Ep 58: The Six Million Dollar Man

This week CFX takes you back to a simpler time, a time when bionically enhanced astronauts and former tennis pros saved the world from Bigfoot, aliens, Russian death probes and evil "robuts"—all while wearing fashion tracksuits and the finest fashions that the Sears Roebuck catalog had to offer. And doing it all in beautiful slow motion! That’s right, this week we are covering the very popular and successful mid-1970s show The Six Million Dollar Man and also a bit of its just as successful spinoff, The Bionic Woman.  Not only were these shows at the top of the Nielsen charts, but they were also the first shows to really get merchandising right. Partnering with Kenner toys they released a series of action figures that were not only the best selling toys of their day but also influenced all of the merchandising that came after, most notably Star Wars (though whether that’s a good thing is debatable). But as popular and influential as the show was at the time, how does it hold up now? Will the show’s reputation continue to grow bigger, stronger, faster or is it just barely alive? We find out and, as usual, along the way, we learn:

• Why you can name drop real life people in a fictional TV show, but naming geographical formations is a no go
• What show that featured a “gorgeous” Six Million Dollar Man guest star had even more legendary opening credits
• Which not-so-famous and not-so-talented “singer” guest stars in the second worse episode of the series
• How Mr. Hand makes TV history
• The ideal double feature at your local gay porn theater
• What Washington DC and Southern California have in common landscape-wise…(hint: NOTHING)

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