The Six Million Dollar Man

[Folacin]

@Skald_the_Rhymer

Hand-waving is for sissies and Welshman. The way to handle scientific impossibilities is by sheer audacity and never, EVER going into technical detail.

Since the zombie has been raised, I just want to second this. It’s a work of fiction, not a documentary. As long as it works if you don’t think too hard, it’s fine (which still puts most of the *Scorpion *plots on the wrong side of suspension of disbelief).

Is the novel any good? I remember picking up a friend’s copy in college, but I couldn’t get past the hero being named ‘Steve Austin’ (and I liked the show) and gave up just few pages in (which is highly unusual, I read some real crap - in general if I get past page 2 I read to the end).

[terentii]

@Folacin

It’s a work of fiction, not a documentary. As long as it works if you don’t think too hard, it’s fine (which still puts most of the *Scorpion *plots on the wrong side of suspension of disbelief).

A classmate and I were discussing the episode with Greg Morris, where Steve (IIRC) not only pulls the engine out of a Cessna but humps it cross-country. My classmate said (with some derision) “He may have a bionic arm, but he doesn’t have a bionic back!”

[Peter_Morris]

Who had the action figure?

I had the 1st release version as described here.

[silenus]

@Elendil_s_Heir

Anybody know their Air Force decorations and can tell us what medals Col. Austin won?: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8e/33/ff/8e33ff7dad0e3ad7533ffb6343d3ba86.jpg

The badge above the ribbons denotes a Command Pilot. There is not, however, the Astronaut device.

[Robot_Arm]

Fans of The Six Million Dollar Man may be interested in this podcast. Some of the filming for the episode Carnival of Spies took place inside a funhouse. When someone from the show tried to move a mannequin in the funhouse, an arm broke off and revealed actual bones inside. The podcast traces the journey of Elmer McCurdy; shot after a robbery in 1911, his body was displayed as a curiosity and changed hands until it was discovered at the funhouse.

[Cartooniverse]

I could swear I recounted this elsewhere on The Dope this year. Weird…

My Dad was a friend of Cyborg author Martin Caidin’s. They met when Dad was a science writer covering the space program. He spent a lot of time both in Cocoa Beach, FL as well as in Houston, TX at the respective space centers. Mr. Caidin lived in Cocoa Beach.

We met him once while on vacation down in Cocoa. He was a boisterous fun gentleman, very polite to my 10 year old self and my slightly older brother, a listener as well as a talker. Brilliant fellow too. He also wrote one of my favorite teen-years novels, a weird tome entitled Mary Jane Tonight At Angels Twelve about the drug smuggling trade. It makes use of every town name, landmark and restaurant in the greater Cocoa Beach area- a blast to read having spent time there.

And I agree with the assessments above- Steve Austin was a bitter cold dangerous mess, kind of on par with the original character study of James Bond as writ by Ian Fleming back in the day.

[MrAtoz]

@Robot_Arm

Fans of The Six Million Dollar Man may be interested in this podcast. Some of the filming for the episode Carnival of Spies took place inside a funhouse. When someone from the show tried to move a mannequin in the funhouse, an arm broke off and revealed actual bones inside. The podcast traces the journey of Elmer McCurdy; shot after a robbery in 1911, his body was displayed as a curiosity and changed hands until it was discovered at the funhouse.

By a weird coincidence (or was it?!), this event was portrayed on last night’s episode of Drunk History, with Justin Long playing the embalmed corpse of Elmer McCurdy.