The Six Million Dollar Man (TV)
"The Six Million Dollar Man" is a television series that debuted in 1973, inspired by Martin Caidin's novel "Cyborg." The show stars Lee Majors as Steve Austin, a former test pilot who is transformed into a bionic man after suffering severe injuries in a plane crash. This adaptation gained significant popularity, leading to a successful hour-long action series that premiered in 1974, consistently ranking in the top ten Nielsen ratings. Key characters include Jaime Sommers, played by Lindsay Wagner, who becomes Austin's love interest and later stars in her own spin-off series, "The Bionic Woman."
The series is known for its combination of emotional depth and thrilling action, often depicted through innovative slow-motion effects and "bionic" sound effects when Austin utilized his cybernetic enhancements. The narrative features Austin confronting various adversaries, including Cold War villains and mythical figures like Bigfoot, making the show appealing to a wide audience. Despite declining ratings and its cancellation in 1978, it maintained a strong fanbase, resulting in several reunion films in the following decades and a lasting presence in syndication. The show is celebrated for its sympathetic characters and has attained cult status, influencing pop culture and perceptions of technology and heroism.
The Six Million Dollar Man (TV)
Identification Television action series
Date Aired from 1973 to 1978
A popular series for much of the 1970’s, The Six Million Dollar Man combined an intriguing technological premise, based on actual cybernetic research, with story lines that evoked Cold War sensibilities by pitting the hero and the government agency he worked for against a variety of villains.
Based on the novel Cyborg (1972) by Martin Caidin, The Six Million Dollar Man first appeared as a well-received television film in 1973, starring Lee Majors as Steve Austin, a test pilot who is rebuilt with a cybernetic arm, eye, and two legs after being critically injured in a plane crash. The original airing was followed by two additional television films later that year.
In 1974, the show was reinvented as an hour-long action series, and by the following year, it had earned a consistent spot in the top-ten Nielsen ratings. This success was fueled in part by the appearance of Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers, Austin’s love interest and bionic female counterpart who would later star in her own spin-off series, The Bionic Woman, from 1976 to 1978. The character of Oscar Goldman (played by Richard Anderson), Austin’s boss, was also popular with audiences.
Audiences were very receptive to its action sequences, including the show’s signature special effect of slow-motion capture with accompanying “bionic” sound to indicate when Austin was utilizing his cybernetic implants. They also liked the show’s more emotional moments, such as when Austin, having difficulty adjusting to his new life, attempts suicide, or when Sommers loses her memory of her prior relationship with Austin, leaving him to deal with his now-unrequited love. This “lonely hero” characterization meshed well with the story lines in which Austin battled, or in some cases assisted, a wide variety of characters, including extraterrestrials and even Bigfoot. The contemporary rather than futuristic setting made the show accessible to more than the traditional science-fiction audience.
With gradually declining ratings and Majors’s intention to leave the show, The Six Million Dollar Man was canceled in 1978. It remained popular enough, however, that three reunion films starring Majors, Wagner, and Anderson were aired during the 1980’s and 1990’s, and the show was also syndicated in both domestic and international markets.
Impact
The Six Million Dollar Man appealed to a broad audience in the 1970’s, with sympathetic characters, exciting technology, and action-oriented plots that often featured the hero defeating Cold War villains. It was particularly popular with younger viewers, many of whom regarded the bionic heroes as role models. The show eventually attained something of a cult status as evidenced by the publication of several tie-in novels, continued syndication, and follow-up television “reunion” films.
Bibliography
Muir, John Kenneth. “The Six Million Dollar Man.” In The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television, by John Kenneth Muir. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2004.
Phillips, Mark, and Frank Garcia. “The Six Million Dollar Man.” In Science Fiction Television Series: Episode Guides, Histories, and Casts and Credits for Sixty-two Prime Time Shows, 1959 Through 1989, by Mark Phillips and Frank Garcia. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1996.