One Sunday evening in 1973, I managed to persuade my mum to let me watch a TV movie. I say persuaded because it was school the next morning and, I suspect like most households at that time, Sunday night in particular was a night for making sure you were ready for the week ahead. It was also bath night in our house, a major event in itself (did anyone else have Fairy Liquid instead of bubble bath?).
Back then, I’d take any excuse to plonk myself down in front of the TV. The fact we were still watching a rented black and white set was no deterrent. All the same, there was something about the trailer I’d seen that aroused even more interest than usual. The hero seemed to be part man, part machine and, although this has been done repeatedly since, I don’t think 10 year old me had encountered it before.
Not that he was anything other than completely human as the film opened. An astronaut was preparing to take off, though not in a rocket, which was unusual in itself. Everything seemed fairly low-key, which, in my opinion, is as it should be for scene-setting. Too often, now, movies rush into scenes without setting them up properly. The slower burn helps build things up, so when the dramatic happens it actually feels dramatic.
That said, this didn’t drag out. There was background stuff going on – more scene-setting – and the scenes cut back and forth, helping the build up as the astronaut took his ship into the sky then began to bring it down again. It was becoming clear that he was a test pilot and this was a new vehicle he was flying. And then this happened…
In fairness, that’s not exactly how it happened in the movie. Things went a little slower, but I know you’ve been waiting to see that and didn’t want you hanging on longer than necessary.
When it came to converting from a one-off movie to a TV series, the tone was less dark. The grimness of the accident was played down by comparison, 
because the purpose of the show was to get on with the action, not dwell on the past. But the movie was darker, and slower moving, setting things up for the future. I suspect the book it was based on – Cyborg – was similarly dark, though I never got round to reading it. (Writing this, I decided to put that right, but the book’s out of print and second hand copies are priced accordingly. I’m curious, not desperate, so I’ll leave it for now – unless anyone can lend me a copy.)
But back to the series. We had a character who’d survived an horrific crash and been offered the chance to lead a more normal life than he otherwise would have. Replacement arm, legs and eye had to be better than being without them, didn’t they? Then again, being beholden to a government agency must have a down-side.
That dark aspect probably wasn’t going to offer great family entertainment, and it seems likely the producers wanted a broad base of potential viewers. On the cusp of secondary school
, that was fine with me. I wasn’t interested in severe pain or moral dilemmas. I just wanted to watch something exciting. So, I was just what the producers were looking for – especially as you can sell toys to kids not adults (well, you couldn’t in the ’70s, anyway).
The Six Million Dollar Man grabbed my attention for several years, although my enthusiasm waned towards the end. I did have the Steve Austin toy, though the eye was unsettling and Action Man could do more. Still, I can’t complain. It was one of the few times a parent gave in and bought me the latest fad (I never did get a Chopper).
I’m not sure why my enthusiasm for the series diminished. It might’ve been because it’d been on for too long, or maybe I’d just outgrown it. I was pretty much done by the time the Bionic Woman came along.
When I look back on it now, I can see it was a ground-breaking series that offered an insight into the potential for the future. Or it seemed to. Bionics still has some way to go before it’ll integrate as seamlessly as The Six Million Dollar Man implied. One day, though. And hopefully it’ll be for positive reasons and not just as another weapon for government agencies.
I would add that this was yet another series from that era that didn’t slot neatly into a specific genre. With elements of sci-fi, adventure, crime, espionage and thriller, it catered to a wide audience.
There’s talk of a movie being made, though with inflation they’ve increased the value to six billion dollars. As ever, I’ll approach that with a degree of scepticism. After all, the remake of the Bionic Woman didn’t catch on.
For now, though, let’s just revel in some slow-motion running (how did that work?!), jumping and kicking. They don’t do sound effects like these any more…
Fairy Liquid – that was a bit posh – we had Stardrops. On the occasions we had real bubble bath it was Radox, this always had a whiff of the medicinal about it. I was never a fan of The Six Million Dollar Man, but I doubt 15 year old girls were their target demographic. That said I daresay he featured on several bedroom walls, needless to say not mine.
I suddenly feel very middle class, Jill… Not that I have any idea what Stardrops were. And I don’t ever remember getting real bubble bath, though that medicinal smell you mention is ringing a bell. Radox has come a long way since then. Still, haven’t we all. Even Lee Majors (he’s 80 now – how did that happen?).
Thanks for stopping by, Jill. Glad I was able to bring back some memories, even if it wasn’t of the world’s first bionic man!
Stardrops was our dishwashing liquid of choice – cheap and still available in exclusive stores like Home Bargains 😂
I’ll have to look out for it next time I’m in. Not that I have a bath very often…
It was good old soap and water for me, until my mother discovered that ‘Matey’ cleaned the bath as well as cleaned your kids.
https://youtu.be/YqL-2wmF7dw
I was a big fan of Steve Austin, Graeme, although when I read your post I also remembered the hit song ‘ Bionic Santa’ which was a takeoff of The Bionic Man. For some reason, i don’t recall seeing the movie, though.
Another bit of nostalgia there, Hugh. I remember that advert, and the song – irritating, though it was!
As for Bionic Santa, it’s a source of great shame to me that I still have the single of that somewhere. As it happens, the B side was funnier. If you can find Ride On by Chris Hill, I promise you won’t be disappointed, though you have to listen to it all the way through.
I found ‘Ride On’ on YouTube, Graeme. Very funny. Just goes to show how we should never believe what we think is happening. That record may be worth something if you find it.
Thought you’d like it. I don’t think I’ll plan my retirement based on selling it, though…
Yeah, I think that’s the correct way to think about it, Graeme. I once sold a ‘Take That’ single for £35. That was over 10 years ago, so maybe it would be worth £75 now? That would just about get me to London and back. 😀
Fairy? Very uppoer class 😉 I had a walrus in my bath… mother had painted one on the wall to watch us, so bathing was eye to eye 😉
The sries, though, was a good one for its day… cheesy as hell in many way, but it broke new ground bringing some scientific concepts to the public eye. And Majors was not bad to look at 😉
I’ve been upgraded from middle class then…
There have been times when I’ve viewed my childhood with horror (usually when I was a child), but I think that sense of deprivation – severely overstated – has served me well. I’m grateful for so much now, whereas most kids these days feel hard done to if they don’t go on a foreign holiday every year.
I think a lot of series back then gradually eased into cheesiness after a strong start. Starsky and Hutch did, though it was pretty hard hitting in the early days, and even Magnum packed a punch in the first few episodes. As for Majors, I liked him as an actor. Didn’t seem to take himself too seriously, which is always a bonus, and I’m sure he was easy on the eye.
I do think that having things too easy as a child does the adult no more favours than having it too hard. I didn’t get holidays every year…still don’t for that matter…and I still get excited at the sight of the sea 🙂
Yes, a lot of programmes seemed to tail off, probably as popularity grew and writers struggled to keep up the ratings, especially if the schedule moved them to an earlier slot thus reaching a potentially younger and wider audience.
Who doesn’t get excited by the sea? (Tell me! I’ll put them right!)
Those who know it too well 😉
I was a fan of the series, although I don’t remember seeing the pilot. I also bought and read Cyborg. I remember it being fairly dark and not at all like the series, which meant it was disappointing. It went to a secondhand bookshop long ago, I’m afraid, otherwise you could have had it.
What a shame! You could have given it to me next week. I’m sure we’ll have other things to talk about though.
I would have expected the book to be darker. TV back then was generally very family friendly, so they were bound to have sanitised it to one degree or another.
See you next Saturday, April.
I’m looking forward to it.
I’m MCing again, but I should have time to catch up with everyone. It’ll be good fun
Excellent. I must print my map and look at the train times.
This post and its comments brought back so many memories. I was a big fan of the Six Million Dollar Man. Also remember Fairy Liquid (and Star Drops) in the bath, it also doubled as shampoo. It’s a wonder I’ve still got hair.
Hi Penny. Not sure if you’ve been here before, so welcome aboard.
As you will gather, I have a nostalgic bent, so I’m glad this brought back some memories for you – though I was hoping to focus on the TV series and not my bath time!
If you liked The Six Million Dollar Man, the chances are some of my other posts in the Gogglebox series will appeal to you. There was something about TV in the ’60s and ’70s…
Thanks for commenting