As mentioned in a few places (video description, blog post, in the video, the billboard campaign, cinema advertising, skywriting, and laser etched on the surface of Mars, this is a second video on The Six Million Dollar Man, one that upgrades the original and expands upon it.
@@ashroskell Yep. Still holds up well today, better than this show. Calling it a flat-out comedy isn't quite right, though. More like a wryly comedic slice-of-life show really - with 99.9% of the slices taking place in the same couple of rooms in the precinct station. Which, come to think of it, must have made it an incredible bargain to produce.
@StamFine Are you 100% certain that Have Bennett is the other voice in the title sequence? To my ear, it has always sounded like Terry Carter, who played Colonel Tigh in the original _'Battlestar Galactica'_ and, if memory serves, was in an early episode or two of this show.
There are a couple of possible designs that can be implemented at this time. Boeing and Lockheed Martin skunk works have the photos on video if you want to secure the team at this time as our associates.
I met Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner at an autograph signing about 8 years ago. Lee didn't say much to anyone but Lindsay was so warm and friendly to all the fans.
I was born in 1967, so this show came out at the perfect time for me. I do think you need to give Majors a lot of credit for managing to have successful TV series across three different decades. Not many actors have accomplished that.
Honestly, the Fall Guy wasn't half bad either - and unlike this, the technology hasn't dated the show. Not to mention inflation. Heck, I know a guy whose medical bill (before insurance payments) cost more than Steve's upgrade.
Me too, I was born in 67. I grew up in Burbank when they were filming this stuff. One time we were having lunch on the patio at Universal Studios and everybody got really quiet and serious, and I asked my mom what was going on, and she was like, "Shhhh, that's Lee Majors."
I was maybe 14 when "Six" first came out and fell head over heels in love with the relationship between Steve and Jaime. Collected scrapbooks full of stuff about the two actors from magazines, I still have them! Both shows helped get me through my teen years, especially when I pretended to be like Jaime Sommers, confident and sweet. Five years ago, Lindsay Wagner came to Denver for a Pop culture con and I finally got to meet my teenager hero, what a moment that was! I waited just under 50 years to meet Lindsay Wagner! Yes, she signed my scrapbook! She's in her 70s now!
I was born in 1964. So the show came at a perfect time for my youth. I can say without a doubt that this show singlehandedly made me want to become a fast runner. I'd hear that tune in my head as I competed in track. To the point that I broke a 16 year old cross country record at my school. 42 years later, the record still stands. Thanks Steve. I also anchored my high school 4x400m relay to a B.C. and Canadian record. That record sits unbroken at 41 years. Unlike Steve, I did this with all my original parts. But I will always credit the show and the music to have inspired me to achieve what I have done.
I loved The Six Million Dollar Man show growing up. I'm pretty sure I saw every episode at the time and the reruns were on TV for years. All the boys did the bionic man sound when they were playing and you were really cool if brought the lunch box to school.
Richard Anderson's performance of Oscar Goldman was the secret to the show's success. He was an outstanding actor who brought depth and humanity to the show. He also brought out the best in the entire cast. One of the best shows ever.
I remember reading in on of th magazines back in the day that he hated seeing himself on this show. Confused me because I thought he played his charactor perfectly.
The scenes of Bigfoot and Jamie reacting to Steves singing is hilarious!! Your review about this show is both informative and funny too, nice work on it!
I had the opportunity to hang out with Lee Majors once back in the 90s. I had a rich GF whose Dad was nice enough invite me to Dan Marino's golf tournament in Fort Lauderdale. Of all the celebs there, he was by far the most easygoing and approachable. We talked for a few hours just about stuff.
One of my childhood favorites! Lee Majors deserves credit for making Steve Austin a credible character that children of the era had looked up to. The show literally makes you wish that you were 7 again! Still enjoy the show some near 50 years later!
In 1976, when I was 10 year old boy, I wanted a 6 million Dollar Man doll so badly I fretted and implored my frazzled parents to buy me one. So much so, that on XMas eve, when I did get the doll, I made myself sick at 5am on Xmas day from anxiety and relief :-) Then By 9am after playing with the doll for 4 hours I was over it already. Now as a 56 year old retro-dude doctor my wife bought me a replacement 🙂 It's situated in my SpaceX/Space 1999 diorama :-)
My friend and I used to fight in slow motion (with sound effects, of course). He would be Bigfoot, and I was the Six Million Dollar Man. It was always a draw.
I have the bionic sound on my phone. When a friend is lifting something I like to quickly get it to play -- hilarious and never gets old. Thanks for the show, I liked both shows as a kid and I've rewatched them, they are dated but are still entertaining and great.
The TV Series opening sequence footage always felt real and know it why because it was. Loved growing up with this series and Bigfoot and the Aliens was burnt into my memory.
It was my favorite TV show growing up never missed an episode glued to the TV had the action figure with bionic eye arm and legs all with removable covers that looked like skin all the bionic wires and tendons etc it was a great show and fun and great way to grow up as a kid lots of cool shows back then
Born in '70, SMDM was everything. So many memories. All those great actor voices! Headless Oscar! Jenny Agutter! Hope your Steve Austin had the bionic parts. Hard to find with originals. 🤘
I almost NEVER comment on a video but Stam Fine, whoever you are, this was an absolutely outstanding piece of video. I found you when looking for the Manimal theme and then saw what else you did. I mean.. a perfect review - down to the iconic deathprobe, robots and Jaime... oh that song.... It haunted me for decades. You identified almost every memorable episode. Just well well done.
I think it was Christmas 1975 that THE toy for a boy to get from Santa was The Six Million Dollar Man "Action Figure". My mother tells me that "Santa" had to visit a lot of Elves before eventually finding one for me, and I will forever be grateful for the excitement I had that Christmas morning.
This was one of my favorite shows as a kid and was one of the coolest shows on TV. Love this video documentary and the humor with it. Thanks for putting this together
I found a used copy of the novel Cyborg decades ago and it went into a little more detail about the extent of the damage and what was done to repair Steve Austin. Most of his skull was replaced with a metal alloy. He was blind in his right eye, which was replaced with a camera that took pictures. He couldn't see out of it, unlike his television counterpart. His shoulders, back and spine were all reinforced to withstand the stress the bionic arm put on it. The index finger could fire a bullet and the middle finger had a needle with a tranquilizer in it. The arm/hand weren't as flexible as on television. Taken at a distance, the limbs looked normal, but close up, you could tell they were artificial. He could run at marathon speed, not 80+ as depicted on the show.
Steve Austin in his rocket ship/bionic repair bed, Oscar Goldman with secret tech compartment and exploding briefcase, and Maskatron with swappable faces--all great toys as a kid! Collect them all! Watching shows like this as a kid inspired the imagination and in some ways formed my moral compass on top of being fun. Now everything is deconstructed and gray. Maybe it's why I unexpectedly felt so much joy watching Netflix's One Piece. It's goofy and fun, but breaking the series down has the same theme of the wandering hero that plucked that nostalgia string. Thanks for the re-review!
thank you for this, i really enjoyed it. here in the uk the six million dollar man has recently started to be shown again after about 30 years. im loving watching it all from the beginning again. takes me right back to my childhood.
My memories of this series are a bit patchy but so many of the guest characters are so familiar to me from their other roles. Great review, so much light-hearted but creative humour but also a lot of love for the shows you do.
This was one of the truly core parts of my childhood. Loved this! From the intro to the sound effects, it was just such great fun. I loved the death probe episodes in particular and I remember the fembots being terrifying to me...although not as bad as that rendition of 'Sweet Jamie'....lol!!!
“Crash Randy Coot,” made me lol. Almost as much as Lee Majors’ singing. I have learned to accept that your ghost just rattles around in my memory space, going through all the files from the shows and movies I grew up with. Thank you.
I had the doll. You could also roll down the rubber skin on his arm and leg to reveal square plastic "circuit board" inserts. He used to beat up my C3PO and Boba Fett dolls. (In slow motion of course) And I just remembered he came with a V8 engine that had a handle or a slot so he could pick it up. It was possibly the weirdest toy I ever had.
If you want to understand why the show was such a hit, you have to look at the time period. The book was published in 1972 and the first tv movie in 1974. Astronauts were still heroes to American kids and Lee majors, as Steve, came off like a mix of Chuck Yeager, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, and played it with a Gary Cooper folksiness that had broad appeal across generations. In an era of Vietnam, the My Lai Massacre, Kent State, Watergate and such, Steve was a throwback to the Mercury 7, when servicemembers were called heroes, not babykillers.. The science fiction in the show usually stayed within the realm of the possible (given enough time) and was a stronger element in the first two seasons. A lot of good writers contributed memorable scripts and a lot of talented character actors filled roles in episodes. NASA and the US Air Force loved it because it was a positive portrayal of both and reminded us that a great deal of emerging beneficial technology was developed through the space program and it might be a good idea to keep it going, when Congress was slashing their budget. Steve was an everyman, a jock, a pilot, a hero. He just wasn't a very good singer.
Much simpler than that, we didn’t have many channels and there was bugger all to choose from! We absorbed anything and everything, especially if it was outlandish. It wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, my parents laughed about it, they joked about the slow mo and all the broken science but as kids, we loved it. Star Trek, planet of the apes, Batman, hell even the Brady bunch! All good grist to kids growing up.
I was a teenager when the $6,000,000 Man and Bionic Woman debuted. Now in my 60s I have to admit that both shows are a bit cheesy by modern standards. But for all their awkward moments, they had many great moments and were still fun to watch. That said, perhaps the best element for the story wasn't Bigfoot or the 'fembots' but the introduction in season 2 of Lindsay Wagner. The bittersweet love story of Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers was a stroke of genius. There have been many great TV and movie couples (my favorite being Jack and Kate from LOST) But it's hard to find one who pulled on the heartstrings more than the 'Bionic Duo.' Thank GOD they finally got them hitched at the end of the final reunion movie, 'Bionic Ever After.'
I loved this show, which I'm currently watching with it being shown on British TV, I named my dog Max as a child after Jamie's dog, and I just found my 1970s Six Million Dollar Man metal lunch box.
loved how six millions dollar man embodies the 70's spirit ( regarding education, regarding relation between men and women, regarding fashion and so on )...that was so long time ago...gosh i miss that era so much...Thank you for your video Stam.
I remember this one scene, early in the series, where Steve is running to somewhere, and a distant camera shot shows this half-mile-wide field between two hilly areas, and Austin runs across it in like 6 seconds! HAHA! It was too cool!
Рік тому+3
This was a favorite show growing up for the longest time (followed by the Six Million dollar woman) and that sound effect. I don't think kid didn't replicate that sound. I had a couple of the action figure with the eye so you can look through it. I thought he was the coolest guy. I wonder how a reboot of this series would be like today.
I watched the Death Probe 2-parter again, recently. Old enough to have seen the original screening, though on a black and white TV at the time. Impressed by well the Death Probe prop moves. Most props for TV series at the time would have looked fairly clunky, and not at all convincing, but I thought the Death Probe holds up well, after all these years. The sound effects for the Probe are memorable!
This is running in the evenings in the UK on some random channel. So the timing of this is great since I've been reliving my childhood watching it recently.
That footage looks amazing, like nothing I remember as a kid watching it on TV. Of course, that's because they shot it on film back in the day preserving all the fine detail and vibrant colors. Would love to see all 70's TV shows scanned in 4K. 🎥🎬
OMG...I love this series! Probably I can say that the credit sequence is the most burned into my childhood memory...as soon as I hear that Richard Anderson narration I'm taken back to being so young! Lee Majors is to this day my definition of what it is to be cool and the biggest reason joined the military...I've even almost reached the same rank...lol
Really humorous review thanks. My favourite show of the 70s. I remember my excitement waiting for ‘The Return of the Bionic Woman’ to be screened here in the UK. I remember it being an Easter weekend.
I was attending a celebrity golf tournament in the early 70's and there was a small group of us following Lee Trevino in the practice rounds. All of a sudden Trevino turns to the guy next to me and said "Hey Lee" and lo and behold it was Lee Majors. I was surprised at how thin he was in real life.
It has taken until now for me to become sentimental about 70's TV shows. This is a great resource to enjoy them from a safe distance. ;-) I had the action figure, and yes, there was no end of slow-motion playfighting in the schoolyard. I remember The Bionic Woman being a massive drag. She seemed to be forever mired in some internal struggle. I loved the Sasquatch and aliens episodes, especially the rolling glow tunnel, but somehow hated the Venus probe. I can't remember much else other than the sound effect, true.
Asking us to like and subscribe at the END of the video, not the BEGINNING!! I subbed, because that's a less pushy way to ask than most of the other presenters on UA-cam! That, and I liked the content. *SUBBED!*
I remember watching The Six Million Dollar Man with my brother, who was a fan; I think he even read the book. One of my friends had the Steve Austin doll, which made him the envy of the neighborhood kids. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.
As a kid I watched the bionic man and woman. Also Automan, knight Rider, Air Wolf, He Man , She Ra, Blue Thunder , Incredible Hulk, and many western tv series. I had a 19 inch black and white tv . Much rather watch old tv shows than some of the junk they have now. I don't think younger generations would watch these shows that hold a special place in my heart.
He looked good to begin with, but looked very handsome with the mustache! I watched "The Bionic Woman", too. She would also feel like a 'freak", so would his son, Michael(earlier relationship)! The song "Automatic" is perfect(Pointer Sisters) for the movie(one of three). I will use these videos as inspiration to work out!
Same here. 10 in '73. Saturday morning cartoons, lots of great tv shows, everyone stayed home on Sundays for Sunday dinner, at school, almost everyone watched the same movie on CBS or ABC the night before and we all talked about it. Those days of commonality and shared community are long gone. It's truly sad.
Just the deep-dive from the good old days I needed... the show was long gone by the time I was pop-culture aware, but its reverberations still lasted well into the 80's - the memorabilia was everywhere as hand-me-downs within Mego doll / Action Man filled boxes, or in piles of kids stuff at jumble sales for years afterwards.
This was a great show in the beginning. The music was also amazing. I felt the plots in the last season feel short. I also wish they would have fixed Barney, The Seven Million Dollar Man. It would have been nice to see them work together on some missions. Hopefully they get it right if they make a motion picture. Great review.
When I was in my teens, I had endurance like nobody else in middle school or high school. The Six Million Dollar Man was a Saturday night staple. I would hum the theme while I was running, and imagined I had bionic legs. Seemed I could run forever!
The honest character of Lee Majors transfers to us mere down to earth astronauts, as Steve Austin, humanitarian. Great casting. Don't think anyone else could have sold the premise as well. Richard Anderson was also the perfect cast as boss/cheerleader, Oscar Goldman. I always kinda wanted to see how Farrah would fare (no offense, Lindsay) as The Bionic Woman (but that's another fantasy).
0:28 Sorry, but Farrah Fawcett (R.I.P.) as the Bionic Woman wouldn't cut it. For all her beauty, talent, and that AWESOME head of hair, she WASN'T Jaime Sommers. Lindsay Wagner was one of a kind. She had the perfect balance of talent, strength, sweetness, vulnerability and blue-eyed All-American beauty for the part. Add to that her 5'9" sleek figure which made her totally believable as a tennis pro and you have one of the most perfectly cast actors for the role she played. And finally, when you factor in the chemistry between her and Lee Majors it's hard to see anyone else as Steve Austin's soulmate...
As mentioned in a few places (video description, blog post, in the video, the billboard campaign, cinema advertising, skywriting, and laser etched on the surface of Mars, this is a second video on The Six Million Dollar Man, one that upgrades the original and expands upon it.
“Barney Miller,” was that comedy cop show, wasn’t it? Anyway, thanks for the expansion pack.
Eh, it's worth a revisit. Hard to believe how influential this show was way back when.
@@ashroskell Yep. Still holds up well today, better than this show. Calling it a flat-out comedy isn't quite right, though. More like a wryly comedic slice-of-life show really - with 99.9% of the slices taking place in the same couple of rooms in the precinct station.
Which, come to think of it, must have made it an incredible bargain to produce.
@StamFine Are you 100% certain that Have Bennett is the other voice in the title sequence?
To my ear, it has always sounded like Terry Carter, who played Colonel Tigh in the original _'Battlestar Galactica'_ and, if memory serves, was in an early episode or two of this show.
There are a couple of possible designs that can be implemented at this time. Boeing and Lockheed Martin skunk works have the photos on video if you want to secure the team at this time as our associates.
This is the first tv show that as a kid I went absolutely nuts for. It will always have a special place in my heart even now fifty years later.
Same here. I had the doll and the rocket operating table and maskatron. I still have the lunchbox. It was all supplanted in an instant by Star Wars.
@@campion10 Yeah, didn't the action figure (not "doll") have like a magnifying glass that you could look through via the back of his head?
@@idahomike4254wish I still had mine. I also had the rocket/operating table toy, as well as Maskatron. One of my friends had Bigfoot.
When i was a young boy in the mid seventies, i would soil myself every time 6MDM would come on!!!
Same. I had all the toys and the board game too. I was so freaked out by the faceless robot
I met Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner at an autograph signing about 8 years ago. Lee didn't say much to anyone but Lindsay was so warm and friendly to all the fans.
How wonderful 👍🇬🇧👋
what did you expect from Lee Majors to tell you ?🤔
@@LOLONO666 He demanded that Farrah's Charlies' Angels contract have a clause that she would be home by 530pm to cook his dinner. True fact.
I was born in 1967, so this show came out at the perfect time for me.
I do think you need to give Majors a lot of credit for managing to have successful TV series across three different decades. Not many actors have accomplished that.
Honestly, the Fall Guy wasn't half bad either - and unlike this, the technology hasn't dated the show. Not to mention inflation. Heck, I know a guy whose medical bill (before insurance payments) cost more than Steve's upgrade.
Me too, I was born in 67. I grew up in Burbank when they were filming this stuff. One time we were having lunch on the patio at Universal Studios and everybody got really quiet and serious, and I asked my mom what was going on, and she was like, "Shhhh, that's Lee Majors."
"Big Valley" "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Fall Guy"
I born in 66. I watch the show when I am ten year old in Hong Kong and they are all speaking in Cantonese😂
I guess my dad is,I born in HK & never been to India
I was maybe 14 when "Six" first came out and fell head over heels in love with the relationship between Steve and Jaime. Collected scrapbooks full of stuff about the two actors from magazines, I still have them! Both shows helped get me through my teen years, especially when I pretended to be like Jaime Sommers, confident and sweet. Five years ago, Lindsay Wagner came to Denver for a Pop culture con and I finally got to meet my teenager hero, what a moment that was! I waited just under 50 years to meet Lindsay Wagner! Yes, she signed my scrapbook! She's in her 70s now!
One of the best intro for a TV show ever
I agree. So memorable.
Very iconic !
I was born in 1964. So the show came at a perfect time for my youth. I can say without a doubt that this show singlehandedly made me want to become a fast runner. I'd hear that tune in my head as I competed in track. To the point that I broke a 16 year old cross country record at my school. 42 years later, the record still stands. Thanks Steve. I also anchored my high school 4x400m relay to a B.C. and Canadian record. That record sits unbroken at 41 years. Unlike Steve, I did this with all my original parts. But I will always credit the show and the music to have inspired me to achieve what I have done.
NICE I PLAYED FOOTBALL THEY CALLED ME GREASED PIG
I was born on 1965. This show was the greatest of my childhood.❤
They must have fitted Flo Jo and the East German women their world records are still standing 40 years later
I loved The Six Million Dollar Man show growing up. I'm pretty sure I saw every episode at the time and the reruns were on TV for years. All the boys did the bionic man sound when they were playing and you were really cool if brought the lunch box to school.
One of the earliest TV shows I remember watching as a kid. My friends and I used to do slow-motion action with sound effects in recess.
Lee Majors singing 'Sweet Jamie' that still makes me lol. Thanks for the memories.
It was so cheesy, but so sweet at the same time
@@kazamshah4543 OSI = Operation Silly Initiatives
And Jamie sang "Feelings"(First time I ever heard it)(Morris Albert) lol
I'd like to think that William Shatner took Majors aside to tell him he was a terrible singer.
This, the Hulk, and Star Trek were my jams growing up in the late 70s
Finally met Lee Majors a couple of years ago, and it was worth the wait. He's a very kind man. A lousy singer, but a kind man.
I loved this show when I was a kid. And we did the slow motion fights and sound effects. Jamie Somers was my first major crush.
I loved it, had kids doing slow mo action moves in the playground at school. Brilliant.
I used to jump off our garage roof in slow motion and make the effect from my mouth 😮
Richard Anderson's performance of Oscar Goldman was the secret to the show's success. He was an outstanding actor who brought depth and humanity to the show. He also brought out the best in the entire cast. One of the best shows ever.
Yes I enjoyed this show very much
Richard Anderson was outstanding
I remember reading in on of th magazines back in the day that he hated seeing himself on this show. Confused me because I thought he played his charactor perfectly.
Indeed he was he was as important as Lee Majors to that show
The scenes of Bigfoot and Jamie reacting to Steves singing is hilarious!! Your review about this show is both informative and funny too, nice work on it!
Majors was such an awful singer, I couldn t stop laughing at his cheesy love song for his childhood sweetheart. He obviously let fame go to his head
I had the opportunity to hang out with Lee Majors once back in the 90s. I had a rich GF whose Dad was nice enough invite me to Dan Marino's golf tournament in Fort Lauderdale. Of all the celebs there, he was by far the most easygoing and approachable. We talked for a few hours just about stuff.
Oh, wow. At Grande Oaks Golf Club by chance?
One of my childhood favorites! Lee Majors deserves credit for making Steve Austin a credible character that children of the era had looked up to. The show literally makes you wish that you were 7 again!
Still enjoy the show some near 50 years later!
In 1976, when I was 10 year old boy, I wanted a 6 million Dollar Man doll so badly I fretted and implored my frazzled parents to buy me one. So much so, that on XMas eve, when I did get the doll, I made myself sick at 5am on Xmas day from anxiety and relief :-) Then By 9am after playing with the doll for 4 hours I was over it already. Now as a 56 year old retro-dude doctor my wife bought me a replacement 🙂 It's situated in my SpaceX/Space 1999 diorama :-)
ah, another Space 1999 fan :)
I was born in 66 was bribed to stop sucking my thumb by getting the six million dollar man doll
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
You get a thumbs up just for having a Space 1999 diorama.👍
Bigfoot vs Bionic Man was the most awesome thing in the world if you were a kid.
Maskatron vs bionic man was awesome too.
It was Death Probe vs Bionic Man for me! Followed by the 7 Mil Dollar Man ep
@@MrRoda8143 YESSSS! That Death Probe really scared me as a kid and it was the only thing I thought Steve would lose to.
@@anthonyriche552 Same here. I got chills when I was a kid and saw it, then DP2 came along to being back more scares lol
My friend and I used to fight in slow motion (with sound effects, of course). He would be Bigfoot, and I was the Six Million Dollar Man. It was always a draw.
I was a child in the 1970s that never missed an episode of this show. Thank you for bringing back some wonderful memories.
Agreed. Always watched it when I was kid. Those Fembots scared the hell out of me.
나도 너무 좋아한다 😂😂
Stam Fine please never stop
Watched TSMDM every week when I was a child in the 1970’s. Every boy in my grade loved it.
I have the bionic sound on my phone. When a friend is lifting something I like to quickly get it to play -- hilarious and never gets old. Thanks for the show, I liked both shows as a kid and I've rewatched them, they are dated but are still entertaining and great.
Wonderful Idea . I believe I will give that a try Cafeman.
Thank you for giving me a BRILLIANT idea for a ring tone. Thank you!
That’s brilliant!
The TV Series opening sequence footage always felt real and know it why because it was. Loved growing up with this series and Bigfoot and the Aliens was burnt into my memory.
I loved this series, I still love this series. I will always love this series.
It was my favorite TV show growing up never missed an episode glued to the TV had the action figure with bionic eye arm and legs all with removable covers that looked like skin all the bionic wires and tendons etc it was a great show and fun and great way to grow up as a kid lots of cool shows back then
This show and Starsky & Hutch were my absolute favorite. Lee Majors was just awesome. I wanted to be just like the 6 million dollar man.
Born in '70, SMDM was everything. So many memories. All those great actor voices! Headless Oscar! Jenny Agutter!
Hope your Steve Austin had the bionic parts. Hard to find with originals.
🤘
I almost NEVER comment on a video but Stam Fine, whoever you are, this was an absolutely outstanding piece of video. I found you when looking for the Manimal theme and then saw what else you did. I mean.. a perfect review - down to the iconic deathprobe, robots and Jaime... oh that song.... It haunted me for decades. You identified almost every memorable episode. Just well well done.
I think it was Christmas 1975 that THE toy for a boy to get from Santa was The Six Million Dollar Man "Action Figure". My mother tells me that "Santa" had to visit a lot of Elves before eventually finding one for me, and I will forever be grateful for the excitement I had that Christmas morning.
Forgot that it wasn't just Shatner, who dabbled in the world of song. R.I.P. David McCallum. Peace All
This was one of my favorite shows as a kid and was one of the coolest shows on TV. Love this video documentary and the humor with it. Thanks for putting this together
I found a used copy of the novel Cyborg decades ago and it went into a little more detail about the extent of the damage and what was done to repair Steve Austin.
Most of his skull was replaced with a metal alloy.
He was blind in his right eye, which was replaced with a camera that took pictures. He couldn't see out of it, unlike his television counterpart.
His shoulders, back and spine were all reinforced to withstand the stress the bionic arm put on it.
The index finger could fire a bullet and the middle finger had a needle with a tranquilizer in it.
The arm/hand weren't as flexible as on television. Taken at a distance, the limbs looked normal, but close up, you could tell they were artificial.
He could run at marathon speed, not 80+ as depicted on the show.
Steve Austin in his rocket ship/bionic repair bed, Oscar Goldman with secret tech compartment and exploding briefcase, and Maskatron with swappable faces--all great toys as a kid! Collect them all!
Watching shows like this as a kid inspired the imagination and in some ways formed my moral compass on top of being fun. Now everything is deconstructed and gray. Maybe it's why I unexpectedly felt so much joy watching Netflix's One Piece. It's goofy and fun, but breaking the series down has the same theme of the wandering hero that plucked that nostalgia string.
Thanks for the re-review!
thank you for this, i really enjoyed it. here in the uk the six million dollar man has recently started to be shown again after about 30 years. im loving watching it all from the beginning again. takes me right back to my childhood.
My memories of this series are a bit patchy but so many of the guest characters are so familiar to me from their other roles. Great review, so much light-hearted but creative humour but also a lot of love for the shows you do.
Don't forget that Lee Majors is now Ash Williams' (Bruce Campbell's) Dad in the "Ash vs Evil Dead" TV series of recent years...Groovy!
This was one of the truly core parts of my childhood. Loved this! From the intro to the sound effects, it was just such great fun. I loved the death probe episodes in particular and I remember the fembots being terrifying to me...although not as bad as that rendition of 'Sweet Jamie'....lol!!!
'The Secret of Bigfoot' two-part episode with Andre the Giant is a gem of 1970s TV !
It really is. One of the truly iconic pieces of television for that decade. Kind of campy but hard not to love.
@@richmcgee434 Yes, hard not to love. For years, I wondered if Bigfoot was really a robot or an animal.
Yes!!!! one of my favorite epidodes
These are my two favourite episodes of the show. Andre the Giant was the boss.
@davydevilution309 and that rotating tunnel scene was mind blowing for a kid at that time.
I watched this in reruns in the early 80's. But it was definitely a memorable part of my childhood.
one of my favourite shows I got all the dvds and working my way watching episodes again
I had all the toys and absolutely loved this show.
“Crash Randy Coot,” made me lol. Almost as much as Lee Majors’ singing. I have learned to accept that your ghost just rattles around in my memory space, going through all the files from the shows and movies I grew up with. Thank you.
I had the doll. You could also roll down the rubber skin on his arm and leg to reveal square plastic "circuit board" inserts. He used to beat up my C3PO and Boba Fett dolls. (In slow motion of course)
And I just remembered he came with a V8 engine that had a handle or a slot so he could pick it up. It was possibly the weirdest toy I ever had.
You'd push the button in his back to jack up the engine.
@@darrellludlow I forgot that😁
"Bionic Woman"!
If you want to understand why the show was such a hit, you have to look at the time period. The book was published in 1972 and the first tv movie in 1974. Astronauts were still heroes to American kids and Lee majors, as Steve, came off like a mix of Chuck Yeager, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, and played it with a Gary Cooper folksiness that had broad appeal across generations. In an era of Vietnam, the My Lai Massacre, Kent State, Watergate and such, Steve was a throwback to the Mercury 7, when servicemembers were called heroes, not babykillers.. The science fiction in the show usually stayed within the realm of the possible (given enough time) and was a stronger element in the first two seasons. A lot of good writers contributed memorable scripts and a lot of talented character actors filled roles in episodes. NASA and the US Air Force loved it because it was a positive portrayal of both and reminded us that a great deal of emerging beneficial technology was developed through the space program and it might be a good idea to keep it going, when Congress was slashing their budget. Steve was an everyman, a jock, a pilot, a hero. He just wasn't a very good singer.
Much simpler than that, we didn’t have many channels and there was bugger all to choose from! We absorbed anything and everything, especially if it was outlandish. It wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, my parents laughed about it, they joked about the slow mo and all the broken science but as kids, we loved it. Star Trek, planet of the apes, Batman, hell even the Brady bunch! All good grist to kids growing up.
The world is SO messed up these days, we need Austin to be our saviour.
That classic action sounds its epic. I loved watching this show. I think I'll download that sound as a ringtone 😉
I can't count how many times I ran in slow motion to school or had those slow mo fights with my friends! Life was amazing back then
It was the slow motion effects and that sound that made the show!
One of TVs most iconic series with a real cool super hero.
I was a teenager when the $6,000,000 Man and Bionic Woman debuted. Now in my 60s I have to admit that both shows are a bit cheesy by modern standards. But for all their awkward moments, they had many great moments and were still fun to watch.
That said, perhaps the best element for the story wasn't Bigfoot or the 'fembots' but the introduction in season 2 of Lindsay Wagner. The bittersweet love story of Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers was a stroke of genius. There have been many great TV and movie couples (my favorite being Jack and Kate from LOST) But it's hard to find one who pulled on the heartstrings more than the 'Bionic Duo.' Thank GOD they finally got them hitched at the end of the final reunion movie, 'Bionic Ever After.'
I Have seen so many series's from when i was young but this and the bionic woman for me have a very special place in my heart forever ❤❤
That Death Stranding reference had me in stitches 🤣
The intro of the Six Million dollar man is 💥💥💥
I continue to love this show since my early childhood years.
I loved this show, which I'm currently watching with it being shown on British TV, I named my dog Max as a child after Jamie's dog, and I just found my 1970s Six Million Dollar Man metal lunch box.
loved how six millions dollar man embodies the 70's spirit ( regarding education, regarding relation between men and women, regarding fashion and so on )...that was so long time ago...gosh i miss that era so much...Thank you for your video Stam.
I remember this one scene, early in the series, where Steve is running to somewhere, and a distant camera shot shows this half-mile-wide field between two hilly areas, and Austin runs across it in like 6 seconds! HAHA! It was too cool!
This was a favorite show growing up for the longest time (followed by the Six Million dollar woman) and that sound effect. I don't think kid didn't replicate that sound. I had a couple of the action figure with the eye so you can look through it. I thought he was the coolest guy. I wonder how a reboot of this series would be like today.
Greatest opening of any show ever.
I watched the Death Probe 2-parter again, recently. Old enough to have seen the original screening, though on a black and white TV at the time. Impressed by well the Death Probe prop moves. Most props for TV series at the time would have looked fairly clunky, and not at all convincing, but I thought the Death Probe holds up well, after all these years. The sound effects for the Probe are memorable!
This show introduced me to one of my favorite heroes as a kid. The bionic woman.
0:47 Wow! They made a robot out of an Alarm Clock from Radio Shack? Impressed!
This is running in the evenings in the UK on some random channel. So the timing of this is great since I've been reliving my childhood watching it recently.
I was the prefect age when this show premiered on TV and by the end of the first season I was already too old for it.
"Steve Austin. Astronaut. A man barely alive. We can rebuild him. We can make him bigger, stronger, faster" burned in my memory.
"But we can't make him carry a tune. That's beyond our science."
The irony is it was burned into your memory wrongly.
That footage looks amazing, like nothing I remember as a kid watching it on TV. Of course, that's because they shot it on film back in the day preserving all the fine detail and vibrant colors. Would love to see all 70's TV shows scanned in 4K. 🎥🎬
OMG...I love this series! Probably I can say that the credit sequence is the most burned into my childhood memory...as soon as I hear that Richard Anderson narration I'm taken back to being so young! Lee Majors is to this day my definition of what it is to be cool and the biggest reason joined the military...I've even almost reached the same rank...lol
I was early-teens when this was big, had the action figure and did the bionic sound when I ran lol😄 thanks for the memories ✌️
Really humorous review thanks. My favourite show of the 70s. I remember my excitement waiting for ‘The Return of the Bionic Woman’ to be screened here in the UK. I remember it being an Easter weekend.
I was attending a celebrity golf tournament in the early 70's and there was a small group of us following Lee Trevino in the practice rounds. All of a sudden Trevino turns to the guy next to me and said "Hey Lee" and lo and behold it was Lee Majors. I was surprised at how thin he was in real life.
Loved this show as a kid... was too awesome
From 73 to 78 Steve Austin was the baddest man on the planet... there wasn't anyone better!!
The six million dollar man sound effects were pure genius
Six million dollars is a steal considering that Acoustic Kitty cost many times that and that only attached a microphone and a transmitter.
It has taken until now for me to become sentimental about 70's TV shows. This is a great resource to enjoy them from a safe distance. ;-) I had the action figure, and yes, there was no end of slow-motion playfighting in the schoolyard. I remember The Bionic Woman being a massive drag. She seemed to be forever mired in some internal struggle. I loved the Sasquatch and aliens episodes, especially the rolling glow tunnel, but somehow hated the Venus probe. I can't remember much else other than the sound effect, true.
The concept really switched into high gear when Harve Bennett took over, aided by Oliver Nelson's music!
I was so excited to get the Bionic Man action figure for Christmas
La serie televisiva migliore del Mondo , grazie Steve e grazie Jaime . Un saluto dall'Italia .
I was almost 12 when I watched the Bionic Man. Then there was the Incredible Hulk, and of course Wonder Woman. All playing on T.V. I miss those days.
Asking us to like and subscribe at the END of the video, not the BEGINNING!! I subbed, because that's a less pushy way to ask than most of the other presenters on UA-cam! That, and I liked the content.
*SUBBED!*
I remember watching The Six Million Dollar Man with my brother, who was a fan; I think he even read the book. One of my friends had the Steve Austin doll, which made him the envy of the neighborhood kids. Thanks for bringing back some good memories.
This is what a Great tv show look like back in the Day.
As a kid I watched the bionic man and woman. Also Automan, knight Rider, Air Wolf, He Man , She Ra, Blue Thunder , Incredible Hulk, and many western tv series. I had a 19 inch black and white tv . Much rather watch old tv shows than some of the junk they have now. I don't think younger generations would watch these shows that hold a special place in my heart.
+100 for Automan. That show is so forgotten. I loved it. Was a big Tron fan as well.
I got the doll with the bionic eye for my 6th birthday in 1978 and I wore the bionic man costume in October of 1977.
And boy did he love those leisure suits 😂
Ahh what memories! Watching this show on TV 1st growing up in UK & then in Pakistan!
Absolutely loved this show and The Bionic Woman spin off; I was a kid when they started to air which helped :)
He looked good to begin with, but looked very handsome with the mustache! I watched "The Bionic Woman", too. She would also feel like a 'freak", so would his son, Michael(earlier relationship)! The song "Automatic" is perfect(Pointer Sisters) for the movie(one of three). I will use these videos as inspiration to work out!
I was 8 in 1973. The best era to grow up, but of course we didn't know it yet
Same here. 10 in '73. Saturday morning cartoons, lots of great tv shows, everyone stayed home on Sundays for Sunday dinner, at school, almost everyone watched the same movie on CBS or ABC the night before and we all talked about it. Those days of commonality and shared community are long gone. It's truly sad.
Another fantastic review, Stam. Six Million Dollar Man did impact my childhood. Thanks.
Just the deep-dive from the good old days I needed... the show was long gone by the time I was pop-culture aware, but its reverberations still lasted well into the 80's - the memorabilia was everywhere as hand-me-downs within Mego doll / Action Man filled boxes, or in piles of kids stuff at jumble sales for years afterwards.
It's true! We had slow-motion fights in playgrounds.
This was a great show in the beginning. The music was also amazing. I felt the plots in the last season feel short. I also wish they would have fixed Barney, The Seven Million Dollar Man. It would have been nice to see them work together on some missions. Hopefully they get it right if they make a motion picture. Great review.
You’re giving me laughs sir, loving the content! First rate work.
TSMDM has the best sound design of any TV show EVER. Period.
God, I loved him so much! Great, great show....those noises will be timeless 😂❤🎉
loved that show as a kid still do and i remember watching the Fall guy i was like 14 ..miss the 80s.
When I was in my teens, I had endurance like nobody else in middle school or high school.
The Six Million Dollar Man was a Saturday night staple.
I would hum the theme while I was running, and imagined I had bionic legs.
Seemed I could run forever!
The 6 million in dollar man 12 inch doll with moving bionic arm and magnified eye was my favourite toy from 1975 to 1979 I loved it aged 3 to 7 😂😂
The honest character of Lee Majors transfers to us mere down to earth astronauts, as Steve Austin, humanitarian. Great casting. Don't think anyone else could have sold the premise as well. Richard Anderson was also the perfect cast as boss/cheerleader, Oscar Goldman. I always kinda wanted to see how Farrah would fare (no offense, Lindsay) as The Bionic Woman (but that's another fantasy).
0:28 Sorry, but Farrah Fawcett (R.I.P.) as the Bionic Woman wouldn't cut it. For all her beauty, talent, and that AWESOME head of hair, she WASN'T Jaime Sommers.
Lindsay Wagner was
one of a kind. She had the perfect balance of talent, strength, sweetness, vulnerability and blue-eyed All-American beauty for the part. Add to that her 5'9" sleek figure which made her totally believable as a tennis pro and you have one of the most perfectly cast actors for the role she played.
And finally, when you factor in the chemistry between her and Lee Majors it's hard to see anyone else as Steve Austin's soulmate...