THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN SEASON 4
First things first: the packaging of this is the worst that can be
done: they stacked 8 discs on one cylinder, which gives way
too much possibility of scratching the discs!!!!!
Season 4 of one of the most well known television series out of
the seventies, The Six Million Dollar Man!! Pilot for NASA, bad
accident, rebuilt, better, stronger, faster! Starring Lee Majors
and Richard Anderson(who doesn't appear in the first pilot),
this is about his exploits after the accident!!!
What you may not know, however, is that this show is based
on a true story!!!!! And that the crash scene used in the series
is the actual crash that this is based on!!!
EPISODE # 1: THE RETURN OF BIGFOOT - PART I(Sept. 19, 1976):
This brings back how Steve originally met up with aliens
from another planet who were looking to populate Earth,
and who used Sasquatch to test the abilities of Steve!!!
Welp, Bigfoot's back, and so are some more aliens, as well
as those that Steve met before, but the new guys aren't
nearly as nice!!
Returning is Stefanie Powers(Hart To Hart, The Girl From
U.N.C.L.E., The Love Bug) and Ted Cassidy(The Addams Family,
three episodes of Star Trek: TOS, and many animation appearances!!),
and also guest starring is Sandy Duncan(The Cat From Outer
Space, The Fox And The Hound, Vallerie's House)!
This is actually continued in The Bionic Woman!! A-
EPISODE FROM THE BIONIC WOMAN:
THE RETURN OF BIGFOOT - PART II(Sept. 22, 1976):
This continues from the Six Million Dollar Man episode!
Jamie takes over looking for the aliens and Sasquatch,
with Steve in the hospital and not expected to survive!!
It is easy to see why this series didn't survive long! Linsay
Wagner just didn't have what it takes to carry a series on
her own! JMHO!! B+
EPISODE # 2: NIGHTMARE IN THE SKY(Sept. 26, 1976):
An old pal is flying a jet when she encounters a Japanese
Zero!!!! When she lands the jet and makes her way home,
the jet disappears!!
Guest starring Farrah Faucet Majors who returns to guest star
in this!! Also guest starring here is Dana Elcar(McGyver)!!
Again, Farrah proves how bad an actor she really is!! B+
EPISODE # 3: DOUBLE TROUBLE(Oct. 3, 1976):
The plan: to replace a real ruler of a country we've never
heard of with a stand up comedian whom they control
with a device implanted in his head!!
Guest starring Flip Wilson(an actual comedian)!! A
EPISODE # 4: THE MOST DANGEROUS ENEMY(Oct. 17, 1976):
A woman with a bunch of monkeys is missing from a
research compound on an island where she's the only
person there!! Rudy and Steve go to the island to find
out what's going on, and Rudy gets bitten by one of the
monkeys that's been affected by an experimental serum!!
All of the monkeys that had the serum are dead, and it
looks like Rudy's next!! I found this boring!! B
EPISODE # 5: H + 2 + O = DEATH(Oct. 24, 1976):
An underwater breathing device has been developed, but
there's only one problem: it doesn't work!! Steve gets involved
because Oscar's gotten wind that there's someone out to steal
the device!! Things get really harry when not one, but two
groups get in the action of stealing it!! A
EPISODE FROM THE BIONIC WOMAN:
KILL OSCAR - PART I(Oct. 27, 1976):
Madman develops robots that looks like some of the main
people in OSI, including his personal secretary, Callahan and
Oscar himself!! And Oscar has left orders that if he's captured,
that he's to be killed!!!!
Guest starring John Houseman(The Paper Chase, Smith Barney
commercials)!! A-
EPISODE # 6:
KILL OSCAR - PART II(Oct. 31, 1976):
Same set-up as last episode from The Bionic Woman, except
that the focus is now on Steve instead of Jaime(thank goodness)!! A
EPISODE FROM THE BIONIC WOMAN:
KILL OSCAR - PART III(Nov. 3, 1976):
With Oscar now known as being captured, and the weather control
unit in the hands of the madman, the duty now swings back to Jaime
and Steve to solve the whole issue!!
This adds Sam Jaffe(Ben Casey, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Ben
Hur, Bedknobs And Broomsticks) to the guest rolls in this conclusion!! A
EPISODE # 7: THE BIONIC BOY(Nov. 7, 1976):
There's a new method for helping people who've been paralyzed
be able to walk again, and they've selected a youth who had an
accident and his legs paralyzed!! Steve goes out to Utah, where the
boy lives, to tell him about the possibilities and finds out a lot more
about the boy than he figured on!!
Guest starring Dick Van Patton(Eight Is Enough) and his son, Vincent
(mostly known for his work in the poker world, but also for the movie
High Roller - The Stu Ungar Story)! Also guest starring here is Joan
Van Ark(Knotts Landing) & a very young Greg Evegan(Tekwar), along
with a brief visit by Frank Gifford(Football star: played half-back,
wide receiver & defensive back for the New York Giants, also was
a well known commentator for football)!!
This was a double episode, which it really didn't need to be!! Only
because of that I give it an A-
EPISODE # 8: VULTURE OF THE ANDES(Nov. 21, 1976):
Steve goes to investigate a dude who's saying that he'll bomb
the US if they don't turn over a bunch of fighter planes to him!!
This all revolves around an air glider show in which they use
gliders to drop homing devices to target sites to blow up!!
Guest starring here is Bernie Kopell(The Love Boat, Get Smart,
That Girl) & BarBara Luna(Star Trek: TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror,
& Star Trek: TNV episodes "In Harm's Way" & "Enemy: Starfleet")!!
Also here is Henry Darrow(The High Chaperral, Harry-O, Star Trek:
TNG episode "Conspiracy", Zorro(1990), Maverick(Movie), Star
Trek: Voyager episodes "Tattoo" & "Basics" Pt. 1 & Babylon 5
episode "The Illusion Of Truth")!! A
EPISODE # 9: THE THUNDERBIRD CONNECTION(Nov. 28, 1976):
Steve joins the elite flying group The Thunderbirds to go into
a country in upheaval to take out the ruling leader, who happens
to be a 14 year old boy, whose life is in danger from the man
actually running the country!!
Guest starring Robert Loggia(T.H.E. Cat, Independence Day)! A
EPISODE # 10: A BIONIC CHRISTMAS CAROL(Dec. 12, 1976)
Ray Walston as a scrooge type business owner whose business
is to develop a device for the government!! Steve is sent there
to observe what problems are arising, and what's causing them!!
Guest starring Ray Walston(My Favorite Martian, The Sting, Star
Trek: TNG episode "The First Duty", Star Trek: Voyager episodes
"In The Flesh" & "The Fight") & Dick Sargent(Bewithched[he replaced
Dick York when York had to retire because of back problems],
Operation: Petticoat) B
EPISODE # 11: TASK FORCE(Dec. 19, 1976):
Steve is undercover trying to uncover a mercenary group!!
He's supposed to have a contact there, but the contact is
in the hospital with an appendix issue, so Oscar's secretary,
Callahan, takes over and things go from bad to, well, not so
good!!
Guest starring Alex Cord(Airwolf, Genisis II)! A
EPISODE # 12: THE ULTIMATE IMPOSTOR(Jan. 2, 1977):
A man agrees to be a guinea pig for an experiment to use
a computer to transfer information directly into the brain!!
As you can guess, this does not go well, and Joe(the man's
name) comes out of the experiment and it seems to have
been a success!! However, as the tests go deeper, Joe begins
to feel he's being used, and wants to quit!! However, an
agent whom Joe's become close to is in big trouble on a
mission, and he volunteers to go help her!
I believe that this was a set-up for another series that never
happened!! Steve is not in this except for the very beginning
and very end of the episode! A-
EPISODE # 13: DEATH PROBE - PART I(Jan. 9, 1977)
A spaceship from, well, somewhere, lands in Wyoming!! Steve
is sent there to find out what it is and where it came from!!
Guest stars include Beverly Garland(My Three Sons, The Scarecrow
And Mrs. King) & Nehemiah Persoff(Some Like It Hot, An American
Tale 1 & 2, Star Trek: TNG episode "The Most Toys", along with
episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E, I Spy & 3 from The Wild
Wild West!!)!
This starts out pretty good, then digresses horribly!! B-
EPISODE # 14: DEATH PROBE - PART II(Jan. 16, 1977):
And this continues the silliness from the ending from the
previous episode!! All the particulars return! B-
EPISODE # 15: DANNY'S INFERNO(Jan. 23, 1977):
A 14 year old boy invents a powerful explosive while trying to
make a rocket fuel!! Bad guys get wind of it and steal it, and
it's up to Steve to get it back!! A
EPISODE # 16: FIRES OF HELL(Jan. 30, 1977):
A fire at an experimental oil well project, Oscar gets suspicious
and sends Steve out to investigate!! All with good reasons!!
Guest starring Charles Aidman(not a real well known guy, but
his one claim to fame in my book was that he replaced Ross
Martin while he was ill in The Wild Wild West)!! Also here is
Ken Swofford(another not so well known dude, but he was
on Murder She Wrote several times as a police lieutenant!!
He was also in Ellery Queen & Switch in recurring roles as
well as Kenny Rogers As The Gambler II: The Adventure
Continues!!)! A
EPISODE # 17: THE INFILTRATORS(Feb. 6, 1977):
There's a plot afoot it seems to assassinate some of the
Chinese dignitaries that are planning a visit to the U.S.!!
The plan that seems to be up is that there are athletes
who've disappeared while visiting here, and that they
are the center of the plot!
Guest starring one of my favorite female actors, Yvonne
Craig(Batman[as Batgirl])! Also guesting here is Jerry Quarry,
a heavyweight boxer who just never quite got over the hump
to become champion!! A-
EPISODE # 18: CARNIVAL OF SPIES(Feb. 13, 1977):
This has Steve following a dignitary from a foreign land
(sure sounds Russian! LOL) who's in town "for a good time"
and to see the sites!! But really he's there for a secret bomber
development that Oscar's got going and he wants Steve to
keep an eye on him!
Guest starring a no-name dude that you've seen a million
times: Michael Strong(Star Trek: TOS episode "What Are
Little Girls Made Of"!! A
EPISODE # 19: U-509(Feb. 20, 1977):
This one's about a sub causing all kinds of trouble in the
Baring Sea, and it's not one of ours!! This is an old WWII
ship that's apparently being operated by a rouge crew!!
Who ya gunna call?!?
Guest starring little known, if at all, Ian Abercrombie(he
was in an episode of Babylon 5 "Acts Of Sacrifice" & two
episodes of Star Trek: Voyager "Someone To Watch Over
Me" & "Spirit Folk")! A
EPISODE # 20: THE PRIVACY OF THE MIND(Feb. 27, 1977)
Steve poses as a scientist who has been approached about
developing a thought machine, though he doesn't know what
he's there for until he arrives!!
Guest starring here is Roger Perry(Star Trek: TOS episode
"Tomorrow Is Yesterday", Arrest And Trial, Harrigan & Son)! A
EPISODE # 21: TO CATCH THE EAGLE(Mar. 6, 1977):
Steve is sent to an Indian reservation to try to locate two
men who have disappeared!! They had been on the reservation
looking into some apparent uranium deposits that samples
of had been sent to Oscar Goldman!! This really shows the Native
Americans in a terrible light, at least until Steve helps them
out several times!!
Guest starring Gerald McRainey(Simon & Simon, Major Dad)
in a small roll as one of the lost miners!! B+
EPISODE # 22: THE GHOSTLY TELETYPE(Mar. 13, 1977):
Steve is accused of stealing a secret formula that just vanished
off of a sheet of paper!! Oscar then has to puts Steve on suspension!!
This one's a little unbelievable, and quite honestly, doesn't fit
in to the Six Million Dollar Man mantra!! More like One Step
Beyond!!!
Guest starring here is Larry Anderson(Star Trek 9: Insurrection)!! B
From a reviewer at IMDb.com:
One thing that my sister pointed out to me at the time (she
is a few years older than I) is "If Steve Austin only has one
bionic arm, why doesn't he rip his other arm off whenever
he breaks out of handcuffs?" It seems obvious now as an
adult but, they managed to slip that one past this eight year
old kid!
Oh and who didn't want to be Steve Austin/ Lee Majors back
then? Jamie Sommers on screen (I had a major crush) and
Farrah Fawcett at home! What a lucky guy! And whose idea
was it to give Farrah's character on the show a name like
Major Kelly Wood- major wood- I am sure!
My favourite episodes have to be any with Jamie Sommers.
It was even better when she got her own spin-off show.
Also the few show with Andre the Giant. The ones that
freaked me out as a kid was with John Saxon's character
Major Frederick Sloan as a robot and his face falls off!
We never missed an episode! I would love to see these in
re-runs. Is there any talk of getting this show back on the
air? - yoredm