Lee Majors' then better half Farrah Fawcett headlines this enjoyable non-campy "Six Million Dollar Man" episode as a headstrong local news reporter who just happens to get film footage of Col. Steve Austin performing bionic feats to save a low-budget stock footage rocket launch. What works best about this episode is that it doesn't pander to its audience. The story is actually rather grim with some grown-up violence towards the end, complex character motivations and even a nicely subtle scene where Farrah shrugs off a sexist advance by her boss. Of unintentional comic relief is Oscar Goldman's insistence on pursuing archeology as a hobby on a vacation he obsesses over, which consists of actor Richard Anderson digging a hole in the Mojave sand.
Majors and Fawcett have better screen chemistry here than in the unconvincing "Rescue of Athena One" and the episode is played straight unlike the smarmy "The Golden Pharoah". Character actor Roger Perry returns as one of the heavies, his 2nd of three SMDM appearances ("Population: Zero" and "Privacy of the Mind") and they manage to work an extensive dune buggy scene into the action -- Steve's hobby, as he is seen working on his dune buggy previously in "The Midas Touch", and one of the series' early pop culture fad tie- ins. Solid episode through & through as are all of the 2nd season, maybe not as flashy as "Nuclear Alert" or "The Seven Million Dollar Man" but still great television after forty years.
Majors and Fawcett have better screen chemistry here than in the unconvincing "Rescue of Athena One" and the episode is played straight unlike the smarmy "The Golden Pharoah". Character actor Roger Perry returns as one of the heavies, his 2nd of three SMDM appearances ("Population: Zero" and "Privacy of the Mind") and they manage to work an extensive dune buggy scene into the action -- Steve's hobby, as he is seen working on his dune buggy previously in "The Midas Touch", and one of the series' early pop culture fad tie- ins. Solid episode through & through as are all of the 2nd season, maybe not as flashy as "Nuclear Alert" or "The Seven Million Dollar Man" but still great television after forty years.