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==Production== ===Opening sequence=== The crash footage during the opening credits is from the [[Northrop M2-F2|M2-F2]] crash that occurred on May 10, 1967. Test pilot [[Bruce Peterson]]'s lifting body aircraft hit the ground at approximately {{convert|250|mph|kph|0|abbr=on}} and tumbled six times,<ref>{{cite web |title=1967 M2-F2 Crash at Edwards |url=http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NASA-803-1967 |website=Check-Six.com |access-date=14 April 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190729122348/http://www.check-six.com/Crash_Sites/NASA-803-1967 |archive-date=July 29, 2019}}</ref> but Peterson survived what appeared to be a fatal accident, though he later lost an eye to infection.{{refn|Video of the craft in flight, and oscillating as in the intro, can be seen at the NASA [[Dryden Flight Research Center]] site.<ref>{{cite web |title=NASA Dryden M2-F2 Movie Collection |url=http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Movie/M2-F2/index.html |website=Dryden Flight Research Center |publisher=NASA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216110539/http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Movie/M2-F2/index.html |archive-date=February 16, 2013 |url-status=dead |date=October 10, 2003}}</ref> The NASA web site, however, does not offer the video of the crash itself, only still photos of the wrecked M2-F2.|group="n"}} In the episode "The Deadly Replay", Oscar Goldman refers to the lifting body aircraft in which Austin crashed as the [[Northrop HL-10|HL-10]], stating, "We've rebuilt the HL-10." The HL-10 is the aircraft first seen in the original pilot movie before the accident flight. In the 1987 TV film ''[[The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman]]'', Austin refers to the craft as the "M3-F5", which was the name used for the aircraft that crashed in the original ''Cyborg'' novel. In the opening sequence, a narrator (series producer [[Harve Bennett]]) identifies the protagonist, "Steve Austin, astronaut. A man barely alive." Richard Anderson, in character as Oscar Goldman, then intones off-camera, "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will ''be'' that man. Better than he was before. Better . . . stronger . . . faster." During the first season, beginning with "Population: Zero", Anderson, as Goldman, intoned more simply, "We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better . . . stronger . . . faster." During the operation, as his bionics are being fitted, a list of items and numbers is displayed and lists his power plant as "atomic". ===Theme music=== The opening and closing credits of the ''Wine, Women & War'' and ''The Solid Gold Kidnapping'' telefilms used a theme song written by Glen A. Larson,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/dusty-springfield|title=Dusty Springfield |website=[[Rock & Roll Hall of Fame]] |access-date= September 17, 2018|quote=In 1973, however, she recorded the theme song for the television series The Six Million Dollar Man.}}</ref> and sung by [[Dusty Springfield]], backed by Ron "Escalade" Piscina. This song was also used in the initial promotion of the series. However, when the weekly series began, the song was replaced by an instrumental theme by [[Oliver Nelson]]. The first regular episode, "Population: Zero", introduced a new element to the opening sequence: a voiceover by Oscar Goldman stating the rationale behind creating a bionic man. The first season narration and opening credits arrangement of Nelson's theme were shorter than that used in the second and subsequent seasons. ===Steve Austin's bionics=== [[File:Six million dollar man 1973.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|A demonstration of Austin's superhuman strength]] To maintain the show's plausibility, producer [[Kenneth Johnson (producer)|Kenneth Johnson]] set very specific limits on Steve Austin's abilities. He elaborated, "When you're dealing with the area of fantasy, if you say, 'Well, they're bionic so they can do whatever they want,' then it gets out of hand, so you've got to have really, really tight rules. [Steve and [[Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman)|Jaime]]] can jump up two stories but not three. They can jump down three stories but not four."<ref name="Back70">{{cite journal |last=Glenn |first=Greenberg |author-link=Glenn Greenberg |title=The Televised Hulk |journal=[[Back Issue!]] |publisher=[[TwoMorrows Publishing]] |issue=70 |pages=19β20 |date=February 2014}}</ref> Austin's superhuman enhancements are: * A '''bionic left eye''': : It has a 20.2:1 zoom lens along with a night vision function (as well as the restoration of normal vision). The figure of 20.2:1 is taken from the faux computer graphics in the opening credits; the figure 20:1 is mentioned twice in the series, in the episode "Population: Zero" and "Secret of Bigfoot". Austin's bionic eye also has other features, such as an infrared filter used frequently to see in the dark and also to detect heat (as in the episode "The Pioneers"), and the ability to view humanoid beings moving too fast for a normal eye to see (as in the story arc "The Secret of Bigfoot"). One early episode shows the eye as a deadly accurate targeting device for his throwing arm. : In Caidin's original novels, Austin's eye was depicted as simply a camera (which had to be physically removed after use) and Austin remained blind in the eye. Later, Austin gained the ability to shoot a laser from the eye. The [[Charlton Comics]] comic book spin-off from the series also established that Austin's bionic eye could shoot a laser beam (as demonstrated in the first issues of the color comic), but neither function was shown on television. * '''Bionic legs''': : These allow him to run at tremendous speed and make great leaps. Austin's upper speed limit was never firmly established, although a speed of {{convert|60|mph|kph|0|abbr=on}} is commonly quoted since this figure is shown on a speed gauge during the opening credits. The highest speed ever shown in the series on a speed gauge is {{convert|67|mph|kph|0|abbr=on}} in "The Pal-Mir Escort"; however, the later revival films suggested that he could run approximately {{convert|90|mph|kph|0|abbr=on}}. A faster top speed is possible, as an episode of the ''Bionic Woman'' spin-off entitled "Winning Is Everything" shows female cyborg Jaime Sommers outrunning a race car going {{convert|100|mph|kph|0|abbr=on}}. In "Secret of Bigfoot" it is stated that he can leap {{convert|30|ft|m}} high. In the later TV movies, Austin is shown leaping heights that clearly appear to be far in excess of this. * A '''bionic right arm''': : It has the equivalent strength of a [[bulldozer]]; that the arm contains a [[Geiger counter]] was established in "Doomsday and Counting", the sixth episode of the first season. The implants have a major flaw in that extreme cold interferes with their functions and can disable them given sufficient exposure. However, when Austin returns to a warmer temperature, the implants quickly regain full functionality. The first season also established that Austin's bionics malfunction in the [[micro-gravity]] of space, though Austin's bionics are later modified to rectify this. The bionic eye is vulnerable to ultrasonic attack, resulting in blindness and dizziness. It is not explained how Austin's organic body is able to withstand the stress of either bionic hardware weight or performance of superhuman feats. To indicate to viewers that Austin was using his bionic enhancements, sequences with him performing superhuman tasks were presented in [[slow-motion]] and accompanied by an electronic "dit dit dit dit" sound effect.<ref name="Back70"/> (This characteristic sound effect was actually first used in season 1 episode 4, "Day of the Robot", not during use of Austin's bionics but with the robotic clone of Major Fred Sloan, played by actor [[John Saxon]], during the final fight scene.) When the bionic eye was used, the camera zoomed in on Austin's face, followed by an extreme close-up of his eye; his point of view usually included a crosshair motif accompanied by a beeping sound-effect. In early episodes, different ways of presenting Austin's powers were tested, including a heartbeat sound effect that predated the electronic sound, and in the three original made-for-TV movies, no sound effects or slow-motion were used, with Austin's actions shown at normal speed (except for his running, which used trick photography); the slow-motion portrayal was introduced with the first hour-long episode, "Population: Zero".
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