Bionic Woman was going to be sure-fire hit. It was from the guys behind Battlestar Galactica. It was THE buzz show of the summer, and had high viewer interest.

I know – I was one of the interested viewers.

The first episode scored 13.6 million viewers on the night of its premiere. Unfortunately, most of those viewers never returned to the hour long sci-fi drama. Bob over at TV Squad suggests that the show is on the verge of being cancelled, and I have to agree with him.

The fact that Life and Chuck have received full season orders in spite of the Writer’s Strike, and Bionic Woman hasn’t add further fuel to the speculative flame.

I really wanted to digg this show. I was hoping that it would be a must watch, but it never has been. In fact, after the first few weeks, I basically forgot about the show. I only have so many hours in a day, and I just didn’t have one to give Bionic Woman every week.

The only saving grace for the show, however, could actually end up being the Writer’s Strike. If NBC lets the show re-run in its entirety, there is a chance that viewers could give it a second chance, and that they may find something there that they like. I doubt it – but its possible.

We’ll see what happens – but I think it’s pretty safe to say Bionic Woman season 2 is a “no go”.

Amazon and NBC are furthering their union today by offering up the NBC’s soon to be cancelled hour long drama pilots up as free rentals off the Amazon Unbox service. You can rent these titles at no cos and watch them online, on your Tivo, or on compatible portable devices.

Of course, you’ll only have limited amount of time to watch them…as they are rentals. God forbid you be allowed to view them at your leisure.

Click Here to visit Amazon

And just to be clear, I’m not Anti-NBC. My Thursday Nights revolve around the network, but from what I’ve seen from these pilots, there isn’t much to write home about. Honestly, I don’t know if making these available so early is a good idea.

While most shows grow and get better after their pilot episodes, I’m afraid that if NBC lets too many people watch them too early, that most people will have forgotten about these mostly forgettable shows before the first episode even airs…much less the second.

The original Bionic Woman was well before my time.  I’ve caught an episode here and there on reruns, probably, but suffice it to say that the original show never piqued my interest.  Unfortunately, the new one doesn’t do too hot, either.

See, the unfortunate thing about pilots is that they have to do two things at once…provide exposition and still be compelling. The key is to strike the balance between the two.  Bionic Woman, though, is heavy on the former and light on the latter.  For a show about a woman who can do cool stuff, there’s not enough of the woman doing cool stuff.  There’s  a lot of talking about it, though…about the ethics of turning a woman into a machine without her knowledge.  Granted, the moral dilemma is important and should be touched on.  Right now, the job is to hook viewers, not to have a soliloquy on right and wrong.

All that being said, I do plan to stick with the show for at least a few episodes.  I believe that there are enough glimpses of coolness that shine through in the pilot to indicate that Bionic Woman could become an impressive program.  If the upcoming episodes are all like the pilot, though, I’m out.

Bionic Woman premieres Wednesday, September 26 at 9/8c.