This is How Movies Should Be Made

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

One of my all time favorite TV shows. I saw it when I was very little and not again until the SciFi Channel in the 90's. The Six Million Dollar Man series was a series that never developed a permanent formula so each season is unique and different from the others. The character first came to life on TV in 1973 with a trio of 90 minute TV movies. The Six Million Dollar Man movie (Cyborg) was take right from Martin Caidin's novel and also starred Darren McGavin as Oliver Spencer and Martin Balsam as Dr. Rudy Wells. Wine, Women, and War debuted Richard Anderson as Oscar Goldman and Alan Oppenheimer took over as Rudy Wells but was never a series regular. This movie made Steve seem like a Bionic James Bond. Solid Gold Kidnapping was a dull TV movie. Season one (1974) was a season that seemed geared towards more adults than children. Slow motion would be used as a reverse psychology to show Steve's super speed at slow motion. Cheesy, but effective. The episodes were more action oriented and we saw Greg Morris, William Shatner, and George Takai in guest roles. And the best episode of the season had to be Day of the Robot that introduced the toy figure called Maskatron. John Saxon's fight scene with Steve was awesome!! Season Two was in an interesting season as we occasionally heard the trademark Bionic sound effect which was used more towards season's end. In this season, Steve encountered another Bionic Man who was emotionally unstable, plus he would return in season three. The biggest highlight of the season was the introduction (and the death of) Jamie Sommers, the Bionic Woman. Season Three: I think this was when the series soared in popularity, became more kid friendly, and the Bionic sound effect was used on a regular permanent basis. The Bionic Woman, Jamie Sommers got revived and later spun off onto her own series. Then the show turned more SciFi with the 2 parter that introduced Bigfoot played by Andre the Giant. Season Four: This season plus the previous season remind me of the Incredible Hulk TV series because Bionic Woman creator Kenneth Johnson who adapted the Hulk was chief writer on the SMDM in these two seasons. We saw Steve and Jamie occasionally team up like in the 2 part Return of Bigfoot played by Ted Cassidy and the 3 part Bionic Crossover that introduced Fembots. In this season, Steve had a couple of Bionic malfunctions and he meets a boy who gets Bionic leg implants. Oddly enough though Lee Majors changed his look by sporting a mustache for most of this season which went against his look that was marketed on SMDM merchandise. In this season we were also introduced to the Russian Venus Death Probe. Dr. Ruy Wells was now played by Martin E Brooks who became a series regular at this point. Season Five was the strangest season of them all. The series made fun of itself with its story lines. There were more 2 parters than usual and although Lee Majors ditched the mustache, his hairstyle (which I thought was cool) was a late 70s'style that made Steve look more civilian and less military. Since the Bionic Woman was now on another network, he was dating other women and no longer had any interaction with Jamie. Best recommended episodes are: The Robot (Maskatron)series, Day of the Robot, Run Steve Run, and Return of the Robot Maker. Episodes with Jamie Sommers, The Bionic Woman and her season three return episode, plus Welcome Home Jamie which kick started her own series, The Secret of and Return of Bigfoot 2 parters, but avoid the season five episode, Bigfoot V, the Seven Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Criminal with the other Bionic Man played by Monte Markham, the Death Probe 2 parters as well as episodes like Dr. Wells is Missing, The Pioneers, The Deadly Replay, Stranger in Broken Fork, Look a Like, Hocus, Pocus, and the 2 part Dark Side of the Moon, these three episodes guest star Jack Colvin, who would later play Jack McGee on the Incredible Hulk. Also, the Price of Liberty with Chuck Connors, Target in the Sky, The 2 hour episodes, Bionic Boy and the Thunderbird Connection, The 3 part Bionic Crossover Kill Oscar, and from season five, the best ones are the 2 part Sharks, Killer Wind, the Cheshire Project, and the series final episode, the Moving Mountain. I also wanted to mention 4 episodes, Rescue of Athena One, The Peeping Blonde, The Golden Pharoah, and Nightmare in the Sky. These four all guest starred Farrah Fawcett, Lee Major's then wife and future Charlie's Angels star. There's a little over 100 episodes, but this series is great. Though cheesy by today's standards, the Six Million Dollar Man is still a Six Million Dollar Show!!

No doubt this is one of my favorite shows of all time. Now my 6 and 9 year old have seen some of them, as well as several of the neighborhood boys, and they cannot get enough either. Now they play around with the "na na na na" bionic sounds and pretend like they are running fast or knocking each other down, in slow motion of course, all to save the government from some terrible demise. My kids were rooting for Jamie and Steve to get married, so I had to show them the "old Steve and Jamie" 1994 movie, which they really had a laugh about. That one is only for die-hards; you know how the reunion shows go.... The old shows are clean, solid drama with decent plots and enough humor to captivate any normal human being for an hour at a time. Steve is a real hero and the show really pulls you in....I wanted to be bionic, now my kids want to be bionic. They just don't make them like this anymore!

Before Arnold became a Terminator, 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.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.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.While we're waiting, how about a DVD box set?

I'm sure I wasn't the only seventies kid to run around the school playground with my pals in pretend slow motion and play-fight making the bionic "da-da-da-da-da-da..." sound. Steve Austin, astronaut, a man barely alive... Of course, the show wasn't very realistic. For instance, how was his bionic right arm attached to his natural shoulder / sternum in such a way that it didn't rip away every time he picked up a car or something? And how on Earth did he manage to co-ordinate himself?? Such concerns matter little when you're an awe-struck kid, however. He was my hero.Lee Majors - in common with William "Captain Kirk" Shatner - was an actor of somewhat limited range who never-the-less found a role which he made his own and played to perfection, albeit rather woodenly. And okay, so the moustache he temporarily sported was something of a fashion crime, but the flared trousers and hilarious sports jackets were just of the times - the red track suit was cool though.If it's ever remade as a big budget cinema film - as it inevitably will be - I think it will need to embrace a more complete idea of bionics in order to appeal to today's more sophisticated youngsters (and adults!) i.e. the character would need to be MORE bionic - perhaps even completely artificial apart from his brain / mind.