So wheres the love for the Six Million Dollar Man? (1 Viewer)

[Tony J Case]

With Ken Johnson's star in acendance (the Hulk sets out, V 2.0 in the works and so on) why have we not heard a peep over the 6 Million Dollar Man and/or the Bionic Woman? Yes, there are a handful of discs out in the UK (I should know - I've got them all), but I'm looking for some hard core season boxed sets released in all their R1 glory.

So - how about it.

 

[MattHR]

I also have the UK discs, and will be first in line for any R1 sets. After listening to Kenneth Johnson's commentaries on his "Hulk" episodes, I'm hoping he is allowed to record commentaries for his contributions to both "Six Million Dollar Man" and "Bionic Woman" episodes. The episodes that he wrote/directed were among the best each series had to offer.

Knowing Universal, they won't release any R1 discs until their big-screen Jim Carrey "remake" is released.

 

[TonyD]

well if thats the case i hope they are at least prepping them for release and doing any needed work on the show.

 

[Mark Lx]

Tony, are you saying there is a Volume 2 set of The Incredible Hulk coming out? I hadn't heard this.

Six million Dollar Man would be great to have. And yes, Kenneth Johnson's commentaries (Hulkliot/Married) are very good.

 

[Joe_Pinney]

Somewhere there's a picture of me on Christmas Day 1975 opening up my long-pined-for Six Million Dollar Man action figure (the original, NOT the GI Joe "Atomic Man" knock-off doll that I tried to educate my dear befuddled mother about, when she asked what the difference between "atomic" and "bionic" was -- "well, it's like this, mom.....'atomic'....is....ATOMIC....and 'bionic'....is.....BIONIC" ), and you should see my face - it is the perfect picture of a 9 year old boy in a state of sheer joy.

I, like many others of my generation, got excited when we heard that recent AOL commercial from the next room and raced out to see if "our show" was on - only it wasn't. :frowning:

We snicker at Stone Cold Steve Austin for ripping off the name of a true American hero.

When we think of Lee Majors, we do not think of The Big Valley or The Fall Guy.

We lament the fact that Lindsay Wagner is now forced to shill for adjustable beds, but we do consider buying them, because Jamie Sommers is recommending them!

Some of us, like me, even get a little rush when we see Richard Anderson's brief performance in Tora! Tora! Tora!, because, hey, THAT'S Oscar Goldman, man.

So, when you ask me if I want season sets of The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman on DVD, my answer is "if they were already available, I would already have them."

 

[MattHR]

I sure hope I'm wrong about this prediction. Maybe there's hope, since Universal has announced first-season sets of both "The A-Team" and "Knight Rider".

I just watched a video recorded at last year's Fansource Convention in L.A. showcasing a Q&A session with the cast from "The Bionic Woman": Lindsay Wagner (Jaime Sommers), Richard Anderson (Oscar Goldman), Jennifer Darling (Peggy Callahan) and Rita Egleston (Lindsay's stunt double). The inevitable questions about DVD's came up. Anderson explained the complications regarding the recent ownership changes of Universal Studios were a factor. He cited the main reason, however, was the legal problems over the ownership of the characters themselves. Martin Caiden, who wrote the book Cyborg that "The Six Million Dollar Man" was based on, recently died, and his estate is now responsible for the property. Universal had a 30-year option on the property, but somehow managed to let it lapse when it recently expired. Miramax/Dimension's lawyers were aware of the expiring option, and pounced on it when it became available. That is why Miramax is producing the upcoming "SMDM" big-screen remake. Anderson explained that while Universal owns the actual footage for both "SMDM" and "The Bionic Woman" series, Miramax now owns rights to the characters . It means that any DVD release of the shows would need to be authorized by Miramax, with complex financial and legal wrangling.

It appears to be a very similar situation to what Fox and Warner have with the original "Batman" series.

Here's hoping for a quick resolution, so we can see season sets of these two classic shows!

 

[MattHR]

"The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman" both had mid-season start dates in their first seasons, so they were shorter than later seasons. Being shorter, they'd make nice starter sets on DVD.

The "SMDM" first season DVD set should also include the three 90-minute pilot TV-movies that preceeded the series: "The Six Million Dollar Man", "Wine, Women & War", and "The Solid Gold Kidnapping". These three pilots were eventually expanded to two hours each, then divided into two-part episodes for syndication. If ever released on DVD, hopefully Universal will present them as originally shown in their 90-minute (75 minute/net) versions.

The first season of "The Bionic Woman" would have to include at least one episode from "SMDM": "Welcome Home, Jaime-Part I". "Part II" was the actual first episode of "BW" as a series. "Part I" is now shown as a "BW" episode in syndication. Ideally, there are four other "SMDM" episodes that shoud be included in a first season "BW" DVD set. These four episodes introduced the "Jaime Sommers" character in "The Bionic Woman-Parts I & II" and "The Return of the Bionic Woman-Parts I & II".

Season four of "SMDM" and season two of "BW" had two cross-over storylines that continued/concluded on the other series. It would be great, if they ever get to DVD, if Universal included both of these cross-over episodes in each set.

 

[Tony J Case]

Or we think "Damn, what a lucky guy. He's married to freakin' Farrah Fawcett for petes sake!"

 

[Tony Whalen]

How about that other ad that Lee did recently? I don't remember what he was selling, but I *clearly* remember him having tea with an old lady, and asking "Bet you don't have your own sound effect, do you?" and then making the "bionic" sound as he lifted his cup. I just about died.

Bring on SMDM on DVD!

 

[MattHR]

I think it was a commercial for some state's lottery.

 

[Paul_Scott]

arrrrrgggghhhh!
another rights issue!!

Bionic Woman is on my top 5 most requested dvd releases now (tv and movies included). it was a wonderful show with great chemistry from the leads, and a very charming, winning performance from Wagner in particular.
i was a huge fan of SMDM as a kid (and yes , i have Christmas photos as well, brandishing my new action figure), but in recent years its TBW that has really grown on me.
at least i can console myself with the paltry 9 episodes available from the UK discs- but season box sets of this would be an instant purchase.

BTW- i've heard that the reason there weren't more than 3 discs released for TBW was that sales were poor.
i hope that wouldn't factor into a R1 dvd release- and i still hold hope that the Carrey remake will go thru so there would be some chance of getting the season set(s) out.
it looks slim for SMDM and i guess it looks even slimmer for TBW.



sad.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

I remember that "Wine, Woman, & War" episode. It was like a cross between a James Bond movie and a Superman movie. And the SFX was much better than what we saw when the regular series commenced. (or so I remember; I haven't seen it in decades!)

Also, I think this movie was produced by Glen A. Larson; while the series was produced by Harve Bennet.

But, yeah! I would *love* to have at least the first three seasons of this series on DVD!

 

[Henry Carmona]

The SMDM DVD's that i see offered on ebay look pretty technically involved, or is it just me

Are these the UK ones? I assume theyre illegally being offered on ebay?

Are they just VHS tapes recorded to DVD?

 

[Steve Phillips]

The authentic UK DVDs can easily be ordered from several on-line retailers such as Amazon UK or Blackstar.

It's cheaper to buy a cheap region free player and the UK discs than to pay for expensive bootlegs on eBay.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

Believe me, I have the UK episodes of Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman and they have not aged well.
Even the Bigfoot episode, which I loved as a kid, are hard to watch.
This prooves that things you liked as a kid you dont necessarily like when you are an adult.

 

[Paul_Scott]

stories rooted in good characters and interesting conflicts don't age at all to me.
yes the effects and stunt work comes across pretty cheesy now, but i watch for the stories, and in the case of TBW- the charming presence of the main characters.

that said, episodes like the Evil Keneval one on the first Bionic Woman disc is pretty damn bad any way you slice it, but the 'origin' eps and one called the Vega Influence were still pretty interesting, imo.

haven't watched SMDM lately, but i'm sure it had its fair share of clunkers and charmers also.

 

[Deb Walsh]

Well, at the time the series was airing on the network, that (the Bigfoot episode) was generally considered a low water mark for the genre. I remember critics being fairly savage about it. I wouldn't consider it representative of the series as a whole - I think at the time it was intended to be more of a ratings grabber.

It's surprising, really, how much of the old stuff does hold up well, especially when they didn't try to be too topical or trendy. That kind of stuff ages very quickly and doesn't always transplant well.

Hopefully rights will be sorted out for both Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman. I'd buy both sets, definitely. I'd like to see the releases timed properly so that Jaime Summers is properly introduced in SMDM before the Bionic Woman is released.

If they were smart, they'd do a deal on action figures concurrent with the DVD releases. It is so a baby boomer kind of thing. :>

 

[MattHR]

Jaime Sommers was introduced (and killed off) at the end of SMDM's second season (Mar. '75). She was "resurrected" in the third season's premiere episodes (Sep. '75), then spun-off into her own series (Jan. '76).

If Universal released BW's first season DVD set to coincide with the SMDM schedule, they'd have to wait until SMDM's third season was released. That's why I previously suggested that Universal release BW first season including the five previous SMDM episodes that set up the Jaime Sommers character.

This would be ideal for a few reasons: We wouldn't have to wait so long to see a BW set; fans wishing to purchase only BW could also get the five SMDM episodes featuring Jaime Sommers without purchasing two full seasons of SMDM (wait, that's exactly the type of ploy they'll probably use!); and if sales of SMDM are used to determine IF there will be BW sets, there may be a risk of never seeing BW on DVD.

Besides a half dozen or so guest appearances on each other's shows, there are also two cross-over stories from SMDM's fourth season and BW's second: "The Return of Bigfoot" (2-parts) and "Kill Oscar" (3-parts). I'd like to see Universal include these five episodes in BOTH season sets of SMDM and BW, if they ever do release season sets. When these episodes are shown in syndication, "Return of Bigfoot II" (a BW episode) is shown as a SMDM episode. "Kill Oscar II" (a SMDM episode) is shown as a BW episode. I've noticed on various reruns over the years that these cross-over episodes are presented in unusual ways. Some have the opening credits changed to reflect the correct font and cast list to match the revision, while others simply replace the shows' intro, while leaving the original closing credits in place (in other words, an episode that begins as SMDM ends as BW).

That's why I'd love to see these episodes duplicated on both SMDM and BW season sets: they could be presented as originally broadcast over 25 years ago. They've never been seen properly since.

 

[Dave Scarpa]

Hollywood is going bastardize it by making it a Jim Carrey Comedy. The Learned nothing from Wild Wild West

 

[oscar_merkx]

I am first in line to buy these dvds. shame about the current situation with the dvds.