The Six Million Dollar Man

We can rebuild him.
We have the technology.
We have the capability to make the world's first Bionic man.
Steve Austin will be that man.
Better than he was before.
Better...Stronger...Faster

In 1974, The Six Million Man premiered on ABC. Starring Lee Majors, former star of the western series Big Valley, the story followed the adventures of Steve Austin, an astronaut and pilot. Austin was injured while trying to pilot an experimental plane for the government. The plane crashed, destroying the plane and severely injuring Austin. Austin lost his left eye, right arm, and both legs as a result of the crash.

Austin was despondent over his condition and tried to commit suicide while in the hospital. Stopped by a nurse, Austin was soon approached by the O.S.I. (Office of Scientific Intelligence) to be a guinea pig for one of their projects. With the help of Dr. Rudy Wells, famed for his work in bionic research, the group fitted Austin with an artificial eye, arm and pair of legs. These new bionic parts allowed Austin to see for great distances, lift massive weights, and run nearly 70 m.p.h. without tiring.

In repayment for their help, Steve Austin became an agent of the O.S.I., reporting to Oscar Goldman, the director of the O.S.I. and played by character actor Richard Anderson. Steve Austin fought evil in its many mid-70's forms for a number of years, including a rather odd set of episodes pitting Austin against a bionic version of a 70's cultural icon, Bigfoot. The part of the Bigfoot was played by Andre the Giant. The series also introduced to the American public the sounds of Austin using his bionic parts ( do-do-do-do-do-do) and the visual effect of slowing down the scene to denote Austin running at great speed.

Years later, the series spun off a second series called The Bionic Woman starring Lindsey Wagner as Jamie Sommers, the fiance of Steve Austin. This series lasted a number of seasons as well. The stars of the two series have reprised their roles in a couple of TV movies (Bionic Ever After and Bionic Showdown: the Six Million Dollar Man vs. The Bionic Woman which included a young actress named Sandra Bullock, starring as a new bionic agent).