# The Six Million Dollar Man origional series question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2005, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166 "2005-01-05T06:30:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/1 "2005-01-05T06:30:26Z")
This just came to me. Steve Austin\* had only one bionic leg. So how could his normal leg keep up when he ran? Wouldn’t he actually be more like hopping or something to that effect? \*Yeah yeah, you know which one I’m talking about 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/2 "2005-01-05T06:37:27Z")
As kids, we used always to wonder the same thing. Whenever he had to swim, we wondered why he didn’t go around in circles if only half of his limbs were bionic. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/3 "2005-01-05T07:02:31Z")
Actually Both of Steve Austins legs were bionic. His bionic parts were both legs, his right arm and one eye. Jaime Summers had both legs, one arm and one ear. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/4 "2005-01-05T07:15:36Z")
**audit1** is right, both legs were bionic. > **[The Six Million Dollar Man](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Six_Million_Dollar_Man)** > > The Six Million Dollar Man is an American science fiction and action television series, running from 1973 to 1978, about a former astronaut, USAF Colonel Steve Austin, portrayed by Lee Majors. After a NASA test flight accident, Austin is rebuilt with superhuman strength, speed, and vision due to bionic implants and is employed as a secret agent by a fictional U.S. government office titled OSI.\[n 1\] The series was based on Martin Caidin's 1972 novel Cyborg, which was the working title of the serie... > [@](#): > > The background story of the show is the crash of astronaut Steve Austin in an M2-F2 “lifting body”, shown in the opening credits of the show (with NASA footage of Bruce Peterson’s 1967 real-life accident [1] ([http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/M2-F2/HTML/E-16731.html](http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/M2-F2/HTML/E-16731.html)). The aircraft was actually referred to as being an “HL-10” in the series, and the real HL-10 was used in a later episode.) Austin is severely injured in the crash and is “rebuilt” in a title-giving operation that costs six million dollars. His right arm, both legs and the left eye are replaced by bionic (cybernetic) implants that enhance his strength, speed and vision far above human norm. He uses his enhanced abilities to work for the OSI (Office of Scientific Intelligence) as a secret agent (and as a guinea pig for bionics). > [@](#): > > Steve Austin, astronaut. > A man barely alive. > Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. > We have the technology. > We have the capability to build the world’s first bionic man. > Steve Austin will be that man. > Better than he was before. > Better, stronger, faster. [Cue music theme] ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/5 "2005-01-05T07:29:25Z")
I always thought he got faulty legs which forced him to run in slow motion. The bad guys were able to move at normal speed while Steve Austin took about fifteen seconds just to take that first step. It was apparently not a problem with bionics in general, as the bionic bigfoot never had to do anything in slo-mo. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/6 "2005-01-05T09:30:29Z")
Oops, so he had both legs bionic. Cunctator’s question is still a good one though 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/7 "2005-01-05T09:32:51Z")
He’s Steve Austin - he doesn’t have to obey the laws of physics. Laws of physics are for suckers. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/8 "2005-01-05T13:34:21Z")
> [@Master Control](#): > > This just came to me. Steve Austin\* had only one bionic leg. So how could his normal leg keep up when he ran? Wouldn’t he actually be more like hopping or something to that effect? > > \*Yeah yeah, you know which one I’m talking about 🆒 You’re thinking of the GI Joe ripoff version–Mike Power, The Atomic Man. You know, transparent limbs? [LINK HERE](http://sean.adventureteam.com/pages/gijoe-ads/ad-atomic-man.jpg) to a classic ad for the toy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/9 "2005-01-05T13:53:44Z")
I had a Mike Power! I enjoyed playing with it, but I did always wonder how he could have a bionic arm but, apparently, a flesh-and-blood hand at the end of it. The OP has been answered, but just as good a question is, how could Steve Austin, for example, lift cars with his bionic arm, when it was attached to a non-bionic shoulder and spine? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/10 "2005-01-05T14:13:18Z")
Some years later, the Bionic Kid came along. He ran fast (i.e. not slo-mo). Best moment of that bad reunion TV movie was Steve Austin saying to Jamie Summers, “How come I can’t do that?” ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/11 "2005-01-05T16:37:13Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > You’re thinking of the GI Joe ripoff version–Mike Power, The Atomic Man. Any relation to Max Power, the man whose name you love to touch? ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/12 "2005-01-05T17:28:09Z")
Yeah, the _real question_ about Steve is how come he wasn’t constantly on workman’s comp for back injuries? :dubious: Man, I loved that show. First show I was allowed to stay up past 8 pm to watch. And the big foot/alien arc rocked… ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/13 "2005-01-05T17:34:52Z")
> [@Fiver](#): > > The OP has been answered, but just as good a question is, how could Steve Austin, for example, lift cars with his bionic arm, when it was attached to a non-bionic shoulder and spine? In the admittedly non-canon novelisation of the Bigfoot eps (which I owned and wish I still had) it was explained that his entire body was reinforced. The limbs didn’t attach directly to flesh. I think the novel also noted that he had computer chips implanted in his brain to help control the gross and fine movements of his limbs, and also asserted that his bionic eye took photographs and that the film holder was implanted in his body! Worst job at the OSI: changing Steve Austin’s film cans. > [@D\_Odds](#): > > Some years later, the Bionic Kid came along. He ran fast (i.e. not slo-mo). Best moment of that bad reunion TV movie was Steve Austin saying to Jamie Summers, “How come I can’t do that?” IIRC, the comment was in response to The Bionic Kid (Steve Austin’s adult son) shooting a laser beam out of his bionic eye. Another TV movie featured a new bionic woman, played by a young and unknown Sandra Bullock. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/14 "2005-01-05T18:05:42Z")
Actually, the novel the show was based on, _Cyborg_ by Martin Caidin, was and is a quite well-written piece of science fiction, even decades later. Go read it. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/15 "2005-01-05T18:47:53Z")
Even back in the 1970’s, they should have called it _The Six Billion Dollar Man_ to accurately reflect the cost of defense department projects. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-six-million-dollar-man-origional-series-question/283166/16 "2005-01-05T19:30:50Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > IIRC, the comment was in response to The Bionic Kid (Steve Austin’s adult son) shooting a laser beam out of his bionic eye. It’s been a _long_ time. It could have been, or it could have been a running joke. It’s not a TV movie I would go out of my way to watch a second time. Once is novelty, twice is self-torture.