Did You Know?
During the opening sequence of the show, the crash shown is actual footage of a crash of the M2-F2 experimental lifting body that was part of the research that eventually lead to the development of the space shuttle.
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An unexpected effect of the show's popularity was that the producers discovered that some children who were fans of the show were deliberately trying to seriously injure themselves in the hopes of getting bionic parts. This led to the producers and star Lee Majors writing a letter to at least one such child to tell him that the show is purely fictional.
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Based upon the Martin Caidin novel Cyborg, this was the only film adaptation of any of Caidin's original four Cyborg/Six Million Dollar Man novels. The remaining three: Operation Nuke, High Crystal, and Cyborg IV, were never adapted by the TV series.
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Author Martin Caidin reportedly based the character of Dr. Rudy Wells on a real-life doctor who was doing experiments with bionics (though not to the superhuman extent of his fictional counterpart).
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Surprisingly, Steve's bionic eye is not used at any point in this first adventure (except for regular vision).
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The traditional bionics sound effects are not heard in this film as they wouldn't be introduced until the series began (though some prototype sounds can be heard during Austin's run in the desert). There is also a minimum of slow-motion photography used, though this would later become the show's trademark.
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The exterior shots of the OSI building are actually of the Russell Senate Office Building, as seen from the Capitol grounds across Constitution Avenue in Washington, DC.
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In this episode only, Steve Austin is referred to as a civilian astronaut. In the subsequent series, Steve is a Colonel in the Air Force.
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Stock footage from Colossus: The Forbin Project is used in this film. Notice just before Steve goes into get his bionics attached - the warm up of the computers is the scene where Colossus is activated.
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When the show was broadcast on the Israeli TV, the title was changed to "The Millions Dollar Man", due to the association of the number 6 million - the number of Jewish people who were murdered in the Holocaust.
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