The Bionic series
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The Bionic series refers to two television series and three made-for-television movies based loosely on the novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin.
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[edit] Chronology
- The Six Million Dollar Man
- The Bionic Woman
- The Bionic Boy - only a pilot was made, as an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man.
- The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman - Jamie Sommers and Steve Austin are reunited after ten years of living separate lives. Jaime's memory is fully restored and she tries to reconcile her feelings for Steve. Steve also tries to build a relationship with his 23-year-old estranged son Michael, who is now an Air Force pilot. Michael is critically injured in a tragic jet crash. Dr. Rudy Wells rebuilds him with state-of-the-art bionic replacements. The radical group Fortress captures Rudy and Michael with plans to build their own bionic army to take over the United States. Jamie and Steve stop them with the help of Michael and his friends in the Air Force.
- Bionic Shutdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman - Kate Mason is a paraplegic whose entire body becomes bionic after receiving an extensive series of next generation bionic implants that do not require the replacement of whole limbs.
- Bionic Ever After? - A computer virus corrupts Jamie's bionic systems. Dr. Wells informs Steve that "she may never be bionic again," which suits Steve just fine only in that he wants her alive above all else. She undergoes a major upgrade, which not only increases the power of her bionics but gives her night vision. Finally after so many years of waiting, Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers finally get married.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Bionic characters
- Steve Austin, played by Lee Majors, is a colonel in the United States Air Force who has his right arm, both legs, and left eye replaced by bionics after the crash of an experimental aircraft.
- Jamie Sommers, played by Lindsay Wagner, former fiancee of Austins who has her right arm, both legs, and right ear replaced following a parachuting accident.
- Andy Sheffield, played by Vincent Van Patten, is a boy given bionic implants after a landslide paralyzes him. He is only seen in a pilot episode, "The Bionic Boy" aired as an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man.
- Barney Miller, played by Monte Markham. Not to be confused with the sitcom character of the same name, Miller is a race car driver who becomes the second bionic man after a crash. He is dubbed the "Seven Million Dollar Man" because both of his arms are replaced. Miller, however, becomes seduced by his powers and turns to evil. After being defeated by Austin, his bionics are tuned down, removing their super-strength/speed capabilities. In syndication, the character name has sometimes been overdubbed as "Barney Hiller."
- Michael Austin, played by Tom Schanley, is the son of Steve Austin (his mother is not identified). He was raised by his aunt after his mother dies and joins the United States Air Force. During his graduation flight, his plane crashes. Both of his legs and right arm are amputated. He also loses an eye. He gets bionics at his father's request, and these next-generation implants prove to be superior to that of his father's. His only appearance is in The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman.
- Kate Mason, played by Sandra Bullock in one of her first film roles, is a paraplegic who agrees to receive an experimental form of next-generation bionics. Instead of having limbs replaced, she has implants throughout her body. This gives her the ability to walk and exceptional strength. She also has a computer implanted in her brain. Her only appearance was in Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman.
- Allan Devlin, played by Geraint Wyn Davies, has similar implants as Kate Mason and works for the enemy. He also appears in Bionic Showdown.
- Maximillian is a German shepherd dog that received bionic implants in an experimental procedure to see if animals could successfully integrate the parts. Besides bionic limbs that make him the fastest legged being on the planet, he also has a bionic jaw. Jamie Sommers took charge of him in later episodes of Bionic Woman.
[edit] Non-bionic recurring characters
- Oscar Goldman, played by Darren McGavin in the Six Million Dollar Man pilot, and later Richard Anderson, is the Director of the OSI, the secret US Government agency that sponsors the bionics program.
- Peggy Callahan, played by Jennifer Darling, is Oscar's secretary.
- Dr. Rudy Wells; played by Martin Balsam in the pilot of Six Million Dollar Man, Alan Oppenheimer in the show's first full season, and then by Martin E. Brooks thereafter and in Bionic Woman, is the inventor of bionics who oversees Steve and Jaime's tranformation.
- Jim and Helen Elgin, played by Ford Rainey and Martha Scott, are Steve's mother and step-father who are regulars on Bionic Woman (Jaime lives with them).
- Chris Williams played by Christopher Stone, appeared in later episodes of Bionic Woman as a fellow OSI agent and potential love interest for Jaime.
