Talk:The Six Million Dollar Man/Archive 1

Trivia overload
Woah... the trivia section of this article is full of detailed stuff that should actually be copy within the main body of the article itself. I mean, the entry starting: "A number of changes had to be made", is practically a section of its own. I've done the move, but it could probably be merged better. Plus, lots of the other "trivia" needs moving/merging into the main body too. I also moved the episode/trivia list to practically the last section (apart from ext links), since it reads better. - Motor (talk) 00:02:01, 2005-08-24 (UTC)

Medical Bionics Section
I noticed that the article on Medical Bionics has no citations or references. I know nothing about medical bionics so I will look into it more. Also I noticed the user who created the article didn't sign it at all, otherwise I would contact them about it. If anyone else has any idea about medical bionics, or have any other opinions about this section please let me know. --HiphopisNOTdead 07:19, 15 May 2007 (UTC)

Season list
I broke up the table into seperate seasons and movie lists, but it'd be even better if someone could convert the table into the new wiki-markup. The dates for the shows could also use wikilinks, but that is minor. So, if you're good with the new table wiki-markup, please feel free. :-) &mdash;Frecklefoot 18:10, Apr 6, 2004 (UTC)

1973 follows 1978? Methinks the timeline needs correction. 71.131.0.57 (talk) 00:41, 6 October 2008 (UTC)
 * What are you talking about? The article has no episode list anymore (note the previous message is 4 1/2 years old) and the episode list article is in proper order. 23skidoo (talk) 01:56, 6 October 2008 (UTC)

Copyvio
I put a reworded version of the disputed trivia item onto the temp page. Although I didn't do the original item (I just corrected a factual error in it when it was posted here and didn't realize it came from IMDb) I don't really see why it needed to be flagged as a copyvio. It took me all of 20 seconds to revise it. Aren't copyvio tags only intended when entire articles are copied from other sources? 23skidoo 13:07, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * It's been a couple of weeks since the copyvio tag was placed and the Temp article written up. Are we supposed to wait for an admin to reintegrate it, or can I just go ahead and do it myself? 23skidoo 21:30, 17 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Moved from Copyright problems End moved text
 * The Six Million Dollar Man - part of #Trivia from
 * I have rewritten the trivia item in question at The Six Million Dollar Man/Temp. 23skidoo 03:46, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * So how long are we supposed to wait for the rewritten material from the temp to be reinstated into the main article? The copyvio was resolved weeks ago. 23skidoo 02:34, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * I think this is one of those cases where we just have to put the new version into the article and leave the copyvio in the history. It would probably be best if 23skidoo just goes ahead and does it. --rbrwr&plusmn; 18:57, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Scratch that. I did it and credited 23skidoo and 68.6.220.141 in the edit summary. --rbrwr&plusmn; 11:21, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

Typo in episode list
Season four, episode: "The Thunderbird Conection"... "Connection" surely? I haven't altered it because you can never be sure with episode titles (See Moonlighting: season 5 "Perfetc"). I've checked the main episode guides on the web and they are all the same... but all that proves is that people copy them. Anyone know for sure? - Motor 16:05:58, 2005-08-07 (UTC)
 * They didn't go for that sort of thing back in the 1970s. I think it's an honest typo, so I've gone and fixed it myself. 23skidoo 16:58, 7 August 2005 (UTC)

Cyborg
Anybody think mention of other literary cyborgs bears mention, a cultural impact thing? I'm thinking of Rich Buckler's Deathlok (from Astonishing Tales). Trekphiler 01:58, 6 December 2005 (UTC)
 * I'd rather see that discussed in another article if it isn't already being done, with a link from here, since SMDM is just one of many literary/film cyborgs out there. 23skidoo 14:57, 6 December 2005 (UTC)

About http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Six_Million_Dollar_Man - there were 4 separate openings made, but 1 of them was only aired once and was not tied to the episode in reruns. The show ran on Friday nights after initial runs as “Movies of the week” and the Pilot was heavily modified in syndication. There were 2 planes used in the opening credits, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_HL-10 is seen dropping away from a wing camera of B-52 Mothership “NB-52 008,” and both planes were filmed in the Pilot and in an a subsequent episode called “The Deadly Replay.” That B-52 recently retired as the oldest in service and the one with the least few hours, and is now on display at Dryden. That same B-52 also launched the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northrop_M2-F2, also seen only in file footage in the opening credits and the Pilot episode. The latter (M-2/F2) had a bath-tub shape and at the time two fins, while the HL-10 had a rounder nose, no canopy bulge, and an ironing board shape.

The complete transcript of the opening credits are as follows, with the following notes. The narrative in the Pilot was far closer to the actual crash, but the rocket engine was neither installed or used in the actual crash – on that flight the B-52 fell from 45,000 feet and “Flight 16” was to be the last test prior to the rocket installation. The rebuilt plane, the M-2/F3 did have and use the XLR-11 rocket chambers with mixed success, which doubles the speed and altitude of the craft for a simulated space return. The opening credits used none of the actual crash audio, and was all created, but apparently scripted by insiders familiar with the inner workings of Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, from where these NASA operations were based. However, where we see flashes in the cockpit during the words “We have a blowout – Vapor Three,” this was actual file footage of the sparks as the craft crashed into the lakebed. As this flight did not require pressure suits, an orange flight suit with unusual stripes of a Colonel (Peterson was a Major in the USMC that day) is seen, with a jet safety helmet and not an astronaut helmet. Once in context, you can make sense of what you are seeing in the file footage. Shown out of order of events, the oscillations out the transparencies as the head of the pilot is thrown about is real from the crash day. The HL-10, however was used for all scenes with Lee Majors, including scenes of him in the cockpit that were simply footage not connected to the creation of the audio that accompanies the video. (He is not speaking these words when you see his face, and hear his separately recorded words). These words were on all 4 versions of the opening credits, but after “She’s break…” in the first version there was an immediate crash, and not the insinuation that Austin was knocked out prior to the crash. In this latter version, actual nose footage from a flight that did NOT crash was used, but this footage was recorded at slower speeds than at the playback speeds that give the illusion of an even faster approach.

Steve Austin: Oscar to NASA One (Oscar is an observation tower at Edwards Air Force Base, and as an inside joke, this was used as Steve Austin’s “callsign” during this fictional flight.

NASA One: Roger. (NASA One is a real control center trailer – a real “Mission Control Center” used by NASA at Edwards Air Force Base. Like at Houston, fellow “astronauts” are usually the controllers.)

B-52 Dropmaster (Victor): V.P. is armed, switch is on.” (this signals that the drop pins to release the captive HL-10 from the B-52 Vertical Pylon are enabled. This person sits on the right side of the B-52, in sight of the captive aircraft under the right B-52 wing – and he flips the switch to release the smaller craft).

Steve Austin: Okay, Victor.

B-52 Dropmaster: Lighting rods are armed switch is on. (indicates the ignitors of an installed XLR-11 4-chamber rocket are armed and set). Here comes the starter – circuit breakers in. (omitted, the countdown).

Steve Austin: We have separation.

B-52 Dropmaster: Roger.

NASA One: Inport downports are on. (Commands related to the split-flap airelons, these calls are normal related to separation safety from the B-52 after drop to give clearance between the 2 parallel craft – especially important when a rocket firing is planned upon release). Come a-aport with the sideslip. (This is an order from the ground to turn left using the stick, but without using the rudder, so as to lose altitude while in the turn. The next call signals that Astronaut Austin is confused as to whether this call is directed towards him, or the B-52.

Steve Austin: Oscar?

NASA One: Roger.

Steve Austin: I’ve got a blowout – Vapor Three (a reference to XLR-11 rocket chamber 3 of 4).

NASA One: Get your pitch to zero! (This does not mean to level the nose – it refers to setting the “Bias Select” of an “Alpha” (Angle-of-attack) switch that can go one of 3 settings, “Bias low, Bias Zero, Bias High”)

Steve Austin: Pitch (bias switch) is out – I can’t hold altitude! (the latter part is pure fiction, as the craft’s approach is a constant glide that by definition, is not intended to hold any kind of altitude).

NASA One: Direction-Alpha Hold is off (intended flight track). Try trajectory emergency! (a series of emergency hydrogen peroxide rockets intended to reduce angle of descent to 18 degrees).

Steve Austin: Flight comm! I can’t hold it! She’s breaking up! She’s break…

- The actual Pilot was not called "The Six Million Dollar Man" or "Desert & The Moon," but rather "Cyborg," and opened with an old 1970's primitive computer screen displaying the definition of "Cyborg." The lettering concept was copied into the opening credits T ... H ... E ... (you get the picture). I for one can't wait to see the DVD's - I really want to see the original 3 movies and the 1st season in original form - they were priceless. The one episode with an opening never seen twice was on the opening night of the change from Friday to Sunday, where the crash fades out and we see Colonel Steve Austin's official USAF autograph - including his service hat with "scrambled eggs" coming forth from the whitewashed crash footage. This was seen only once, and was not in the reruns.


 * In the line, "Pitch (bias switch) is out – I can’t hold altitude!", surely that should be attitude.
 * —wwoods 15:10, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Cyborg, part 2
If you want to see the actual crash photo from this horrific actual crash, see: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/M2-F2/HTML/E-16731.html - I am told that I need to correct or amplify upon 6 things, from an official NASA source so close to the crash of the original Six Million Dollar Man that you could ALMOST call him retired Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Peterson. First, the television show word "Sideslip" was probably actually "Sidestick," in reference to an airmchair small replica of the joystick controller mounted within arm's reach on the X-15 and subsequent Shuttle, used for high-G environments. Neither the HL-10 nor the depicted actual M2-F2 had one of these, but such commands were often sent up to the X-15 program, and at NASA in California, the pilots and facilities were common to both programs.

Second, the Shuttle does have a switch setting for "Alpha Bias" of Low, Zero, or High, but the early prototypes did not have such switches within the SAS/Stability Agumentation Systems.

Third, the LAST thing the Lifting Body pilot would want to do is to use the rudder foot pedals in a turn, and this is completely opposite to what happens in a Cessna when turning, where turning left means some force to move the wheel left, and some force on the rudder pedal to prevent a sideslip. In the Lifting Bodies, because of the unusual aerodymaics of the control surfaces, using the rudder causes a yaw opposite to the intended directional change, and causes the nose to pitch down and the vehicle to enter an unwanted roll maneuver. The reported concern about colliding with the B-52 was unwarranted.

Fourth, the comment must be made that in the last footage used during the show, when the oscillating M-2/F2 is seen with a fighter escort, this was not from the crash day footage, but from the vehicle's first flight with Milt Thompson at the controls. It is widely assumed that the "shoulder-rank" of full colonel seen in the opening episode came from some footage of Milt Thompson's flights. What is more likely, given the fact that in non-public video I have seen from this crash, Peterson merely borrowed an orange Nomex jacket once owned by Thompson which did have the Colonel rank attached. Also, the footage of the dropaway of the HL-10 is actually shown in slow-motion from normal play from a high-speed camera mounted in the B-52 pylon.

Fifth, the hydrogen peroxide rockets were not the same ones used during the HL-10's last 2 flights, which were intended not to reduce the vehicle's glide slope to 18 degrees, but from 18 degrees to 6 degrees. (Airliner glide slopes are 3 degrees, while Shuttle glide slopes on final are about 20 degrees). The hydrogen peroxide rockets otherwise were of 2 varieties - emergency landing rockets which were rarely, if ever used, and reaction control versions which were never used, as the pilots preferred to use a "speed brake" system mirroed on the Shuttle, with the control surfaces split wide open. The 4-chamber XLR-11 rockets were removed during the last few flights of the HL-10 and replaced by a 3-chamber hydrogen peroxide experiment. But prior to display at the Dryden Flight Research Center, the nozzles of the 4-chamber XLR-11 rockets were reinstalled. If you do go there, the really irritating thing about the HL-10 display is a flattened nose window that is quite unlike the original, crushed in an unforgivibable accident while hanging the aircraft on loan to a San Diego museum. How ironic that the Lifting Body that set the altitude and speed record would be destroyed within a Museum - in a free fall stall - because a worker let the thing crash within the confines of a Museum. If I ever win the lottery, the first thing I'm going to do is restore the shape and size of the HL-10 nose to some fidelity mirroring the actual original one.

Sixth and finally, besides the fact that there actually was a B-52 technician named "Vic" which may have inspired the "Victor" used in the show's opening, the XLR-11 rocket engines WERE actually installed during the last two flights of the M-2/F2 but were not used. Flight sixteen was, in the words of a NASA official in the know, as follows:

Crash of the M2-F2

On 10 May 1967, eight days after Gentry's glide flight, it was Bruce Peterson's turn for a glide flight in the M2-F2 with the rocket system installed. It had been eight months since Peterson's last six-minute glide flight in the lifting body, and this would be his third M2-F2 flight. All went well during the beginning of Peterson's flight on 10 May. He launched away from the B-52 at 44,000 feet, heading to the north, flying east of Rogers Dry Lake, and descended at a steep angle to 7,000 feet. Then, as he flew with a very low angle of attack, the M2-F2 began a Dutch roll motion, rolling from side to side at over 200 degrees per second. Peterson increased the angle of attack by raising the nose. The oscillations stopped, but now the M2-F2 was pointed away from its intended flight path. Realizing that he was too low to reach the planned landing site on lakebed Runway 18, Peterson was rapidly sinking toward a section of the lakebed that lacked the visual runway reference markings needed to accurately estimate height above the lakebed. At this moment, a rescue helicopter suddenly appeared in front of the M2-F2, distracting Peterson who was still stunned and disoriented from the earlier Dutch roll motions. He radioed, "Get that chopper out of the way." A few seconds later, he radioed, "That chopper's going to get me." NASA pilot John Manke, flying chase in an F-5D, assured Peterson that he was now clear of the helicopter, which had chugged off out of Peterson's flight path. Trying to buy time to complete the flare, Peterson fired the landing rockets. The M2-F2 flared nicely. He lowered the landing gear, only one-and-a-half seconds being needed for the M2-F2's gear to go from up and locked to down and locked. But time had run out. The sudden appearance of the helicopter likely had distracted Peterson enough that he began lowering the landing gear half a second too late. Before the gear locked, while it was still half-deployed, the M2-F2 hit the lakebed. The weight of the vehicle pushed against the pneumatic actuators, and the landing gear was pushed back up into the vehicle. The round shape of the vehicle's bottom did not lend itself to landing minus landing gear. As this happened, I and the other engineers in the control room watched the needles on instrumentation meters flick to null. Startled, we looked up at the video monitor in time to see the M-2/F2, as if in a horrible nightmare, flipping end over end on the lake-bed at over 250 miles per hour. It flipped six times, bouncing 80 feet in the air, before coming to rest on its flat back, minus its canopy, main gear, and right vertical fin. The M-2/F2 sustained so much damage that one would have been hard pressed to identify it visually as the same vehicle. By all odds, Peterson could have been expected to have died in the crash. He was seriously injured. Assistant crew chief Jay King quickly crawled under the M-2/F2 to shut off the hydraulic and electrical systems. He found Peterson trying to remove his helmet. King unstrapped him and helped him out of the vehicle. Peterson was rushed to the base hospital at Edwards for emergency care. Afterwards, he was transferred first to the hospital at March Air Force Base near Riverside, California, and later, to UCLA's University Hospital in Los Angeles. Each time the vehicle (had) rolled, a stream of high-velocity lake-bed clay (had) hammered at Peterson's face. He suffered a fractured skull, severe facial injuries, a broken hand, and serious damage to his right eye. He underwent restorative surgery on his face during the ensuing months; however, he later lost the vision in the injured eye from a staph infection. He returned to the NASA Flight Research Center as a project engineer on the CV-990, F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire, and F-8 supercritical Wing. He continued to fly in a limited way on the CV-990 and F-111, and eventually became the Director of Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance. He also continued to fly as a Marine Reservist. Later, he left NASA to serve as a safety officer at Northrop in the flight tests of the B-2 bomber and other aircraft. About two years after the crash of the M/2-F2, the popular television series "The Six-Million-Dollar Man" began its six years of weekly programming, using NASA ground-video footage of the crash as a lead-in to each episode. The producers of the television series capitalized on Peterson's misfortune by inventing a "bionic man" (played by Lee Majors) who had missing body parts replaced with bionic devices. Colonel Steve Austin, the fictional television character played by Majors, had, like Peterson, also lost an eye in the crash. As can happen only in Hollywood, the fictional Austin gained a bionic eye with super powers. The television show also multiplied the injuries of Austin beyond those suffered in real life by Peterson, giving him two bionic legs and a bionicarm that provided him with super power and speed. Nevertheless, NASA pilot Bruce Peterson is the real-life model on which the show is based. Due to the popularity of this television series, it's possible that as many Americans viewed the crash of the M-2/F2 on television as later viewed the first televised NASA shuttle landings. The crash of the M2-F2 was the only serious accident that occurred during the twelve-and-a-half years of flight-testing eight different lifting bodies. Because of the popularity of the television program, most people are more familiar with the solitary serious accident that occurred during the lifting-body program than they are with its extensive record of otherwise accident-free success.'''


 * Just as a point of order, I hope the NASA official was informed that the producers of the series didn't invent anything, that Steve Austin and his accident were the focal point of a novel that predated the pilot film by about 18 months. Whether Caidin took his cue from the Peterson crash, I have no idea. Caidin was writing about cyborgs and bionics as early as his 1960s novel The God Machine. The appearance of colonel stripes in the footage used in the show might well mean it's stock footage, as Austin -- in the original pilot film -- is not identified as a colonel; that was a bit of retconning that happened for the TV series. As for "sidestick" vs. "sideslip", there's been a lot of debate over the years as to what is exactly said in the opening since a lot of it is garbled. Interesting stuff anyway. 23skidoo 17:18, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

Cold-Blooded Killer
The article claims Austin is a cold-blooed killer in the books. It's been years since I read them, but I well recall that in Cyborg, Austin feels tremendously mangled by what was done to him without his permission and dislikes Goldman's real politik orders. Austin believes himself to be an air force pilot first. Secondly, this article could use a real clean-up. Lots of good stuff here, but the organization is weak.
 * In Cyborg, Austin murders a truck driver on the off chance that he might reveal Austin's presence. In Wine, Women and War he uses his poison dart gun to kill a group of Russian agents in a rather cold-blooded way, too. The themes you describe are definitely present and I find the original Cyborg novels actually owe a lot to Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm books on this regard. In the TV series, a lot of this was watered down except in the first movie (which actually had Austin not being military, but this was retconned for the TV series). 23skidoo 05:47, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Intro
I moved mention of Lee Majors as Austin to the opening, as I think the major definition should have it and it should have the emphasis. If anyone feels they are going to have a cow over this change, please don't. Just revert it. But I think it should be there. --DanielCD 20:54, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Our problems are solved. The person who did this vandalism is clearly smarter than us all, so he should be the one to decide -->

Bionic "bridge" page
(cross-posted to The Bionic Woman) I am considering doing a page that will bridge the bionic series together. The page would contain general information about the entire series (the shows and the movies) with links to the separate shows. This would make alleviate any duplication between The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman. Does this sound good?

Lady Aleena 18:29, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
 * If you decide to do this, I recommend making it part of an article on Martin Caidin's novel Cyborg as it was the base material for both series. 23skidoo 22:01, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
 * See: The Bionic series.


 * It is a start, but far from finished. Character information is needed. Lady Aleena 11:04, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

Dubious trivia items
I deleted the following trivia item that was added by an anonymous editor:
 * In the January 1978 episode “Just a Matter of Time”, guest starring a young John Travolta, Steve Austin is challenged to a "disco dance off" at the end of the episode. After seeing the Six Million Dollar Man's bionic dance moves, Travolta's character simply replies whoa! 

Although the episode exists, I can find no evidence to support the statement that John Travolta appeared in it, yet alone danced in it. I also deleted a line of apparent nonsense regarding the mummy trivia item; although it is documented that the SMDM crew did find the mummified remains of a guy, Lee Major's reaction is nonsense. 23skidoo 23:32, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

Language and Trivia
Some parts of the Trivia section are redundant to other parts of the articles. Furthermore, there a few not so nice repetitions, three "actually" in only five sentences, two "however" in consecutive sentences. Could somebody take a look at those things? --84.184.118.229 17:42, 22 July 2006 (UTC) Btw, Why is there no reference to the Bionic Six?
 * Bionic Six wasn't connected to Six Million Dollar Man or Cyborg, nor was it any sort of homage IIRC. The term "bionic" isn't exclusive to this show and it's spinoffs. 23skidoo 23:31, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

Film status
Good edits regarding Anderson and Johnson's comments on the film and DVD release delays. Does anyone know if the film is still planned to be a comedy (I hope not) or are they going back to a somewhat more straightforward adaptation like Kevin Smith planned? 23skidoo 20:34, 8 October 2006 (UTC)

OSI meaning
Please stop changing the meaning of OSI to Office of Scientific Information. That is a real-world organization with no connection to the TV series. In the TV series the organization is clearly and repeatedly called the Office of Strategic Intelligence. Since when would a government spy organization be scientific in nature? (This is also the case with Caidin's original organization, OSO - Office of Strategic Operations). 23skidoo 19:49, 11 December 2006 (UTC)
 * I just checked all my novelizations based upon SMDM and Bionic Woman. They all use Office of Strategic Intelligence. 23skidoo 18:36, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

Once again, at no point in the series was the OSI ever defined as "Office of Scientific Information" or "Office of Scientific Intellgience". All such edits will be reverted. 23skidoo 16:28, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

OSI is clearly identified as "Office of Scientific Intelligence" in the first season episode "Operation Firefly". It is shown in a closeup of Steve Austin's ID card. It is visible at 23m06s in the episode. Please stop reverting these edits. Kurt 04:20, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
 * Please provide a screen capture because all the reference books I've seen, including the novels, say it's Strategic Intelligence and it is also stated as such in dialogue. It's possible we could have a situation here where the meaning was changed, just like the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek was originally said to be representing the United Earth Space Probe Agency in several episodes of the first season before the creators changed it to Starfleet, or how Captain Kirk's middle initial was shown to be "R" in one episode but "T" in all others. But you don't see reference works stating that Kirks middle initial was R. 23skidoo 04:26, 11 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I can't speak to whether or not subsequent episodes go back on this - I've begun watching the series in sequence, and besides OSI being shown on the doors in the pilot (despite the fact that OSO is what is said verbally), this is the only reference I have seen showing what OSI stands for. I've a couple screen captures, you can them here and here- this is from the S1E03 (the third episode in the actual first season series, not the third TV pre-series movie) entitled "Operation Firefly".  If later episodes retconned this, perhaps I'll runinto them.  Hopefully it will be in the first season, as that is what I have ready access too currently.  As an aside, unfortunately the address given on the ID card doesn't exist.  There is a Federal Ct. in Washington, but interestingly, no Federal Street.  Too bad, I was interested in seeing what building they intended to mean.


 * I just watched s01e05 and saw the ID card again. It looks like the same card, but they have cut and pasted an American flag over the thumbprint.  There is a screenshot here.  That makes two episodes now.

We're still working with early episodes, and as I recall they didn't even use the "da da da da" sound effect in those days, but rather a heartbeat sound when Austin used his powers. While this supports the fact that early episodes used "Scientific" I'd still like to see some proof that later episodes (post first-season), not to mention The Bionic Woman and the TV movies ever used "Scientific". 23skidoo 19:34, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

The definition of OSI in SMDM was most likely fictional. Steve Austin was an Air Force pilot, so the OSI he worked for should be a division of the Air Force. However, the OSI in the Air Force stands for Office of Special Investigations. -- Aahz, 14:40, 2 Oct 2007 (EDT) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.21.26.182 (talk)


 * I would have sworn that name appeared in some episodes, too (but was not the Air Force org). I later had a friend who worked in the Air Force OSI.  Not R (talk) 15:46, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

Bionic dog
bionic dog episode

This site says it was Sept. 10 1977 and was the first episode on NBC. Did this show exist? Did the series really switch to NBC? --Gbleem 14:06, 17 December 2006 (UTC)
 * The series did switch networks after the first year and during the second season Maximilion the bionic dog was added to the cast (there was never any talk of a "spinoff" thankfully). 23skidoo 15:12, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

"The Six Million Dollar Man" had its entire run on ABC. "The Bionic Woman" switched to NBC for a season or two after it was canceled by ABC. 4.243.152.165 02:10, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

Daft punk reference?
Daft Punk's Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger is quite possibly a reference to this show's tagline. In fact, I can't think of any other reason for it to be called that... Anyone else think so too? Kennard2 03:08, 21 May 2007 (UTC) I'm just thinking that there should be some source on this. Looking online for ties hasn't turned anything concrete up.Kennard2 03:13, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

Sasquatch - André the Giant and Ted Cassidy?
It says in the article that Sasquatch was played by Ted Cassidy in some episodes. Is this true? While it is believable (Ted Cassidy played Lurch in the Adams Family and Ruk in the old Star Trek episodes where the nurse's old boyfriend makes a robotic clone of Kirk), I have never heard this before. I thought André played him all the time.


 * IMDB lists him playing it in the Bionic Woman.. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0144252/

Andre the giant did play Bigfoot in the original two-parter 'the secret of bigfoot'...Ted Cassidy played Bigfoot in the episodes 'return of bigfoot' which is a two part crossover with the Bionic Woman series,and also played Bigfoot again in the season 5 episode 'Bigfoot V'.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.36.168.86 (talk) 17:38, 10 November 2007 (UTC)

Do we really need
Do we really need a listing of every time the show is referenced in another show? So a supporting character on South Park has a poster of Lee Majors on his wall. So what? Lots42 (talk) 10:46, 18 November 2007 (UTC)


 * No we don't! I've also removed items that are speculation/OR, or too trivial. - BillCJ (talk) 18:48, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Medical bionics section removal
Since there is already an article on the real-world application of bionics, and since the section as mentioned here has been flagged as needing sources since last May, I'm going to be bold and remove it altogether. This article is supposed to be about the television series, not about bionics in real life. If anything, it should go with the article on the original novel. But I feel the main bionics article should cover it. 23skidoo (talk) 03:57, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Bionic became an expression
In Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries, the translation to bionic for bionico or biônico became even an expression.Pinochet was called a bionic senator because he wasn't elected by people, but became a senator anyway.Agre22 (talk) 17:06, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Sources Desperately Needed
There's about 4 statements in this article that are sourced, I think it needs a lot more. I tagged the Overview section, since it appears to lack any sources whatsoever. Jedikaiti (talk) 15:59, 7 April 2010 (UTC)
 * So have you added any sources yourself? Not questioning your faith, but I find quite often folks flag articles with no sources and don't add any themselves. 68.146.81.123 (talk) 16:48, 30 April 2010 (UTC)

Duplicate material
The third paragraph of section 2 (Opening sequence) largely repeats material found in the first paragraph. I think the small amount of new material should be moved to the first paragraph and the third paragraph deleted. I'll do it unless someone objects in the next two weeks. SDCHS (talk) 07:43, 22 May 2010 (UTC)

Syndication vs first-run
I just removed an erroneous piece of information about one of the pilot TV movies that was taken clearly from the syndicated version, which was extensively reedited with footage dropped in from later episodes. When discussing the three pilots, we should be careful to only include info from the actual original versions, which should be easy now that the three are available on DVD. 68.146.64.9 (talk) 14:42, 20 December 2010 (UTC)

DVD Retail Release
Is there any backing (citation) for the statement that the retail release of the DVD set will occur in 2011? --RedKnight (talk) 13:09, 18 February 2011 (UTC)


 * After a quick look on Amazon, it is available from several on-line vendors - http://www.amazon.com/Six-Million-Dollar-Man-Complete/dp/B004E83KVU/. I'll update the sentence in the article. Ckruschke (talk) 14:28, 18 February 2011 (UTC)Ckruschke


 * I would guess that those may be third party vendors who have managed to aquire the set through the original source (speculation cosidering the listed prices), but Amazon has another link http://www.amazon.com/Six-Million-Dollar-Man/dp/B00005JNHD which allows visitors to sign up for updates as to when the package is available. --RedKnight (talk) 19:21, 18 February 2011 (UTC)


 * According to the product page at timelife.com, the set is "online-only" exclusive through October 2011. I'm guessing at that time it will become widely available. 50.129.69.1 (talk) 22:49, 12 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Season 1 has been available at retail since the fall of 2011. No word as to whether the other seasons will follow. 70.72.215.252 (talk) 22:08, 19 July 2012 (UTC)

Error
The article says: "The book version of Steve Austin had some abilities the TV version lacked, such as a radio transmitter contained within a rib, a steel-reinforced skull that made it impossible for him to be knocked out with a blow to the head, and a CO2-powered poison dart gun in one of his bionic fingers which the literary version of Austin often used to eliminate bad guys."

While these abilities were not used in the TV series, Austin still had them because there is an episode (one of the ones with Barney Hiller, the $7M man, I think) where Austin mentions those items when describing his bionics. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.91.146.116 (talk) 12:47, 11 March 2012 (UTC)
 * No he doesn't. I've seen both episodes and no such abilities are ever mentioned. 70.72.215.252 (talk) 22:07, 19 July 2012 (UTC)

Article needs to be policed
Someone is adding bogus information about an alleged Leonardo DiCaprio movie. I cleaned it out as best I can but if an admin has this article on their watchlist, they might want to keep an eye on further additions of this nature. 70.72.215.252 (talk) 22:07, 19 July 2012 (UTC)

Guest Stars section
I've just deleted this entire section as I've watched it continue to grow with no end with one-time appearances and/or short synopsis of episodes. Entire section is a good example of WP:Trivia and I feel adds nothing to the page. If one wanted to know some of the notable (or not so notable) actors that appeared on the $6M Man, they can look at the episodes list. Saving that, I'm not sure anyone comes to this page for the sole reason of trying to find out if X actor was ever on the show. So I'll open it up to discussion if there is anyone who disagrees. Ckruschke (talk) 18:30, 25 October 2012 (UTC)Ckruschke

Article error and correction
There was a factual error in the article which incorrectly identified the entry in 'Steve Austin's bionic hardware'. The original incorrectly stated that Steve Austin's Geiger counter, located in his bionic arm was identified in "The Last of the Fourth of July's". After watch the first season DVD's, this is found to be inaccurate as the first mention was in the 6th episode, "Doomsday and Counting", not the 10th episode, "The Last of the Fourth of July's".

I've correctly changed this entry to reflect the accurate information.

Source: The Six Million Dollar Man Season 1 DVD Set, Disk 3. 98.209.246.195 (talk) 20:35, 9 December 2012 (UTC)


 * SEE ALSO: Might consider adding the FX cartoon series Archer as its antagonist Barry Dillon was a direct homage to Steve Austin and The Six Million Dollar Man. 199.229.240.254 (talk) 09:22, 9 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Actually Archer is based off of the comic book hero Green Arrow and probably has nothing to do with $6M Man. If you can find a reference that specifically states the creators of the show based Dillon on Austin - great - but w/o it, your assertion is OR and opinion. Ckruschke (talk) 17:23, 9 May 2013 (UTC)Ckruschke

Error 2
Regarding the ability of Steve's non-bionic parts to withstand the stress of his lifting massive weights: Didn't one of the TV movies in the 1980s imply that Steve had received some sort of bionic reinforcements for his spine? Oscar or Rudy might have stated directly that such reinforcements were given to Steve's bionic son, and viewers were left to assume that Steve (and Jaime) had been given the same sort of reinforcements. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.233.182.118 (talk) 03:16, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Cultural influence
In The Wild Wild West Revisted movie Dr Loveless Jr robotic henchmen Shields and Yarnell are refered to as "$6,000 man and woman" {A pardoy of the 6 Million Dollar Man and 6 Million Dollar Woman}

An episode of PBS Cartoon Arthur has Francine -who lost a soccer game because of a accidental fall-having a nightmare in which Muffy Crosswire "operates" on Francine making her "goofer than before" {A parody of the narataion heard in the shows opening monologue! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.5.90.49 (talk) 12:31, 24 May 2016 (UTC)