1974: The Six Million Dollar Man

Before Battlestar Galactica pushed it out of the Sunday-evening spot, I think this was the show most kids loved to watch to discuss on the playground the next Monday morning. It was also blamed (or responsible) for numerous kids doing really stupid crap in attempts to lift heavy objects or jump ridiculous heights, as if they had bionic parts!

The premise was pretty cool. Lee Majors played former astronaut Steve Austin who nearly died in an accident so he was involuntarily saved by having three of his four limbs replaced with cybernetic parts along with an eye. Now he could run 60 mph (100 kph), see objects like a 20 mm camera and turn a car over by himself.

With his new found abilities, he becomes the most valuable secret agent in the OSI, or was it OOSI? Some weeks he foils bank heists and the others were cooler, fighting Bigfoot or a crazy robot called Maskatron! Six was so popular, it had The Bionic Woman as a spinoff and knockoffs The Man from Atlantis and Gemini Man (he could turn invisible for only 15 minutes a day).

With inflation, the reboots have gone with the working title The Six Billion Dollar Man, no joking. I know there was a short-lived Bionic Woman. I don’t think will come back given the rise of Cyberpunk and learning how bionic limbs won’t make you stronger or faster. If you did try to turn over a car with only a cybernetic arm, you’d tear out your back since the muscles there and your thighs are interconnected with the move.

My favorite parody will always be from The Venture Brothers. Their version hated having his abilities because the government was making him pay it off on a government salary!

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One Response to 1974: The Six Million Dollar Man

  1. Nelson says:

    I think it was OSI for the Six Million Dollar Man TV series.

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