TV reviews: ‘Reaper,’ ‘Bionic Woman’
“Reaper” (Tuesdays, The CW): The buzz surrounding this supernatural action comedy is true: It’s a winner. The premise is that a slacker’s parents sold his soul to the devil, payable when he turns 21, and now that the day has arrived, the devil has him on bounty-hunter duty, retrieving escaped demons and sending them back to hell. The first episode was much funnier than I expected; the emphasis seems to be comedy over action, which is fine with me. The devil is played with obvious glee by Ray Wise (Leland Palmer from “Twin Peaks”), and the hero is Bret Harrison, last seen in Fox’s prematurely canceled “The Loop.” They’re both strong, capable comic actors, and if the writing stays fresh like this, the show should be a hit. TiVo verdict: Hell yeah.
“Bionic Woman” (Wednesdays, NBC): And then there’s this piece of crap. An update of the ’70s series about a woman who gets some super-powered body parts, this version got off to a lazy start with a bland pilot. The top-secret government operation’s previous bionic woman, now gone rogue, pursues and fights with the new one — but no reason is given for her hatred of the new girl. (If anything, she should be going after the people who made her.) The new girl herself, Jamie, is played by an uncharismatic actress named Michelle Ryan, and she gives the character no personality whatsoever. Nothing about the first episode made me interested in watching it ever again. There just wasn’t anything to it. TiVo verdict: I have a bionic “delete this program now” thumb.
September 28th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
I really liked “Reaper.” It was a funnier and more clever than I expected it to be.
September 29th, 2007 at 6:09 am
These were exactly the same reactions I had to these shows. Reaper was great. Bionic Woman was overly dramatic, boring, and non-memorable.
September 29th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Well, I guess I’ll be the one to disagree: I sorta hated Reaper. It’s great when the Devil is onscreen, but as soon as he disappears, so does my interest.
October 1st, 2007 at 10:27 am
Leland Parlmer plays the Devil is the only thing I need to hear in a recommendation. I’ll be watching that show now. As for Bionic woman, I should have known that when all my co-workers say it’s great that it’s to be avoided.
October 1st, 2007 at 8:32 pm
I didn’t care too much for the Bionic Woman, but I really liked the show that came on after it, Life.
October 4th, 2007 at 6:09 am
I think you were maybe not paying attention in Bionic Woman, as you missed that the first one was going after the new one’s surgeon/professor/dork boyfriend, not her. (And she succeeded in killing him.) Anyway, I like it, because a female protagonist on television is rare and there should be more of them. Last night’s episode was pretty interesting. I heard that the pilot was a beat for beat re-do of the old one, so that could be part of why it fell flat.