Overview
A background story of the indicate is the crash of astronaut Steve Austin in an M2-F2 "lifting body", shown in the opening credits of the show (using NASA footage of Bruce Peterson's 1967 real-life accident [http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/M2-F2/HTML/E-16731.html]). A opening credits actually utilized footage of ii different lifting bodies; a HL-10, shown dropping away from its carry plane, & a M2-F2 shown in the unstable flight/crash sequence. (A aircraft was actually known as existence an "HL-10" in the series, and the very HL-10 was used around the late episode.) Austin is severely wounded in the crash & is "rebuilt" inside the title-yielding operation that costs six million dollars. His correct arm, two legs & a left eye come replaced by bionic (cybernetic) implants that enhance his strength, speed & vision far above man norm. He utilizes his enhanced abilities to function for the OSI (Office of Scientific Intelligence) as a secret agent (& as a guinea pig for bionics). A indicate was super popular when you took its do & introduced numerous pop culture elements of the 1970s, such as a shows opening catchphrase & a slow motion action sequences & a attendant "electronic" healthy results. A name part was played by Lee Majors and made him the popular culture icon.

For numbers of years, tries use been manufactured to bring a story of Steve Austin to the moving picture screen. In the mid-1990s, noted director Kevin Smith wrote a screenplay, & there were reports late that comedian Chris Rock was being considered for the role. Last, plans were mass produced to film a story as a good-out comedy starring Jim Carrey, much to the dismay of longtime fans of the indicate; when of March 2005 reports differ when to whether this film may actually become mass produced.

Opening narration
A opening narration for both episode has be a portion of American pop culture. Fallowing a few early versions of a narration were tried retired, the best known version was introduced after A Six Million Dollar Human became the each week series:

Storyteller: "Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive." Oscar Goldman: "''Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster."

"Astronaut - Steve Austin, critically injured after the accident. After doctors' diagnoses, in their opinion that they can modify him... into a man whose left eye, right hand, both legs that are unlike anyone else's. This modification finally succeeded. Steve Austin is now strong, agile, wise and brave combined."

Main characters
Steve Austin, a title character (played by Lee Majors) Oscar Goldman, a Director of the OSI (played by Richard Anderson) Dr. Rudy Wells'', Austin's doc (played by Martin Balsam (pilot film only)/Alan Oppenheimer/Martin E. Brooks) Jaime Sommers, the Bionic Woman, played by Lindsay Wagner - recurring Oliver Spencer, Director of the OSI in the original pilot simply (played by Darren McGavin)

Parts
A Twenty.1:1 zoom lens along with the night vision function in the left eye. Bionic legs allowing for him to process at wow speed & produce nifty leaps. Austin's upper speed set boundaries was never firmly established, although a speed of Lx mph is usually quoted since this figure is shown in the speed gauge in the period of the opening credits. the Bionic correct arm sustaining a tantamount nature and severity of a bulldozer

A implants have a major flaw in this extreme cold blocks by using their functions & may disable the two given sufficient exposure. Notwithstanding, after Austin is restored to a warmly temperature, the implants quickly regain fully functionality.

Changes for television
The total of changes experienced to exist as manufactured to Caidin's version of the character to produce him act for television. In a original novels, Austin was the cold-inhuman killer, when the TV version seldom flushed fallowing his status as a childhood hero got been realized. The total of changes to Austin's bionics were besides manufactured. In the novel, Austin's left arm, non his perfect, was a bionic a single. Besides, a arm wwhen little to a higher degree a superpowered battering ram & non when complex as the TV version. Austwithin wwhen unsighted in his bionic eye in the books, which was only utilized as alternately the camerthe or even a optical maser, & was removeable. the book version of Steve Austin experienced the select few abilities the TV version lacked, like the radio transmitter contained in the rib, a steel-reinforced skull that mass produced it impossible for him to become knocked out by using a blow to the head, & a CO₂-powered poison dart gun in one of his bionic fingers which the literary version of Austin often used to eliminate bad guys. An additional minor vary was a matter of spelling: in the original novels, the term "bionics" was universally utilized around its plural form, we.e. "bionics limbs". Peradventure to produce it gentler to say within dialogue, this was changed to "bionic limbs" et al for the television series.

Novels
Martin Caidin wrote four novels featuring his original version of Steve Austinside beginning in 1972. Although many more writers like Mike Jahn would later write a total of novelisation depending upon a TV series, within virtually all legal actions these writers chose to base their character upon a literary version of Austin like than the TV indicate version. Following, many of a novelisation keep close at h& entire scenes and once an ending that differed than a original episodes, when the cold-insensate killer of Caidin's novels handled items somewhat otherwise than his watered-down TV counterpart.

Original Novels
(completely by Martin Caidin) Cyborg Operation Nuke High Crystal Cyborg IV (of the above, lone Cyborg was adapted for television.)

Novelizations
Wine, Women & War - Mike Jahn Firm Gold Kidnapping - Evan Richards Pilot Error - Jay Barbree A Saving of Athena 1 - Jahn A Secret of Sasquatch Pass - Jahn International Incidents - Jahn (this volume adapted many episodes into of these hanker plot line.)

Other adaptations
Charlton Comics published both the colour comic book & a black and white, illustrated magazine, two featuring original dangerous undertaking. When a comedian book was closely depending upon a series, a magazine was darker & other violent & seemed to exist as depending supplementary upon a literary version of the character. Each magazines were cancelled about a equivalent instance a TV series ended. Artist Howard Chaykin was a frequent contributor to two publications.

The British comic strip version was besides produced, written by Angus P. Allan and printed in TV comic Look-In.

Peter Pan Records and its sister company Power Records published several record albums featuring original dramatized stories, several of which were too adapted when comedian books designed to exist as understand along by owning a recording.

Merchandise
A Six Million Dollar Human spawned the total of toys & more commissioned product. All about from either lunch boxes and running off shoes to tykes's monocle & bedsheets completely carried images of Steve Austin. A Steve Austin action figure marketed in the mid-1970s was particularly popular & intact Six Million Dollar Human and Bionic Woman toys prove my point to attract premium cost on the collector's market.

Trivia
a aircraft seen crashing in a opening sequence of a indicate is really & the dialogue spoken by actor Lee Majors in the period of the opening credits is reportedly depending upin communication before the crash that occurred on May 10, 1967: ("I can't hold her, she's breaking up! She's breaking--"). Line 2 text pilot Bruce Peterson lost an eye in a crash, but as well also miraculously survived what appeared to exist as the disastrous accident possibly though his lifting immune system aircraft hit the ground at around 250 mph (400 kilometres per hour) & tumbled sixfold.

The character of Steve Austin underwent retconning during a early episodes of the series. In the number 1 pilot program, he wwhen described as existence the civilian world health organization even so served as an spaceman. In a series, he was given the United States Air Force rank of Colonel and was there are no hanker known as the civilian.

Caidin's original novel, Cyborg was non his number 1 operate to produce mention of bionics. His 1968 novel The God Machine also made information to this science, & his late act Buck Rogers: A Life later experienced a nominal character given bionic system area inside an designed nod to Steve Austin.

One of the indicate's best known placed pieces was the rotating ice burrow that appeared around many episodes featuring Bigfoot (who, therein series, was the shielder for a class action of aliens researching globe; the burrow was a line of defence arranged to disorient & knock out interloper). This burrow was for numerous years the popular a portion of the Universal Studios Tour, and tourer however pass through a burrow now on the tour, though every bit of 2003 it experienced been redesigned to resemble the entrance to The Mummy's Grave (search a rotating wall).

One Christmas-themed episode of the series demonstrated an unexpected bit of product placement when Austin visits a toy store in which Six Million Dollar Human action numbers come seeable in the background.

a Christmwhen themed episode featured actor Ray Walston as Budge, the scrooge-rather character whose company has the contract to prepare the life-trend lines technique for a NASA manned flight to Mars, however under Budge, the contractor is sole barely complying using specifications. Austin, there to investigate frequent breakdown, dresses higher when Santa to produce Budge believe he's dreaming. Austin requires Budge in the midnight hike (when by the doctor's orders) to view a outcomes of his chintziness, so encourage him to exist when other generous by owning compliance, likewise as exist as nicer in the holiday year (he refused to have a Christmas tree contributed by employees). There's the chamber marked "Artifical Martian atmosphere" utilized to end line text the life trend lines body, a nice information to Walston's notable role inside "My Favorite Martian".

During cinematography of the 1977 episode "Carnival of Spies", which was shot at the real-life carnival, the crewmember was moving what was thought to exist as the wax mannequin. After a mannequin's arm broke, it was found that it was as the matter of fact a mummified remains of a human. Investigator found that a immune system was that of 1 Elmer McCurdy, an outlaw world health organization got died withwithin the gunplay in 1911.

DVD release of the series has been delayed for unconfirmed reasons (it is rumored a royalties issue may become the stimulate of the delay; it has likewise been suggested that the studio is waiting for production of a freshly Six Million Dollar Human motion picture to become confirmed). Nonetheless, within November 2004, Universal Studios announced that it will release two series to DVD within North America in 2005. When of August 2005, yet, there is no release dates got been announced.

Inside September of 2005, a number 1 year of two a Six Milliin Dollar Human & a Bionic Woman was freed on DVD in the UK.

Episode list
TV movies
A bit of sources assume these picture show to exist as a share of Year One of a series, particularly a 2nd & third films which aired single a few months prior to the every week series began. A lot leash films were late re-edited into both-embellishment episodes of the regular series, using extra footage added, for the purposes of network reruns & late syndication.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3