Title / Air Date: Face-Off / 17th October 2007
Writer: Robert Rovner & Jon Cowan
Director: Paul Shapiro
Writer: Robert Rovner & Jon Cowan
Director: Paul Shapiro
Summary: Jaime and Antonio are sent on a mission to rescue an American doctor working in Paraguay, who has been taken hostage after he de-codes a top secret Flash drive which has information on about Jaime's expected lifespan. Meanwhile Sarah Corvus is re-captured by Jae and taken to Wolf Creek in the hope she will lead them to rogue Bionic surgeon Anthros.
Guest stars:
Scott Lyster: Some Guy
Travis Milne: Martini Guy
Reese Alexander: Berkut Assault Member
Edson T. Ribeiro: Terrorist #1
Aaron Dudley: Sexy Poker Guy
Andrew Fallows: Another Sexy Poker Guy
Kris Pope: Other Sexy Poker Guy
Raahul Singh: Stunt Lab Tech
Karen Van Blankenstein: Doctor
Lara Gilchrist: Carly
Michael Benyaer: Raul
Tim Paul Perez: Beto Ruiz
Brian Hallisay: Dr. Mark Stevens
Kevin Rankin: Nathan
Christopher Gauthier: Geek #2
Guest stars:
Scott Lyster: Some Guy
Travis Milne: Martini Guy
Reese Alexander: Berkut Assault Member
Edson T. Ribeiro: Terrorist #1
Aaron Dudley: Sexy Poker Guy
Andrew Fallows: Another Sexy Poker Guy
Kris Pope: Other Sexy Poker Guy
Raahul Singh: Stunt Lab Tech
Karen Van Blankenstein: Doctor
Lara Gilchrist: Carly
Michael Benyaer: Raul
Tim Paul Perez: Beto Ruiz
Brian Hallisay: Dr. Mark Stevens
Kevin Rankin: Nathan
Christopher Gauthier: Geek #2
Re-occurring characters/plot points: Sarah Corvus is captured and brought to Wolf Creek, but subsequently escapes again. Jaime learns her anthrocytes have a five-year lifespan. Jaime and 'Becca have various scenes/discussions around 'trust'.
Best Quotes..... Jaime to Nathan as he fixes her foot: You're giving me the creeps keep staring at it. Do you have a foot fetish? Nathan: No, Jaime, I do not. I'm pretty much just a simple boob man. Pope to Jonas as he explains to mission: So why's this our problem?, Jaime: You mean beside the fact he's an American who's gonna get his head chopped off? Ruth as she works with Sarah: You're caught between a rock and a hard place... Sarah: Now you're just trying to be funny.
Misc facts: This episode was originally billed as 5# and is Antonio Pope's first story. In the first draft Will is still alive and being held at Anthros' camp.
This fourth ep is meant to be a continuation of episodes 3, which ends with 'To Be Continued' Dropping the original story leave the 3rd episode un-finished and would likely have featured more reveals for Sarah and Anthros.
Best Quotes..... Jaime to Nathan as he fixes her foot: You're giving me the creeps keep staring at it. Do you have a foot fetish? Nathan: No, Jaime, I do not. I'm pretty much just a simple boob man. Pope to Jonas as he explains to mission: So why's this our problem?, Jaime: You mean beside the fact he's an American who's gonna get his head chopped off? Ruth as she works with Sarah: You're caught between a rock and a hard place... Sarah: Now you're just trying to be funny.
Misc facts: This episode was originally billed as 5# and is Antonio Pope's first story. In the first draft Will is still alive and being held at Anthros' camp.
This fourth ep is meant to be a continuation of episodes 3, which ends with 'To Be Continued' Dropping the original story leave the 3rd episode un-finished and would likely have featured more reveals for Sarah and Anthros.
Bionic Action - This section looks at specific scenes when Jaime uses her Bionics this episode.
Reviews:
By SEAN ELLIOTT, Senior Editor / IFMagazine.com
If you’ve been watching NBC for any length of time for the past month or so, you’ve seen the trailers to try and draw viewers into THE BIONIC WOMAN (not that it needs them) well now with this week’s episode ‘Face Off’ audiences get to see a lot of the footage used for those trailers with Jaime running across a series of pipes while being shot at.
This is pretty much a straight up action episode of the series. The episode revolves around a rescue mission where Jaime (Michelle Ryan) and Antonio (Isaiah Washington) have to go in and save a CIA undercover operative before he gets killed and more importantly before he cracks the code on a flash drive that contains all of the plans for Jamie and Sara (Katee Sackhoff) and their bionic implants. Of course things go awry and Antonio wants to kill of the guy they came to save and Jaime kicks the crap out of him. In the end she was being too naïve and the CIA operative escapes with the flash drive and the material on her bionics in now out in the open.
This episode had a lot more action, which I’ve been waiting to see. Jaime did a lot of interesting and spectacular things with her bionic body parts that she hadn’t down before and this was well worth the wait.
Plus, one of the more interesting items that we learned, is that not only are both Jaime and Sara dying because of the bionic implants, but anything foreign that is introduced into their bodies the bionic technologies within them try to incorporate the foreign matter into their bodies.
Of course, it was extremely satisfying to see Michelle Ryan kick the s**t out of Isaiah Washington. I make no bones about not liking this actor as a person, and if NBC really wanted to promote this show, maybe they can create a moving BIONIC WOMAN exhibit with a fake Washington dummy that you can use your ‘bionic’ powers to kick around in something like a play ball pen.
I’m also glad to see that Katee Sackhoff is sticking around, even if it is only for bits and pieces of the story. She adds to the series, and having her take off for too long will only hurt this series.B+
FAN REVIEW
At the start of this episode we see Jaime running through a dark alley at night, she leaps a chain mail fence and approaches a stationary car, pulls opens the back door…but this is no covert mission for Jonas, it's not even one of Antonio Pope's training sessions. Rather this is Jaime Sommers: big sister and surrogate mother, looking out for her younger sister who's been sneaking out to see a boy. It's an amusing punch line and a sharp reminder to the viewer that there is more to this young woman than mere Bionic super spy.
The episode proper sees Jaime and Pope sent to Paraguay to rescue a doctor who is being held by terrorists, and while the story isn't as strong as those that have preceded it, it does hold up well thanks to some strong performances, not least from Michelle Ryan who now seems nicely settled in the lead.
At the start of the mission Jaime believes her biggest moral dilemma lies in not being able to tell Becca where she's really going but that's as nothing to the problem she faces when she realises the real purpose of the mission and just how far Pope is prepared to go to protect the Bionics programme. The assignment serves as a wake up call to Jamie as she comes to terms with some devastating home truths, not just about her new job but her whole new lease of life.
Meanwhile Katee Sachoff gets to act alongside the rest of the regular cast as Sarah Corvus is finally arrested and bought in for questioning. But who's playing who here? Sachoff again gives a mesmerising performance as the laconic and increasingly sarcastic Corvus in a subplot which not only compliments the main story but also throws up a few new questions of it's own
Ryan is superb as Jamie, and this is finally beginning to feel like her show rather than an ensemble drama. Whether confronting her fear of flying or defying orders and refusing to let Pope complete his mission her subtle portrayal helps bring home the emotional impact of dialogue that doesn't always fit comfortably into the mouths of the actors delivering it. The revelations here will have repercussions in the weeks, and hopefully years to come.
And it looks like the writers have finally hit the right note with Becca, she's precocious and high spirited but at the same time it's clear how close the Sommers sisters really are, and how much Jaime's double life is threatening that relationship. Despite only appearing in a handful of scenes Lucy Hale gives her most likeable performance to date, showing a Becca who is both hurt and scared by her sister's deception.
The highlight of the episode though comes near the end - a beautiful little scene where Jaime confronts Jonas with what she has learned. Although he tries to hide it, he's clearly as upset as she is. It seems he does have a heart after all and that he's come to care for his reluctant Bionic agent.
The special effects are improving, with the fight scenes proving particularly impressive but the scenes of Jaime running could still use a little work.
3.5/5
By SEAN ELLIOTT, Senior Editor / IFMagazine.com
If you’ve been watching NBC for any length of time for the past month or so, you’ve seen the trailers to try and draw viewers into THE BIONIC WOMAN (not that it needs them) well now with this week’s episode ‘Face Off’ audiences get to see a lot of the footage used for those trailers with Jaime running across a series of pipes while being shot at.
This is pretty much a straight up action episode of the series. The episode revolves around a rescue mission where Jaime (Michelle Ryan) and Antonio (Isaiah Washington) have to go in and save a CIA undercover operative before he gets killed and more importantly before he cracks the code on a flash drive that contains all of the plans for Jamie and Sara (Katee Sackhoff) and their bionic implants. Of course things go awry and Antonio wants to kill of the guy they came to save and Jaime kicks the crap out of him. In the end she was being too naïve and the CIA operative escapes with the flash drive and the material on her bionics in now out in the open.
This episode had a lot more action, which I’ve been waiting to see. Jaime did a lot of interesting and spectacular things with her bionic body parts that she hadn’t down before and this was well worth the wait.
Plus, one of the more interesting items that we learned, is that not only are both Jaime and Sara dying because of the bionic implants, but anything foreign that is introduced into their bodies the bionic technologies within them try to incorporate the foreign matter into their bodies.
Of course, it was extremely satisfying to see Michelle Ryan kick the s**t out of Isaiah Washington. I make no bones about not liking this actor as a person, and if NBC really wanted to promote this show, maybe they can create a moving BIONIC WOMAN exhibit with a fake Washington dummy that you can use your ‘bionic’ powers to kick around in something like a play ball pen.
I’m also glad to see that Katee Sackhoff is sticking around, even if it is only for bits and pieces of the story. She adds to the series, and having her take off for too long will only hurt this series.B+
FAN REVIEW
At the start of this episode we see Jaime running through a dark alley at night, she leaps a chain mail fence and approaches a stationary car, pulls opens the back door…but this is no covert mission for Jonas, it's not even one of Antonio Pope's training sessions. Rather this is Jaime Sommers: big sister and surrogate mother, looking out for her younger sister who's been sneaking out to see a boy. It's an amusing punch line and a sharp reminder to the viewer that there is more to this young woman than mere Bionic super spy.
The episode proper sees Jaime and Pope sent to Paraguay to rescue a doctor who is being held by terrorists, and while the story isn't as strong as those that have preceded it, it does hold up well thanks to some strong performances, not least from Michelle Ryan who now seems nicely settled in the lead.
At the start of the mission Jaime believes her biggest moral dilemma lies in not being able to tell Becca where she's really going but that's as nothing to the problem she faces when she realises the real purpose of the mission and just how far Pope is prepared to go to protect the Bionics programme. The assignment serves as a wake up call to Jamie as she comes to terms with some devastating home truths, not just about her new job but her whole new lease of life.
Meanwhile Katee Sachoff gets to act alongside the rest of the regular cast as Sarah Corvus is finally arrested and bought in for questioning. But who's playing who here? Sachoff again gives a mesmerising performance as the laconic and increasingly sarcastic Corvus in a subplot which not only compliments the main story but also throws up a few new questions of it's own
Ryan is superb as Jamie, and this is finally beginning to feel like her show rather than an ensemble drama. Whether confronting her fear of flying or defying orders and refusing to let Pope complete his mission her subtle portrayal helps bring home the emotional impact of dialogue that doesn't always fit comfortably into the mouths of the actors delivering it. The revelations here will have repercussions in the weeks, and hopefully years to come.
And it looks like the writers have finally hit the right note with Becca, she's precocious and high spirited but at the same time it's clear how close the Sommers sisters really are, and how much Jaime's double life is threatening that relationship. Despite only appearing in a handful of scenes Lucy Hale gives her most likeable performance to date, showing a Becca who is both hurt and scared by her sister's deception.
The highlight of the episode though comes near the end - a beautiful little scene where Jaime confronts Jonas with what she has learned. Although he tries to hide it, he's clearly as upset as she is. It seems he does have a heart after all and that he's come to care for his reluctant Bionic agent.
The special effects are improving, with the fight scenes proving particularly impressive but the scenes of Jaime running could still use a little work.
3.5/5