Day of the Robot (8 Feb. 1974)

Steve Austin's good buddy Major Fred Sloan has invented a microwave circuit card he calls the 'activator' and a separate ignition unit that when combined, power an anti-missile missile ... See full summary »

Director:

Leslie H. Martinson

Writers:

Del Reisman (teleplay), Harold Livingston (story),

Stars:

Lee Majors, Richard Anderson, John Saxon

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Lee Majors	...	Col. Steve Austin
Richard Anderson	...	Oscar Goldman
John Saxon	...	Major Frederick Sloan
Henry Jones	...	Dr. Dolenz
Lloyd Bochner	...	Gavern Wilson
Charles Bateman	...	Master Sgt. Parnell (as Charles W. Bateman)
Noah Keen	...	General Tanhill
Robert Rothwell	...	Al
Martin Speer	...	Neil
Buster Jones	...	Captain
Michael Alaimo	...	Bread Truck Driver

Storyline

Steve Austin's good buddy Major Fred Sloan has invented a microwave circuit card he calls the 'activator' and a separate ignition unit that when combined, power an anti-missile missile device. Steve is assigned to protect his friend during the final testing phase. A criminal organization intend on getting their hands on the device kidnap Sloan and replace him with an identical robot build by professor Jeffrey Dolenz.

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Plot Keywords:

bionics | cult tv | cyborg | spy | number in title

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 February 1974 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 30, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Silverton Productions, Universal TV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

48 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The robot sound effect is recycled from How to Frame a Figg.

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Goofs

After Steve drops the steel girder, it bounces and wiggles as if made of rubber.

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Quotes

Gavern Wilson: [watching on monitors of what the Robot picks up] The reception's quite good, considering the distance.
Dr. Dolenz: Naturally, we're bouncing off the satellite I leased.

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Connections

Edited into The Six Million Dollar Man: Run, Steve, Run (1974)

User Reviews

Day Of The Rip Off...Admiral Nelson Where Are You?

An old friend of Steve's is replaced by an identical robot (John Saxon), while the robot maker Dr (Henry Jones) looks on at the events with a TV screen. Steve soon suspects that all is not right.

It would seem the makers of this now dated series were fans of the now semi-timeless Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964-68). Day Of The Robot is the shining light in a revolting first season of The Six Million Dollar Man (the 2nd season is better).

Firstly the story, it is taken from a 1965 Voyage/Sea episode called The Cyborg. The bit where the robot starts talking non-sense to Steve for a second was very like the bit in Voyage/Sea where the identical robot (of Nelson) can't remember a minor detail.

In Voyage/Sea, it is Victor Buono who is looking on via a TV screen.

Henry Jones? He never appeared in The Cyborg but did appear in three episodes of Voyage/Sea, twice as time traveller Mr Pem, and once as a Dr stuck in a "night of terror" on an island of giant monsters.

But this $6 Man episode is really rather good, and once we get past the Voyage/Sea rip offs, well, we really take in a rather clever and solid hour of comic strip adventure.

Loaded with bionic action, outstanding location filming in a field of grass, and the final frames probably rank as the best moments of the entire series (but I think the totally under-rated Shazam 1974-76 series leaves the bionic shows for dead!)

John Saxon is a standout and had been in Time Tunnel's Attack Of The Barbarians (1967).