I watched the premiere of the remade Bionic Woman last night. I haven’t been getting my fill of kick-butt women on TV since Alias went off the air. It was fun in an escapist sort of way, and I will probably tune in again. Interestingly, the 2007 version of Jamie Sommers is also a parental figure, acting as guardian to her teenage sister, Becca. Becca says to her in an early scene “You’re not a real mom,” hinting at a relationship complicated by more than the fact that her sister will soon be able to outrun her entire high school track team. Let’s hear it for another depiction of a non-traditional family—one of the 75% that don’t consist of a married, opposite-sex couple living with their own children. It doesn’t take much stretch of the dramatic imagination to guess that Becca will use her computing skills to help Jaime at some point, and that Jaime will have to rescue Becca from the baddies later on. Blood—or nanomachinery—is thicker than water, even if the two of them don’t get along.
I got to thinking, though. What if a mother really did have bionic powers? She’d never have trouble hauling one of those SUV-like strollers out of her car, or carrying a 50-pound diaper bag around the mall. She’d be able to spot a lost teddy bear across the playground with her bionic eye, and use her supercharged ear to hear her teen’s plans for skipping school. She’d be a little intimidating as a soccer coach, but she’d be the one you’d ask to dash to the supermarket when you run out of ketchup at the school picnic.
How would you use bionic powers as a parent (or guardian)?
(You can view the full pilot episode free at NBC.com. After Ellen has a further debriefing.)