We are right in the middle of our “Expensive Parts” blog theme, learning about The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man, and the stars who played them. Up today is The Six Million Dollar Man.
This science fiction show debuted in 1973. Steve Austin is a former astronaut played by Lee Majors. Majors always maintained that he did 90% of his stunts on the show. After an accident, he is rebuilt with superhuman strength, speed, and vision. Austin is transferred to OSI and takes on secret missions for the government. If the show was rebooted today, it would need to be titled “The Thirty-Seven Million Dollar Man.” The show was based on a book from 1972 called Cyborg written by Martin Caidin, an expert on aviation and aerospace technology.
Monte Markham was the first choice of both Caidin and the producers, but he was committed to another show so Majors got the part. Markham did appear on the show several times though.
Rounding out the cast were Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson), director of OSI; Rudy Wells (Alan Oppenheimer/Martin E. Brooks), Austin’s doctor; and Peggy Callhan (Jennifer Darling), Goldman’s secretary.
Two weeks ago, we learned the backstory behind The Bionic Woman, a spinoff of this show. When the spinoff was created, Majors tried to get the part for his wife Farrah Fawcett, but she lost out to Lindsay Wagner. However, Fawcett appeared on the show as three different characters during the run of the series and in 1976 she became an Angel.
Oliver Nelson composed the theme music, but it was replaced with the narration about building Austin, “Gentlemen, we can rebuild him, we have the technology.” The accident in the beginning was a real crash by a pilot who survived the tragedy walking away.
Majors was an accomplished musician who learned to play the piano at age 6. He also worked on It Takes A Thief, Night Gallery, Columbo, and Ironside, among other shows.
The show’s executive producer was Harve Bennett (who had recently produced The Mod Squad). Producer Kenneth Johnson created very specific limits of what Austin could and could not do right away so the show never seemed unbelievable. He was fitted with a bionic eye, a bionic arm, and bionic legs. However, these set limits seemed to expand after season two. The two producers would go on to other science fiction successes. Bennett produced Star Trek films II and III, and Johnson created several shows including The Incredible Hulk and Alien Nation.
The first season scripts included a few episodes where Austin had to kill a villain. Once the network realized kids were tuning in as fans, the violence level of the show decreased.
Austin had new contract demands in 1977 and refused to tape any episodes until they were met. At one point the producers considered hiring a new actor for the role. Gil Gerard, Bruce Jenner, and Harrison Ford were all discussed as replacements. Eventually, the demands were met, but he was still out of a job the next year. A fun fact is that Ford was rejected quickly because the producers didn’t think he was a hero type. Indiana Jones anyone?
Dorothy Fontana, a writer for the show, discussed the series in her Television Academy interview. She wrote about an air force nurse who became an astronaut. While in outer space, the woman’s partner suffers from appendicitis, she has to drive the spaceship home and Austin goes to help her. She said NASA was in an era where it wanted good publicity and she was given a lot of NASA footage to use for the show. This episode was one of the ones that featured Farrah Fawcett. Most of Fontana’s 50 writing credits were for science fiction scripts.
When the show began it was on ABC Friday nights before Kolchak. Midway through the year it was moved to Sunday nights and The Bionic Woman debuted on Wednesdays. The Six Million Dollar Man had no competition that year, but The Bionic Woman was up against Little House on the Prairie. Despite that, both shows were in the top ten. Schedules stayed the same for the next season. While The Six Million Dollar Man was still in the top ten, The Bionic Woman had slipped into the top twenty. ABC canceled the show which was then picked up by NBC who moved it to Saturday nights. Both shows had slipped out of the top thirty by that point, and they were both cancelled. However, the networks weren’t finished with the couple. They would return for three made-for-tv movies in the eighties.
Six Million Dollar Man merchandise was everywhere. There were board games, comic books, and lunch boxes. One of the most successful tie-ins were Steve Austin and friends action figures. Extra bionic limbs could be swapped out on the figures for specific activities and there were vehicles and other accessories.
The Six Million Dollar Man was very different from any shows that had appeared before and it was popular for several seasons. I’m guessing that the kids who grew up with the show got older and busy and it didn’t have the same appeal to preteens and teens that it had in the past. The producers did create a pilot for “The Bionic Boy” in 1978 to appeal to younger viewers but the screenings didn’t produce a lot of positive comments, and it was shelved, probably for the best.
For the time, the special effects were amazing, but it doesn’t hold up today with all the changes that have come along with technology. I feel the same way about Wonder Woman which was also on the schedule with these two shows. I’m guessing the thing that is most memorable about the show is the sound effects that always were heard when Steve used his bionic parts and the slow motion of Austin in action.
If this was a favorite of yours, I’d love to hear if you still enjoy it or if it lost some of its watchability over the years.
