Bionic Woman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Bionic Woman |
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Opening credits screenshot
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| Genre | Science fiction Action-adventure Drama Superhero |
| Created by | Kenneth Johnson |
| Based on | Cyborg by Martin Caidin |
| Starring | Lindsay Wagner Richard Anderson Martin E. Brooks |
| Theme music composer | Jerry Fielding |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 58 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 48 minutes |
| Production company(s) | MCA/Universal in association with Harve Bennett Productions |
| Distributor | MCA TV (1978-1979) NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC (1976–77) NBC (1977–78) CBS |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | January 14, 1976 – May 13, 1978 |
The Bionic Woman is an American science fiction action series. It stars Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers. The show aired from 1976 to 1978.
Jaime Sommers is a special agent who uses her amazing bionic powers. She goes on dangerous government missions. This series is a spin-off from another popular 1970s show, The Six Million Dollar Man.
In the show, Jaime Sommers is a professional tennis player. She gets seriously hurt in a skydiving accident. Oscar Goldman and Dr. Rudy Wells save her life. They give her special bionic body parts. These are similar to those of Steve Austin from The Six Million Dollar Man.
Jaime gets an amazing bionic ear. It lets her hear very quiet sounds and sounds from far away. She also has super strength in her bionic right arm. Her bionic legs let her run faster than 60 miles per hour! After her recovery, Jaime works as a secret agent for the government. Her cover job is a school teacher for middle school students.
The Bionic Woman was very popular around the world. It had high ratings in the US and especially in the UK. The show ran for three seasons. It started on the ABC network and then moved to NBC. Years later, three TV movies were made. Reruns of the show also aired on the Sci-Fi Channel. A new version of the series was made in 2007.
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How Jaime Became The Bionic Woman
Jaime Sommers first appeared in a two-part episode of The Six Million Dollar Man in 1975. In that story, Steve Austin goes back to his hometown of Ojai, California. He meets Jaime Sommers again, who is now a top tennis player. They fall in love, and Steve asks Jaime to marry him.
One day, Steve and Jaime go skydiving. Jaime's parachute doesn't open correctly. She falls to the ground and gets very badly hurt. Steve asks his boss, Oscar Goldman, to save Jaime. He wants her to get bionic parts, just like his. Oscar agrees, and Dr. Rudy Wells helps rebuild her.
Jaime's body is rebuilt with bionic parts. She gets two bionic legs that let her run over 60 miles per hour. She can also jump very high. Her right arm is replaced with a bionic one. It is strong enough to bend steel or throw things very far. Instead of a bionic eye like Steve, Jaime gets a bionic ear. It gives her super hearing, letting her hear almost any sound. These bionic parts look just like normal body parts.
After her operation, Jaime recovers. She agrees to go on a mission for Oscar. But during the mission, her bionics start to malfunction. She gets terrible headaches. Doctors find a problem in her brain. Jaime becomes very ill and her body stops working. She seems to pass away.
But Jaime's character was so loved that the TV network wanted her back! In the next season, it was revealed that Jaime did not die. Steve didn't know this at first. He finds out when he is in the hospital and sees her.
Dr. Wells' assistant used a new method to save Jaime. They kept her in suspended animation until they could fix her brain. When she woke up, she had lost her memory. She couldn't remember Steve or their past together. Trying to remember caused her pain. Steve sadly lets her go on with her new life as a secret agent. But they often work together and become good friends again.
Jaime stops playing tennis and becomes a schoolteacher. She lives on a ranch owned by Steve's family. They know about her bionic parts and her secret agent life.
The Bionic Dog
In the third season, Jaime meets Max, a German Shepherd dog. Max also has bionic parts! He has a bionic jaw and legs that let him run up to 90 miles per hour. Max's bionics were even older than Steve's and Jaime's. He was a lab animal used to test early bionic parts. His bionics cost "a million" dollars, so he was named "Maximillion."
When Jaime first met Max, he was having problems with his bionics. Doctors thought he might need to be put to sleep. But Jaime found out his problem was not physical. It was because of a scary fire he was in as a puppy. With Jaime's help, Max got better. He went to live with her and helped her on many adventures.
Bionic TV Movies
Years after the TV series ended, three special TV movies were made. These movies showed more adventures of the "bionic family." They also explored the love story between Jaime and Steve.
- In the first movie, The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987), Jaime and Steve meet again after almost ten years. Jaime's memory comes back fully. She also helps train Steve's son, Michael, who gets his own new bionic parts.
- The second movie, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989), introduced a new bionic woman named Kate Mason. She was played by Sandra Bullock. Jaime helps train Kate, who is a paraplegic and gets next-generation bionics.
- In the final movie, Bionic Ever After? (1994), a computer virus affects Jaime's bionic systems. Dr. Wells says she might not be bionic anymore. But Steve just wants her to be alive. Jaime gets a big upgrade to her bionics, which makes them even stronger and gives her night vision. Finally, after many years, the bionic couple gets married!
Bionic Merchandise and Comics
Just like The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman had its own toys and other items.
- Kenner made a 12-inch doll of Jaime. It had bionic parts that could be removed. The doll's head would click when turned, like Jaime's bionic ear.
- You could also buy extra clothes for the doll and a Bionic Beauty Salon playset.
- There was a metal lunchbox for kids.
- A vinyl story record was made by Wonderland Records.
- Kenner also made stickers and temporary tattoos of Jaime.
A board game based on The Bionic Woman was also created. It was sold by Parker Brothers. It was for 2-4 players and for kids aged 7 to 12.
In 2016, a new comic book series was announced. It was called Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman. This comic brought together Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman and Lindsay Wagner's Bionic Woman. It was a cool intercompany crossover of two famous 1970s superheroines.
