The Bionic Woman
A bionic woman undertakes secret missions for the OSI.
The Bionic Woman is an American science fiction action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson, based on the 1972 novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, and starring Lindsay Wagner. It aired on ABC from January 14, 1976, to May 4, 1977, and later on NBC from September 10, 1977, to May 13, 1978. A spin-off from the 1970s Six Million Dollar Man series, the show centers on fictional Jaime Sommers, a professional tennis player who receives bionic implants and undertakes secret government missions.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Science fiction / Action-adventure / Drama / Superhero
- Runtime
- 49 minutes
- Based On
- Cyborg · Martin Caidin
- Creator
- Kenneth Johnson
- Starring
- Lindsay Wagner / Richard Anderson / Martin E. Brooks
- Theme Music Composer
- Jerry Fielding
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Camera
- Single-camera
- Company
- Universal Television
- Network
- ABC
- First Aired
- 1976-01-14
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The character Jaime Sommers first appears in a 1975 two-part episode of The Six Million Dollar Man titled 'The Bionic Woman'. In that story, Steve Austin rekindles his relationship with high school sweetheart Jaime Sommers, a top tennis player. During a skydiving date, her parachute malfunctions, causing severe injuries. Steve pleads with Oscar Goldman to save her life with bionic implants, and she is rebuilt with a bionic right ear, right arm, and both legs. After initially dying from bionic rejection, she is revived using cryogenic techniques and later suffers retrograde amnesia, never fully recovering the memory of the accident or her romantic feelings for Steve.
Reader's Guide
The Bionic Woman proved highly popular worldwide, gaining solid ratings in the United States and becoming the only science fiction program to achieve the No. 1 position in the ratings in the United Kingdom during the 20th century. The series ran for three seasons, first on ABC and then on NBC for its final season. Years after cancellation, three spin-off television movies were produced between 1987 and 1994. Reruns aired on Sci-Fi Channel from 1993 to 2001. A failed remake was produced in 2007. The show's creator set specific limits on the bionic abilities to maintain plausibility, such as being able to jump up two stories but not three.
Did You Know?
- Jaime Sommers' bionic ear allows her to hear at low volumes, various frequencies, and over long distances.
- Her bionic legs can propel her at speeds exceeding 60 miles per hour.
- A bionic dog named Max, introduced in season three, was originally intended for a spin-off series that was rejected by the network.
More in American television spinoffs 1-24
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