Taking notes from the recently released novel, Cyborg, the Six Million Dollar Man entertained audiences from 1974 to 1978. In his 1972 book, Martin Caidin dreamed up a world where a US test pilot, Steve Austin, could receive bionics to survive a crash. This novel’s popularity spawned both ABC’s live-action show, but also a series of novels. While both the novels and the television show existed at the same time, both created their own continuity.
Moreover, ABC later created a brand-new character, the Bionic Woman, Jaime Sommers, to expand the cast for their show. Originally, she appeared in multiple episodes of the Six Million Dollar Man, guest-starring alongside Steve Austin. However, she quickly earned her spin-off series in 1976. Later, the Bionic Woman resurfaced in 2007 in a brand-new series.
Following the success of the Six Million Dollar Man, Toei Studios and N.B.C. produced another spin-off, this time in cartoon form. The Bionic Six began airing in 1987, starring multiple members of a bionic family. While Jack Bennet became Bionic-1 as a test subject, the rest of his family became cyborgs thanks to an encounter with a spacecraft in the Himalayas.
Despite the various spin-offs and alternate versions of the Six Million Dollar Man, the most remembered version remains the 1970s series. So, let us look back at the series that made Steve Austin a household name.
Join us as we look back at the Six Million Dollar Man series from the 1970s
Season 1
Following the success of the three television movies from 1973, NBC launched the Six Million Dollar Man episodic series. Since this series began as a mid-season replacement, the first season only had thirteen episodes. However, these episodes quickly introduced audiences to the science-fiction action and intrigue that defined it. Beyond establishing the memorable intro sequence, the first season also set up the use of slow-motion to indicate bionics. It also introduced the iconic sounds that would play when the bionics activated.
Since the first movie, “The Moon and the Desert”, portrayed Steve Austin’s accident, the first season moved on to display the man with fully operational bionics. However, his bionics temporarily lost full functionality during the first adventure of the series, where Steve defeated the schemes of Stanley Bacon. He continued to use his bionics to solve crimes throughout the rest of the season.
Later in this season, Steve Austin faced off against a robotic human who replaced Major Sloan. While this robot pushed him to the limit, the episode featured the first use of the sound effect that would indicate the use of bionics. Steve Austin also took on several other various villains, such as terrorists and crime syndicates.
Beyond defeating criminals, Steve Austin also used his bionics to save multiple people. He launched into space to save stranded astronauts. Then, the government also sent him to recover secret papers from an uncovered DC-3 plane.
Season 2
Now an established series, the Six Million Dollar Man moved into its first full-length season in 1974. This season had a total of twenty-two episodes. While the bionic sound effects began showing up in the first season, this season fully established their use. The season also introduced the wire-frame animation that fans often remember from the introduction.
While the show continued to feature various adventures where Steve tackled various criminals, it also began to focus on its characters. To display how Steve Austin could have turned to the dark side, “The Seven Million Dollar Man” introduced Barney Millar, a racer who had bionics following a major crash. While Steve Austin tried to help him adjust to his new bionics, the man displayed his extremely violent tendencies. Eventually, Steve subdued Barney so scientists could reduce the strength of his bionics.
This season also saw the introduction of the original character, Jaime Sommers, who became the Bionic Woman. Once Steve’s high-school sweetheart, the two quickly fall back in love after meeting again in their hometown, Ojai. Unfortunately, a sky-diving accident threatened Jaime’s life, leading to Oscar Goldman giving her bionic parts. In return for saving her life, she had to work for the OSI. Since the show could not have Steve Austin tied down to one woman, Jaime soon began to suffer as her body rejected its bionics. Thus, she died of a blood clot by the end of her second episode.
Season 3
Since audiences clamored for the return of Jaime Summers, Season 3 made several significant changes to the formula. So, to begin the new season, the Six Million Dollar Man helped launch the spin-off series, the Bionic Woman.
The Return of the Bionic Woman brought Jaime back to life, though she lost her memories, especially those of Steve Austin. As Steve attempted to help her recover her memories, Jaime frequently suffered from headaches. In the end, they discovered that he was the source of her headaches, so the two split ways. Even though Jamie moved on to her series, she continued to often appear in tie-in episodes.
Otherwise, Steve Austin continued to take on various missions, moving from woman to woman. However, Barney Miller returned to the series with a new name. Now called Barney Hiller, the Seven Million Dollar Man attempted to return to racing after his reactivation. After throwing a fit because the team owner refused to let him race, Barney began a crime spree. Thus, Steve Austin once again had to subdue him.
Later in the season, André the Giant guest-starred in a rather unique take on the Northwest’s favorite cyrtid, Bigfoot. As Steve Austin repelled Bigfoot’s attacks, he removed its arms, revealing that the creature was a robot. As he investigated this robot, he found that aliens used the robot to protect their colony. Later, Steve helped these aliens by restoring the power and removing the debris around their colony.
Season 4
Not losing any steam, the Six Million Dollar Man moved into its fourth season in 1976. However, there was one drastic change that everyone noticed on Lee Major’s face. For, he sported a distinctive mustache the entire season. This spot of facial hair helped the season stand out from the rest of the run.
While this season momentarily introduced a bionic boy, the more interesting element that it introduced was the Death Probe. Originating from Soviet Russia, the Death Probe’s original mission was exploring Venus. However, it malfunctioned and came to the United States instead. Since the Soviets designed this probe for Venus’s harsh environments, it was nearly indestructible. Eventually, Steve discovered that the lower pressure of the upper atmosphere would allow the probe to detonate.
While the show hit a hurtle during the prior season, when its series composer, Oliver Nelson passed away, J. J. Johnson finally settled down for the role for this season. Thus, the score for this season had a distinct sound that followed Austin’s new facial hair.
This season also saw the final crossover with the Bionic Woman when “Kill Oscar” aired. While this episode continued the story from the sister show, Jaime Summers was hospitalized during the events. So, it was up to Steve to hunt down the fembots that had injured her.
Season 5
The popularity of the Six Million Dollar Man could not keep the production going forever. In 1977, the series hit its last season, with twenty-one episodes to finalize the run. Meanwhile, the Bionic Woman left the network to air on NBC, so the two shows no longer shared joint storylines.
Once again, the series featured many steadfast villains, like Bigfoot and the Death Probe. However, Steve Austin also fought against several new foes that appeared for an episode or two.
As the season opened, Steve Austin took his adventures to the seas, diving underwater to locate a tracking device for a submarine. During his time on the seas, he learned that pirates had gained possession of nuclear missiles. After surrounding the pirate submarine with magnetic mines, the pirates began to mutiny. Even after saving the life of the lead pirate, Steve Austin still had to thwart their extortion scheme.
As the season came to a close, Steve Austin tackled another terrorist that stole both a Russian mobile missile launder, the “Moving Mountain”, and American missiles. Since this involved both countries, Steve Austin had to cooperate with a KGB agent to tackle the situation. Even though the two were from distinctly different sides of the Cold War, romance still sparked between the two.
The Legacy of the Six Million Dollar Man
Even though the run for the seventies series is long over, the Six Million Dollar Man made a massive impact on pop culture. For a time, it was the height of Sci-Fi action on television. Thus, by 2007, NBC revived this concept with the updated version of the Bionic Woman. There have even been talks of creating a movie that would bring the series to the present day.
However, most fans can still remember the series thanks to the plethora of toys from Kenner. Kenner’s line of Six Million Dollar Man toys became an immense hit during the seventies. One of the action figures even momentarily appeared in the series. So, fans love to look back and collect these vintage toys.
Do you have old and used Six Million Dollar Man toys?
If you have a collection of old and used toys, you can turn those toys into cash. There is no reason to let those old toys collect dust. Contact us today to sell your Six Million Dollar Man toy collection.
About the Author
Author: Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!
Really love this series as I was into anything Sci-Fi. I had the Steve Austin figure with the “bionic” eye feature….I still remember convincing my dad to get it for me Shame I had to give it away with a whole lot of other toys way back. Still have great memories of it.