The Bionic Woman
To maintain the show's plausibility, creator/executive producer Kenneth Johnson set very specific limits on Jaime Sommers's 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 a truck but she can turn over a car." These limits were occasionally incorporated into episodes, such as "Kill Oscar Part 1," 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.
Bionic Woman (2007 TV series)
Due to a strike by the Writers Guild of America, production of the series was halted in mid-November 2007, and the regular actors were suspended on half-pay for a period of five weeks. The series has since aired all of the episodes that were completed before production halted. Several websites ran with rumors that NBC had canceled the series, but an NBC Universal Media Studios spokesperson told the press that the show had not been canceled and that production of the first season would continue when the WGA strike ended. Upon the resolution of the strike, an Associated Press story classified "Bionic Woman" as being "on the bubble", and predicted that the remaining episodes would not air until the fall of 2008, "if ever". NBC later published a report regarding initial series renewals, and no announcement was made regarding whether "Bionic Woman" would return in the fall. The report also indicated that despite the earlier statement by NBC Universal, production of the series' first season was considered to be concluded.
The pilot starred Michelle Ryan, Miguel Ferrer, Molly Price, Will Yun Lee, and Mae Whitman. In June 2007, "TV Guide" reported that Mae Whitman was being replaced in the role of Jaime's sister. An NBC spokesperson confirmed this, stating, "The decision was purely creatively driven. It is very common to change storylines, characters, actors after the initial pilot is shot." The character, who was originally deaf, had her hearing restored when requested by an NBC executive. Lucy Hale was later cast as Whitman's replacement in July 2007.
In announcing the recasting, it was confirmed that the deaf trait of the character had been dropped.
Instead, Hale's version of the character is depicted as a rebellious teen and budding computer hacker.