The Six Million Dollar Man

I was reading the April 30 issue of This is True (http://www.thisistrue.com/) and found out that this TV series was in fact based on the story of Bruce A. Peterson, a NASA test pilot. The opening credits featured his accident while testing a lifting body concept.

His biography is in (http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/ Biographies/Pilots/bd-dfrc-p012.html). Please enter the whole web address as one continuous word (delete the space before Biographies). The comment rules don't allow me to send a very long word.

I remember watching some of the episodes when I was really little. My friends would try to imitate Steve's actions when he ran or jumped, complete with that distinctive 'Bionic' sound.

Colonel Steve Austin, astronaut and test pilot, is badly injured when he crashes while testing an experimental aircraft. A covert government agency (OSI) is willing to pay for special prosthetics to replace the eye, arm and both legs he lost in the crash. Highly advanced technology (bionics) built into them will make him faster, stronger and more resilient than normal. In return they want him to become a covert agent for the OSI. It will cost $6,000,000 to rebuild Steve Austin.

And build him they do, but the lead up to Steve getting rebuilt is thoughtfully done with Lee Majors expressing anguish over his injuries, even suicidal, and Oscar ( here played by Darren McGavin) is a much colder character who expects Austin to push himself to the limit in his new robotic get-up. It's a solid pilot to a great series, is quite serious, introspective and intelligent.

Just flicking through IMDB on a Monday evening, as you do, and have been stirred to write something through what can only be described as the apathy of others.

This show has only got ONE comment. (You're not supposed to comment on the other folk's remarks, but I'm not doing that, I'm writing to complain about the near absence of feedback, and the other writer thought it cool too).

Can anyone reading this please offer their opinion. I attended school in the seventies when this show was originally aired, and have fond memories of it. Later in life I spent many years travelling and working throughout the world and in the classic scene of many different nationalities coming together in the evening over a bottle of wine, few beers etc this show was one of the highlights of conversation. Surely people must remember back with glee the exploits of Steve Austin and his bionic implants. There was a time when a whole peer group (myself included) wanted to train as astronauts just to come a cropper at some point in order to be dragged out of the smouldering wreckage so we may be rebuilt in the new, improved style. That's what seventies youngsters dreamt of; embodying new technology in a personal and pretty literal way. I remember the start:- Steve Austin, a man barely alive. We can rebuild him.

Better.

Stronger.

Faster.

It's a pity other people can't remember a little and perhaps write a bit more. Please get in touch.

I just watched a show on the History Channel talking about Star trek tech and how it inspired scientists and engineers or got then interested in science. It would be interesting to see The History Channel do The same for TSMDM and show bionic tech and talk to doctors and engineers who were inspired by the show to create real bionic arms legs and eyes or the doctors who treat patients with artificial limbs and eyes and ears. In fact I just remembered an episode when Doctor Rudy Wells created a bionic heart used to transplant into some important world leader who if he died would leave a power vacuum which would lead to disaster

First TV movie pilot that introduced Lee Majors as Steve Austin, a former astronaut who had walked on the moon, but now is test piloting an experimental aircraft that unfortunately crashes, badly injuring Steve near death, but with the skill of brilliant surgeon Dr. Rudy Wells(played by Martin Balsam) and funding by secretive government representative Oliver Spencer(played by Darren McGavin) rebuild Austin with bionic limbs and sight, increasing his strength and survivability immensely, making him an ideal government operative, if he can only emotionally adjust to his new condition... Good setup to the eventual series has a smart, thoughtful script and good direction by Richard Irving. Pity this realistic style wasn't continued though...