Over the seventy years or that glowing box known as television has dominated our living rooms many shows have premiered, lingered for awhile then faded away to become a footnote in the annals of TV lore. On the very rare occasion a series may make such indelible impression on the audience that the show is elevated to the exalted of cult classic. Sometimes series on this list manage to instill itself into the collective consciousness redefining an aspect of our culture. In the case of the series ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ the show quickly established tropes that still influence entertainment to this day. The famous ‘dit dit dit’ sound effect and slow motion camera work has become standard in science fiction as well becoming one of the most recognizable motifs around. That sound is certain to cause a flood of memories in any one hearing it. It took a very long time the initial season of this greatly influential show has been made available on region one DVD. Even though this series was one of the most requested DVD releases right from the advent of the format’s popularity it took over a decade to show up on shelves here in the United States. Region Two had the release of this first season back in 2005 with the remainder of the shows five following in fairly rapid succession. The reason is actually one of the justifications for the DVD region system; international variations in distribution rights. The series became a victim to its own success resulting in a six year delay for availability here in the country of its origins. The show was such a hit that a spin off, ‘The Bionic Woman’ was created. The original series ran the ABC network which also initiated the spin off. Unfortunately, the exploits of the technologically enhanced young woman could not muster the ratings necessary to justify it continuation. Upon its cancellation by ABC its rival network, NBC, made the unusual move to pick up the discarded series. This is the basis of the delay. A couple of central characters, Oscar Goldman (Richard Anderson) and Dr. Rudy Wells (Alan Oppenheimer) were pivotal to both series. Since digital re-distribution was unheard of in the mid seventies both networks had a stake in the DVD rights and were reluctant to capitulate. It took until only recently for ‘The Bionic Woman’ and now ‘The Six Million Dollar Man’ are coming out. Hopefully this series will enjoy the same accelerated release schedule as the Region Two version and the recent ‘Bionic Woman’ sets were given.

1974 was a time when it was common practice to recapitulate the premise of the series in the opening. The sequence used here has become famous on its own as it reminds the audience about the tragic, near fatal test-pilot/astronaut Steve Austin (Lee Majors) barely survived. This all American hero lived but the cast was the amputation of both legs and right arm as well as the enunciation of his left eye. Under any normal circumstances this would bring a stop to any service Steve can give to his country but Oscar Goldman of the covert Office of Scientific Intelligence (OSI) had other plans. A brilliant scientist Rudy Wells developed a series of technologically advanced replacements for Steve’s missing parts. These Bionic devices are able to endow Steve with superhuman strength, speed and vision. In return for the $6 million in government funds Steve will provide his services as a secret agent. The seventies was still very much a part of the espionage craze that began in earnest during the previous decade. Spies, most notably represented by the iconic James Bond, dominated most forms of entertainment. What attracted most fans to this genre were the incredible high tech gadgets the weapons master ‘Q’ provided to Bond. Dr. Wells certainly exceeded the best the British quartermaster could muster. Wells wasn’t satisfied with a fancy watch, camera or tricked out sports car. His gadgets were incorporated directly into the spy’s body. Each week Oscar would have some incredibly difficult mission that could only be handled by Austin’s unique skill set. Although touched upon briefly few of the stories had to do with the existential quandary concerning his altered humanity. While that would have added some depth to the stories this theme was inconsistent with what the designated purpose of the series; good old fashion action/adventure. This was a more simplistic time in television when all was expected was straightforward entertainment. The show lasted five seasons and generated several subsequent made for TV movies largely because the series didn’t overreach.

Steve Austin was the archetypical American hero; ruggedly handsome, brave, honest and dedicated to serving his country no matter what the cost. He manifested these admiral qualities exploring outer space and testing cutting edge aircraft that would ensure the military supremacy that supports our democratic way of life. It is important to correctly place against the proper historic background. The middle seventies was the Vietnam era when the government was experience a growing distrust especially among the youth. Here was a series about a top secret government agency that was mandated to protect our national values. The jingoistic bent afforded by this show helped reinforce a more positive view of the government. Science fiction has always been used to make a social statement more palatable as well demonstrated here. The plot device work well, much better than the show runners could have imaged and the series wound up defining the decade.

For those of us who were fans back in the day this first season set was well worth the wait. The video quality is naturally an improvement over how we originally viewed the show due more to the advances in upverting built in to most modern players than the source material. For the most part the video held up rather well with only a few occasional artifacts attributed to the age of the original storage. The sound had to be remixed from a mono original so you might want to experiment with a few of the pre programmed audio enhancement setting available through your home theater receiver. In all it is a great trip down memory lane.