In January 1974 the first episode of The Six Million Dollar Man aired, and kids around the world had a new superhero. Steve Austin was the world’s first bionic man, and we watched every week as he foiled foreign spies, fought Bigfoot, and faced fembots and Death Probes.
As much as I enjoyed the show, the best thing that came from the program (besides a young writer named Mark Frost) was the toy line from Kenner. I played with those toys so much they fell apart. I had them all – the repair station that was shaped like a rocket, the Oscar Goldman figure (with exploding briefcase!), the AM radio backpack… Such fun.
In celebration of the anniversary, here’s some classic commercials for the line…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj3–kt7TO0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ene2z2vEhQI