FILLING WAGNER'S BIONIC SHOES IS A TOUGH JOB.

Byline: DAVID KRONKE

>TV CRITIC

They can rebuild "Bionic Woman," but not necessarily better than before.

NBC's new take on the classic/campy '70s action series takes place in a more sinister, "X-Files"-inspired world. Michelle Ryan stars as Jaime Sommers, a bartender with an impressive IQ who is dating bioethicist Will Anthros (Chris Bowers).

When a spectacularly staged car wreck nearly kills Jaime, Will's real job in a shadowy government agency building high-tech human soldiers is revealed. He saves Jaime's life, but now she's a half-woman, half-gizmo super-cyborg -- and is expected to work for the secretive organization. It's run by a not-completely-trustworthy Jonas Bledsoe (Miguel Ferrer, a talented actor who seems to be phoning it in, at least in the pilot).

Oh, and there's the small matter of one Sarah Corvis (Katee Sackhoff) -- "the original bionic woman," as she introduces herself to Jaime before they engage in a bloody catfight. She has it in for her former employers, but does she have a legitimate beef?

Ryan's earnestness as Jaime is unlikely to make fans of the original forget Lindsay Wagner's more winningly droll turn. A lot of the performances are of the scowl-and-pose variety, except for Sackhoff, who steals the show as Corvis. Her acidic wit and nihilistic aggression elevates the drama significantly to what is otherwise a fairly familiar romp through government-sponsored paranoia.

BIONIC WOMAN - Two and one half stars

>What: Darker remake of the '70s sci-fi series.

>Where: NBC (Channel 4).

>When: 9 tonight.

>In a nutshell: Not bad, but not compelling in its first outing.

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Michelle Ryan plays Jaime Sommers, a bartender-turned-agent, in NBC's "Bionic Woman," a 21st- century update of the '70s action series.