why does the "Previously On" segment in the beginning of every episode always specifically focus just on the previous episode? Most programs that utilize this device include segments from every possible episode, so the audience acclimates more easily to the show's premise. BW is depriving itself of the simplest method to get a greater number of viewers that it so desperately needs.
Jonas notices that Jaime needs a break from the emotional rigors of work, so he orders her to go on a vacation. But this is not just any holiday, as he gives this poor girl a "simple" task of giving hit information to a nerdy assassin. Btw, why does BW always portray extremely weird and creepy looking characters on this show? Primary examples of this are Nathan and Ruth, whose humor is derived from their personal paranoia's. Anyway, I did snicker when the similarly skeezy assassin performed the narration from the opening credits of
The A-Team. Is it bad that I knew all the words myself?
"Do Not Disturb" ended up being one of BW's better efforts, coming off last week's disastrous episode. Pushing Jonas to the forefront, alongside Jaime, was a long time coming for the character. I liked seeing Nathan getting involved in field work, and especially enjoyed seeing some explanation for his many neuroses. Characterizations aside, the special effects team needs to come up with a better way to give Jaime's bionics a more visual appeal. Slow motion just doesn't cut it these days.
*When I say that the strike is inopportune, I mean that solely for the creators trying to improve BW. Viva la strike! - Joshua Green
