The Six Million Dollar Blog - The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman
| Starring: |
Lee Majors as Steve Austin |
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Richard Anderson as Oscar Goldman |
| Guest Starring: |
George Montgomery as Garth |
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Ron Soble as Queng-Dri |
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France Nuyen as Mamu |
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Martha Scott as Helen Elgin |
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George Takei as Chin-Ling |
| |
Fuji as Kai-Sing |
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Benni Dobbins as 1st Bandit |
| |
Robert Herron as 2nd Bandit |
| |
Bill Lane as 3rd Bandit |
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Kim Kahana as Prokar |
| |
Kenny Endoso as Johra |
| |
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| Written by: |
Elroy Schwartz |
| Produced by: |
Sam Strangis & Donald Boyle |
| Directed by: |
Reza Badiyi |
Plot in a Nutshell: Steve climbs a mountain.
Story Summary: Steve is shown new satellite photos of an old World War II airplane called "My Little Girl" that crashed back in 1945 two miles from the Chinese border. Steve must climb a mountain to the ledge the plane crashed on and retrieve the plans that can save his people and restore freedom to the galaxy.
Steve is then informed that his late father, who was a great pilot, bailed out of the craft as it went down. In doing so, he betrayed and murdered his fellow crewmen.
"Yes, Steve, I am your father. My arm is bionic just like yours. Come here, I'll prove it. Let's arm wrestle."
Steve is teamed with Chin-Ling to learn to mountain climb.
First Lesson: Mountain climbing is all about the cool socks you get to wear.
Steve and Chin-Ling climb up and then back down. And then up and then back down. And then up and then Steve falls back down.
Causing what looks like a very REAL injury to his stuntman. OUCH!
So they fly off to...actually, I don't think they know where they're going, only that it's near China. So they fly off to Near-China.
They bail out of the plane and moments later they are accosted by bandits, who procede to chase Steve down while killing Chin-Ling.
Early foreshadowing that sky-diving with Steve isn't such a good idea.
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Steve escapes and is helped by one of the bandits named Garth who is an American but speaks English like he's an ESL student.
Garth takes him home, but his wife is incensed that he would bring home someone who is being pursued by the bandits.
After a nights rest, Steve and Garth climb up the mountain toward the crashed plane.
Then they commence to climb some more.
When I woke up, they were still climbing.
After a seemingly interminable amount of hoisting themselves up the mountain, they make it to the plane. Steve checks the dog-tags on the body in the pilots seat and finds the name Christopher Bell. It seems his father did bail out after all. He grabs the secret plans, they bury the bodies of the dead crew, and then they head down the mountain again.
Same as before, only this time in reverse.
Meanwhile, the bandits visit Garth's wife at home.
"Everyone fears my Prince Valiant haircut."
In an effort to save her husband's life, she tells the bandits that her husband was kidnapped by Steve at gunpoint and forced to climb the mountain.
The bandits leave, but knowing that Steve didn't have a gun, they plan to wait for Steve and Garth at the bottom of the mountain and get them both.
The bandits attack, but Steve takes them out easily.
Killing four birds with one stone.
However, the leader of the bandits, Queng-Dri, comes after Steve in a moment of vulnerability. Seeing his new friend in trouble, Garth throws himself in front of Queng's horse and saves Steve.
As he lays either dying or merely injured, it's never made entirely clear, Garth admits he is Christopher Bell and he switched dog-tags with Steve's father. It was Bell who bailed out, not Carl Austin. Dad is vindicated.
The End.
How Did You Do That Quote:
Garth: "You outran horses. Your strength. Your strength is incredible. Just who are you?"
Garth: "Not an ordinary one."
Garth: "And in others?"
Move your mouse over Steve to see his answer.
Overall Grade: 
Final Thoughts: This episode makes mountain climbing look like watching paint dry.
Listen to the Cyborgs: A Bionic Podcast for this episode at chronicrift.com
This episode's Bionic Wiki Page
This episode's IMDB Page
Comments
Wow, two Steves? I think your
Wow, two Steves? I think your Six Million Dollar Man Action Club membership should be revoked!
Climbing
Yes, there is a lot of climbing; it clearly shows padding, but the training scenes with Takei were good, we get Steve's mother, and the end fight scene with the first real use of the bionic sound effect being attributed to Steve only is in this episode. Take a listen this Sunday to Cyborgs and see how the episode fared with us.
Goldman, out!
Re: Climbing
Hey now, can't you give your buddy at The Six Million Dollar Blog a listen to the podcast a little early? Seeing how we're friends and all? Come on, just an early taste, just a little taste, a sound snippet or something. Come on, you gotta hook me up, man, I'm dyin' here...
Oh Dear
Just saw your Tweet about this episode sucking. I missed looking at your rating. Really? Only two. Couldn't even manage a three? Really? This puts this episode in the same class as "Day of the Robot" (at least in my book). Sigh.
Goldman, out!
funny commentary
I agree that there was too much climbing in this one, but the subject was very touching. Especially since it was based on Lee's real life father Carl Yeary who was killed before Lee was born. His mother was killed by a drunk driver two years later. I'm sure it was a very personal episode for him to do.