Dana, Alice, Shane, Carmen and Jenny take an eventful Olivia Cruise on a ship around the Caribbean. During it, Alice and Dana attempt to roll-play as characters from 'the Love Boat' only to end up with Dana becoming seasick. Both Carmen and Shane question Jenny's moody behavior throughout the trip, in which after wards, Jenny confronts Mark and forces him to come clean to them about his video project and Carmen's feelings for Shane. Back in Los Angeles, Bette and Kit struggle to reconcile with their estranged father, Melvin, who comes for a visit. Also, Tina attends a formal dinner banquet with Helena to receive a prestigious award for Tina's social work.
Ex-USAF pilot and NASA PR man Martin Caidin's 1971 novel "Cyborg" was the source material for this show.
The aircraft seen crashing in the show's opening sequence was an M2-F2, a "flying body configuration" built by Northrup. The audio sound effects are from a crash that occurred on May 10, 1967, at Edwards Air Force base in California (although the dialog heard was recorded by Majors). The test pilot, Bruce Peterson, hit the ground at 250 mph, tumbling six times. He lost use of his right eye and had to stop flying, ending his career. Understandably, Peterson has said that he hated reliving his accident, week after week, courtesy of the show.
The characters of Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson) and Rudy Wells (Martin E. Brooks) appeared on both this series and its spinoff, "The Bionic Woman" (1976). When the spinoff moved to another network, this practice continued. This was the first time the same continuing characters appeared on two different TV series broadcast on two different networks at the same time.
During one Christmas episode, Austin is seen visiting a toy shop. The popular Steve Austin action figure is clearly visible on the store shelves.
Near the end of the series, Lee Majors experimented with changing Austin's look by growing a mustache. This proved unpopular and the idea was dropped, but not before a number of commercial tie-ins, including a comic book and a lunch box, had been produced with the new look.
In the spring of 1977, before production began on what would be the show's final season, Lee Majors refused to go to work until contract demands were met. At one point it was reported that producers were considering hiring a new actor to take over the series. Among those considered were Gil Gerard, Bruce Jenner, and Harrison Ford (the producers said he was unsuitable as an action hero).
The popular two-part episode "The Bionic Woman" featured two songs performed on the soundtrack by Lee Majors himself. These were the country song "Gotta Get Loose" and the ballad "Sweet Jamie", the latter of which was loosely based upon the Six Million Dollar Man theme music.
Early episodes of the series had Austin killing villains on occasion. As it became clear that Austin was becoming a role model for kids, the level of violence in the series decreased, with Austin rarely (if ever) actually killing anyone.
The characters Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers (from "The Bionic Woman" (1976)) were ranked #19 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).
The name of Monte Markham's character was changed from Barney Miller to Barney Hiller to avoid confusion with the ABC sitcom "Barney Miller" (1975).
Martin Caidin based the character of Steve Austin on astronauts David Scott and Eugene Cernan (commanders of Apollo 15 and 17, respectively).
The exterior shots of OSI Headquarters are actually the Russell Senate Office Building as seen from the Senate side of the Capitol, across Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC.
[Opening narration.]
Oscar Goldman:
Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster.
Follows
The Six Million Dollar Man (1973) (TV)
Followed by
The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987) (TV)
Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989) (TV)
Bionic Ever After? (1994) (TV)
Edited into
The Secret of Bigfoot (1975) (TV)
The Bionic Woman (1975) (TV)
Sharks (1978) (TV)
Spin off
The Bionic Woman (1975) (TV)
"The Bionic Woman" (1976)
The Bionic Boy (1976) (TV)
Referenced in
Wanted: Ded or alayb (Agad-agad) (1976)
- This TV series is mentioned in the movie.
Network (1976)
"The Incredible Hulk: Broken Image (#3.12)" (1980)
- mentioned by woman with dog
"The Charmings: The Man Who Came to Dinner (#2.13)" (1988)
- "I can rebuild it -- I have the technology!"
The Spirit of '76 (1990)
Nemesis (1993)
- Alex is a cyborg and he is rebuilt with cybernetic limbs when he is shot to pieces and when his arms are pulled off by Farnsworth.
"Saturday Night Live: Patrick Stewart/Salt-N-Pepa (#19.12)" (1994)
- Mentioned during the monologue
"The Simpsons: Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy (#5.14)" (1994)
- A woman says she dated Steve Austin from this show.
Eddie Izzard: Glorious (1997) (V)
Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five (1998)
Trance (1998)
- A character quotes the opening narration from this tv show.
"South Park: Prehistoric Ice Man (#2.18)" (1999)
- Kyle says "He looks kinda like Steve Austin from The 6 Million Dollar Man"
Dogma (1999)
Inspector Gadget (1999)
Mystery Men (1999)
The Tao of Steve (2000)
Whipped (2000)
Zoolander (2001)
The Omen Legacy (2001) (TV)
Snow Dogs (2002)
- referenced by Nichelle Nichols
Big Fat Liar (2002)
The Nugget (2002)
- "Mr. Four Million Dollar Man"
Eddie Izzard: Circle (2002) (V)
Miss Entebbe (2003)
- kids are watching and quoting the intro; fighting over a six million dollar man t-shirt; the girl asks the arab boy if arabs like the show too
"That '70s Show: Trampled Under Foot (#5.21)" (2003)
- Characters talk about watching this show several times
"Jake 2.0: Double Agent (#1.12)" (2003)
- In the end scene, while Jake lists dream cars and mentions Mercedes Benz SLR Coupe, Dick (Lee Majors' character) says he "could run faster than that heap". This is then followed by extracts of the theme from "The Six Million Dollar Man", in which Lee Majors played the lead character.
Chasing Liberty (2004)
- A character in the movie distributes "Six Million Dollar Man" stickers.
"South Park: Up the Down Steroid (#8.2)" (2004)
- poster in Jimmy's room
Dalton, Les (2004)
- The famous "superpower" noise from the series was used in "Les Dalton"
"The Office: Pilot (#1.1)" (2005)
- This shows name is mentioned in this episode.
The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
- Action figures shown, characters mentioned
Kronk's New Groove (2005) (V)
- when rudy skateboards down the street he cuts a corner and slow motion and sound effect are the same that were used in the tv series
TV: The Movie (2006)
- Lee Majors character calls XXXL an "XXX million dollar man"
"Smallville: Cyborg (#5.15)" (2006)
- Alluding to the TV series The Six Million Dollar Man, with the first mainstream cyborg, Steve Austin.
"Saturday Night Live: Dane Cook/The Killers (#32.1)" (2006)
- mentioned by 'Farrah Fawcett'
"South Park: Make Love, Not Warcraft (#10.8)" (2006)
- Poster in Jimmy's room of parody "The Six Billion Dollar Man"
"Extras: (#2.5)" (2006)
- Mentioned in the A-team conversation.
Featured in
Science Fiction: A Journey Into the Unknown (1994) (TV)
- scenes from the series are shown here
The Cable Guy (1996)
Tvography: Lee Majors - Hollywood's Bionic Hero (2002) (TV)
"Zomergasten: (#17.3)" (2004)
- A fragment of this series is shown in this episode
Spoofed in
The Senator's Daughter (1979)
- porn parody (bionic penis)
Animalympics (1980)
Dead End (1985)
- parody of "bionic sounds" in slow motion
Heat Vision and Jack (1999) (TV)
- the plot is a parody
Mystery Men (1999)
"Family Guy: Running Mates (#2.10)" (2000)
- Peter stars in low-budget version of this show
Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002)
"That '70s Show: Trampled Under Foot (#5.21)" (2003)
- In a flashback sequence, the characters remodel Fez in surgery (in the style of The Six Million Dollar Man) to forget about breaking up with his girlfriend Nina.
"Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Total Re-Carl (#3.12)" (2003)
- Meatwad says, "Gentlemen, we have the technology..."
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
- ch-ch-ch-ch sound effect.. at the Zoo when the News Team jumps in with the bears
"The Venture Bros.: Home Insecurity (#1.3)" (2004)
- In the woods, Brock meets Col. Steve Summers (spoof of Steve Austin, the 6Million Dollar Man), a former astronaut who was rebuilt after a crash with a bionic body and abilities like Austin's.
Tracy Beaker Parties with Pudsey (2004) (TV)
- In 'Tracy Beaker Parties with Pudsey', the "ch-ch-ch-ch" sound effect from "The Six Million Dollar Man" can be heard at one point.
TV: The Movie (2006)
- parody show: "The Six Million Year Old Man"
"Robot Chicken: Suck It (#2.1)" (2006)
- "The Six Million Peso Man"