Television series
The Bionic Woman
A cheerful, gadget-free flavor of 70s Cold War spy-adventure: Lindsay Wagner plays Jaime Sommers, a schoolteacher turned secret superhuman agent running down spies and saboteurs with steel tendons and a titanium ear. It's earnest, episodic, gently campy, and surprisingly humane — as much about a woman adjusting to a body and life she never chose as about spycraft. Comfort viewing for nostalgia hunters and anyone who likes their action wrapped in optimism.
If you liked this
The Six Million Dollar Man1973
This is literally where Jaime Sommers began — watching Steve Austin's own bionic missions fills in the origin story and doubles the retro sci-fi comfort.
But If you came to Bionic Woman first, this can feel like homework, and Austin's episodes skew more macho and less emotionally curious.
Wonder Woman1975
Lynda Carter brings the same earnest, primary-colored heroism, with a superhumanly capable woman at the centre who never once apologises for her strength.
But More costume and camp, less espionage texture — if you liked Bionic Woman's low-key government-agent grounding, this leans harder into pure superhero spectacle.
The Avengers1961
Emma Peel is the sharpest, coolest woman on 60s television, judo-chopping villains in leather and trading barbed one-liners — a blueprint for confident female action heroes.
But British, surreal, and considerably weirder than earnest American adventure television — the comic register is a whole different animal.
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Manchurian Candidate1962
Same Cold War fear underneath both: the body and mind rebuilt by covert government science, loyalty and agency quietly rewritten — one plays it as hope, the other as horror.
A tense, brilliant Cold War thriller about a soldier whose mind has been secretly reprogrammed by shadowy forces — the same era's anxieties that Bionic Woman turned cheerful.
But Black-and-white, slow-building, and deeply paranoid — nothing here is fun, and the tone is a world away from Jaime's plucky heroism.
More like this (7)
Charlie's Angels1976no page yet
Same network-era gloss and undercover-agent plotting: three women running investigations with wit, style, and a lightness that makes for easy comfort viewing.
But No sci-fi element at all — these are ordinary women, so if bionic gadgetry was the draw, this feels comparatively grounded.
Alias2001
Sydney Bristow updates the lone female secret agent for a slicker, twistier era, complete with wigs, double lives, and a handler dynamic echoing Oscar Goldman.
But Heavily serialised across seasons of conspiracy rather than episodic missions — a much bigger commitment than Bionic Woman ever asked.
Knight Rider1982no page yet
Swap bionic limbs for a talking supercar and you get the same formula: a government-adjacent hero, a flashy tech gimmick, and breezy crime-of-the-week stories.
But KITT's machine wit replaces Jaime's human vulnerability — slicker, but noticeably less emotionally grounded.
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.1966no page yet
A rare 60s attempt at a woman-led spy spinoff, with the same institutional-agent setup and light comic tone that made Bionic Woman such easy Sunday-night viewing.
But Shorter-lived and thinner for good reason — campier and less compelling than actual superpowers.
Get Smart1965
If OSI's bureaucratic spy-agency setup ever made you smile, this is the gold standard: a barely competent agent, a stern chief, and constant gadget-based self-parody.
But It's flat-out comedy with none of the earnestness Bionic Woman built its appeal on — a real tonal detour.
Nikita2010
A modern, female-led take on the secret-government-agent premise, sleeker and more action-forward, with a betrayed operative turning on the agency that made her.
But Grittier and more cynical about institutions than Bionic Woman's cheerful patriotism — no reassuring Oscar Goldman here.
Black Mirror2011
Both ask what happens to intimacy when technology remakes someone you love into something not quite the person you knew — Jaime and Steve's altered bond, mirrored and darkened.
The episode 'Be Right Back' takes the same 'loved one transformed by technology' idea and strips it down to its saddest, most intimate version — a quiet, devastating hour about grief.
But No adventure, no mission, no gadget fun — just a slow, aching character study that unsettles rather than entertains.
People
Cast
Writing
- Kenneth JohnsonCreator
Production
- Craig SchillerAssociate Producer
- Harve BennettExecutive Producer