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99-423: Wagner starred as professional tennis player Jaime Sommers , who becomes critically injured during a skydiving accident. Jaime's life is saved by Oscar Goldman ( Richard Anderson ) and Dr. Rudy Wells ( Alan Oppenheimer , Martin E. Brooks ) with bionic surgical implants similar to those of The Six Million Dollar Man Steve Austin ( Lee Majors ). Through the use of cybernetic implants, known as bionics, Jaime

198-475: A "somatic death" occurs while muscles die over one to two hours following this last condition. It has been possible to obtain a successful resuscitation and recover life in some instances, including after anaesthesia, heat stroke, electrocution, narcotic poisoning, heart attack or cardiac arrest, shock, newborn infants, cerebral concussion, or cholera. Supposedly, in suspended animation, a person technically would not die, as long as he or she were able to preserve

297-457: A 12-inch doll of the character, with similar features to the Steve Austin version (bionic modules and removable bionic limbs), except instead of a bionic eye the doll's head would click when turned, simulating the sound of Jaime's bionic ear. Accessories for the doll released by Kenner included additional fashions, and a Bionic Beauty Salon playset. A metal lunchbox for children was available, as

396-434: A barn located on the ranch owned by Steve's mother and stepfather, both of whom are aware of Steve and Jaime's bionic implants and their lives as secret agents. Season three opened with the two-part episode "The Bionic Dog", in which Jaime discovers Max (short for Maximillion), a German Shepherd dog that has been given a bionic jaw and legs and can run at speeds up to 90 mph. His bionics pre-date Steve's and Jamie's, as he

495-612: A bionic eye she has a bionic ear. Jaime's legs are capable of propelling her at speeds exceeding 60 miles per hour (having been clocked at more than 62 mph in "Doomsday Is Tomorrow" and outpacing a race car going 100 mph in "Winning is Everything") and jumping to and from great heights. Her right arm is capable of bending steel or throwing objects great distances. Her right ear gives her amplified hearing such that she can detect most sounds regardless of volume or frequency. These bionic implants cannot be distinguished from natural body parts, except on occasions where they sustain damage and

594-459: A bomb from which she could escape with ease once she woke up. However, on one occasion she was handcuffed to a friend, so she could not use her bionic strength to escape as this would pull off the friend's hand. Jaime dealt with a number of bizarre cases, such as a villain who operates a hair salon using a "truth serum" shampoo to extract information from OSI agents. In another episode, a convict named Lisa Galloway (also portrayed by Lindsay Wagner )

693-416: A colour comic strip between 1976 and 1979, written by Angus P. Allan and drawn by artists including John Bolton and Arthur Ranson . The character was also to have appeared in a 1996 comic miniseries entitled Bionix by Maximum Press . Although the magazine was advertised in comic book trade publications, it was ultimately never published. The French comic magazine Télé-Junior published strips based on

792-405: A doctor. She moves to Washington, DC , and establishes a family-counseling practice. Her experience with the government and her top secret clearance also open the door for her to help government agents. A computer virus, however, corrupts Jaime's bionic systems. Dr. Wells informs Steve that "she may never be bionic again", but Steve's main concern is he wants her alive above all else. She undergoes

891-403: A helpful ally and a good friend from the moment of her resurrection. She is frequently in and around Rudy's lab, and generally more enthusiastic about the research obligations of being a virtually unique specimen. As her experience in the field develops, Jaime herself becomes increasingly self-assured. Her personality is more mercurial than Steve's, at once quick-witted and morally serious. After

990-536: A listing in a TV-DVD release guide sent to retailers, a mention in an otherwise unrelated studio press release, and as a trailer included on a DVD given away through retail chain Best Buy. However, that release never happened due to rights issues which prevented both The Bionic Woman and The Six Million Dollar Man from being released on DVD in North America at that time. In April 2010, creator Kenneth Johnson said that

1089-440: A major upgrade, which not only increases the power of her bionics but gives her night vision. Finally, after many years, the bionic couple get married. Jerry Fielding was the regular composer for the series and wrote its opening and closing themes. His friend Joe Harnell took over regular music duties midway through season one and wrote new opening and closing themes for season two. When Fielding expressed disappointment at this,

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1188-443: A major upgrade, which not only increases the power of her bionics, but also gives her night vision. On September 4, 1994, Dr. Jaime Sommers and Col. Steve Austin marry. At the ceremony, Rudy Wells gives Jaime away, and Oscar is Steve's best man. Unlike Steve Austin, Jaime Sommers did not appear in the 1972 novel Cyborg , the original story which started the first series. She was entirely a television invention of Kenneth Johnson ,

1287-443: A mission for Oscar despite Steve's concerns. During the mission her bionics malfunction, and she experiences severe and crippling headaches. Dr. Wells determines that Jaime's body is rejecting her bionic implants and a massive cerebral clot is causing her headaches and malfunctions. Soon after, Jaime goes berserk and forces her way out of the hospital. Steve pursues and catches her, and she collapses in his arms. Soon after, Jaime dies on

1386-421: A mission immediately after her bionic implant operation, using her as an agent before she was really ready. After her rebirth, he is loath to make the same mistake, since, after all, she had died from bionic rejection. Even when resurrected, her memory was not intact. Had she been a regular, non-bionic field agent, her mental issues would have disqualified her from being an agent. As Jaime and Oscar grow to form

1485-433: A new character, Chris Williams ( Christopher Stone ), as a recurring love interest for Jaime. This was due in part to the change of networks, which prevented further crossovers by Jaime's former love interest, Steve Austin; however, in a situation still considered unique, Anderson and Brooks continued to play their roles in both series, despite the network differential. The series proved popular worldwide, particularly so in

1584-435: A number of reasons, such as saving the lives of seriously ill or injured people by temporarily putting them in a state of hibernation until treatment can be given. The primary focus of research for human hibernation is to reach a state of torpor , defined as a gradual physiological inhibition to reduce oxygen demand and obtain energy conservation by hypometabolic behaviors altering biochemical processes. In previous studies, it

1683-510: A professional tennis player. By 1975, she had won many major tournaments and was ranked among the top-five female tennis players in the world. According to the pilot, "Welcome Home, Jaime", she has both beaten and been beaten by the real-life tennis stars Billie Jean King and Chris Evert . On a visit home to Ojai, Jaime is reunited with Steve Austin (now a colonel and former astronaut). With some matchmaking from Steve's mother, Jaime and Steve's relationship quickly blossoms, but their happiness

1782-509: A singer, and a professional wrestler. Her tennis background also came into play occasionally, and she was also from time to time seen having adventures with some of her students in Ojai. As with spy shows at this time, Jaime was frequently kidnapped (more often than not with the use of chloroform or a drugged drink) and placed in dangerous situations from which she would need her bionic abilities to escape. Typically, she would be bound or handcuffed to

1881-610: A story about Dynamite Entertainment . In it, best-selling author Andy Mangels was revealed to be writing a prestigious new intercompany crossover mini-series for the company, in conjunction with DC Comics : Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman , bringing together the Lynda Carter television character with Lindsay Wagner 's fellow 1970s television super-heroine. The series was released in December 2016. A crossover comic book series with Charlie's Angels titled, Charlie's Angels vs.

1980-485: A successful surgery to restore her memory — she remembers everything except her love for Steve and the skydiving accident that led to her bionics. When they meet again, she tells Steve that they can start again with friendship and that it can be a whole new beginning for them. Steve agrees. Jaime retires as a tennis player and takes a job as a schoolteacher at an Air Force base in Ojai, California . She lives in an apartment over

2079-466: A therapist and as someone who faced the same challenges. In 2004, the character was listed in Bravo 's 100 Greatest TV Characters . AOL named her one of the 100 Most Memorable Female TV Characters. According to the opening credits of The Bionic Woman , the cost of Jaime Sommers' bionic implants was classified information . This lack of specificity has sparked frequent debates among fans as to whether it

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2178-568: A therapist at the Los Angeles Rehabilitation Center. In 1987, after nearly 10 years with no contact, Jaime unexpectedly reunites with Steve Austin. Steve had left the OSI and had been enjoying life away from the government by running a charter boat. They meet in a restaurant where Steve was meeting his estranged son. Trying desperately to avoid being seen by him, she nevertheless is confronted by Steve, who finds himself being thrown through

2277-469: A three-part story arc entitled "Kill Oscar" that aired the first and third parts as Bionic Woman episodes and the second part as an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man . The close connection between The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman was highlighted by the fact that Richard Anderson and Martin E. Brooks played their same characters on two television shows (eventually) running concurrently on two networks. On her own, Jaime's enemies include

2376-443: A tin, Rudy says, "Make way for my six-million-dollar can opener". In February 2016, Lindsay Wagner clarified in an interview with Headlines and Global News why the series that made her a star, unlike her "Six Million Dollar" counterpart, never revealed the final cost of The Bionic Woman . "That was a whole political thing wasn't it?" Wagner says. "She [Jaime] couldn't cost more than the man! They were going to make it more, but there

2475-416: A top-secret procedure—bionic replacement. Steve knows it is the only way to save Jaime, because the government performed the same experimental operation on him two years earlier. Under the skilled hands of Dr. Rudy Wells, Jaime's surgery is a success. Her badly damaged arm, legs, and inner ear are replaced with state-of-the-art electronic prostheses . Upon learning of the radical surgery performed on her, Jaime

2574-540: A truck but she can turn over a car." These limits were occasionally incorporated into episodes, such as "Kill Oscar," in which Jaime is forced to make a jump that's too far down for her bionic legs, causing massive damage to them and nearly causing her death as a result. The series premiered on ABC in January 1976, as a mid-season replacement for the sitcoms When Things Were Rotten and That's My Mama . With fourteen episodes airing from January 1976 to May 1976, it became

2673-419: A working relationship, he exhibits paternalistic feelings for her which sometimes prevent a detached analysis of her suitability for missions. During her time of most intense involvement with the OSI, her relationship with Rudy Wells is also different from Steve's. Whereas Steve is occasionally distrustful of Rudy, and sometimes shows impatience with, or even hostility to Rudy's medical tests, Jaime views him as

2772-455: A writer of The Six Million Dollar Man , under the supervision of executive producer Harve Bennett . Sommers' only literary appearances to date have been in two novelizations of televised episodes released in the mid-1970s; Caidin had already concluded his series of Cyborg novels by the time her character was established on television. Johnson named Sommers after a water skier he met while producing whale shows at SeaWorld . The name " Jaime "

2871-529: Is a way to slow the bodily processes that would lead to death in cases of severe injury. This involves lowering the body's temperature below 34 °C (93 °F), which is the current standard for therapeutic hypothermia . In June 2005, scientists at the University of Pittsburgh 's Safar Center for Resuscitation Research announced they had managed to place dogs in suspended animation and bring them back to life, most of them without brain damage , by draining

2970-431: Is appropriate to call Jaime "The Six Million Dollar Woman". The scripts reveal only a few contradictory clues. In the spin-off's opening story "Welcome Home, Jaime", she suggests to Oscar that she must have cost as much as Steve. He replies, "Well, not quite. The parts are smaller, after all." In a season-one episode, "Fly Jaime", where Jaime and Dr. Rudy Wells are trapped on a desert island and trying to get some food out of

3069-574: Is assigned to spy missions as an occasional agent of the Office of Scientific Intelligence, while also teaching middle school students at a local airbase. Through the use of cybernetic implants known as bionics , Jaime is given an amplified bionic ear which allows her to detect sounds, at frequencies outside of the human ability to hear, over uncommonly long distances. She also has extraordinary strength in her bionic right arm and both legs, which enable her to run at speeds exceeding 60 miles per hour. Jaime

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3168-477: Is fearful of being a freak. However, with Steve's support, she soon learns to accept her new limbs after he reveals that he is bionic, too. As they are in the midst of planning their wedding, Jaime's body rejects her bionics. Emergency surgery is fruitless, and with Steve by her side, Jaime dies on the operating table. Jaime's life does not end here. Dr. Michael Marchetti uses an experimental cryogenic procedure to cool her body and prevent cellular damage. This gives

3267-560: Is fitted with an amplified bionic right ear which allows her to hear at low volumes and at various frequencies and over uncommonly long distances. She also has extraordinary strength in her bionic right arm and in both legs that enables her to jump great distances and run at speeds exceeding 60 miles per hour. She is then assigned to secret missions as an occasional agent of the Office of Scientific Intelligence, while teaching middle and high school students in her regular life. The series proved highly popular worldwide, gaining solid ratings in

3366-511: Is given plastic surgery and tries to replace Jaime. In a later episode, Lisa ingests a paste-like substance called Adrenalizine that gives her temporary super-strength, allowing her to fully replace Jaime at OSI while the real Jaime is imprisoned and led to question her own identity. Lisa, however, did not know of Jaime's bionic implants and believed her powers to have come from the Adrenalizine. After Jaime's eventual escape, Dr. Wells discovers that

3465-550: Is on a skydiving date, Jaime's parachute malfunctions and she plummets to the ground, falling through tree branches, hitting the ground and suffering traumatic injuries to her head, legs, and right arm. Steve then makes an emotional plea to his boss, Oscar Goldman, to save Jaime's life by making her bionic. When Oscar balks, Steve commits Jaime to becoming an operative of the Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI). Goldman ultimately gives in and assigns Dr. Rudy Wells (played at this point in

3564-561: Is portrayed as the third cyborg, following the astronaut/test pilot Steve Austin and race car driver Barney Hiller (seen in the November 1, 1974, and November 9, 1975, episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man ). In the reunion specials, Jaime has become a clinical counselor after retiring from the OSI. She assists Doctor Rudy Wells in training others in the use of their bionics. She trains Austin's son, Michael Austin, and paraplegic Kate Mason to manage their new abilities and counsels them both as

3663-408: Is replaced by tragedy when the couple go skydiving . Jaime's parachute rips, and she plummets to the ground. Her injuries are critical; both legs and her right arm are crushed beyond repair. Severe head trauma also causes damage to her right ear. Steve, who is deeply in love with Jaime, contacts his boss Oscar Goldman at the Office of Strategic Intelligence (OSI) and pleads with him until he authorizes

3762-860: Is required. Suspended animation is understood as the pausing of life processes by external or internal means without terminating life itself. Breathing, heartbeat and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. For this reason, this procedure has been associated with a lethargic state in nature when animals or plants appear, over a period, to be dead but then can wake up or prevail without suffering any harm. This has been termed in different contexts hibernation , dormancy or anabiosis (the latter in some aquatic invertebrates and plants in scarcity conditions). In July 2020, marine biologists reported that aerobic microorganisms (mainly), in "quasi-suspended animation", were found in organically-poor sediments , up to 101.5 million years old, 68.9 metres (226 feet) below

3861-445: Is sent on numerous covert missions. However, Oscar's use of Jaime is considerably more reserved than his use of Steve. Whereas Austin is a full-time agent, Oscar is generally more reluctant to put Jaime into high-risk situations. She is often seen interjecting herself into missions over Oscar's objections. This hesitancy stems from several sources. At least initially, he accepts some of the blame for her death because he sent her out on

3960-468: The Fembots , a line of powerful robots that she fights twice in the series over several episodes. She also thwarts the plan of an aging nuclear scientist named Elijah Cooper to destroy all life on Earth using a doomsday device in "Doomsday Is Tomorrow". Jaime's missions frequently involved undercover work in which she takes on a secret identity, such as a nun, a police officer, a college student, an air-steward,

4059-682: The United States government. Both were killed (presumably murdered) in a car accident on April 16, 1966. Long-time family friends Jim and Helen Elgin became the 17-year-old Jaime's legal guardians. Helen's son, Steve Austin , and Jaime became high school sweethearts, but he left Ojai to go to college and later to join the U.S. Air Force , and the NASA space program as an astronaut . Jaime graduated from high school and went on to study education at Carnegie Tech . Tennis—and not education—was her first career. After receiving her teaching degree, Jaime became

The Bionic Woman - Misplaced Pages Continue

4158-537: The Writers Guild of America strike forced a halt to production. Series developer and producer David Eick told the official website of the Sci-Fi Channel (now known as Syfy ) on March 18, 2008, that the series had been cancelled. The new series featured very few elements of the original script and focused on a much darker concept, but received generally negative reviews. Lindsay Wagner , the original Bionic Woman,

4257-400: The blood out of the dogs' bodies and injecting a low temperature solution into their circulatory systems , which in turn keeps the bodies alive in stasis. After three hours of being clinically dead , the dogs' blood was returned to their circulatory systems, and the animals were revived by delivering an electric shock to their hearts. The heart started pumping the blood around the body, and

4356-998: The sea floor in the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) ("the deadest spot in the ocean"), and could be the longest-living life forms ever found. This condition of apparent death or interruption of vital signs in humans may be similar to a medical interpretation of suspended animation. It is only possible to recover signs of life if the brain and other vital organs suffer no cell deterioration, necrosis or molecular death principally caused by oxygen deprivation or excess temperature (especially high temperature). Some examples of people that have returned from this apparent interruption of life lasting over half an hour, two hours, eight hours or more while adhering to these specific conditions for oxygen and temperature have been reported and analysed in depth, but these cases are considered rare and unusual phenomena. The brain begins to die after five minutes without oxygen; nervous tissues die intermediately when

4455-737: The "bionic family" and explored a rekindled love between Jaime and Steve. In the first reunion, The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987), Jaime and Steve are reunited after nearly ten years of living separate lives. Jaime's memory is fully restored (according to Oscar, Jaime was involved in an explosion at the American Embassy in Budapest and "she remembered everything" after she recovered from her concussion) and she tries to reconcile her feelings for Steve while at

4554-442: The 1970s, induced hypothermia has been performed for some open-heart surgeries as an alternative to heart-lung machines . Hypothermia, however, provides only a limited amount of time in which to operate and there is a risk of tissue and brain damage for prolonged periods. There are many research projects currently investigating how to achieve "induced hibernation " in humans. This ability to hibernate humans would be useful for

4653-457: The Adrenalizine was breaking down and becoming toxic to Lisa's health. Further complicating the issue was Lisa's increasing belief that she was in fact, the real Jaime. During the series, it is shown that Jaime's enhanced abilities have their limitations. In one of the "Kill Oscar" chapters, Jaime jumps from the window of a particularly tall building while trying to escape the Fembots. However, due to

4752-425: The Bionic Woman (1989), introduced Sandra Bullock as paraplegic Kate Mason who becomes a next-generation bionic woman and Sommers again helps train the neophyte cyborg. In the final reunion film, Bionic Ever After? (1994), a computer virus corrupts Jaime's bionic systems. Dr. Wells informs Steve that "she may never be bionic again," but Steve's main regard is he wants her alive above all else. She undergoes

4851-500: The Bionic Woman was released in July 2019. In August 2002 it was announced that the show was to be remade by producers Jennifer and Suzanne Todd ("Team Todd") for the USA Network. After the initial press release was issued, the show never made it out of pre-production and no other announcements were made as to the show's fate. On October 9, 2006, NBC Universal announced that it was bringing

4950-468: The Blu-ray version of the complete series on August 30, 2022. Two novels adapting various episodes were published to coincide with the series: Welcome Home, Jaime and Extracurricular Activities , both by Eileen Lottman. The UK editions of these two books were credited to "Maud Willis" and were retitled Double Identity and A Question of Life , respectively. Although the closing credits of every episode says

5049-507: The OSI, Jaime accepts a mission. She travels to Budapest with Chris, but the two of them are separated. After Jaime is caught in an explosion, she is rescued and hospitalized back in the US. When she recovers from the concussion , she starts to remember her past life and feelings for Steve. She also learns the shocking news that Chris had been held captive and killed. She acts on neither of these revelations, but instead returns to her life working as

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5148-423: The OSI. However, the powers that be are not prepared to let her go. Jaime realizes that her bionics have become a permanent part of her life, but they do not have to rule her or the life she wants to live. She returns to the OSI and agrees to take occasional missions on the condition that she is free to pursue her life. Jaime and Chris continue their relationship and become very happy together. After years away from

5247-580: The TV series. This included their own versions of The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman which was renamed Super Jaimie . The artist behind this was Pierre Dupuis. In March 2012, Dynamite Entertainment launched a new The Bionic Woman comic book title, based upon the revised continuity established in the Kevin Smith -written The Bionic Man comic (a reimagining of The Six Million Dollar Man ), in which

5346-641: The US and particularly so in the UK (where it became the only science fiction program to achieve the No.1 position in the ratings during the 20th century). The series ran for three seasons, from 1976 to 1978, first on the ABC network and then the NBC network for its final season. Years after its cancellation, three spin-off TV movies were produced between 1987 and 1994. Reruns of the show aired on Sci-Fi Channel from 1993 to 2001. A failed remake of

5445-514: The United Kingdom, where it was shown on the ITV network and achieved unusually high audience figures for a science fiction show. The first episode of the series ("Welcome Home Jaime") was shown on 1 July 1976 and was the most watched programme of the week. It was watched in 7 million homes, giving it an average of 14 million viewers. Two weeks later, the show's third episode ( Angel of Mercy ) also became

5544-477: The cerebral clot could be safely removed, after which she was successfully revived. A side effect of the procedure causes Jaime to develop retrograde amnesia, preventing her from recalling previous events including her relationship with Steve. Any attempt to remember causes her headaches and pain. Realizing that he is the primary trigger for her painful memories, Steve reluctantly asks Oscar to transfer Jaime to another medical facility away from him. There, she undergoes

5643-528: The character of Jaime Sommers was reintroduced. A crossover mini-series, The Bionic Man vs. The Bionic Woman , was launched in January 2013. Unlike the Bionic Man title, which (depending on the artist) occasionally renders Steve Austin in the likeness of actor Lee Majors , the Dynamite version of Jaime Sommers generally is not rendered in the likeness of Lindsay Wagner. In late 2013, Dynamite ended both series and in

5742-400: The doctors time to repair the massive cerebral clot which had ended her life. Her heart is restarted, and she is revived. However, the radical operation is not a complete success. Jaime suffers brain damage, and the memories of her past life are lost. Another surgery restores many of her memories, but her love for Steve seems unrecoverable. Jaime's extraordinary strength rules out a return to

5841-554: The dogs were brought back to life. On 20 January 2006, doctors from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced they had placed pigs in suspended animation with a similar technique. The pigs were anaesthetized and major blood loss was induced, along with simulated - via scalpel - severe injuries (e.g. a punctured aorta as might happen in a car accident or shooting). After the pigs lost about half their blood

5940-511: The early human population whose remains have been retrieved at the Archaeological site of Atapuerca . In a paper published in the journal L'Anthropologie , researchers Juan-Luis Arsuaga and Antonis Bartsiokas point out that "primitive mammals and primates" like bush babies and lorises hibernate, which suggests that "the genetic basis and physiology for such a hypometabolism could be preserved in many mammalian species, including humans". Since

6039-438: The fembots, and "Deadly Ringer", for which Wagner won an Emmy Award . Although the show performed well during season two, ABC elected not to renew the series, feeling it was no longer attracting the kind of demographic that ABC wanted (ABC head Fred Silverman was notorious for his focus on demographics). NBC picked up the show for a third (and final) season, which ran from September 1977 to May 1978 with 22 episodes and featured

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6138-499: The fifth-most-watched television show of the whole 1975–76 season—despite running for only half the season—ranking behind Maude , Laverne & Shirley , Rich Man, Poor Man , and All In The Family , and slightly ahead of The Six Million Dollar Man . Season two ran from September 1976 to May 1977 with 22 episodes and finished with good ratings (number 14 overall, slightly behind The Six Million Dollar Man ). Season two also had its most notable episodes, "Kill Oscar" in which Jaime fights

6237-485: The first two full seasons of The Bionic Woman on DVD in the UK and Australia in 2005/06. There were no special features on any of the sets. Season three was eventually released in the UK by Fabulous Films in December 2012, along with repackaged versions of the first two seasons and a complete 18-disc boxed set of all three seasons. These versions contained various special features as found on the Region 1 sets (see below), though

6336-403: The government computer system in episode 48 ("All for One"), Jaime's OSI agent profile lists her height at 5'9" and weight as 120 lbs. Eventually, Jaime becomes romantically involved with fellow OSI agent Chris Williams, and she yearns for a life of her own away from the government and the constant peril of undercover work. Feeling that she has repaid her debt to the government, Jaime resigns from

6435-505: The height from which she jumped, her legs explode upon landing, nearly killing her. Extreme cold is shown to inhibit her bionic implants, causing them to freeze up and malfunction (a scenario also common with Steve Austin). However, her right ear, as it is encased in her body, is typically not subject to these negative effects. While Steve Austin occasionally (particularly in early episodes) employed violence in order to complete missions, Jaime's approach tended to be less-violent and as such she

6534-515: The mechanisms beneath the skin become exposed, as seen in Part 2 of the episode "Doomsday Is Tomorrow", when Jaime sustained damage to her right leg. Jaime discovers on vacation in the Bahamas her artificial bionic skin cannot suntan with exposure to sunlight. After Jaime recovers from her operation, Steve tries to break his agreement with Oscar that she will serve as an agent for OSI. Jaime agrees to undertake

6633-449: The minimum conditions in an environment extremely close to death and return to a normal living state. An example of such a case is Anna Bågenholm , a Swedish radiologist who allegedly survived 80 minutes under ice in a frozen lake in a state of cardiac arrest with no brain damage in 1999. Other cases of hypothermia where people survived without damage are: It has been suggested that bone lesions provide evidence of hibernation among

6732-408: The most watched programme of the week. Its success continued with a further 10 episodes scoring in the top 20 during 1976. (By contrast, The Six Million Dollar Man never once entered the top 10 rating during its five seasons, though this was most likely because the show was never broadcast across all ITV stations at the same time). The second season also proved popular, with seven episodes finishing in

6831-599: The operating table when her body shuts down. The character was so popular that ABC asked the writers to find a way to bring her back. In the first episode of the next season, it is revealed that Jaime had not died after all, but Steve was not told. He soon discovers the truth when he is hospitalized after suffering severe damage to his bionic legs; he sees Jaime before slipping into a coma. As Steve later learns, Wells' assistant, Dr. Michael Marchetti, urged Rudy (now played by Martin E. Brooks) to try his newly developed cryogenic techniques to keep Jaime in suspended animation until

6930-454: The original Steve Austin). As in the earlier series, Ms. Sommers was not the first bionic person. Her predecessor was the bionic woman Sarah Corvus (played by Katee Sackhoff ). NBC aggressively promoted the series Bionic Woman . The weekly remake drew large initial audiences. The series went on hiatus when most of US entertainment was halted due to the 2007–08 writer's strike. The strike, coupled with diminishing ratings, led NBC to cancel

7029-420: The original series were kept, except for the first and last names of the main character. In the remake, Jaime's full name was Jaime Wells Sommers, a homage to the earlier series' character Dr. Rudy Wells. In the series, the new version of the "Bionic Woman" had the same basic bionic parts as the 1970s model. However, Jaime version 2.0 also received a bionic right eye (a bionic component previously associated with

7128-450: The people in charge decide that she cannot just be allowed to leave and want to put her into a safe community where they can keep their eye on her. She goes on the run but later realises that she is still the same woman, despite her mechanical parts and goes back to work for the OSI, but with fewer missions and more time to herself. The final episode was inspired by The Prisoner as Jaime is similarly being pursued by entities concerned about

7227-537: The potential of large animals, especially humans, to undergo suspended animation. In animals, suspended animation may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogenous, natural or artificial biological, chemical or physical means. In its natural form, it may be spontaneously reversible as in the case of species demonstrating hypometabolic states of hibernation . When applied with therapeutic intent, as in deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA), usually technologically mediated revival

7326-464: The project back, with new producers and a reworking of the concept. The project's one-hour pilot was given an official greenlight by NBC on January 3, 2007. English actress Michelle Ryan (affecting an American accent) was cast in the title role for this pilot, and Katee Sackhoff played Sarah Corvus, the bionic woman's nemesis. The series was subsequently picked up by NBC and debuted on September 26, 2007. Eight more episodes were produced and aired before

7425-504: The remaining blood was replaced with a chilled saline solution. As the body temperature reached 10 °C (50 °F) the damaged blood vessels were repaired and the blood was returned. The method was tested 200 times with a 90% success rate. The laboratory of Mark Roth at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and institutes such as Suspended Animation, Inc are trying to implement suspended animation as

7524-405: The restaurant window by Jaime. The couple come to terms with their years of separation and decide to see if they could rebuild their relationship. Jaime and Steve occasionally return to the OSI in times of international crisis. Their time together prove that the love they once felt for each other has never died, and in 1989, the couple become engaged. During the five years that follow, Jaime becomes

7623-558: The rights issues had been solved and he was taping interviews for the DVD. On July 15, 2010, Universal Studios announced the release of the first season on DVD in North America, which took place on October 19, 2010. Season Two was released on May 17, 2011. On October 4, 2011, Universal released The Bionic Woman: The Complete Third & Final Season on Region 1 DVD. On October 13, 2015, Universal released The Bionic Woman- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The Shout! Factory will release

7722-413: The role in the 1970s American television series The Six Million Dollar Man , would continue this role in the spin-off series. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Wagner reprised the role in several reunion television films. Jaime Sommers is a former professional tennis star who suffers near-fatal injuries in a skydiving accident. Following cutting-edge surgery, she becomes the first female cyborg . She

7821-537: The same time helping train Steve's son Michael in the use of his own recently acquired updated bionics. Jaime challenges Michael to a friendly race. He overtakes her and she makes the comment that she feels like an "obsolete model". Michael is kidnapped by Fortress. Steve and Jaime along with the Air Force infiltrate the abandoned glass factory to "rescue" Michael. The second film, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and

7920-482: The season three release also contains all three of the Bionic reunion movies from the 1980s and 1990s. In Germany, Koch Media has released all three seasons on DVD under the name Die Sieben Millionen Dollar Frau ( The Seven Million Dollar Woman ), though these sets do not contain special features. Plans for a North American DVD release were first announced in 2004 by Universal Home Video. Those plans were made public via

8019-488: The secret information she possesses. Despite being on different networks, both The Bionic Woman and The Six Million Dollar Man were simultaneously cancelled in the spring of 1978 due to poor ratings; after 2 1/2 and 5 seasons respectively. Unlike The Six Million Dollar Man , which ended with a standard episode, "On the Run" was written and filmed as a resolution to the series. Three made-for-TV movies were produced that expanded

8118-484: The series was produced in 2007. The character of Jaime Sommers first appears in a 1975 two-part episode of The Six Million Dollar Man titled "The Bionic Woman." In the first episode, Steve travels to his hometown of Ojai, California , to buy a ranch that is for sale and to visit his mother and stepfather, Helen and Jim Elgin. During his visit, he rekindles his relationship with high school sweetheart Jaime Sommers, now one of America's top 5 tennis players. While she

8217-413: The series by Alan Oppenheimer ) and the bionics team to rebuild her. Jaime's body is reconstructed with parts similar to Steve's, but later Oscar jokes that hers cost less than Austin's six million because her parts were "smaller" (despite the show's German name, Die Sieben Millionen Dollar Frau , or The Seven Million Dollar Woman ). Like Austin, her right arm and both her legs are bionic, but instead of

8316-582: The series was based upon Martin Caidin 's 1972 novel, Cyborg , this only refers to the bionics concept, the characters of Rudy Wells and Oscar Goldman, and the occasional appearance by Steve Austin; Jaime Sommers does not appear in any of Caidin's novels. Charlton Comics published a comic book adaptation, beginning in late summer 1977 (October shelf date). The series would not pick up again until #2's February 1978 shelf date, then continued until June of that year, for at total of five issues. UK comic Look-In ran

8415-471: The show after production of eight episodes. Suspended animation Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. States of suspended animation are common in micro-organisms and some plant tissue, such as seeds. Many animals, including large ones, may undergo hibernation , and most plants have periods of dormancy . This article focuses primarily on

8514-563: The show instituted a policy where they used Fielding's opening theme and Harnell's closing theme. Harnell's compositions for the program were post-released from 2002-2010 in the compact disc format. In 1978, Columbia released a 45 rpm record with Japanese singers performing (in Japanese) "Jaime's Love" and "At The Time of Kindness". In the UK, Universal released three single-disc volumes of selected episodes of The Bionic Woman in 2001/02. Each volume contained three episodes. Universal then released

8613-457: The show's plausibility, creator/executive producer Kenneth Johnson set very specific limits on Jaime Sommers' abilities. He elaborated, "When you're dealing with the area of fantasy, if you say, 'Well, they're bionic so they can do whatever they want,' then it gets out of hand, so you've got to have really, really tight rules. [Steve and Jaime] can jump up two stories but not three. They can jump down three stories but not four. Jaime can't turn over

8712-558: The spring of 2014 launched The Six Million Dollar Man Season 6 , a more faithful adaptation of the original Six Million Dollar Man TV series. Jaime Sommers, based on the Wagner interpretation, was reintroduced in issue 3 and in June 2014 Dynamite announced it will publish The Bionic Woman Season 4 , a continuation of the TV series, beginning in the fall of 2014. Like its parent program The Bionic Woman spawned its own line of toys. Kenner produced

8811-481: The tennis circuit, so she returns to Ojai. She moves into a coach house apartment situated on Jim and Helen Elgin's ranch. She lands a job teaching school at the Ventura Air Force Base. Jaime feels indebted to Oscar and the government for saving her life, and she insists that Oscar contact her if the OSI should need an agent with her special abilities. Oscar does call on Jaime, and from 1976 through 1978 she

8910-429: The trauma of rejection, Jaime's relationship to her bionics remains ambiguous. But as an operative she is courageous, resourceful with her abilities and increasingly circumspect about the militarism of her employers, preferring a more humanistic approach. Late in the series she adopts Maximillion (AKA Max), a German Shepherd dog that had been used as a test case for implanting bionics into animals. When hackers hack into

9009-488: The weekly top 20, the highest of these being the episode The Vega Influence on 12 May 1977, which reached No. 8 with 14.8 million viewers. The third season was not broadcast simultaneously across all ITV stations in the UK, however, and therefore no episodes reached the weekly Top 20. The most notable of the frequent crossovers between the two shows included a two-part episode in which Steve and Jaime square off against Austin's sometimes-friend/sometimes-enemy Bigfoot and

9108-509: Was a lab animal used to test early bionic prosthetics. He was named "Maximillion" because his bionics cost "a million" dollars. When he was introduced, he experienced symptoms suggesting bionic rejection and was due to be put to sleep. Jaime discovered the condition was psychological, stemming from a traumatic lab fire that injured him when he was a puppy. With Jaime's help, Max was cured and went to live with her, proving himself to be of considerable help in some of her adventures. The original intent

9207-443: Was a vinyl story record produced by Wonderland Records. Kenner produced a series of stickers and temporary tattoos featuring Jaime Sommers individually and with Steve Austin. A board game based on The Bionic Woman series was also created. It was sold by Parker Brothers in the US, and was a 2–4 player game suited for children between 7 and 12 years of age. In July 2016, prior to Comic-Con International , The New York Times ran

9306-607: Was demonstrated that physiological and biochemical events could inhibit endogenous thermoregulation before the onset of hypothermia in a challenging process known as "estivation". This is indispensable to survive harsh environmental conditions, as seen in some amphibians and reptiles. Lowering the temperature of a substance reduces its chemical activity by the Arrhenius equation . This includes life processes such as metabolism. Cryonics could eventually provide long-term suspended animation. Emergency Preservation and Resuscitation (EPR)

9405-480: Was not involved in the new series and was very critical of this version. Wagner said, "On a technical level, it was very good, but I don't think they understood the show. It was steeped in that old-school thinking. It was like a lot of things today, angry and dark." Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman) Jaime Sommers is a fictional character from the science fiction action series The Bionic Woman (1976–1978). American actress Lindsay Wagner , who first played

9504-409: Was predominantly a male name (a derivative of "James") before the television series began. It is probably not a coincidence that in 1976 the name Jaime became one of the 100 most popular names of the year in every one of the 50 US states. The female name Jamie (a variant spelling) also gained enormous popularity at the same time. In 2007, NBC launched a reimagined Bionic Woman . Very few elements of

9603-458: Was rarely shown directly using her bionic strength against a human opponent (and even when she did, never with deadly force). In the last episode ("On the Run"), Jaime is called "Robot Lady" by a little girl who has learned about her bionics. Like Steve Austin in the original book Cyborg , she has to come to terms with the fact that she is not quite human. After three years with too many assignments to allow her time to herself, she resigns. However,

9702-511: Was this whole political thing with the network because it was the beginning of the feminine revolution". Thus, ultimately the cost of Jaime Sommers' bionic implants was never revealed and deemed classified information in the opening credits. Born on August 18, 1948, Jaime is the daughter of James and Ann Sommers. Jaime was raised in Ojai, California , and she showed high potential in tennis. Her parents were college political-science professors. Unbeknownst to Jaime, they also worked undercover for

9801-502: Was to create a spin-off series featuring "the bionic dog," and at the end of the two-part episode that introduced him, it was implied Max would stay with Jaime's forest ranger friend Roger Grette in the Sierra Mountains and Jaime would visit occasionally. However, the network rejected the proposed spin-off series and Max stayed with Jaime instead, making several appearances throughout the third season of The Bionic Woman . To maintain

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