The Six Million Dollar Blog - The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman
| Starring: |
Lee Majors as Steve Austin |
| |
Richard Anderson as Oscar Goldman |
| Guest Starring: |
William Shatner as Josh Lang |
| |
Warren Kemmerling as Ted |
| |
Quinn Redeker as Calvin Billings |
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Rodolfo Hoyos as Ernesto Arruza |
| |
Anne Schedeen as Tina Larsen |
| |
Joseph diReda as 1st Deputy |
| |
Ron Stokes as 2nd M.P. |
| |
Aaron Mitchell as 2nd Deputy |
| |
Chas. Floyd Johnson as 3rd M.P. |
| |
Trent Dolan as Technician |
| |
Mary Rings as Millie |
| |
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| Written by: |
Del Reisman |
| Produced by: |
Sam Strangis & Donald Boyle |
| Directed by: |
Jerry London |
Plot in a Nutshell: Captain Kirk goes nuts.
Story Summary: Steve's astronaut friend Josh Lang is up in space talking about weird stuff and generally having a nervous space breakdown. He starts rattling off equations and talking to somebody named Andy.
"Captain, you are being highly illogical."
NASA has doubts about Josh's well-being and considers taking him off the next space launch. Steve convinces them to let him talk to Josh and try to iron everything out.
"Just get him to lie down on this table, I'll do the rest."
Steve meets up with Josh at Ocean World Amusement Park. Josh realizes he's been acting strange, but can't seem to control himself. Something in space effected him and has energized his mind, making him feel like a "walking computer."
Later, Josh enters the NASA computer room and insists there's a mistake in the computer program for the next launch. Steve escorts him out.
Steve asks Oscar to run Josh's idea through the high-level 1974 Washington computers.
My iPad has more computing power than this whole room.
Meanwhile, Steve and Josh go out jogging by the electrical towers.
"Gosh, Steve, my baby-blue jogging suit matches your eyes."
The electrical towers almost speak to Josh. Suddenly, he seems to see something at the top of one and climbs up, calling to "Andy." He touches a cable and is knocked unconscious.
Even unconscious, Shatner still overacts.
None the worse for wear, Josh and Steve walk back to NASA. During the walk, Josh continues to deny he knows anyone named Andy. Steve tells him he's going to have to inform NASA about his behavior. Josh seems resigned to his fate.
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That night, Josh is placed in the hospital under guard while Steve reads Josh's NASA file. As Steve reads an interesting insurance policy with a payout to Ernesto Arruza in the file, Josh escapes and leaves a note for Steve to meet him at the Water Park again.
At the park, Josh claims he can communicate with the dolphins, that they are speaking to him.
Josh decides that sending a dolphin into space is suddenly a plan. He proves he can talk to them by making them jump out of the water at his mental command. Steve agrees to try to convince NASA to send a dolphin up.
NASA calls BS on the whole thing, but Josh doesn't really care. He's going up into space with a dolphin and no one is going to stop him. Using his mind, he knocks out his NASA superior and hightails it out of there.
"See, I'm using my serious face! That means I'm going into space and you can't stop me. Nyah, Nyah."
Meanwhile, Oscar tells Steve that Josh's claim that the launch computer program was wrong is valid. Steve is then shown a chart of Josh's "super-charged" brain patterns.
"As you can see, we've been charting Shatner's acting since the episode began."
They need to get to Josh before he over-acts himself to death.
Steve pays a visit to Ernesto Arruza from the insurance policy. It turns out Andy was Josh's boyhood friend and Ernesto was his father. Andy was killed playing on a high-voltage tower. Somehow, this is all supposed to fit together.
As Steve investigates, Josh heads into a bar to have a drink. He regales the bartender with useless facts about the local power station and then asks where tower one is. She tells him and then he accidentally kills a deputy with his mental power on the way out.
The "He's Dead, Jim." joke is so obvious here I'm embarrassed to say I couldn't think of anything better.
Josh says "Andy" and runs out the door.
Oscar and Steve arrive at the bar and Steve discovers where Josh is headed. The chase is on.
Excuse my language, but "F--k yeah!"
Josh climbs up an electrical tower and Steve jumps up after him, but it's too late. Josh's over-acting has killed him.
The End.
How Did You Do That Quote:
Josh: "How'd you manage that? How'd you take the electricity? I couldn't... I couldn't move."
Josh: "Bionics."
Steve: "How'd you know?"
Move your mouse over Steve to see his answer.
Overall Grade: 
Final Thoughts: Six Steves. Count 'em: Six! How is that possible? The rating system only goes to five. Where is the extra Steve coming from? Did Shatner's acting rub off on my rating system? Okay, here's where I admit I'm biased. This is the first episode of the Six Million Dollar Man I ever saw. I was six years old in 1974 and the other kids in the neighbohood were talking about this great new show on TV. I asked my parents if I could watch it and they said I could, but that I probably wouldn't enjoy it, because whenever he did something interesting, he would do it in slow motion. During the final act, when Steve is running after Josh, I still vividly remember my parents saying, "See, it's all slowed down." Honestly, I was six years old, I never had a chance
Yes, the effect seeing The Six Million Dollar Man for the first time had on a six-year-old brain has lasted almost 40 years as of this writing.
So, we get 5 Steves for having William Shatner and Lee Majors teamed up and an extra Steve for hooking this six-year-old on the greatest TV show of the '70's.
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
Bill and Lee make a great team
I love this episode with Lee and William Shatner. It always seems like someone hit the pause button on Shatner's acting. This is not the first time they've worked together. The first time was on The Big Valley and the second time was in Owen Marshall Councelor at Law. The show that Lee Majors did before Six Mill.
Character Study
William Shatner may be an over-actor, but his antics (maybe along with his toupee) convinced me that he was a guy in trouble that Steve Austin needed to save, and fast (although not fast enough)! Indeed, Josh Lang was a far cry from Captain James Tiberius Kirk.
JayManiac