36 best science fiction TV series, ranked worst to first
By Shawn Lealos
Image: ABC
24. The Six Million Dollar Man
We have already talked about The Bionic Woman (ranked 34th), and now it is time to talk about the series that originated the character before she spun-off onto her own series. The Six Million Dollar Man starred Lee Majors in the role that made him a star.
Majors starred as Colonel Steve Austin, a former astronaut who suffers devastating injuries when an experimental aircraft he is in crashes. He is then saved and re-built by doctors and scientists, with bionic body parts replacing those that were destroyed — a $6 million surgery.
With a bionic right arm that gives him super strength, two bionic legs that give him super speed and leaping skills, and a bionic left eye that gives him zoom lens and infrared technology, he goes to work for Oscar Goldman and the government’s OSI as a secret agent.
This all started with three made for TV movies and then the science fiction TV series that ran for five seasons and 99 episodes from 1974 to 1978. It spawned The Bionic Woman series and a few more TV movies — including crossovers.
While the episodes where Steve Austin was working on government missions were great, seeing him do battle with Big Foot — portrayed by WWE legend Andre the Giant — was more than worth the price of admission.
Years after The Six Million Dollar Man last aired, the science fiction television series maintained a beloved spot in the hearts of fans, and Lee Majors even won the 2003 “Superest Superhero” award at the TV Land Awards.