The Six Million Dollar Man
The Six Million Dollar Man | |
---|---|
Based on | Cyborg by Martin Caidin |
Starring | |
Composers | |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 99 + 6 TV movies ( Kenneth Johnson |
Running time | 50–51 minutes |
Production companies |
|
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | March 7, 1973 March 6, 1978 | –
The Six Million Dollar Man is an American
Following three television films intended as pilots, which all aired in 1973, The Six Million Dollar Man television series aired on the
A spin-off television series, The Bionic Woman, featuring the lead female character Jaime Sommers, ran from 1976 to 1978. Three television movies featuring both bionic characters were also produced from 1987 to 1994.
Plot
This section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2010) |
Original series
When
Caidin's novel Cyborg was a best-seller when it was published in 1972. He followed it up with three sequels, Operation Nuke, High Crystal, and Cyborg IV, respectively about a black market in nuclear weapons, a Chariots of the Gods? scenario, and fusing Austin's bionic hardware to a spaceplane.
In March 1973, Cyborg was loosely adapted as a made-for-TV movie titled The Six Million Dollar Man starring Majors as Austin. The producers' first choice was
The first movie was a major ratings success and was followed by two more made-for-TV movies in October and November 1973 as part of ABC's rotating Movie of the Week series. The first was titled The Six Million Dollar Man: "Wine, Women and War", and the second was titled The Six Million Dollar Man: "The Solid Gold Kidnapping". The first of these two bore strong resemblances to Caidin's second Cyborg novel, Operation Nuke; the second, however, was an original story. This was followed in January 1974 by the debut of The Six Million Dollar Man as a weekly hour-long series. The latter two movies, produced by Glen A. Larson, notably introduced a James Bond flavor to the series and reinstated Austin's status from the novels as an Air Force colonel; the hour-long series, produced by Harve Bennett, dispensed with the James Bond-gloss of the movies, and portrayed a more down-to-earth Austin. (Majors said of Austin, "[He] hates...the whole idea of spying. He finds it repugnant, degrading. If he's a James Bond, he's the most reluctant one we've ever had.")[citation needed] Use of deadly force by Austin - frequent in Caidin's novels and employed occasionally in the movies and early episodes - also decreased as the series progressed.
The show was very popular during its run and introduced several
In 1975, a two-part episode titled "The Bionic Woman", written for television by
Television movie reunions
Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers returned in three subsequent made-for-television movies:
Cast
- Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors), the lead character
- Oscar Goldman (played by Richard Anderson), Director of the OSI
- Rudy Wells (played by Martin Balsam, 1st pilot episode; Alan Oppenheimer, 2nd and 3rd pilot episodes, seasons 1 & 2 and 1 episode in season 3; Martin E. Brooks, seasons 3–5, as well as on The Bionic Woman and in three movies), Austin's physician and primary overseer of the medical aspects of bionic technology
- Jaime Sommers (played by Lindsay Wagner—recurring)
- Peggy Callahan (played by Jennifer Darling—recurring), secretary to Oscar Goldman
- Oliver Spencer (played by Darren McGavin), director of the OSO in the pilot
Production
Opening sequence
The crash footage during the opening credits is from the M2-F2 crash that occurred on May 10, 1967. Test pilot Bruce Peterson's lifting body aircraft hit the ground at approximately 250 mph (402 km/h) and tumbled six times,[4] but survived what appeared to be a fatal accident, though he later lost an eye due to infection.[n 2] In the episode "The Deadly Replay", Oscar Goldman refers to the lifting body aircraft in which Austin crashed as the HL-10, stating "We've rebuilt the HL-10." The HL-10 is the aircraft first seen in the original pilot movie before the accident flight. In the 1987 TV film The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, Austin refers to the craft as the "M3-F5", which was the name used for the aircraft that crashed in the original Cyborg novel.
In the opening sequence, a narrator (series producer Harve Bennett) identifies the protagonist, "Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive." Richard Anderson, in character as Oscar Goldman, then intones off-camera, "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster." During the first season, beginning with "Population: Zero", Anderson, as Goldman, intoned more simply, "We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better...stronger...faster." During the operation, when he is having his bionics fitted, a list of items and numbers is displayed and lists his power plant as "atomic".
Theme music
The opening and closing credits of the Wine, Women & War and The Solid Gold Kidnapping telefilms used a theme song written by Glen A. Larson,[6] and sung by Dusty Springfield, backed by Ron "Escalade" Piscina. This song was also used in the initial promotion of the series.
However, when the weekly series began, the song was replaced by an instrumental theme by Oliver Nelson. The first regular episode, "Population: Zero", introduced a new element to the opening sequence: a voiceover by Oscar Goldman stating the rationale behind creating a bionic man. The first season narration and opening credits arrangement of Nelson's theme were shorter than that used in the second and subsequent seasons.
Steve Austin's bionics
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2015) |
To maintain the show's plausibility, producer
Austin's superhuman enhancements are:
- A bionic left eye:
- It has a 20.2:1 zoom lens along with a night vision function (as well as the restoration of normal vision). The figure of 20.2:1 is taken from the faux computer graphics in the opening credits; the figure 20:1 is mentioned twice in the series, in the episode "Population: Zero" and "Secret of Bigfoot". Austin's bionic eye also has other features, such as an infrared filter used frequently to see in the dark and also to detect heat (as in the episode "The Pioneers"), and the ability to view humanoid beings moving too fast for a normal eye to see (as in the story arc "The Secret of Bigfoot"). One early episode shows the eye as a deadly accurate targeting device for his throwing arm.
- In Caidin's original novels, Austin's eye was depicted as simply a camera (which had to be physically removed after use) and Austin remained blind in the eye. Later, Austin gained the ability to shoot a laser from the eye. The Charlton Comics comic book spin-off from the series also established that Austin's bionic eye could shoot a laser beam (as demonstrated in the first issues of the color comic), but neither function was shown on television.
- Bionic legs:
- These allow him to run at tremendous speed and make great leaps. Austin's upper speed limit was never firmly established, although a speed of 60 mph (97 km/h) is commonly quoted since this figure is shown on a speed gauge during the opening credits. The highest speed ever shown in the series on a speed gauge is 67 mph (108 km/h) in "The Pal-Mir Escort"; however, the later revival films suggested that he could run approximately 90 mph (145 km/h). A faster top speed is possible, as an episode of the Bionic Woman spin-off entitled "Winning Is Everything" shows female cyborg Jaime Sommers outrunning a race car going 100 mph (161 km/h). In "Secret of Bigfoot" it is stated that he can leap 30 feet (9.1 m) high. In the later TV movies, Austin is shown leaping heights that clearly appear to be far in excess of this.
- A bionic right arm:
- It has the equivalent strength of a bulldozer; that the arm contains a Geiger counter was established in "Doomsday and Counting", the sixth episode of the first season.
The implants have a major flaw in that extreme cold interferes with their functions and can disable them given sufficient exposure. However, when Austin returns to a warmer temperature, the implants quickly regain full functionality. The first season also established that Austin's bionics malfunction in the
To indicate to viewers that Austin was using his bionic enhancements, sequences with him performing superhuman tasks were presented in
Episodes
The series consists of three
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||
Pilot movies | March 7, 1973 | November 17, 1973 | ||
1 | 13 | January 18, 1974 | April 26, 1974 | |
2 | 22 | September 13, 1974 | April 27, 1975 | |
3 | 21 | September 14, 1975 | March 7, 1976 | |
4 | 22 | September 19, 1976 | March 15, 1977 | |
5 | 21 | September 11, 1977 | March 6, 1978 | |
Television movies | May 17, 1987 | November 29, 1994 |
Novels
Original novels
(all by Martin Caidin)
- Cyborg (1972)
- Operation Nuke (1973)
- High Crystal (1974)
- Cyborg IV (1975)
(Of the above, only Cyborg was adapted for television.)
Novelizations
- Wine, Women and War – Mike Jahn
- Solid Gold Kidnapping – Evan Richards
- Pilot Error – Jay Barbree
- The Rescue of Athena One – Jahn (two similarly themed episodes combined into one storyline)
- The Secret of Bigfoot Pass (UK title, The Secret of Bigfoot) – Jahn
- International Incidents – Jahn (this volume adapted several episodes into one interconnected storyline)
Other adaptations
Comics
Charlton Comics published both a color comic book and a black and white, illustrated magazine, featuring original adventures as well as differing adaptations of the original TV movie. While the comic book was closely based upon the series, and geared toward a young audience, the magazine was darker and more violent and seemed to be based more upon the literary version of the character, aimed at adult readers. Both magazines were cancelled around the same time the TV series ended. Artists Howard Chaykin and Neal Adams were frequent contributors to both publications. Steve Kahn, who had previously published magazines on the Beatles and the teen fan magazine FLiP, worked with MCA and Charlton in overseeing and publishing these books.[citation needed]
A British comic strip version was also produced, written by
In 1996, a new comic book series entitled Bionix was announced, to be published by
On August 24, 2011,
Audiobooks
Film
In October 2002, Trevor Sands was hired to write a new screenplay, titled
In a July 2006 interview at
On November 6, 2014, it was announced that a feature film, tentatively titled The Six Billion Dollar Man, would go into production.
In December 2017, The Weinstein Company sold the film's rights to Warner Bros.[17] As of January 2018, they hoped to start filming the movie in mid 2018.[18] In April 2018, they set an early to mid 2019 release for the film.[19] The film was moved to June 5, 2020, until Wonder Woman 1984 took over the release date,[20] and in April 2019, Travis Knight and Bill Dubuque replaced Szifron as director and writer.[21]
Cultural influence
In
In Israel, the series was retitled The Man Worth Millions since "six million" evoked memories of The Holocaust; specifically the most commonly quoted estimate of the number of Jewish victims.[25][26]
Award
In 2003, Lee Majors won TV Land's "Superest Superhero" award.[27]
Home media
Universal Playback released the first two seasons of The Six Million Dollar Man on DVD in Region 2 and Region 4 in 2005–2006. The first three seasons were also released on the Italian market (Region 2) in late 2008. The season 1 release also features the three pilot movies that preceded the weekly series.[citation needed]
The Region 1 (North American) release, along with that of The Bionic Woman was one of the most eagerly awaited; its release had been withheld for many years due to copyright issues regarding the original novel. In fact, with the exception of a few episodes released in the DiscoVision format in the early 1980s and a single VHS release of the two-part The Bionic Woman storyline that same decade, the series as a whole had never been released in North America in any home video format.[citation needed]
On July 21, 2010, however,
In November 2011, Universal Pictures began releasing individual season sets of the series on DVD, available in retail stores. It has subsequently released all five seasons.[30][31][32][33] The fifth and final season was released on February 18, 2014.[34]
Several episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man actually saw their North American DVD debut several weeks in advance of the box set, as Universal Home Video included the three "crossover" episodes that helped launch The Bionic Woman as bonuses on the October 19, 2010 DVD release of Season 1 of The Bionic Woman.[35]
On October 13, 2015, Universal Pictures released a retail version of The Six Million Dollar Man- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[36]
In Region 2, Fabulous Films acquired the rights to the series in 2012 and subsequently released seasons 3–5 on DVD on October 1, 2012.[37][38][39] It also re-released the first two seasons on February 25, 2013.[40][41] A 40-disc complete series boxset was released on April 2, 2012.[42]
On May 2, 2022, Shout Factory announced the complete series is scheduled to be released on Blu-ray July 12, 2022. It will also feature crossover episodes and six films.[43]
DVD Name | Ep # | Release dates | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||
The Complete Season One | 16 | November 29, 2011 | September 26, 2005 February 23, 2013 (Re-release) |
August 15, 2006 | |
The Complete Season Two | 22 | October 2, 2012 | October 23, 2006 February 23, 2013 (Re-release) |
October 24, 2006 | |
The Complete Season Three | 22 | February 19, 2013 | October 1, 2012 | N/A | |
The Complete Season Four | 23 | October 8, 2013 | October 1, 2012 | N/A | |
The Complete Season Five | 21 | February 18, 2014 | October 1, 2012 | N/A | |
The Complete Series | 99 | November 23, 2010 October 13, 2015 (Re-release) |
April 2, 2012 | TBA |
See also
- A Man Called Sloane (cyborg character Torque)
- Inspector Gadget (franchise)
- Jake 2.0
- Now and Again
- RoboCop
- Max Steel
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
- M.A.C.H. 1
Footnotes
- ^ OSI was variously referred to as the Office of Scientific Intelligence, the Office of Scientific Investigation or the Office of Strategic Intelligence.[1]
- Dryden Flight Research Center site.[5]The NASA web site, however, does not offer the video of the crash itself, only still photos of the wrecked M2-F2.
References
- ISBN 978-0425032305)
- ISBN 0-06-096914-8.
- ^ Webster, Ian (12 January 2024). "$6,000,000 in 1973 → 2024 Inflation Calculator". In2013Dollars. in2013dollars.com. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
- ^ "1967 M2-F2 Crash at Edwards". Check-Six.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ^ "NASA Dryden M2-F2 Movie Collection". Dryden Flight Research Center. NASA. October 10, 2003. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013.
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
In 1973, however, she recorded the theme song for the television series The Six Million Dollar Man.
- ^ a b Glenn, Greenberg (February 2014). "The Televised Hulk". Back Issue! (70). TwoMorrows Publishing: 19–20.
- ^ "Publishing details about "L'Homme qui valait trois milliards" French comic (In French)". Danslagueuleduloup.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ Rozakis, Bob (August 26, 2002). "Batman's Emblem, Company Policies & More". Comics Bulletin.
Maximum was also supposed to do a Steve Austin/Jamie Sommers revival called "Bionix," but based on the short preview in the "Asylum" anthology, it was probably better that it never came out.
- ^ a b Lyons, Charles; Harris, Dana (December 13, 2001). "Dimension, U rebuild 'Man'". Variety. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
- ^ a b Fleming, Michael (October 21, 2003). "Bionic buddies for Dimension". Variety. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
- ^ Lyons, Charles (October 2, 2002). "Pic worth a 'Billion'". Variety. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
- ^ "Richard Anderson at Comicon '06 by ZabberBOX". Revver Online Video Sharing Network. August 3, 2006. Archived from the original on December 31, 2007.
- ^ "Mark Wahlberg & Peter Berg Are Bionic Duo On 'Six Billion Dollar Man' (Inflation)". deadline.com. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-06.
- ^ "Mark Wahlberg Talks THE GAMBLER, Shedding Sixty Pounds For The Role, THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN, DEEPWATER HORIZON, and More". Collider. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-24.
- ^ McClintock, Pamela (November 2, 2015). "Mark Wahlberg's 'Six Billion Dollar Man' Gets December 2017 Release Date". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "Warner Bros. Buys 'Six Billion Dollar Man' From Weinstein Company". moviefone.com.
- ^ Burke, Carolyn (January 5, 2018). "Mark Wahlberg's Six Billion Dollar Man Starts Filming This Summer". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ McNary, Dave (March 2, 2018). "Mark Wahlberg's 'Six Billion Dollar Man' Set for 2019 Summer Release". Variety. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (23 May 2018). "'Six Billion Dollar Man' Pushed To Summer 2020 As Pic Looks For New Director; 'The Shining' Sequel Finds Date; 'Godzilla 2' & Others Shift". Deadline. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (16 April 2019). "'Bumblebee' Director to Tackle 'Six Billion Dollar Man' Adaptation for WB, Mark Wahlberg (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
- ^ Emerson Santiago (2011-07-19). "Senadores Biônicos - História do Brasil". InfoEscola. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ "Blog do Villa: O pacote de Abril e o Senado". Marcovilla.com.br. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ Vanderlei Faria. "Pacote de Abril - Ditadura Militar - História Brasileira". Historiabrasileira.com. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ The six million dollar man, IMDB, 2016
- ^ "Drowning in Numbers". 14 May 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "The 2003 TV Land Awards - Show". gettyimages.at.
- ^ The Six Million Dollar Man DVD news: Press Release for The Six Million Dollar Man - The Complete Series Archived 2010-09-17 at the Wayback Machine. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-11.
- ^ The Six Million Dollar Man DVD news: Press Release for The Six Million Dollar Man - The Complete Series Archived 2010-07-23 at the Wayback Machine. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-11.
- ^ "The Six Million Dollar Man DVD news: General Retail Release for The Six Million Dollar Man – Season 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2011-06-09. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "The Six Million Dollar Man DVD news: Announcement for The Six Million Dollar Man – Season 2". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2012-07-25. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "The Six Million Dollar Man DVD news: Announcement for The Six Million Dollar Man – Season 3". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2012-11-23. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "The Six Million Dollar Man DVD news: Announcement for The Six Million Dollar Man – Season 4". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2013-07-16. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "The Six Million Dollar Man DVD news: Announcement for The Six Million Dollar Man – Season 5". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "The Bionic Woman – Season 1 Aspect Ratio Cleared Up". Tvshowsondvd.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
- ^ "The Six Million Dollar Man DVD news: Announcement for The Six Million Dollar Man – The Complete Series". TVShowsOnDVD.com. 2015-07-21. Archived from the original on 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Fabulous Films: The Six Million Dollar Man, Season 3". Fabulous Films. 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Fabulous Films". Fabulous Films: The Six Million Dollar Man, Season 4. 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Fabulous Films". Fabulous Films: The Six Million Dollar Man, Season 5. 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Fabulous Films: The Six Million Dollar Man, Season 1". Fabulous Films. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Fabulous Films: The Six Million Dollar Man, Season 2". Fabulous Films. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "Fabulous Films: The Six Million Dollar Man, Complete Collection". Fabulous Films. 2012-04-02. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
- ^ "The Six Million Dollar Man: The Complete Series". Shout Factory. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
External links
- The Six Million Dollar Man at IMDb(original pilot)
- The Six Million Dollar Man at IMDb(series)