The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1987 TV Movie) User Reviews

I would seriously NOT recommend becoming buddies with Steve

[tmitch-1 · 5/10 · 29 April 2006]

Did you ever notice that nearly EVERYONE who becomes buddies with Steve Austin ends up having the same sort of devestating triple-amputee accident that nearly finished him off in the first place? Jaime Sommers - Pro tennis player and extremely hot babe. Becomes enganged to Steve Austin... Splatto!! - loses three limbs and an ear in a sky-diving accident.

Michael Austin - Test pilot, estranged son of Steve Austin. Re-united and reconciled with his estranged dad, Steve Austin... Whammo!! - loses three limbs and an eye in a crash nearly identical to Dad's mishap.

Maximillion - Jaime's dog. Yes, that's right - even DOGS who get mixed up with Steve or Jaime end up on the operating room/chop shop table.

Campy and cheesy 1980s TV movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 22 August 2022]

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 1987 TV movie "Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" here in 2022, after having just watched the 1973 movie "The Six Million Dollar Man". So despite of never having heard about this 1987 TV movie, then I had a fair idea of what I was in for here.

The storyline in "Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman", as written by Michael Sloan and Bruce Lansbury, was fairly straight forward. It wasn't the most exciting or thrilling of storylines, I will say that much, but the movie was watchable enough for the cheesy concept that it was. And I am sure that fans of "The Six Million Dollar Man" or the "Bionic Woman" would find this movie much more enjoyable than I did.

The acting in the movie was adequate, with Lindsay Wagner and Lee Majors in the leading roles. I was pleasantly surprised to see the likes of Martin Landau and Bryan Cranston in a movie such as this.

The special effects in the movie were nothing outstanding or noteworthy, especially since there was essentially no special effects in use at all. Well, there was that strange 'bionic' sound going on whenever Jaime, Steve or Michael sprung into action.

"Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" was watchable enough for what it was, though I was only mildly entertained by this movie. I highly doubt, however, that I will ever return to watch the movie a second time.

My rating of director Ray Austin's 1987 TV movie "Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

The return of Col. Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers!

[Anewactor · 10 April 2005]

I grew up watching The Six Million Dollar Man & thoroughly enjoyed every episode of the series, including special appearances Lee Majors made on other shows. Like many youngsters of the era, I spent much of my time in front of the magic box, watching and "re-watching" my favorite shows; But always, SMDM was by far my favorite of them all! For me as a kid, it was more than simply watching a guy (& later a girl) perform superhuman feats of speed and strength. Here were folks who, with all their incredible powers, still remained human, being careful to use them only when totally necessary. To me at the time, that was nearly to the point of being a 'mentor' in a sense, being responsible in using such power. (I even remember joining the SMDM fan club!! LOL!!) In the "return" film, it was great to see Steve again, running in slow motion, leaping, lifting heavy things, etc. (In fact, in one of the scenes, it seems to me that he just may have increased in strength a bit, flipping a car over...with it rolling over at least several times!!.) In any case, it was fantastic to see Lee Majors & Lindsey Wagner back at it again, doing all the bionic stuff. The film was cool. Great nostalgiac stuff here to watch. Funny thing is, to me, it would have made more sense to have Lee Majors,Jr. to portray Steve Austin's son! Now that would'a been great! All in all, a very entertaining film to watch; Particularly to a 'forever' SMDM fan! Long live the Six Million Dollar Man & the Bionic woman!

Poor writing, lame plot lines, and lackluster acting

[andyofne · 3/10 · 15 August 2014]

I was a big fan as a kid growing up the 70s so I know I would have watched this when it aired on TV. But I missed out on this... very bad production... I was living overseas in the Navy watching old episodes of Air Wolf and Knight Rider, I suppose. I'm kinda glad I missed out on this.

Something silly I picked up on... the villains drive one of those monstrous station wagons (that were finally fading in popularity not long after 1987) and after Steve Austin rolls the first one (and Jamie kicked out the passenger door) the bad guys go out and get the exact model/color car as a replacement. Either that or they had it repaired mighty fast.

Sometimes it's best to put a show to bed and leave it alone. This was one of those times.

I do agree with the person who wrote about the music. What were they thinking?

Oh, and, Brian Cranston was in this show. I didn't even recognize him.

I enjoyed this reunion movie!

[GOWBTW · 10/10 · 27 January 2006]

Fans of both "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman", can rest assure this dream has come true. I've enjoyed both series, and having them back together would be a dream come true. I first heard about on "Entertainment Tonight" ahead of times. I was really jacked up to wait. When I saw the preview, I was ecstatic! With the updated scenes for the movie was fascinating and just watching it made it more fun. It was funny when Jamie(Lindsay Wagner) threw Steve(Lee Majors) out the window. But the excitement factor was better when Steve landed on the car giving Jamie a chance to escape, while Steve flipped the car, and the car took off after being flipped. Really peculiar! Now his son is a bionic, only he has a lethal laser in his right eye! Talk about out of sight. This reunion movie is out of sight, reliving the old show is great. Action, scifi shows do indeed make better reunion progresses than sitcoms ever will. Maybe... Now I'm going to get some metal pipes and NANANANANANANANANA!!!!!!!!!!!! BIONIC-SIZE THEM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rating 5 stars!

The over-use of explosives doesn't compensate for the lack of this film's talent.

[J-j-blade · 2/10 · 17 August 2014]

I think I'll start off by saying that I don't understand how the 1970s series was much better in every aspect. The music, the editing, the special-effects, the acting, the connection between the characters, the plots & the locations etc.

This movie was very hard to watch. I'm extremely surprised that the stars of the Bionic franchise even agreed to this script. It was as if the characters were completely different people, and as if they had never had any connection between them or history in the first place. Very sad to see.

The writing, editing, and score was so bad, it even made Lindsay Wagner's performance pale- and I find her to be one of the most talented actresses to date.

To sum it up: the over-use of guns and explosions did not compensate for the lack of integrity of the movie.

#Next

ALWAYS BEEN A BIG FAN!!!

[DaWeas007 · 8/10 · 2 August 2000]

Lee Majors as Colonel Austin has always been one of my favorite actors / characters!!! If you're a big fan like me, you'll be sure to enjoy this special. Ever since the Original Series went off the air, The three TV specials that aired, this being one of the three, really don't sum up the awe and power that the character of Steve Austin has. However, it was good to see Colonel Austin and his team back in Action, great action sequences and a captivating story-line, reminded me of the great 80s shows like Knight Rider, The A-Team, and countless others.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

He should have stayed away...

[Dolf · 3/10 · 5 January 1999]

This film should never have been made. That being said, I did think it was funny - only because of the poor acting, bad plot, and that fact that it was a Six Million Dollar Man remake.

The basic plot is that Steve Austin (Mr. Six Million himself)is asked to return to service by old boss Oscar Goldman. Austin refuses, even after they trot the Six Million Dollar Woman back onto the scene. She was supposed to marry Austin as one time, but got amnesia and only now remembers what they once meant to each other (gag). Anyway, it turns out Austin had a son he never knew about. The son gets hurt in an accident (of course - apparently everyone connected with Austin gets in a life-threatening accident) and Astin agrees to go back to work for Goldman if he will save his son by giving him some bionics.

This film should never have been made. That being said, I did think it was funny - only because of the poor acting, bad plot, and that fact that it was a Six Million Dollar Man remake.

This TV movie was made extremely cheaply. It shows in almost every shot. They still wear bad clothing and Jamie (Six Mil. Dollar Woman) has a really bad hairdo going on. The acting is incredibly bad all around. The only one who hasn't appeared to age 20 years is old man Goldman, who was old to start with.

Unless you REALLY like the Six Million Dollar Man, or just enjoy laughing at TV's attempts to rehash old shows over and over again, avoid this one. If you're in the mood for a laugh - this has 'em, but you probably won't last the whole movie.

The worst part? The music.

[ChairBoy · 13 September 1998]

Possibly the worst scored of all the Bionic Woman and Six Million Dollar Man shows and movies. The music is distracting, inappropriately timed, and bad.

Good for pre-teens, maybe

[rndhyd · 3/10 · 22 August 2021]

I'm surprised that I didn't know any movies were made of the $,6,000,0000 man. When I saw this this, downloaded it & watched it later.

I loved this show (1st-rerun) when I was 10.

This was really cheesy & corny. Plus it was slow-paced & just boring. There much not into the investigatgion of whatever crimes were happening.

The special effects were still almost nil. Particularly when running fast. Why didn't producers just speed up the film? Instead the running seemd slo-mo, but we were to expect that they actually runned ^X+ faster than actual seen.

I bookmarked the other biolepsy movies to watch later (after downloading elsewhere), but gloady deleted those. Forget it, no more interest. What was I thinkin as a 10-year old. Of course that's not comparable, especially w/tech now.

Sidenote on Bonanza -- I watched some reruns in early 70s -- liking it. I just watched watched a re-do movie. I had no interest. Other adults might.

Music please

[Cpt_Berns · 8/10 · 2 July 2005]

Was I glad to see some more of Steve and Jaime. I just loved the 1970's series. However I missed two things in all three reunion movies. First of all, I missed the 1970's look (furniture, clothes, cars, etc.) since I believe the 1970's was the ONLY decade that had style and taste (I hated the 1980's). But most importantly, where were the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman theme music? It was a mistake not to include the themes. In fact, almost all remakes/reunion movies used the theme of the original shows. Just look at Mission Impossible, The Saint, The Wild Wild West, The Avengers, SWAT, etc. They all used the themes of the shows those movies were based upon. It wouldn't be James Bond without the James Bond theme. Yet sadly in none of the SMDM-BW reunion movies the theme from either show was present.

Holds up pretty well

[Legen-waitforit-Dary · 8/10 · 22 February 2020]

If you can get your head into '80s mode' and accept the effects aren't going to be good this movie holds up surprisingly well.

The original cast as always work well, Martin Landau chews the scenery better than anybody ever has, and Tom Schanley fits the bill for a new Six Million Dollar Man. It's a pity that this attempted pilot never got the green light, a series based around Michael could have been a lot of fun and also given Schanley the limelight he has deserved throughout his career.

The mention in another review of the plot moving slowly is true but again it's a case of getting your head into '80s mode' (or before) and enjoying the journey through the set up, character creation, etc.

It won't be for everybody, but if 70s and 80s shows are your thing then I think you'll enjoy it. It is still a lot of fun.

Enjoyable reunion romp

[prdeller · 8/10 · 10 July 2021]

First thing I noticed from this is that the eighties really haven't aged any better than the seventies did really. Some of the music and the fashions and the hairstyles now look hideously dated- but somehow oddly nostalgic as well if you are someone who lived through those times. Did we really wear that? Did we really talk like that ? Yes. Yes we did. The film itself is solid enough and does a very good job of picking up where the TV shows ended. This is exactly where you imagined the two main characters would be ten years later. Jaime in particular is doing exactly the sort of work that you thought she would now be doing. It's not the most in-depth of plots and the main focus of the film is catching up with two of our most loved TV characters from our childhoods. Not a classic but if you are part of the generation that grew up with Steve and Jaime you'll probably like this.

No Truth In Advertising Here

[Ashshy · 24 April 2002]

My friends and I were on the hunt for a bad action B-movie for some popcorn fun, and Laser Force (that's the title in Sweden... yeah, those are English words. Your point?) seemed to fit the bill. Boy, were we wrong. The plot moves at the pace of frozen molasses, so do the action sequences, and the acting is consistently wooden. I never saw any lasers, nor any kind of force, and certainly no laser force... then again, the Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman appeared often enough. I wish they hadn't. Unless you're into soft, slow-motion shots of people running across summer meadows (fully clothed, sorry!), skip this one.

Too Fun For Words!

[kathyisafirefly · 8/10 · 2 February 2018]

When this movie is watched with the mind-set of, "This is going to be an awesome blast from the past!" it is great fun! It is so wonderfully awful! The plot, the acting, the 80's! We had so much fun watching it! After it was over, we decided someone needs to make an 80's spoof that is all about the A-Team getting into a crash in B.A.'s van, and everyone needs bionics to live. Then B.A.'s van is converted into a KITT-like car. And they become bounty hunters. You could get all the classics in one fell swoop...The A-Team, The Bionic Man, Knight Rider, and The Fall Guy...imagine the incredible fun that could be! Just watch it with the idea of enjoying the memories of when TV was wonderfully ridiculous and special.

A well thought out reunion movie - Spoilers

[sp27343 · 10 April 2003]

It funny about the original run of the SMDM, as it simply disappeared with a lot of loose ends. This movie tries to tie them together, but leaves the door open for future adventures. Its ten years later; Steve and Jamie are both retired from the OSI (even though they're both only in their mid 40's (I'd kind of like that option!)) and have moved to quieter surroundings. Steve's estranged son is horrifically injured in jet crash; a villian from the past shows up (Martin Landau in a throw away role); and Jamie & Steve bump into each other at a restaurant. In all it sounds kind of cheesey, BUT in this case it works. This movie was written, directed, and most of all acted with a great deal of heart. You can actually relate to Steve and Jamie's uneasiness about seeing each other, reconciling feelings, and working for Oscar Goldman again. Anyway; Steve's son gets rebuilt (the $7 Million Dollar Man?) by Oscar and Rudy, and Steve and Jamie catch up to the bad guy (Landau) and save the world. As I mentioned before, this movie has a great deal of heart and depth to it, and the producers should have stopped there. The two further sequel movies (Bionic Showdown, and Bionic Ever After) were pretty lame.