TV Daily

Salon's guide to what to watch on Wednesday: Jaime Sommers comes back as a no-nonsense brunette in "Bionic Woman."

Published September 26, 2007 10:00AM (EDT)

Prime Pick

Photo: NBC

Superpower heroes, female lead characters and remakes are all popular right now, so NBC probably assumes it can't fail with "Bionic Woman" (premieres at 9 p.m. EDT), in which Jaime Sommers is reimagineered as a no-nonsense brunette. Like so many dramas on the air these days, the pilot episode feels like the first half of a reasonably entertaining but somewhat derivative suspense thriller, from its nefarious government agents to its rain-soaked, rooftop battles. The highlight here is Katee Sackhoff's (Starbuck from "Battlestar Galactica") turn as the first bionic woman, Sarah Corvus. Sarah loves being bionic but hates her manipulative government overlords, and she's hungry for revenge. This dark, glossy take on an old story looks promising now, but only time will tell whether the network can rebuild her.

Also…

Part 4 of Ken Burns' seven-part documentary series on WWII, "The War," airs at 8 p.m. EDT on PBS (check local listings). "Criminal Minds" returns at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS, "Grey's Anatomy" spinoff "Private Practice" premieres at 9 p.m. EDT on ABC, followed by Peter Krause in "Dirty Sexy Money" at 10 p.m. EDT. And the first half of the two-part "Top Chef" finale airs at 10 p.m. EDT on Bravo.

On the talk shows

Regis and Kelly

ABC, 9 a.m. EDT

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Carrot Top, Queen Latifah

The View

ABC, 11 a.m. EDT

Kate Walsh, Christopher Titus

Ellen DeGeneres

Syndicated, check local listings

Greg Kinnear, Kat Von D, Paul Potts

Oprah Winfrey

Syndicated, check local listings

Children of divorce reveal their secret thoughts

Charlie Rose

PBS, check local listings

Tzipi Livni

Larry King

CNN, 9 p.m. EDT

TBA

Jon Stewart

Comedy Central, 11 p.m. EDT

Jamie Foxx

Stephen Colbert

Comedy Central, 11:30 p.m. EDT

Tony Bennett

David Letterman

CBS, 11:30 p.m. EDT

Jennifer Garner, Ken Burns, Chaka Khan

Jay Leno

NBC, 11:35 p.m. EDT

Steve Carell, Madison Pettis, Bright Eyes

Tavis Smiley

PBS, check local listings

Robert Draper, Randall Robinson

Jimmy Kimmel

ABC, 12:05 a.m. EDT

Kyra Sedgwick, the first eliminated celebrity from "Dancing With the Stars," will.i.am

Conan O'Brien

NBC, 12:35 a.m. EDT

Ted Danson, Patton Oswalt, Devendra Banhart

Craig Ferguson

CBS, 12:35 a.m. EDT

Marg Helgenberger, Seth MacFarlane, the National

Contributors: Megan Doll, Heather Havrilesky, Eryn Loeb, Amy Reiter


By Salon Staff

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