SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

AutCuddly Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

ShadeGrenade Colonel Steve Austin, ex-N.A.S.A. astronaut ( Lee Majors ) is severely injured following a plane crash in Arizona. Hs is 'rebuilt' with bionic parts ( as Freddie Starr said at the time: "He's got everything bionic, hasn't he? Well, almost everything!" ), turning him in the process into a superman. Austin can now run at incredible speeds, see things over a long distance, and with one arm rip off safe doors and punch holes in walls ( a useful ability should one accidentally lock oneself out of the house ). The makeover costs six million dollars ( a lot of money then. Today he would be lucky to get a bionic big toe for that amount ). Keen to get their money's worth, the U.S. Government puts Austin to work for the O.S.I. ( Office of Strategic Intelligence ), headed by Oscar Goldman ( Richard Anderson ).Each week, Austin would be sent round the world on some dangerous mission such as assisting a Russian scientist to defect or recovering stolen microfilm - one that required the use of his extraordinary powers. Beautiful girls including Britt Ekland, Martine Beswick, Michele Carey, Jane Merrow, and Lee Majors' then wife Farrah Fawcett cropped up an awful lot, none able to resist our hero's charms. Bits of him may have required an M.O.T. every now and then, obviously not the bits they were interested in.The villains were by and large foreign saboteurs or evil scientists out to seize power. The late Henry Jones played a robot inventor called 'Dolenz' in no less than three episodes. 'Bigfoot' showed up more than once too; he wasn't the real Sasquatch, of course, but an android used by aliens to guard their secret base. Then there was 'Death Probe', a N.A.S.A. device designed to explore and study alien planets which went berserk after crash landing on Earth.All this was great fun if you, like me, was eleven years old back in '74. The novel 'Cyborg' by Martin Caidin formed the basis for the pilot. Mark Gatiss cited the opening title sequence as one of his all-time favourites. Footage of Austin's crash backed by dramatic music led to an animated version of Austin's rebirth, leading to that famous voice-over: "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology...the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better, stronger, faster!". We would then see him lifting weights and running like the wind, and hear Oliver Nelson's theme in all its glory. Depicting Austin running fast was a problem for the producers. Initially, they sped up the film, but this made him look like Benny Hill, so they went to the other extreme by slowing him down, managing to convey a sense of power without looking too silly.The show was a pop culture phenomenon. Playgrounds the world over were full of children pretending to be Austin, before going home and playing with toys associated with the series. I still have the books along with a pair of Annuals. It captured the imagination of an entire generation in a way that few shows, before or since, have managed. It wasn't an original idea, of course. The British show 'The Champions' also featured superhuman secret agents. The timing for 'The Six Million Dollar Man' was right because in the aftermath of Vietnam and Watergate it reassured American viewers that their country was still a force to be reckoned with.Parodies abounded. Les Dawson became 'The Fifty Pence Man' on his 'Les Sez' show, while Eric Sykes' B.B.C. series featured an episode in which he dreamt he was bionic. As late as 1985, Ben Elton's 'Happy Families' featured 'The Man Who Cost A Lot'.Though not the world's greatest actor, Lee Majors was perfect for the role of Austin ( though his dress sense occasionally left a lot to be desired. And why did he grow that cheesy moustache? ). Richard Anderson made Goldman a likable authority figure. He and Steve did not get along initially but then became friends. Martin Balsam played 'Dr.Rudy Wells' in the pilot, Alan Oppenheimer replaced him, but it is Martin E.Brooks who is best remembered now in the role.In a decade when science fiction was considered passé in the aftermath of the Apollo moon landings, 'The Six Million Dollar Man' defied expectations by enjoying a solid five year run. Like many shows though, it 'jumped the shark' - particularly when it brought in other bionic characters. I did not mind 'The Seven Million Dollar Man', put up with 'The Bionic Woman' ( I rather fancied her ), but when her spin-off started, and 'Bionic Boy' and 'Bionic Dog' came along I used what was left of my bionic strength to switch the television set off. There were a number of 'reunion' movies in the '80's ( one of them guest starred Sandra Bullock ), but for me the original remains the best. I still enjoy reruns. Scientists may perfect bionics someday, and I hope its soon so I can go bounding around the place in my checked jacket and flares, just as Steve used to do.( This review is dedicated to the memory of my friend Kevin William Jones, the number one 'bionic' fan, who passed away on 23rd December 2010, aged 47 )

voicemaster71 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!!

rcj5365 "THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN"-PART MAN,PART MACHINE,ALL ACTIONWhat was it like to be a kid growing up in the 1970's when this show came on? You see,I remember this series coming on television very well. For one,I was one of those kids who from some reason was glued to the set when this show came on Friday Nights on ABC-TV during the 1970's. I was one of those kids who for some reason went out and brought up a lot of memorabilia stuff including all of the merchandise that flew off the shelves relating to this show: Who remembers owning one of the two dolls of "The Six Million Dollar Man" action figures that were made by Mattel which featured the character with the bionic grip and not to mention his mentor who had changeable outfits,let alone tons of stuff including the GMF View-Master set of one of the episodes not to mention seeing one of your friends walking on the playground or jumping over something in slow motion....Oh yeah,that TV soundtrack to the show which had Lee Majors doing country tunes and rock and roll stuff?For the answers to the questions depicted? YES!!! I WAS THE 1970'S! FOR ONE,WAS ONE OF THE CHILDREN WHO WORSHIP QUALITY 70'S TV PROGRAMMING! By the way,if you remember 70's TV characters like Archie Bunker,George Jefferson,Maude Findley,James and Florida Evans,Fred Sanford,Dee Pepper Columbo,Jim Rockford,and Kolchak,Baretta and not to mention Theo Kojak,then the character name of Steve Austin should come through the light!Even after all of these years,"The Six Million Dollar Man" still holds up to the test of time and to this day,it has always been a personal favorite of mine as a child,and still is regarding as a vintage classic even after some 30 years later with some of the best special effects around. Ever since it premiered on ABC-TV in September of 1974,it was a runaway bonafide hit which was garnered huge ratings with the audience and was always in the top-ten of the Nielsens,where it stayed for six astounding seasons until its final episode of the series ended in May of 1978,after producing 108 episodes,which in turn took ABC to the top of the Nielsens where it was on one of the most watched shows during its run on Friday nights in its first four seasons,and from there in its last two the network moved the series from Friday nights to Sunday nights opposite the Sunday night competition:"60 Minutes",and "The Wonderful World Of Disney" until 1978,when the series ended.About the show.................. Long before "Cyborg" became famous with Arnold Scwarzenegger in the "Terminator" films,Lee Majors was everyone's favorite cyborg,and for every fan out there,this show delivered the goods since this was indeed part science fiction/action-adventure genre mixed in with some international espionage and political intrigue for a great effect. Lee Majors' role as Steve Austin was in fact a combination of James Bond,part Buzz Aldrin/Chuck Yeager,part Road Runner and part Superman in which gave this series a nice mix of seriousness and fun. Let's face it,he was part-human,part-mechanical;the world's first bionic man. Better than he was before...BETTER,STRONGER,FASTER...............The character of Steve Austin,who was an astronaut who suffered an accident and was rebuilt by a government agency and was under the supervision of his boss,Oscar Goldman played by Richard Anderson,and there was Dr. Rudy Wells,played by Martin E. Brooks,who was responsible for Steve's bionic parts. The chemistry between these characters were to be tested throughout the series,but as the show progressed the chemistry between them was brilliant. The sound effects which included the bionic eye looking miles ahead,or the sound of bionic legs running faster and faster is what made this show stand out beyond them all. FANTASTIC! you say? I'll say AWESOME!........This show was just pure fantasy from the get-go with the stories truly engaging and very well written the offered variations in excitement and imagination,and during the last two seasons of the show it suffered from repetitation since the earlier episodes(from the first three seasons)and from there the ratings slipped too. The show had a mixture of guest stars of who's who in Hollywood from William Shatner,Ted Cassidy and Andre The Giant as Bigfoot(Cassidy played him first)to the guest of TV show regulars like Gary Lockwood,John Saxon,Cathy Rigby, Lindsay Wagner(who played Steve Austin's love interest,Jamie Summers which was for the inspiration to the spin off,"The Bionic Woman"),to the strange and bizarre like Sonny Bono,Larry Csonka,and so forth. Nowadays it is a crying shame that this series is no longer shown on any cable network(cable's The Sci-Fi Channel was the last to do so...an all-day marathon of this series was shown not too long ago)or any syndicated market station doesn't show this anymore,and I wonder why? Why isn't there a big-screen version of "The Six Million Dollar Man" coming to theaters? I heard rumors its going to be George Clooney.But by the way,while during the last two decades many of our favorite TV shows(Star Trek,The Untouchables,I Spy,Mission:Impossible,McHale's Navy,The Wild,Wild West,Lost In Space,The Fugitive,Charlie's Angels,SWAT,The Brady Bunch,The Twilight Zone,Lassie,Flipper,My 3 Sons, and not to mention our animated TV favorites Scooby Doo,The Flintstones) and cartoons(Batman,Superman,X-Men,Daredevil,Spider-Man,Hulk,The Punisher)have been made into full-length feature films,so now is the time for SMDM to give it the big-screen treatment and the respect it truly deserves.

Brian Washington This pretty much was the highlight of my Sundays as I was growing up. The character of Steve Austin was one of the few superheroes that made it on television during the 1970's and within a couple of years of its debut similar shows were also premiering all over television. However, Steve Austin will always be the prototype for all television super-heroes.