JAIME SOMMERS has always had her secrets: an artificially powered limb (or limbs) here, a super-sensitive ear there.
But at least California girl Lindsay Wagner got to use something akin to her normal speaking voice when she played "The Bionic Woman" on ABC (and then on NBC) some 30 years ago.
NBC's new "Bionic Woman," which stars Michelle Ryan, comes with many more bells and whistles (and a lot more emotional baggage) than her predecessor.
She also comes with an accent not her own.
And the British-born Ryan, whose IMDB.com listing credits her with a whopping 365 episodes of England's venerable soap opera, "EastEnders," isn't alone.
As you've probably heard by now, the British aren't just coming - they're here. Living among us - or at least hanging out in our living rooms - speaking in accents their parents probably once made fun of, blending in so well that even if you caught them in an old "Mystery!" or "Masterpiece Theatre," you might not immediately recognize them.
Ryan, in fact, will turn up early next year on "Masterpiece Theatre," co-starring in "Mansfield Park" as part of the PBS series' salute to all things Jane Austen.
I'm guessing she won't sound a bit like Jaime Sommers, any more than "House's" Hugh Laurie sounds like P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster when he's playing Dr. House or "Without a Trace's" London-born Marianne Jean-Baptiste sounds like Hortense Cumberbatch, the role in "Secrets & Lies" that 10 years ago got her an Oscar nomination.
Jean-Baptiste, who's seen weekly with two other accent-shifters, Australians Anthony LaPaglia and Poppy Montgomery, has cultivated a remarkably convincing New York sound for "Trace," and she and Laurie, whose Gregory House speaks in what's probably best described as a mid-Atlantic accent, have set the bar high for their compatriots.
But though reporters at this summer's Television Critics Association meetings inquired diligently about improved vocal coaching techniques that might have allowed more Brits than usual to slip through holes in the Hollywood casting net, it quickly became clear that for producers, the accent was anywhere but the accent.
When "Bionic Woman" producers first saw Ryan on an Internet feed, and invited her to fly in for an audition, it "really felt like you were, you know, discovering somebody," said executive producer David Eick.
"It was like that old Hollywood story where you're finding someone who no one knows . . . And even though Michelle's well-known in the U.K., we didn't know her here," said Eick, who's also brought in at least one other Brit, Mark Sheppard, from another of his shows, the Sci-Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica."
Some of the other possibly new-to-us faces from across the pond include:
Kevin McKidd
Faking us out as: A time-traveling San Francisco newspaper reporter in NBC's "Journeyman."
Where he's really from: Elgin, Scotland.
Where you may have seen him: In the film "Trainspotting" and in HBO's "Rome," where his Lucius Vorenus wasn't expected to ditch his Scottish accent.
The accent: McKidd, who plays the younger brother of a cop played by Reed Diamond ("Homicide: Life on the Street"), bears a remarkable resemblance to his TV brother and seems to be trying to sound like him, too. Only problem with that might be that the Brooklyn-born Diamond retains a slight New York accent (noticeable as far back as the Baltimore-based "Homicide"), and both these characters are presumed to be from the Bay area.
Anna Friel
Faking us out as:
"Pushing Daisies' " Charlotte "Chuck" Charles, the recently resurrected first love of pie-maker Ned (Lee Pace), who wasn't exactly supposed to bring her back from the dead, but did, anyway.
Where she's really from: Rochdale, Lancashire, England.
Where you may have seen her: Opposite Rob Lowe in a 1994 TV movie, "Perfect Strangers."
The accent: Friel, who looks a bit like a young Debra Winger, may be trying to sound like her, too. Not that it's really necessary: "Pushing Daisies," with its British narrator Jim Dale, seems to exist in a place that's beyond regional accents.
Damian Lewis
Faking us out as: A Los Angeles police officer who's recently rejoined the force after serving 12 years for a triple murder he didn't commit, in "Life."
Where he's really from: London. Educated at Eton, no less.
Where you may have seen him: As Maj. Richard Winters in HBO's "Band of Brothers," or (using something closer to his real accent) as Soames Forsyte in "The Forsyte Saga."
The accent: You probably can't tell that he's not from around here (or at least around L.A.). But then, any oddity of diction or cadence would work for this quirky character.
Lennie James
Faking us out as: Mysterious newcomer (and federal agent?) Robert Hawkins, on CBS' post-nuclear drama, "Jericho."
Where he's really from: South London.
Where you may have seen him: BBC America's "The State Within," A&E's "MI-5."
The accent: Good enough to fool everyone in Jericho, Kan.
Matthew Rhys
Faking us out as: "Ally McBeal's" gay southern California lawyer brother on ABC's "Brothers & Sisters."
Where he's really from: Cardiff, Wales.
Where you may have seen him: As the dissolute - but veddy British - Lord Byron on BBC America's "Beau Brummel: This Charming Man."
The accent: Indistinguishable from that of his cast mates (who include two-time Oscar winner Sally Field). But then, according to IMDB.com, his first language was that notorious tongue-twister, Welsh. So Pasadena's probably a piece of cake.
Polly Walker
Faking us out as: A south Florida sugar heiress (and scheming villainess) in CBS' "Cane."
Where she's really from: Warrington, Cheshire, England.
Where you may have seen her: HBO's "Rome" (where she raised the scheming villainess thing to an art form), the films "Emma" and "Patriot Games."
The accent: Southern drawl of indeterminate origins, sometimes seems to come and go. Maybe they could have just had her educated at a British boarding school? Anything for Walker.
Lloyd Owen
Faking us out as: Would-be Nevada casino owner Ripley Holden in CBS' "Viva Laughlin," which has a preview at 10 tomorrow night before moving to 8 p.m. Sundays.
Where he's really from: London.
Where you may have seen him: "Monarch of the Glen," which has popped up on both BBC America and local PBS stations.
The accent: Now that you know where he's from, I'm betting you're going to detect it in his voice (which, by the way, will also be doing some singing, "Viva Laughlin" being something of a musical). Only seems fair, since the show's based on the BBC miniseries, "Viva Blackpool" (though that one starred David Morrissey).
Sophia Myles
Faking us out as: L.A. Web site reporter Beth Turner in CBS' vampire drama, "Moonlight."
Where she's really from: London.
The accent: Feels more L.A. than that of her co-star, Australian Alex O'Loughlin, whose undead character sounds as if he might be from New York. *
Send e-mail to graye@phillynews.com or join in at noon tomorrow at philly.com for my weekly chat with "Inquirer" TV critic Jonathan Storm.