11:39 by FoxTwo
Hands up those of you who remember watching this as a kid :)
Ok I know, not many.
Did you know/remember, that this series was made during the same time period as the original Star Wars Episode 4 was? Incredible huh?
Yeah, I had a chance to watch some episodes of Six Million Dollar Man last weekend, and it sure brings back memories, and gave me some new ones. For example, while I might have a hazy recollection of his "origins story", after re-watching it did I realise that the episode was a "test pilot". They didn't know if they were going to make a series out of it (but we all know it went on for 4 or 5 seasons after that, including a spin-off series Bionic Woman).
$6 mill seems so cheap by today's standards. His bionics would have cost like $50 mill in today's money. Watching it as an adult now, I realised that throughout season 1, the sound of his bionics, the "ting ting ting ting" sound, was hardly ever used. His bionic eye had night vision (green) in the pilots, but it was changed to infra-red in the series proper.
One thing I did notice though, they really tried to take care of the details. For example, when Steve has been running on his bionics for extended period of time, you can see perspirations drenching his chest, his left armpit, but not the right armpit. Afterall, his right arm is bionic, hence won't be perspiring.
I remember also, as a kid, I was very agitated when watching him fight with Maskatron, the robot in the episode "Day Of The Robot". Now, the fight scene looks slightly cheesy.
Yeah when you grow up, the gloss tend to fade away :(
I'm hoping they continue with the Bionic Woman (2007) series, after stopping at episode 8 due to the writer's strike. Thus far, nothing seems forthcoming, as there have been bad reviews about the series before the strike happened. Perhaps people nowadays do not want fantasy series and are totally hooked on reality TV. Personally I hate reality TV, especially Survivor.
Labels: 6 Million Dollar Man, Bionic, TV shows
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Jillian @ Monday, March 17, 2008 6:47:00 PM I've never seen an episode of "The Million Dollar Man"...lol. But I heard it was... interesting.
My friends have watched a few episodes of the "Bionic Woman" and thought it was pretty good. They were pimping it pretty hard with TV commercials, radio spots, AND ads in movie theaters! If the show comes back I just might check out! -
FoxTwo @ Monday, March 17, 2008 7:45:00 PM
If you grew up with Steve Austin and The Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman (2007) is a must-see series. Just like Battlestar Galactica (2003).
Everything's updated with modern technology. Finally you see cellphones being used (instead of a waiter bringing a land-line phone to the table and saying "Mr Austin, call from Washington for you").
Bionics in the 2007 series are more believable, ie saying that there are nanobots fused with the organic and mechanical parts etc. -
haleyhughes @ Tuesday, March 18, 2008 8:19:00 AM
I remember The Six Million Dollar Man! Loved it. I was an even bigger fan of the original Bionic Woman. In fact, I think I still have my membership card in "The Bionic Woman Action Club" stashed away somewhere. I'll have to look for it. Sadly, both shows are painful to watch today.
As for the new Bionic Woman show, it hasn't grabbed me. I gave it a few episodes, and found myself not caring about the characters. The same was true with the first season of the new Battlestar Gallactica for me. I really wanted to be hooked on both shows, but found myself letting them pile up on the TiVo, unwatched. -
FoxTwo @ Tuesday, March 18, 2008 9:31:00 AM
Haley - lol we don't have clubs like this here in Singapore. Well, even if there were clubs like this, I'd not know about it back then as a kid.
I'm the opposite of you. The original Bionic Woman was a "filler" for me when SMDM went off the air. Like all little boys, I bugged my dad to get me the Steve Austin 12" action figure with a glass "bionic eye" to look through, and a "bionic arm" that can grasp a metal beam. Dangit, I lost that toy, wish I can remember where I put it (yeah I still live in the same place as when I was a kid).
As for Battlestar Galactica 2003, well to me it's a lot more realistic than the original series, and I don't mean the storylines. I mean the actual sounds and "procedures" you see aboard the Galactica... very much like how a naval ship is run, as well as the onboard in-ship sounds.
Also, their paranoia of connecting their computers up via network is very real - almost funny, in fact. This is what many people today fear about the Internet - they don't want to connect to the Internet unless necessary for fear of getting hacked, even with a firewall.
