the Six Million Dollar Man

"We have the technology"

Before there was a Terminator and a Robocop, Lee Majors was everyone's favorite cyborg. For any sci-fi or adventure show fan, this was THE show of the 70's. The 60's had Kirk, Spock, Tribbles, and Klingons; the 70's had Steve Austin, Oscar Goldman, Jamie Summers, and Bigfoot.

Lee Majors was Steve Austin, astronaut; a man barely alive...... There was nothing Stone Cold about this Steve Austin, except maybe his wardrobe. Lee Majors was quite entertaining as Col. Steve Austin; part James Bond, part Buzz Aldrin/Chuck Yeager, and part Superman. Lee gave Austin a nice mix of serious and fun. Yes, his acting could be as mechanical as his bionics; but, Majors always had a bit of a twinkle in his eye (may have been the lens in the bionic one). He never took himself too seriously in the role, but could convey that emotion when the script called for it.

Richard Anderson was steady as boss and pal Oscar Goldman. Like Majors, he was limited, but well suited to his character. Anderson could be a good supporting actor when he rose to the occasion; and he often did.

Bionic limbs.

Kill in style.

I personally preferred Martin E. Brooks to Allan Openheimer, as Dr. Rudy Wells. Brooks came across more as a scientist. The other supporting characters varied in quality from show to show, but Rudy was always an integral part.

The episodes vary in excitement and imagination. The later seasons suffered from repetition, but, the early ones hold up well as good science fiction. Personal favorites include the death probe; the Russian installation with a doomsday device that is accidentally activated; the booby-trapped Liberty Bell; the androids; Steve's return flight in the experimental craft from the pilot movie;the Bionic Woman cross-overs; and, of course, Bigfoot. I preferred the more science fiction oriented stories to the more mundane cops and robbers shows.

The show had quite a mix of guest stars. There were the greats, like William Shatner, Lou Gossett Jr., Guy Doleman (from Thunderball and the Ipcress File), and Ted Cassidy and Andre the Giant as Bigfoot (Andre played him first). There were the so-so, like Farrah Fawcett (Majors), Cathy Rigby, Gary Lockwood, and John Saxon. Then there were the strange, like Sonny Bono and Larry Csonka.

Sponsored by Adidas.

Bionic Woman!

This was the show that caused millions of kids in the 70's to run in slow motion, while making strange noises. It also had the coolest action figure; it came with an engine block that you could cause Steve Austin to lift, by pressing a button on his back. You could also look through the bionic eye, although you had to make your own sound effects. I understand these things go for big bucks on eBay.

Years later, I found a copy of the original novel, Cyborg, by Martin Caidin.

The character was a bit different. He was more of a secret agent than in the series, and the bionics were a bit different. The eye was actually a camera, rather than a telescopic lens. It was explained that Austin's stamina was greater, since his lungs didn't have to provide oxygen to his bionic limbs. He also had special enhancements for the limbs for special missions. In one, he has webbed feet for underwater swimming. The book plays up Austin's intelligence and scientific background more. It was generally well written, and makes a nice contrast to the series.

There have been rumors of an updated movie. At one point, it was pitched as a comedy with Chris Rock. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to be the case right now. It has tremendous potential as and action/sci-fi movie, particularly with advances in special effects. Here's hoping the right script, director, and cast comes along and makes it a reality. Of course, they'll have to adjust it for inflation; 6 million doesn't buy much these days. And defense contractors are notorious for overcharging for substandard work.

The original 70's toyline.

Comic book adaptation.

The following videos are TV ads that were made to promote the wonderful 
action figures made by Kenner. Notice the likeness with the TV series feeling the ads had:

Six Million Dollar Man TV ad #1 (the longest toy TV ad I can think of! two minutes long!)



Another toy ad. This time, almost 40 seconds as they usually are to this day. However, the limited time does not diminish the quality of the ad. Those were the days! they say.

16 Facts you (probably) didn't know about the Six Million Dollar Man

1. Ex-USAF pilot and NASA PR man Martin Caidin's 1971 novel "Cyborg" was the source material for this show. However, the TV series had many things changed. For instance, in the novel the hero is more like a killer while the TV rendition aimed at all ages audiences, especially kids who would relate to Steve Austin as a role model.

2. The aircraft seen crashing in the show's opening sequence was an M2-F2, a "flying body configuration" built by Northrop. The audio sound effects are from a crash that occurred on May 10, 1967, at Edwards Air Force base in California (although the dialog heard was recorded by Majors). The test pilot, Bruce Peterson, hit the ground at 250 mph, tumbling six times. He lost use of his right eye and had to stop flying, ending his career. Understandably, Peterson has said that he hated reliving his accident, week after week, courtesy of the show. 

3. The characters of Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson) and Rudy Wells (Martin E. Brooks) appeared on both this series and its spinoff, The Bionic Woman. When the spinoff moved to another network, this practice continued. This was the first time in TV history the same continuing characters appeared on two different TV series broadcast on two different networks at the same time. 

Bionic couple.

Trading cards.

4. Near the end of the series, Lee Majors experimented with changing Austin's look by growing a mustache. This proved unpopular and the idea was dropped, but not before a number of commercial tie-ins, including a comic book and a lunch box, had been produced with the new look. If the show was releaased today, hipsters would have loved the mustache idea.

5. In the spring of 1977, before production began on what would be the show's final season, Lee Majors refused to go to work until contract demands were met. At one point it was reported that producers were considering hiring a new actor to take over the series. Among those considered were Gil Gerard, Bruce Jenner, and Harrison Ford (the producers said he was unsuitable as an action hero WTF!). 

6. Early episodes of the series had Austin killing villains on occasion. As it became clear that Austin was becoming a role model for kids, the level of violence in the series decreased, with Austin rarely (if ever) actually killing anyone. Of course, that appealed to all ages audiences. Everyone likes heroes that save the day with no casualties. I guess the old fashioned racist killing japs and commies days were going bye bye those days.

7. The characters Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers (from The Bionic Woman) were ranked #19 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue). 

8. Martin Caidin based the character of Steve Austin on astronauts David Scott and Eugene Cernan (commanders of Apollo 15 and 17, respectively). 

9. The exterior shots of OSI Headquarters are actually the Russell Senate Office Building as seen from the Senate side of the Capitol, across Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC. 

10. When the show was broadcast in Israel, it was called "The Man Who Is worth Millions". This was due to the fact that, in Israel, the number six million is associated with the Holocaust.

11. Martin Caidin originally wanted Monte Markham for the role of Steve Austin. 

Big Foot V/S Steve!!

12. The creator of "The Six Million Dollar Man" lived in Cocoa Beach. Martin Caidin, author of 'Cyborg', was the creator of the fictional Steve Austin and used the name of Dr. Rudy Wells in the novel with permission of a rather eccentric Cocoa Beach physician of the same name who used to wear roller skates in his office as he saw patients. In 1997, Caidin's ashes were scattered from the air over the Cocoa Beach coastline as he was particularly attached to the Space coast area. 

13. In Spanish-speaking countries, the series is known as El hombre nuclear ("The Nuclear Man"). 

14. According to Lee Majors, he did 90% of his own stunts. 

15. The opening sequence has been paid homage to in two TV commercials - one by Coors Light in the mid-1990s and the 2012 Mazda CX5 crossover utility vehicle. 

Here is the 90's Coors Light Beer TV ad:



And here is the 2012 Mazda TV ad: 

16. Harvey Bennett is the voice in the opening of the show that says "Steve Austin a man barely alive." He did this recording after Richard Anderson had already recorded the rest of the monologue. Anderson was not available at the time to record the addition so Bennett did it himself.

Overall, a great TV series that is not dated by any means, giving it a replay value that can make the experience as entertaining as it was in the 70's when it originally aired on TV. Strongly recommended for fans of secret agent adventures, espionage, science fiction, super hero like characters and 70's pop culture lovers of all sorts.The Six Million Dollar Man is definitely a very well executed piece of art that is now a significant part of pop culture and television history I'm sure you don't wanna miss that in case you have never watched an episode from this gem only the 70's could deliver.

Here's the legendary opening sequence: