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“Aim high and serve nothing but aces”: (Re)-watching The Bionic Woman
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<blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 262743" data-attributes="member: 23"><p style="text-align: center"><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>African Connection</strong></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTJjMWU5M2ItYjQ4MS00ZDgwLWI3ODQtOWUxOWI3NzdlNjhiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjA5MzIxNjQ@._V1_.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 614px" /></span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">With its jungle setting, <em>African Connection</em> has much in common with <em>Angel Of Mercy</em>. Once again, Jaime is teamed up with a grumpy old man for her expedition. This time though, he’s even more mercenary, as Harry Walker keeps negotiating his price with Jaime at crucial times. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">Keeping on with the <em>Dallas</em> parallels, Harry is kind of a precursor to Digger Barnes (in fact, for a moment I thought it <u>was</u> David Wayne in the Digger appearance that @J.R.’s Piece hinted about). Like Digger, we first meet him in a bar the worse for wear and his alcohol dependence strains his relationship with the young woman he feels protective towards as she tries to keep him on the straight and narrow. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">This episode presents drinking and driving with little consequence or moral preaching. It’s here to tell us more about Harry’s character than to give us any lessons. While Jaime doesn’t approve, neither does she show any qualms about hopping into a vehicle driven by Harry even as he keeps topping up. But then if you’re in an armoured beast of a car in the jungle I’m sure priorities might be different. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">Speaking of <em>Angel Of Mercy</em>, there’s a nice callback to a trope established in that episode: Jaime hates snakes. There’s a scene where she starts to storm into the jungle, annoyed at Harry. Harry points his gun in her direction and fires. Jaime is as shocked at least as much as the audience, and as she turns and asks him what he’s doing, a large, dead snake drops from the tree above her. It’s a funny moment, perfectly executed. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">In common with most series of the era, <em>The Bionic Woman</em> is a very white show. With that in mind, it’s interesting to see Jaime being perceived as a white saviour when she tells a black friend Leora she is better equipped to resolve the situation than Leora and her friends:</span></span></p><p></p><p></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">Jaime is horrified and clarifies by demonstrating her bionics (destroying some of Leora’s property in the process, as she is wont to do). And the situation is smoothed over. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><span style="font-size: 15px">All the same, it’s a little awkward. On the one hand we have Leora, an educated, intelligent woman who has been a schoolteacher, beautifully played by Joan Pringle who has great chemistry with Linsday. But then there’s Jaime and Harry being pursued for much of the episode by African characters wielding blowdarts. And Jaime - by virtue of her assignment and also by the nature of the series - <u><em>is</em></u> obliged to leap to the rescue. When actions speak louder than words I’m not sure how convincingly the series has rebutted Leora’s concerns. </span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mel O'Drama, post: 262743, member: 23"] [CENTER][COLOR=#000000][SIZE=6][B]African Connection[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR] [SIZE=4][IMG width="614px"]https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BOTJjMWU5M2ItYjQ4MS00ZDgwLWI3ODQtOWUxOWI3NzdlNjhiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjA5MzIxNjQ@._V1_.jpg[/IMG][/SIZE][/CENTER] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]With its jungle setting, [I]African Connection[/I] has much in common with [I]Angel Of Mercy[/I]. Once again, Jaime is teamed up with a grumpy old man for her expedition. This time though, he’s even more mercenary, as Harry Walker keeps negotiating his price with Jaime at crucial times. Keeping on with the [I]Dallas[/I] parallels, Harry is kind of a precursor to Digger Barnes (in fact, for a moment I thought it [U]was[/U] David Wayne in the Digger appearance that @J.R.’s Piece hinted about). Like Digger, we first meet him in a bar the worse for wear and his alcohol dependence strains his relationship with the young woman he feels protective towards as she tries to keep him on the straight and narrow. This episode presents drinking and driving with little consequence or moral preaching. It’s here to tell us more about Harry’s character than to give us any lessons. While Jaime doesn’t approve, neither does she show any qualms about hopping into a vehicle driven by Harry even as he keeps topping up. But then if you’re in an armoured beast of a car in the jungle I’m sure priorities might be different. Speaking of [I]Angel Of Mercy[/I], there’s a nice callback to a trope established in that episode: Jaime hates snakes. There’s a scene where she starts to storm into the jungle, annoyed at Harry. Harry points his gun in her direction and fires. Jaime is as shocked at least as much as the audience, and as she turns and asks him what he’s doing, a large, dead snake drops from the tree above her. It’s a funny moment, perfectly executed. In common with most series of the era, [I]The Bionic Woman[/I] is a very white show. With that in mind, it’s interesting to see Jaime being perceived as a white saviour when she tells a black friend Leora she is better equipped to resolve the situation than Leora and her friends:[/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=#000000][SIZE=4]Jaime is horrified and clarifies by demonstrating her bionics (destroying some of Leora’s property in the process, as she is wont to do). And the situation is smoothed over. All the same, it’s a little awkward. On the one hand we have Leora, an educated, intelligent woman who has been a schoolteacher, beautifully played by Joan Pringle who has great chemistry with Linsday. But then there’s Jaime and Harry being pursued for much of the episode by African characters wielding blowdarts. And Jaime - by virtue of her assignment and also by the nature of the series - [U][I]is[/I][/U] obliged to leap to the rescue. When actions speak louder than words I’m not sure how convincingly the series has rebutted Leora’s concerns. [/SIZE][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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“Aim high and serve nothing but aces”: (Re)-watching The Bionic Woman
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