The Bionic Woman: Season 2

The Bionic Woman, the spin-off from the Six Million Dollar Man, which is also a CLASSIC, but The Bionic Woman really was a TV show that was unlike ANY other Television programs from the 1970's...it was WAAAYYY Ahead of it's time , almost future-istic because of the Science behind the Bionics, which were a combination of Biology and Electronics, except the electronics were fuled by Nuclear Power, giving the Bionic Woman and The Six Milllion Dollar Man special abilities. Each of them had reeived their Bionic Arm(s) legs, a left eye for the Six Million Dollar Man and a right ear for The Bionic Woman after they BOTH had life threatening accidents. They BOTH had super strength in their right arms, being able to lift over 500 + pounds with one arm, their legs allowed them to run 60 MPH or a bit faster if their lives were in jeopardy, jump up to 30 feet in the air... The Six Million Dollar Man's left eye allowed him to see things that were over a mile away as if they were only 5 feet away and The Bionic Woman's right ear allowed her to hear things that were a mile away as if they were standing right in front of her. When Lindsay Wagner accepted to spin-off series from the Six Million Dollar Man she only really had one condition, that she did not have to go around all the time beating up people, and instead try to reason with them to get what she was after, because other than her being a grade school teacher she also worked as an United States Special Agent ( a spy ) and she wanted to try to work things out like anyone would try to work things out, but if it got to the point to where it wasn't working and her life was in danger, then she had no choice but to resort using her Bionic abilities. I LOVED this show back in the mid 1970's, as well as The Six Million Dollar Man and I STILL love each show now, in re-runs on DVD's of course, each character sometimes would be a guest star on the other's TV show...it was really a great TV show and Lindsay Wagner received an EMMY for her portrayal of Jaime Sommers in The Bionic Woman !!! Watching it now-a-days you can tell when Jaime's Stunt Double took over and also the Bionic Special effect sounds were also very cool !!! I can remember all of us kids back then, in grade school, 6th grade for me I think, and we were all running around in slow motion because on the TV show they didn't speed up the film to make it seem as if she was running 60 mph, so they had her running 60 mph BUT in slow motion. Even though this TV show is over 35+ years old, to this day Bionics have become a reality, BUT not using Nuclear power, only using the person's Brain Waves to move their artificial arms and/or legs if that person had gotten into an accident and lost their arms and/or their legs, so Bionics ARE a reality BUT as I said, they are NOT the Nuclear-powered Bionics that were supposedly used in The Bionic Woman and The Six Million Dollar man !!! GREAT TV show, I highly recommend watching all 3 seasons of it !!! Lindsay Wagner was /is so beautiful, she was often compared to Farrah Fawcett - Majors back then especially because Lee Majors and Farrah Fawcett were married to each other at the time of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman...I think I read where they, the ABC Executives had wanted Farrah Fawcett-Majors to play The Bionic Woman part but she declined and it was given to Lindsay Wagner...and it was a GREAT choice !!!... BOTH The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman are available on DVD... :)

What else can be better than The Bionic Woman Season 1? Oh, but of course, it certainly would have to be The Bionic Woman; Season 2!! Coming off a very inpressive and convincing first season of The Bionic Woman, Lindsay Wagner returns for more high-octane high-speed supercharged action & adventure in Season 2, which was launched as part of the new fall line-up on September 22, 1976!! It contains all 22 explosive episodes of that season. Season 2 differs from Season 1, mainly because Season 1 features only 13 episodes, having debuted midseason as a replacement for a departing hour-long show in that timeslot. Perhaps the most notable thing about Season 2 is that there are at least 2 crossover episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, featuring Lee Majors as Colonel Steve Austun (The Return of Bigfoot Pts. 1 & 2 and Kill Oscar Pts. 1, 2 & 3), so that you don't miss a thing!! Wagner & Majors appeared in some of the episodes of both shows, working together and showing off their impressive acting talents! Plus there are a whole slew of a bonus featurette; "Bionic Blast" where Lindsay Wagner & the show's producer; Kenneth Johnson discuss the merchandising of the series, how the stunts were performed and who their favorite villans were. Also a gag reel and photo gallery are included. But just like fine wine, The Bionic Woman continues to get even better with age!!! This ground-breaking series was the result of it being brought back to life on prime-time TV by popular demand of the TV viewers who watched pro tennis player / school teacher Jamie Sommers die on the operating table in one of the episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man. That was going to be the last viewers would see of Jamie. CBS had responded immensely by having reserected the character from death, giving Lindsay her own show!! It was just as good to see a female cyborg do just about everything her very convincing counterpart male cyborg can do!! Battling thugs and throwing them 30 feet in the air, dispaching the bad guys, running in excess of 60mph, bending and twisting steel with her bare right hand, as well as kicking heavy steel doors right off their hinges and leaping to the tops of buildings with the greatest of ease are nothing to Jamie Sommers and seems like an everyday part of her assignments as an OSI special agent!! She is all business, as she handles all of her assignments given to her by her boss; Oscar Goldmen!! Season 2 featured a whole slew of famous guest stars, including Stephenie Powers (who was also The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.), Sandy Duncan, John Saxon (Enter the Dragon), Vincent Price and Julie Newmar. The set feature five discs with English subtitles and English mono sound (but I have an external stero speaker for the TV in the bedroom which gives enhanced stereo sound and a home theater system for the TV in the living room). I especially like the sound effects on the show - the electronic sound heard when Jamie starts to run, is running, about to punch someone's light out and the loud echoing thud when she hits someone or kicks open a steel door!!! Slow motion is added so that you can really see her in action when she does something bionic!! Wagner also impressively won her much-deserved Emmy Award as Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series-the 2-part episode of Deadly Ringer, beating out several other famous female stars in the same cetegory for their other drama series!! Here are the episodes in order as they appear on the discs; Disc 1; 1. The Return of Biigfoot Pt. 1 2. The Return of Biggfoot Pt 2. 3. In This Corner, Jamie Sommers. 4. Assault on the Princess. Disc 2. 5. Road to Nashville. 6. Kill Oscar Pt. 1. 7. Kill Oscar Pt. 2. 8. Kill Oscar Pt. 3. 10. Black Magic. Disc 3. 11. Sister Jamie. 12. The Vega Influence. 13. Jamie's Shield Pt. 1. 14. Jamie's Shield Pt. 2. 15. Biofeedback. Disc 4. 16. Doomsday is Tomorrow Pt. 1. 17. Doomsday is Tomorrow Pt. 2. 18. Deadly Ringer Pt. 1. 19. Deadly Ringer Pt. 2. 20. Jamie And The King. Disc 5. 21. Beyond the Call. 22. The DeJon Caper. 23. The Night Demon. 24. Iron Ships And Dead Men. 25. Once a Thief. It appears as though the episodes total 25, but some of them are two-part episodes, counting as one whole episode. CAUTION / UPDATE; Universal, greatly known for its whole slew of 1950's classic sci-fi movies such as The Deadly Mantis,Tarantula, The Mole People and others, as well as tons of TV shows, has brilliently worked with producers Kenneth Johnson and Harve Bennett to put together this magnificent story of a pro tennis player / school teacher who gets a top-secret surgery after a tragic sky diving accident to transform her into a miracle of modern technology!! Universal has posted an advisory, saying that some of the episodes , especially the 2-part one - Deadly Ringer, may have poor audio quality due to the fact that Universal couldn't find a proper master tape for that particular episode. But remember that this show was in production over 30 years ago, so it retains most of it's original orgins, even though Universal says from time to time that the episodes of the show were digitally remastered onto the DVD's. After the release of the 40-DVD all-100-episode package of The Six Million Doallar Man, it was also later decided that all three seasons of The Bionic Woman should also be released on DVD as well!! But in any case, the episodes should, for the most part, remain intact with no edited or censored scenes. Enjoy!! ~Daquan13.

It's hard for me to believe that this show was shot over 30 years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these episodes again after so many years, and was impressed with how well the special effects stood up over time. More importantly, I was reminded why Jaime Sommers was my hero growing up. I only wish that there were more shows like this today--shows with intelligent, funny, and compassionate characters who can inspire kids. Watching these episodes as an adult, I was also struck by Lindsay Wagner's incredible acting talents. She brought intensity, warmth, and humor to a heroine that could have been a one-dimensional bore. With respect to the issue re some inaudible dialogue at the beginning of the Deadly Ringer episode, it seems to me that folks are making a mountain out of molehill. Would I have preferred that the audio was perfect? Sure. But the nine-minute segment is mostly action and contains only a few minutes of actual dialogue, all of which can be heard at high volume, and all of which is available in the subtitles. I, for one, am thrilled that Universal Studios finally released the Bionic Woman on DVD, and hope that all the griping about a few minutes of bad audio on one episode out of twenty-four doesn't dissuade Universal from releasing season three. Bring on the Fembots in Las Vegas :)

OK, so finally after 30 something years of waiting for the US release of this collection (remember there was never even a VHS release), Universal finally delivers the American version! And of course BW Season 2 is AMAZING. But how is it possible Universal technicians couldn't have done a quality control check to make sure the audio was corrected on Deadly Ringer-pt 1? It's blasphemous. But can I rate this collection less than 5 stars? Of course not, because I am rating the actual shows and extras. If I was rating the quality of the transfer I would give a 2 star overall even if only Deadly Ringer suffered. Universal issued a statement saying the master is like that OR it is due to the passage of time. That's because they don't know--no one probably went back to confirm either excuse!!!!!!!! It's absolutely ridiculous. In 2011 they can't have a technician fix this probably very simple issue? They are allowing everyone to mail back the product for a refund...but then we are left with no Season 2, because at this point it doesn't sound like they are going to do ANYTHING to correct the problem. I give Universal zero stars, but Lindsay Wagner as Bionic Woman will always get 5 stars. UPDATE: July 30, 2011 Just got the updated Disc 4 from Universal so all is right with the world! I would like to know if Universal is only selling boxed sets with the corrected version (and Amazon for that matter!)

This one season is, in my opinion, the best ever! My DVD set is obviously the fixed version. I remember consumers were complaining about the episode "Deadly Ringer Part 1" with the muffled audio in the first 9:33 minutes. I noticed no such problem with my copy. As I write this, I am watching that particular episode. No problems at all. I enjoyed the Bigfoot episodes and the three part "Kill Oscar" episodes as well. I remember these from when they first aired back in the 70s. Brings back memories!! I did notice that the intro on one episode did have a muffled sound. I think it was the second part of the Bigfoot episodes. It wasn't that distracting because as soon as the actual show began, the sound was perfect! I can't complain. The episode "Black Magic" was awesome because I have always been a Vincent Price fan. Mr. Price and Lindsey Wagner showed great chemistry in that episode. To put it plain, if you love this show, get this DVD!! You won't regret it!

THE BIONIC WOMAN SEASON 2 DVD SET was marred with production problems and so it's hard for me to give it any higher than 4-stars. Although Universal did offer buyers a replacement disc (after fans created an uproar on the internet and pointed out that there were in fact clean audio tapes in existence for the particular episode) if you sent in the old one, there are still some slight audio issues on other episodes. The audio problems aren't really bad enough to interfere with viewing pleasure, but they are noticeable. Thankfully, they only exist on a few episodes and only in a couple of spots, never running for the entire length of the show. On episode #3 on DVD 5, "The Night Demon," the audio was muffled for about 8-minutes, not so bad that you couldn't hear what was being said, but it's noticeable. Other reviewers pointed out that there's some muffled audio on "Doomsday Is Tomorrow," I couldn't tell, but maybe on repeat viewings. The episode in question where the audio was really bad was on "Deadly Ringer," but I sent in for the replacement before I watched it, thanks to the heads up I got from other Amazon reviewers, so I don't know how bad the audio was and won't comment on it here. Universal's first response was to claim that this was the only version that it had and therefore could not be helped, but after many fans of the show pointed out that this was not the case, the studio went in and corrected the audio, repressed the DVD, and offered buyers a replacement. I'm sure fans wouldn't have been so upset if there hadn't been a clean audio version in existence, such as the UK PAL DVDs or the episodes that were available on HULU, but there you have it. Also, there was never any indication that this was a less than stellar release when buying the set, so buyers had no idea of what they were getting. At least Universal stepped up to try and fix it. Picture quality is fine, however. Anyway, because of those issues I gave this DVD set a very generous 4-stars. ***** EXTRAS ****** * Commentaries creator/director/writer Kenneth Johnson and actress Lindsay Wagner on some episodes * "Six Million Dollar Man" crossover episodes * Photo gallery * "Bionic Blast" -- 11:30-minute featurette This is a fun featurette that shows many present day interviews with directors Kenneth Johnson, Alan J. Levi, stunt woman Rita Egleston, Wagner stunt double Inge Rosenberg, stunt coordinator Vince Deadrick, Jr., actors Richard Anderson "Oscar Goldman," Martin E. Brooks "Rudy Wells," and Robbie Rist "Andrew" (student from season 1). This featurette also shows the toys and merchandise that went along with the series like dolls and lunch boxes. Anyway, despite the shoddy DVD production of the BIONIC WOMAN SEASON 2, the series itself is still fun to watch and I am constantly amazed at the show's high quality production value. I don't know if Universal has pulled the original run of the DVD set with the bad audio on DVD #4, so I can't comment on that, but if you do have audio issues on "Deadly Ringer," episode #3 on DVD 4, look at the forum below to get a replacement DVD.

Going to get all of the seasons for both Bionic Woman and 6-Million Dollar Man (when they are all available). I would have liked to get them as a box set, but the distributor has seen fit to (SLOWLY) release them 1-by-1. The first BW:Season Two Amazon sent had a scratched disc, but Amazon's great return policy had a new one in my hands in about 7 business days. Make sure that when you get a mulitple-disc season of DVDs that you test each disc (I copy them to my hard drive, using DVDFab) so that your warranty/return policy does not run out on you while you aare watching the programs. On with my review... Season two is great, just like the first one. For those of us that grew up in the 70's as a kid, this was as high-tech as things got back then. Personal computers/laptops were just dreams and the rich kids on the block may have had Pong hooked up to their TV. Great writing, great humor, and (as always), Lindsay Wagner was simply beautiful through it all. This set contains all of the episodes of the second season, including a cross-over episode from the 6-Million Dollar Man. Great bonus extras and interviews!

It's seems to be a common theme with the bad disc/episode transfer. I don't believe Universal's response; I have this season 2 set from overseas and it's PERFECT. Very disappointing for a true fan!!!!! UPDATE: On July 2, 2011, I received an email from UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT, Consumer Relations, stating the following: To: Owners of "The Bionic Woman," Season 2: "The initial release of "The Bionic Woman Season 2" was issued with the best audio elements that the studio had available at the time, which included noticeably imperfect audio from the episode "Deadly Ringer." Constructive feedback and suggestions since provided from fans has led to the uncovering of additional source material to improve the audio on this specific episode. If you would like a replacement for Disc #4, please let us know your U.S. or Canadian mailing address and we will send a postage paid envelope for the return of your oridinal disc. Please allow 4 - 6 weeks from the time you send the original disc to receive the replacement. Thank you." I will be sending mine back! I'm glad they are making it right!!!!! Good job to all of those who sent them emails!!! THANKS!!!