Colonel Steve Austin, ex-N.A.S.A. astronaut ( Lee Majors ) is severely injured following a plane crash in Arizona. Hs is 'rebuilt' with bionic parts ( as Freddie Starr said at the time: "He's got everything bionic, hasn't he? Well, almost everything!" ), turning him in the process into a superman. Austin can now run at incredible speeds, see things over a long distance, and with one arm rip off safe doors and punch holes in walls ( a useful ability should one accidentally lock oneself out of the house ). The makeover costs six million dollars ( a lot of money then. Today he would be lucky to get a bionic big toe for that amount ). Keen to get their money's worth, the U.S. Government puts Austin to work for the O.S.I. ( Office of Strategic Intelligence ), headed by Oscar Goldman ( Richard Anderson ).
Each week, Austin would be sent round the world on some dangerous mission such as assisting a Russian scientist to defect or recovering stolen microfilm - one that required the use of his extraordinary powers. Beautiful girls including Britt Ekland, Martine Beswick, Michele Carey, Jane Merrow, and Lee Majors' then wife Farrah Fawcett cropped up an awful lot, none able to resist our hero's charms. Bits of him may have required an M.O.T. every now and then, obviously not the bits they were interested in.
The villains were by and large foreign saboteurs or evil scientists out to seize power. The late Henry Jones played a robot inventor called 'Dolenz' in no less than three episodes. 'Bigfoot' showed up more than once too; he wasn't the real Sasquatch, of course, but an android used by aliens to guard their secret base. Then there was 'Death Probe', a N.A.S.A. device designed to explore and study alien planets which went berserk after crash landing on Earth.
All this was great fun if you, like me, was eleven years old back in '74. The novel 'Cyborg' by Martin Caidin formed the basis for the pilot. Mark Gatiss cited the opening title sequence as one of his all-time favourites. Footage of Austin's crash backed by dramatic music led to an animated version of Austin's rebirth, leading to that famous voice-over: "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology...the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better, stronger, faster!". We would then see him lifting weights and running like the wind, and hear Oliver Nelson's theme in all its glory. Depicting Austin running fast was a problem for the producers. Initially, they sped up the film, but this made him look like Benny Hill, so they went to the other extreme by slowing him down, managing to convey a sense of power without looking too silly.
The show was a pop culture phenomenon. Playgrounds the world over were full of children pretending to be Austin, before going home and playing with toys associated with the series. I still have the books along with a pair of Annuals. It captured the imagination of an entire generation in a way that few shows, before or since, have managed. It wasn't an original idea, of course. The British show 'The Champions' also featured superhuman secret agents. The timing for 'The Six Million Dollar Man' was right because in the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate it reassured American viewers that their country was still a force to be reckoned with.
Parodies abounded. Les Dawson became 'The Fifty Pence Man' on his 'Les Sez' show, while Eric Sykes' B.B.C. series featured an episode in which he dreamt he was bionic. As late as 1985, Ben Elton's 'Happy Families' featured 'The Man Who Cost A Lot'.
Though not the world's greatest actor, Lee Majors was perfect for the role of Austin ( though his dress sense occasionally left a lot to be desired. And why did he grow that cheesy moustache? ). Richard Anderson made Goldman a likable authority figure. He and Steve did not get along initially but then became friends. Martin Balsam played 'Dr.Rudy Wells' in the pilot, Alan Oppenheimer replaced him, but it is Martin E.Brooks who is best remembered now in the role.
In a decade when science fiction was considered passé in the aftermath of the Apollo moon landings, 'The Six Million Dollar Man' defied expectations by enjoying a solid five year run. Like many shows though, it 'jumped the shark' - particularly when it brought in other bionic characters. I did not mind 'The Seven Million Dollar Man', put up with 'The Bionic Woman' ( I rather fancied her ), but when her spin-off started, and 'Bionic Boy' and 'Bionic Dog' came along I used what was left of my bionic strength to switch the television set off. There were a number of 'reunion' movies in the '80's ( one of them guest starred Sandra Bullock ), but for me the original remains the best. I still enjoy reruns. Scientists may perfect bionics someday, and I hope its soon so I can go bounding around the place in my checked jacket and flares, just as Steve used to do.
( This review is dedicated to the memory of my friend Kevin William Jones, the number one 'bionic' fan, who passed away on 23rd December 2010, aged 47 )
Each week, Austin would be sent round the world on some dangerous mission such as assisting a Russian scientist to defect or recovering stolen microfilm - one that required the use of his extraordinary powers. Beautiful girls including Britt Ekland, Martine Beswick, Michele Carey, Jane Merrow, and Lee Majors' then wife Farrah Fawcett cropped up an awful lot, none able to resist our hero's charms. Bits of him may have required an M.O.T. every now and then, obviously not the bits they were interested in.
The villains were by and large foreign saboteurs or evil scientists out to seize power. The late Henry Jones played a robot inventor called 'Dolenz' in no less than three episodes. 'Bigfoot' showed up more than once too; he wasn't the real Sasquatch, of course, but an android used by aliens to guard their secret base. Then there was 'Death Probe', a N.A.S.A. device designed to explore and study alien planets which went berserk after crash landing on Earth.
All this was great fun if you, like me, was eleven years old back in '74. The novel 'Cyborg' by Martin Caidin formed the basis for the pilot. Mark Gatiss cited the opening title sequence as one of his all-time favourites. Footage of Austin's crash backed by dramatic music led to an animated version of Austin's rebirth, leading to that famous voice-over: "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology...the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better, stronger, faster!". We would then see him lifting weights and running like the wind, and hear Oliver Nelson's theme in all its glory. Depicting Austin running fast was a problem for the producers. Initially, they sped up the film, but this made him look like Benny Hill, so they went to the other extreme by slowing him down, managing to convey a sense of power without looking too silly.
The show was a pop culture phenomenon. Playgrounds the world over were full of children pretending to be Austin, before going home and playing with toys associated with the series. I still have the books along with a pair of Annuals. It captured the imagination of an entire generation in a way that few shows, before or since, have managed. It wasn't an original idea, of course. The British show 'The Champions' also featured superhuman secret agents. The timing for 'The Six Million Dollar Man' was right because in the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate it reassured American viewers that their country was still a force to be reckoned with.
Parodies abounded. Les Dawson became 'The Fifty Pence Man' on his 'Les Sez' show, while Eric Sykes' B.B.C. series featured an episode in which he dreamt he was bionic. As late as 1985, Ben Elton's 'Happy Families' featured 'The Man Who Cost A Lot'.
Though not the world's greatest actor, Lee Majors was perfect for the role of Austin ( though his dress sense occasionally left a lot to be desired. And why did he grow that cheesy moustache? ). Richard Anderson made Goldman a likable authority figure. He and Steve did not get along initially but then became friends. Martin Balsam played 'Dr.Rudy Wells' in the pilot, Alan Oppenheimer replaced him, but it is Martin E.Brooks who is best remembered now in the role.
In a decade when science fiction was considered passé in the aftermath of the Apollo moon landings, 'The Six Million Dollar Man' defied expectations by enjoying a solid five year run. Like many shows though, it 'jumped the shark' - particularly when it brought in other bionic characters. I did not mind 'The Seven Million Dollar Man', put up with 'The Bionic Woman' ( I rather fancied her ), but when her spin-off started, and 'Bionic Boy' and 'Bionic Dog' came along I used what was left of my bionic strength to switch the television set off. There were a number of 'reunion' movies in the '80's ( one of them guest starred Sandra Bullock ), but for me the original remains the best. I still enjoy reruns. Scientists may perfect bionics someday, and I hope its soon so I can go bounding around the place in my checked jacket and flares, just as Steve used to do.
( This review is dedicated to the memory of my friend Kevin William Jones, the number one 'bionic' fan, who passed away on 23rd December 2010, aged 47 )