#1 The Six Million Dollar Man - The Moon and the Desert (1973)
When astronaut Steve Austin tests a new government plane, he is nearly killed after it malfunctions and crashes. To save him he is rebuilt using bionic parts. Having a hard time making the psychological adjustment and feeling depressed, Steve is given a government assignment in the Middle East.
THE ORIGINAL OPENING CREDITS
Opening Sequence:
The lifting body seen crashing in the opening sequence of the show is real footage of the crash of the Northrop M2-F2. The dialogue spoken by actor Lee Majors during the opening credits is reportedly based upon communication prior to the M2-F2 crash that occurred on May 10, 1967: (“Flight com, I can’t hold her! She’s breaking up! She’s breaking—”). Test pilot Bruce Peterson lost an eye due to infection following the crash, but likewise also miraculously survived what appeared to be a fatal accident even though his lifting body aircraft hit the ground at approximately 250 mph (402 km/h) and tumbled six times. Video of the craft in flight, and oscillating as in the intro, can be seen at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center website.
In the opening sequence, a narrator (series producer Harve Bennett) identifies the protagonist, "Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive." Richard Anderson, in character as Oscar Goldman, then intones off-camera, "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster." During the first season, beginning with The Six Million Dollar Man: "Population Zero," Anderson, as Goldman, intoned more simply, “We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better...stronger...faster.” During the operation, when he is having his bionics fitted, a list of items and numbers is displayed and lists his powerplant as "atomic".
Opening Sequence Music: Dusty Springfield, backed by Ron "Escalade" Piscina, sang the theme song written by Glen A. Larson and Stu Phillips, which was used in the opening and closing credits for the Wine, Women & War and The Solid Gold Kidnapping telefilms. The song was also used in the promotion of the series, but when the weekly series began the song was replaced by the instrumental theme. This was by Oliver Nelson. The first regular episode, "Population Zero," introduced a new element to the opening sequence: a voiceover of Oscar Goldman stating the rationale behind creating a bionic man. The first season narration was shorter than that used in the second and subsequent seasons.
The lifting body seen crashing in the opening sequence of the show is real footage of the crash of the Northrop M2-F2. The dialogue spoken by actor Lee Majors during the opening credits is reportedly based upon communication prior to the M2-F2 crash that occurred on May 10, 1967: (“Flight com, I can’t hold her! She’s breaking up! She’s breaking—”). Test pilot Bruce Peterson lost an eye due to infection following the crash, but likewise also miraculously survived what appeared to be a fatal accident even though his lifting body aircraft hit the ground at approximately 250 mph (402 km/h) and tumbled six times. Video of the craft in flight, and oscillating as in the intro, can be seen at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center website.
In the opening sequence, a narrator (series producer Harve Bennett) identifies the protagonist, "Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive." Richard Anderson, in character as Oscar Goldman, then intones off-camera, "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better...stronger...faster." During the first season, beginning with The Six Million Dollar Man: "Population Zero," Anderson, as Goldman, intoned more simply, “We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better...stronger...faster.” During the operation, when he is having his bionics fitted, a list of items and numbers is displayed and lists his powerplant as "atomic".
Opening Sequence Music: Dusty Springfield, backed by Ron "Escalade" Piscina, sang the theme song written by Glen A. Larson and Stu Phillips, which was used in the opening and closing credits for the Wine, Women & War and The Solid Gold Kidnapping telefilms. The song was also used in the promotion of the series, but when the weekly series began the song was replaced by the instrumental theme. This was by Oliver Nelson. The first regular episode, "Population Zero," introduced a new element to the opening sequence: a voiceover of Oscar Goldman stating the rationale behind creating a bionic man. The first season narration was shorter than that used in the second and subsequent seasons.
#2 The Six Million Dollar Man - Wine, Women and War (1973)
Steve is assigned to stop weapons dealer Findletter, who claims to have a Polaris nuclear missile for sale. Along the way, he must deal with Soviet agents Alexi and Katrina and stop Findletter's hijacking of a newly launched submarine.
Steve becomes involved in a series of kidnapping cases culminating in a demand in a billion dollar ransom delivered from Fort Knox. When the ransom is hijacked, Steve must team up with a scientist to extract the information from a dead kidnapper's brain through cell transfer technology.Some sources consider these movies to be part of Season 1 of the series, particularly the second and third films, which aired only a couple of months before the weekly series began. All three films were later re-edited into two-part episodes of the regular series, with additional footage added, for the purposes of network reruns and later syndication. In all three cases, the original opening credits are removed and replaced with the standard Six Million Dollar Man opening credits.
THE OPENING CREDITS WE ALL KNOW AND LUV!
#4 The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987)
Steve Austin's former employer, Oscar Goldman, approaches him and asks for help; a band of terrorists he put out of business is back. Steve initially declines, but changes his mind when his son Michael is severely injured as a result of his first solo flight. Rudy Wells operates on Michael, giving him better bionics than Steve's or Jaime's.
#5 Bionic Showdown (1989)
Steve decides to ask Jaime to marry him, but he is interrupted when someone using bionic powers sabotages the security systems at OSI Headquarters and steals secret documents. Being suspects, Jaime and Steve are detained but break out to conduct their own investigation.
Steve and Jamie are about to get married. However, something is happening to Jamie; it seems like her bionics are failing and no one knows what's wrong with her. It seems that someone has been doing something to her, but who and why? At the same time an old friend of Steve's is being held prisoner by terrorists and Steve, needing to take his mind off Jamie, offers to go and help.
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