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The Six Million Dollar Man

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Part of The Bionic series
The Six Million Dollar Man was an American television series about a cyborg working for a U.S. secret service called OSI. The show was based on the novel Cyborg from Martin Caidin, and aired on the ABC network from 1973 to 1978. The title role of Steve Austin was played by Lee Majors, who subsequently became a pop culture icon of the 1970s. A spin-off of the show was produced called The Bionic Woman.

Contents

Overview

The background story of the original novel and the later series is the crash of former astronaut Steve Austin in an M2-F2 “lifting body,” shown in the opening credits of the show. Austin is severely injured in the crash and is “rebuilt” in a title-giving operation that costs six million dollars. His right arm, both legs and the left eye are replaced by bionic (cybernetic) implants that enhance his strength, speed and vision far above human norm. He uses his enhanced abilities to work for the OSI (Office of Scientific Intelligence) as a secret agent (and as a guinea pig for bionics).

Lee Majors as Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man
Lee Majors as Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man

Caidin’s novel was a best-seller when it was published in 1972 and was followed by three sequels. In the spring of 1973, Cyborg was loosely adapted as a made-for-TV movie starring Majors as Austin (although usually referred to by the title The Six Million Dollar Man, this film is often cited by the longer title Cyborg: Six Million Dollar Man). The film abandoned much of the plotline of the original novel in favor of a more TV-friendly script, and did not include many of the standard features of the later series; absent were the electronic sound effects, the slow motion running, and different actors playing Oscar Goldman and Dr. Rudy Wells. The OSI had been the OSO. Austin also does not use the enhanced capabilities of his bionic eye at any time during the film.

The first film was a major ratings success and was followed by two more made-for-TV films that fall—Wine, Women and War and Solid Gold Kidnapping (which were original stories not based upon Caidin’s writings), followed by the debut, in January 1974, of The Six Million Dollar Man as a weekly hour-long series.

The show was very popular during its run and introduced many pop culture elements of the 1970s, such as the show’s opening catch-phrase and the slow-motion action sequences and the accompanying “electronic” sound effects.

For many years, attempts have been made to bring the story of Steve Austin to the movie screen. In the mid-1990s, noted director Kevin Smith wrote a screenplay, and there were reports later that comedian Chris Rock was being considered for the role. Most recently, plans were made to film the story as a full-out comedy starring Jim Carrey; as of March 2006, however, production has not begun.

Medical Bionics

In medicine, Bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mere prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it.

This definition of bionics is best known to the general public in reference to the television series The Six Million Dollar Man, in which the titular cyborg character is referred to as a “bionic man.” In the mid-1970s, when scientists in a popular TV series rebuilt a wounded, barely-living test pilot into the world’s first bionic man, making him “better, stronger, faster,” the field of medical bionics was the stuff of science fiction.

However on April 3rd, at Experimental Biology 2006, some of the leading scientists in the rapidly expanding field of bionics explain how much of what was once fiction is today at least partial reality—including electronically-powered legs, arms, and eyes like those given TV’s Six Million Dollar Man 30-plus years ago.

The symposium on “The $6 Billion (Hu)Man” is part of the scientific program of the American Association of Anatomists.

Opening Sequence

The opening sequence was somewhat iconic.

It featured NASA's 1967 footage of a real-life accident [link] of the Northrop M2-F2 lifting body tumbling end for end down the runway caused by piloting error. The pilot, Bruce Peterson actually survived reasonably unscathed, although lost an eye due to an infection acquired whilst in hospital.

The opening credits actually used footage of two different lifting bodies; the HL-10, shown dropping away from its carry plane, and the M2-F2 shown in the unstable flight/crash sequence. (The aircraft was actually referred to as being an “HL-10” in the series, and the real HL-10 was used in a later episode.)

Radio chatter

The radio chatter that occurs before the opening narration has been the subject of some debate as it was not entirely clear due to the radio static noise. The following script is one example of the radio chatter, based on a sound file found online. The chatter starts with the release of the HL-10 and continues through to the crash.

NASA One (flight control): “It looks good at NASA One.”

B-52 Pilot: “Roger. BCS arm switch is on.”

NASA One: “Okay, Victor.”

B-52 Pilot: “Landing rocket arm switch is on.”

B-52 Pilot: “Here comes the throttle. Circuit breakers in.”

Steve Austin (voice of Lee Majors): “We have separation.”

Chase plane: “Roger.”

B-52 Pilot: “Inboard and outboards are on.”

B-52 Pilot: “I’m comin’ forward with the sidestick.”

NASA One: “All looks good.”

B-52 Pilot: “Ah, roger.”

Steve Austin: “I’ve got a blowout—damper three!”

Chase plane: “Get your pitch to zero.”

Steve Austin: “Pitch is out! I can’t hold altitude!”

B-52 Pilot: “Correction, alpha hold is off, trip selectors—Emergency!”

Steve Austin: “Flight Com! I can’t hold it! She’s breaking up, she’s break—”

In the original pilot, however, none of the above dialogue occurs. Instead, Austin and ground controllers calmly discuss complications with the landing right up to the moment of the crash; most notably, there is no reference to a blow-out. In a recap that opens the second pilot film, Wine, Women & War, Oscar Goldman is depicted as being involved in the transmissions, asking Austin “What’s going on?” to which Austin replies “I was hoping you would tell me.” Once again, unlike the version used in the series, this early rendition omits any reference to an actual cause for the crash.

Narration

After the crash sequence the narration for each episode has become part of American pop culture. After an early version of the narration was tested in the Solid Gold Kidnapping TV film, the most famous version was introduced in the weekly series:

Narrator [series producer Harve Bennett]: “Steve Austin: astronaut. A man barely alive.” Oscar Goldman: “Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better…stronger…faster.”

Main characters

Parts

The implants have a major flaw in that extreme cold interferes with their functions and can disable them given sufficient exposure. However, when Austin returns to a warmer temperature, the implants quickly regain full functionality.

Changes for television

A number of changes had to be made to Caidin’s version of the character to make him work for television. In the original novels, Austin was a cold-blooded killer, while the TV version rarely killed after his status as a childhood hero had been realized, and in fact Austin explicitly states his opposition to killing in the pilot film.

A number of changes to Austin’s bionics were also made. In the novel, Austin’s left arm, not his right, was the bionic one. Also, the arm was little more than a superpowered battering ram and not as complex as the TV version. Austin was blind in his bionic eye in the books, which was simply used as alternately a camera or a laser, and was removable. The book version of Steve Austin had some abilities the TV version lacked, such as a radio transmitter contained within a rib, a steel-reinforced skull that made it impossible for him to be knocked out with a blow to the head, and a CO2-powered poison dart gun in one of his bionic fingers which the literary version of Austin often used to eliminate bad guys.

Another minor change was a matter of spelling: in the original novels, the term “bionics” was always used in its plural form, i.e. “bionics limbs.” Perhaps to make it easier to say in dialogue, this was changed to “bionic limbs” et al for the television series. The word “bionics” is never actually uttered during the first pilot film.

One character name was also initially changed. In the original novel Austin’s superior is Oscar Goldman, as he is in the series, however in the pilot film the name was changed to Oliver Spencer. The opening credits of the second pilot film, Wine, Women and War performs retconning to eliminate Spencer and reinstate Goldman as the government chief who authorizes Austin’s conversion; Goldman is also portrayed as a friendlier and more sympathetic character than Spencer, who Austin accuses of being little more than a robot. In Caidin’s novel and the original pilot film, Austin is recruited by the Office of Strategic Operations (OSO); for the TV series this was changed to the Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI).

The pilot film changed Austin’s character, making him a civilian member of NASA, rather than the Air Force colonel he was in the original novel; his military rank and background was restored for the TV series and no further reference was made to him being a civilian astronaut.

Novels

Martin Caidin wrote four novels featuring his original version of Steve Austin beginning in 1972. Although several other writers such as Mike Jahn would later write a number of novelizations based upon the TV series, in most cases these writers chose to base their character upon the literary version of Austin rather than the TV show version. As a result, several of the novelizations have entire scenes and in one case an ending that differed than the original episodes, as the cold-blooded killer of Caidin’s novels handled things somewhat differently than his watered-down TV counterpart. For example, in the Jahn book International Incidents, an adaptation of the episode “Love Song for Tanya” ends with Austin using the poison dart gun in his bionic hand to kill an enemy agent; since the TV version of the character lacked this weapon, the villain was simply captured in the episode as broadcast.

Original Novels

(all by Martin Caidin)

(Of the above, only Cyborg was adapted for television.)

Novelizations

Other adaptations

The Six Million Dollar Man logo used for various merchandise
The Six Million Dollar Man logo used for various merchandise

Charlton Comics published both a color comic book and a black and white, illustrated magazine, featuring original adventures as well as differing adaptations of the original TV movie. While the comic book was closely based upon the series, the magazine was darker and more violent and seemed to be based more upon the literary version of the character. Both magazines were cancelled around the same time the TV series ended. Artist Howard Chaykin was a frequent contributor to both publications.

A British comic strip version was also produced, written by Angus P. Allan and printed in TV comic Look-In.

Peter Pan Records and its sister company Power Records published several record albums featuring original dramatized stories (including an adaptation of the pilot film), several of which were also adapted as comic books designed to be read along with the recording.

In 1996, a new comic book series entitled Bionix was announced, to be published by Maximum Press. The comic was to have been an updated version of both the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman and feature new renditions of the two characters. Although the magazine was advertised in comic book trade publications, it was ultimately never published.[link]

Merchandise

The Six Million Dollar Man spawned a number of toys and other licensed merchandise. Everything from lunch boxes and running shoes to children’s eyeglasses and bedsheets all carried images of Steve Austin. The Steve Austin action figure marketed by Kenner in the mid-1970s was particularly popular and intact Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman toys continue to attract premium prices on the collector’s market.

Fully intact Steve Austin action figures are rare. The bionic right arms of the dolls were covered in an elastic, skin-like material (intended to be rolled back to reveal bionic modules underneath) and this material tended to deteriorate over time.

Trivia

Episode list

TV movies

Episode # Original Air Date Episode Title
M-1 7 March1973 “The Six Million Dollar Man” (AKA “The Moon and the Desert”)
M-2 20 October1973 “Wine, Women and War”
M-3 17 November1973 “The Solid Gold Kidnapping”

Some sources consider these movies to be part of Season 1 of the series, particularly the second and third films which aired only a couple of months before the weekly series began. All three films were later re-edited into two-part episodes of the regular series, with additional footage added, for the purposes of network reruns and later syndication.

Season 1

Episode # Production # Original Air Date Episode Title
1-01 40013 18 January1974 “Population: Zero”
1-02 40007 25 January1974 “Survival of the Fittest”
1-03 40016 1 February1974 “Operation Firefly”
1-04 40012 8 February1974 “Day of the Robot”
1-05 40014 22 February1974 “Little Orphan Airplane”
1-06 40005 1 March1974 “Doomsday, and Counting”
1-07 40023 8 March1974 “Eyewitness to Murder”
1-08 40024 15 March1974 “The Rescue of Athena One”
1-09 40021 29 March1974 “Dr. Wells Is Missing”
1-10 40022 5 April1974 “The Last of the Fourth of Julys”
1-11 40020 12 April1974 “Burning Bright”
1-12 40015 19 April1974 “The Coward”
1-13 40025 26 April1974 “Run, Steve, Run”

Season 2

Episode # Production # Original Air Date Episode Title
2-01 41201 13 September1974 “Nuclear Alert”
2-02 41204 20 September1974 “The Pioneers”
2-03 41206 27 September1974 “Pilot Error”
2-04 41208 4 October1974 “The Pal-Mir Escort”
2-05 41224 1 November1974 “The Seven Million Dollar Man”
2-06 41214 8 November1974 “Straight on ’Til Morning”
2-07 41220 15 November1974 “The Midas Touch”
2-08 41223 22 November1974 “The Deadly Replay”
2-09 41213 29 November1974 “Act of Piracy”
2-10 41227 13 December1974 “Stranger in Broken Fork”
2-11 41228 20 December1974 “The Peeping Blonde”
2-12 41210 10 January1975 “The Cross-Country Kidnap”
2-13 41233 17 January1975 “Lost Love”
2-14 41216 19 January1975 “The Last Kamikaze”
2-15 41207 26 January1975 “Return of the Robot Maker”
2-16 41212 2 February1975 “Taneha”
2-17 41230 23 February1975 “Look Alike”
2-18 41226 2 March1975 “The E.S.P. Spy”
2-19 41244 16 March1975 “The Bionic Woman (1)”
2-20 41245 23 March1975 “The Bionic Woman (2)”
2-21 41231 20 April1975 “Outrage in Balinderry”
2-22 41229 27 April1975 “Steve Austin, Fugitive”

Season 3

Episode # Production # Original Air Date Episode Title
3-01 43020 14 September1975 “The Return of the Bionic Woman (1)”
3-02 43029 21 September1975 “The Return of the Bionic Woman (2)”
3-03 43018 28 September1975 “The Price of Liberty”
3-04 43024 5 October1975 “The Song and Dance Spy”
3-05 43010 12 October1975 “The Wolf Boy”
3-06 43017 19 October1975 “The Deadly Test”
3-07 43003 26 October1975 “Target in the Sky”
3-08 43001 2 November1975 “One of Our Running Backs is Missing”
3-09 43012 9 November1975 “The Bionic Criminal”
3-10 43006 16 November1975 “The Blue Flash”
3-11 43021 23 November1975 “The White Lightning War”
3-12 43019 30 November1975 “Divided Loyalty”
3-13 43026 14 December1975 “Clark Templeton O’Flaherty”
3-14 43022 21 December1975 “The Winning Smile”
3-15 1 11 January1976 “Welcome Home, Jaime (1)”
3-16 43033 18 January1976 “Hocus-Pocus”
3-17 43027 1 February1976 “The Secret of Bigfoot (1)”
3-18 43028 4 February1976 “The Secret of Bigfoot (2)”
3-19 43007 8 February1976 “The Golden Pharaoh”
3-20 43008 15 February1976 “Love Song for Tanya”
3-21 43032 22 February1976 “The Bionic Badge”
3-22 43031 7 March1976 “Big Brother”

  1. The episode “Welcome Home Jaime (1)” was the first part of a two-chapter story, the second episode airing as the premiere episode of The Bionic Woman. It is usually syndicated as a Bionic Woman episode.

Season 4

Episode # Production # Original Air Date Episode Title
4-01 45124 19 September1976 “The Return of Bigfoot (1)”
4-02 45108 26 September1976 “Nightmare in the Sky”
4-03 45121 3 October1976 “Double Trouble”
4-04 45105 17 October1976 “The Most Dangerous Enemy”
4-05 45102 24 October1976 “H+2+O = Death”
4-06 45120 31 October1976 “Kill Oscar (2)”
4-07 45196 7 November1976 “The Bionic Boy”
4-08 45114 21 November1976 “Vulture of the Andes”
4-09 45194 28 November1976 “The Thunderbird Connection”
4-10 45126 12 December1976 “A Bionic Christmas Carol”
4-11 45115 19 December1976 “Task Force”
4-12 45125 2 January1977 “The Ultimate Imposter”
4-13 45122 9 January1977 “Death Probe (1)”
4-14 45123 16 January1977 “Death Probe (2)”
4-15 45106 23 January1977 “Danny’s Inferno”
4-16 45107 30 January1977 “Fires of Hell”
4-17 45113 6 February1977 “The Infiltrators”
4-18 45101 13 February1977 “Carnival of Spies”
4-19 45109 20 February1977 “U-509”
4-20 45110 27 February1977 “The Privacy of the Mind”
4-21 45116 6 March1977 “To Catch the Eagle”
4-22 45128 15 March1977 “The Ghostly Teletype”
The episode “Kill Oscar (2)” was the middle chapter of a trilogy with the other two episodes aired as part of The Bionic Woman. “Kill Oscar (2)” is usually syndicated as a Bionic Woman episode.

Season 5

Episode # Production # Original Air Date Episode Title
5-01 47306 11 September1977 “Sharks (1)”
5-02 47307 18 September1977 “Sharks (2)”
5-03 47322 25 September1977 “Deadly Countdown (1)”
5-04 47323 2 October1977 “Deadly Countdown (2)”
5-05 47311 9 October1977 “Bigfoot V”
5-06 47326 16 October1977 “Killer Wind”
5-07 47315 30 October1977 “Rollback”
5-08 47303 6 November1977 “Dark Side of the Moon (1)”
5-09 47304 13 November1977 “Dark Side of the Moon (2)”
5-10 47309 27 November1977 “Target: Steve Austin”
5-11 47313 18 December1977 “The Cheshire Project”
5-12 47319 1 January1978 “Walk a Deadly Wing”
5-13 47314 8 January1978 “Just a Matter of Time”
5-14 47301 22 January1978 “Return of the Death Probe (1)”
5-15 47302 29 January1978 “Return of the Death Probe (2)”
5-16 47397 30 January1978 “The Lost Island”
5-17 47328 6 February1978 “The Madonna Caper”
5-18 47334 13 February1978 “Dead Ringer”
5-19 47317 20 February1978 “Date With Danger (1)”
5-20 47320 27 February1978 “Date With Danger (2)”
5-21 47332 6 March1978 “The Moving Mountain”

Later TV movies

Episode # Original Air Date Film Title
M-4 17 May1987 The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman
M-5 30 April1989 Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman
M-6 29 November1994 Bionic Ever After?

External links

 

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