User Reviews

This is one of the more surprising episodes from the stellar 2nd series of "The Six Million Dollar Man", which may not have had the edginess of the first season but represented the show at it's most entertaining -- for grownups, at least. Youngsters like myself at the time were welcome to watch along and get all psyched up whenever the Bionic Man did something bionic, but the screenplay for this outing in particular (written in part by TV action favorite Steven Kandel) is a bit beyond the grasp of nine year old boys.

We get a pretty, firm bottomed 25 year old OSI computer programming whiz who's participation in US Olympic trials for the steeplechase team puts her in jeopardy of kidnap from a bunch of double agents, one of which is actually played by matinée hero Tab Hunter. Colonel Steve Austin is assigned as an unwelcome bodyguard who gets to run along the steeplechase route at bionic speed to keep an eye on her, an improbability to say the least since you'd think that SOMEONE WOULD NOTICE ...

But never mind, the well cast supporting group punches, beats and shoots their way through the cast, generating one of the highest body counts for the series since the Russians were phased out. I counted about four dead and twice as many more headed for the hospital by the end of the adventure. This is not an episode made with the kids in mind The dialog is also surprisingly grown-up as well, with off the cuff one liners about horses getting their heads blown off, women threatening to cry rape, and some double entredes about how fetching guest starlet Donna Mills looks in her skin tight riding outfit. Mind you I'm not objecting to any of this: While the show may lack a suitable opponent for the Bionic Man in the form of Bigfoot, a bunch of NFL linebackers or a runaway space probe, it's a good example of what SMDM might have evolved into if Colonel Steve Austin hadn't become a childhood idol to millions and remained a Friday night action/adventure show aimed at grownups.

One of the things that works best about the episode is how it was written specifically with the Bionic Man in mind; while Steve doesn't go near any rocket ships or battle the Russians, none of the actions that he engages in to keep fans happy with their bionic feat quota reverts to being Gratuitous Bionic Displays. Instead we see him running along after the horses, throwing bails of hay at hidden assassins 450 yards away and breaking loose from the bad guy's trap to save the pretty lady with the nice can in the tight pants for a little bionic horseplay joke to close the chapter. It all works quite nicely, but you just sort of have to marvel at how violent this particular installment is for a supposed family show. Here's one that demonstrates that at this point, at least, it really wasn't, and for that reason alone it continues to sort of stand out as a more mature example of what the show was getting at.

7/10

Steve Austin(Lee Majors) is assigned to be the bodyguard of a computer programmer named Lisa Leitman(played by Donna Mills) who is under threat by unknown criminal or foreign agents who want her to give them a crucial computer code that only she has. Trouble is, Lisa is reluctant to let Oscar(Richard Anderson) protect her because she doesn't take the threat seriously, which turns out to be a mistake as a traitor in OSI turns out to be behind it all, forcing Steve to mount a daring rescue after she is indeed kidnapped. Marginal episode has a nice subplot about Lisa being an Olympic Steeplechase candidate, but otherwise a fairly obvious plot.

Steve is assigned to protect Liza Leitman, an equestrian trying to make the Olympic team; she's also the inventor of the cryptography code that links computers and secret communications worldwide. She is under threat of being kidnapped. Though she refuses to have any of Oscar's men shadowing her, Oscar sends Steve Austin to tail her anyway.

Donna Mills plays a headstrong computer cryptologist who wants to compete in equestrian showjumping, and she does well in the role, though she can be a bit annoying. Tab Hunter is one of the guys to nab her and unsuccessfully tries to kill Austin who is guarding her, but manages to kill her trainer. It's a standard episode with some good moments such as Austin hurdling over hurdle as he chases after Donna on the horse, throwing hay at a guy and a big console at the chief villains, crushing them.