THE ULTIMATE SUPER-SPY! REMEMBERING "THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN"

In world service, Steve Austin is THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. Images: UNIVERSAL.

During five golden years of flaredom that were the mid-seventies, which child throughout the land didn't want to possess the bionic, almost super human, skills of pilot turned agent Steve Austin, as played by quintessentially American TV actor Lee Majors, in the hugely successful and iconic UNIVERSAL series THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN?

With such a great premise (based from the book CYBORG, written by Martin Caidin) where a crash landed astronaut, Colonel Steve Austin, has his destroyed body re-built by a top team of scientists with the use of the new technology of bionics (the price of said surgery being that he does occasional work for the US intelligence service, the OSI, headed up by Oscar Goldman (played in the series by Richard Anderson, who has great chemistry and friendship in his scenes with Lee Majors)- the show was always going to be a winner, and its popular run saw Steve up against a whole array of baddies, from enemy agents and mercenaries to mad professors and femme fatales, to robot duplicates, and an enemy with equal strength (in an episode titled "The Seven Million Dollar Man"!), as well as seeing in the introduction of Austin's girlfriend Jaime Sommers, who went onto become an accomplished bionic agent herself. It was always the two part episodes of the series that I enjoyed the most as a kid, namely those ones from the opening first season (where he was almost a US James Bond type, before the character/show was toned down and developed its own unique story-telling style), the aforementioned BIONIC WOMAN introduction (and later crossovers), the fights with the alien Bigfoot creature (where Steve would meet his match in combat against either Andre the Giant or THE ADDAMS FAMILY's Ted Cassidy in the immense costume), and the deadly life-form destroying Russian space robot probe gone amok (which normally kicked the hell of out of Steve in the first part of each encounter but which then saw our hero soundly trounce the device by the the end of each part two!). The show also had so many memorable guest stars to look out for, including STAR TREK's William Shatner, Stefanie Powers, Robert Loggia, Marc Alaimo, John Saxon, Pamela Hensley and, of course, Lee's lovely wife, Farrah Fawcett (quickly initiated as a CHARLIE'S ANGEL, as well as the most popular pin-up poster babe of all time)-the pair soon becoming one of the definitive good looking couples of the seventies. Behind the scenes talents on the series would include the likes of STAR TREK's formidable Harve Bennett, and Fred Freiberger, and V's Kenneth Johnson and Donald R. Boyle, as well as writers like John Meredyth Lucas, Peter Allen Fields, D.C. Fontana and Steven E. de Souza,  and directors of the caliber of Alan J. Levi, Herb Wallerstein, Reza Badiyi, Rod Holcomb and Cliff Bole.

Steve with spy-master boss Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson).

Series intro: The Six Million Dollar Man TV Intro - YouTube

When the series arrived on UK TV (on ITV) it was an immediate smash, and soon there were all kinds of great and memorable SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN toys and accessories for kids of all ages to play with from PALITOY, plus monthly US comic book imports and and comic strips in the UK's super children's weekly TV magazine, LOOK-IN. Already popular from his time in the sixties on the US western series THE BIG VALLEY, Majors became a household name and sex symbol once again, and his trips to the UK to promote the new series were very popular ( I recall his appearance on the UK ITV TV TIMES MAGAZINE AWARDS show in the late seventies where his on-stage introduction began with his first having a fun, specially staged fight scene at a diner table against famous British stuntman Nosher Powell! I wish that footage was on YouTube!). Once the series was finished, Majors would go on to do several undistinguished movies, though his popularity would shine once more, thanks to his prior audience popularity from SIX MILLION, starring in Glen A Larson's eighties hit THE FALL GUY, where, for over five years, he played stuntman/bounty hunter Colt Seavers, alongside the stunning figure of Heather Thomas.

Steve with bionic girlfriend Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner)

Facing off against the deadly Bigfoot creature (Andre the Giant) in one memorable two-parter.

Other memorable guest stars included the likes of Britt Eklund, who appeared in the episode WINE, WOMEN AND WAR.

More recently seen in an episode of the popular seventies action series-esque HUMAN TARGET (as the original Christopher Chance), as well as popular guest appearance in WEEDS, ROBOT CHICKEN (voicing Steve Austin once again!), playing the voice of God in the UK series THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JIM, and making an appearance in the coming soon version of THE BIG VALLEY, Majors remains a firm figure of world television. Alongside him, Austin remains as popular as ever in repeats and DVD sales (and let's not forget Majors three return appearances, alongside Lindsay Wagner as Jaime, in the equally successful SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN/BIONIC WOMAN reunion TV films of the mid-eighties, either). Still fondly remembered (and lampooned: check out this classic BBC Indian comedy series GOODNESS GRACIOUS ME skit: THE SIX MILLION RUPEE MAN:Six million rupee man - YouTube), it seems that to be bionic is to be forever, and Majors more than deserves that fine accolade with fans of KOOL TV!


In comic book form, Steve Austin has recently returned in a new series, THE BIONIC MAN, written by Kevin Smith, and available from DYNAMITE COMICS.

The original THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN pilots and series has been available in selected episodes on DVD in the UK. Box set releases of the entire series are coming soon in the US.