Steve Austin may be the Six Million Dollar Man, but his television pilot looks like it must have been made for a dollar ninety-eight.
Furthermore, the usually-reliable Darren McGavin and Martin Balsam fail to mesh. Is it any wonder the supporting cast was given a complete overhaul, with Richard Anderson and Alan Oppenheimer stepping up as Steve’s boss and medical overseer, respectively? Bouncing back from a decidedly bumpy landing, Lee Majors was welcomed into the major leagues. Bionic and iconic, “The Six Million Dollar Man” went on to become one of the most popular adventure series of the 1970s.
I can only imagine the series’ creators as they kept repeating, “We can rebuild it… we have the technology… we have the capability to make THE WORLD’S FIRST BIONIC MAN.” Of course, looking back from the 21st century, all that “advanced technology” seems rib-ticklingly quaint.
“The Six Million Dollar Man” ran – and ran – for five seasons, spawning a successful spin-off, “The Bionic Woman,” starring Lindsay Wagner, and three reunion TV movies. Not even Bionic Bigfoot could kill “The Six Million Dollar Man.”
Tomorrow night, Steve Austin will meet his greatest challenge when Roy Bjellquist and I discuss the television pilot that started it all. Superman had his kryptonite; the Six Million Dollar Man has his Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Join us in the comments section as we flex our muscles, livestreamed on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:30 EST. (Note the special start-time, one half-hour later than usual!)
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