ABC
Isaiah Washington  

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- You have to feel a little sorry for the producers of NBC's "Bionic Woman." They created a character, went looking to cast the role and then NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman goes and saddles them with Isaiah Washington, who was let go by "Grey's Anatomy" after he uttered a homophobic slur, denied it, apologized for it and then blamed his firing on racism.

Silverman said he started talking to Washington before he was fired by ABC.

"I didn't quite understand what had gone on there," Silverman said, a disingenuous statement for someone who claims to be steeped in TV culture. "But the bottom line is he's a wonderful actor."

Silverman side-stepped a question about whether Washington's hiring would alienate a segment of the audience that might not be interested in watching a homophobe, which left the question to the producers of "Bionic Woman."

Needless to say, they stumbled trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't offend the boss, Silverman, but also distance themselves from hiring Washington. Executive producer Jason Smilovic said Silverman came up with the casting and the role was not created for Washington nor was it re-tooled for him, although the character's arc was extended to five episodes from what was initially a shorter duration.

"We feel that he is the right actor for the role, but also, we believe in second chances," Smilovic said. "We are not here to make judgments. You know, when somebody does something wrong and you have a systemic problem, the best way to change that problem is not by casting them outside of the system. It's by allowing them to make amends, allowing them to make reparations and to do the right thing. So rather than excommunicate someone, we felt that it was better to give him a second chance."

And if Washington had just apologized and shut up about it, I would agree completely. But instead he keeps talking crazy smack and playing the racism card.

One reporter asked producers if "it had been a white actor repeatedly and unapologetically using the 'N' word, would you be so forgiving, and do you think NBC would be so boasting and actually issuing press releases how they were able to grab an actor whom they rather blindly view as such a 'get' at the moment?"

Smilovic dodged that one, calling the question "theoretical." The reporter tried again: "To put it in different terms, do you think that the casting of Isaiah at this time shows any disrespect to the gay community?"

Smilovic said it did not.

"We embrace the gay community. We are hoping that they are going to watch the show, and we are in no way making any judgments or statements or assignations about what was said or what was done," Smilovic said. "This is about making a television series. It's about making some great entertainment, and we found a great actor to do that."

Pressing it further than necessary, a reporter then asked if Washington's character would have a gay kiss.

"I think that that would do a lot more than break down the third and fourth and fifth wall of television," Smilovic said. "And we are trying to make a show, and it's got to be contained. And I don't think that we are going to deal with anything that is true to our actors' lives in their characters. I don't think that we will be embracing any of that."

If they're smart, Washington's character will ultimately be a bad guy that the audience is encouraged to root against.

Quote of the day: During a session for NBC's time travel drama "Journeyman," a TV critic asked about the standard time travel rule that if you go back in time and change one thing, you change everything.

"I don't think it's been proven," quipped executive producer Kevin Falls ("The West Wing"), prompting loud guffaws all around.

First Published: July 18, 2007, 12:45 a.m.