Review of The Six Million Dollar Man

Steve Austin is a rebellious NASA test-pilot who is critically injured in a horrific crash, losing both legs, his right arm and his left eye in the process. His doctor, with the backing of a mysterious government agent, uses experimental prosthetic surgery to give him new limbs and a new eye, which will give him superhuman strength and sight. The surgery is a success, but what does the government have planned for him ? This pilot TV-movie for one of the most successful US TV series of the seventies is a surprisingly low-key but intriguing story, with a great central idea. The rotten intelligence services want a super-agent, capable of incredible feats of strength and agility, who can infiltrate situations by stealth where a team of operatives could not. Their solution - take a man as good as dead and rebuild him as a cyborg; a bionic man with artificial limbs and senses infinitely more powerful than a normal man. Henri Simoun's script, based on a book by Martin Caidin, is really just a three-character play (Anderson, as a bit of totty, is pretty but unnecessary) between the unwilling roboman (Majors), his doctor (the always-reliable Balsam) and a control agent (McGavin), but it explores the Frankenstein theme with surprising subtlety and the relatively few action scenes are handled well. Also good, in the classic seventies style, is the depiction of government as ruthless strategists with limitless resources and no compassion - they see their creation not as a man, but as their product, which is only worth having if it is an asset to their operations. Perhaps a little too sober and ponderous at times, but a great story nonetheless.