Parodies can crop up in the unlikeliest places; for instance, the martial arts craze of the 1970's was spoofed in the 'Steptoe & Son' episode 'The Seven Steptoerai', and the children's character 'Paddington Bear' took off 'Singing In The Rain'. In 1979, as his long-running sitcom was drawing to a close, Eric Sykes decided to guy the hit American adventure show 'The Six Million Dollar Man', which starred Lee Majors as 'Colonel Steve Austin', a test pilot who survives a plane crash and is given bionic parts. Eric's version starts with him, Hat and Corky in a rough pub. It is Eric and Hat's birthday, and Corky has promised a celebration. Unfortunately, the pub's resident bully 'Billy Big Knuckle' ( Nosher Powell ) decides to spoil it. Eric faints. When he recovers, he is in a bed and surrounded by doctors ( John Junkin, Royce Mills, and Stuart McGugan ) who tell him he is now bionic. Eric decides to use his new-found abilities to get even with Billy...
This is, as you'd expect from Eric, fun ( I'm guessing that he probably did not know the 'Six Million Dollar Man' series had ended in America the year before. It was still popular in the U.K. ). The shots of Eric leaping on and off the roof of a bus put one in mind of Marty Feldman's 'A Day In The Life Of A Stuntman'. April Walker, from 'The Two Ronnies' and 'Fawlty Towers', plays the sexy barmaid. Thomas Henty, the man at the bar, was the son of Eric's friend Tommy Cooper.
Funniest moment - Eric removing the bar rail and using it to propel Billy through the back entrance.
This is, as you'd expect from Eric, fun ( I'm guessing that he probably did not know the 'Six Million Dollar Man' series had ended in America the year before. It was still popular in the U.K. ). The shots of Eric leaping on and off the roof of a bus put one in mind of Marty Feldman's 'A Day In The Life Of A Stuntman'. April Walker, from 'The Two Ronnies' and 'Fawlty Towers', plays the sexy barmaid. Thomas Henty, the man at the bar, was the son of Eric's friend Tommy Cooper.
Funniest moment - Eric removing the bar rail and using it to propel Billy through the back entrance.
