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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 258046" data-attributes="member: 23">The Six Million Dollar Man - Season Two The Bionic Woman (Parts I and II) <img src="https://tvseriesfinale.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/the-six-million-dollar-man-the-bionic-woman.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />This, I’m fairly certain is my most-watched episode of either series. For many years my go-to bionic adventure was this one, which I’d recorded on VHS from a Nineties airing on some satellite channel. Then came the DVDs, of course.Even so, watching this episode as a re-introduction to the franchise seems a little jarring. Viewed with this kind of objectivity, the cold opening - with Steve Austin pursuing some fraudsters to retrieve a stolen printing plate - feels very much like generic Seventies action fare. I must confess that for a few minutes I started to question if the re-watch was going to be an endurance test.Fortunately, all my doubts left me around four minutes into the episode when Steve drove into Ojai (the signs proclaiming it as the home of “astronaut Steven Austin” were a nice touch) and the energy changed to something that instantly felt special. Even before meeting our key figure for this journey, there’s plenty to engage the viewer. Steve buying a ranch; the small-town trope of word reaching his parents before he can tell them himself; the prosaic stuff of Steve getting the house ready and spending time with his folks. What better way to get to know Jamie’s friends and allies in Ojai than seeing them interacting as a family?  It also creates a sense that this is a moment of personal change for Steve himself, and that’s always helpful when it comes to “origin” stories. As I remember it, a strength of the Bionic series is that everything comes from a place of truth. Steve happens to be bionic, but he’s many other things, and coming home this way explores those other things. We’ve seen him in action, but now we see him as a person and it all gives meaning. Yes, there are little moments of “pocket bionics”, such as moving Helen’s fridge or mowing his lawn at super speed, but the most watchable and timeless moments of both these introductory episodes are those which involve simple human interactions which are nicely written and played. It’s lovely to see Martha Scott as Steve’s mother, Helen Elgin. I don’t know if it’s because she’s firmly entrenched in my mind as a future Dallas guest-star (Sue Ellen’s pushy, social climbing mother no less), but her gentle performance here paired with her tendency to fret and call people “dear” reminded me very much of Donna Reed’s Miss Ellie. In the best way possible. Ford Rainey is an assuring presence as Steve’s stepfather Jim Elgin, making his debut here as an expansion of the franchise’s numerous quietly dependable men. “I’ll be right back” he tells both Helen and Steve at different stages of his mission to buy tobacco in town. And he’s as good as his word. Things get better still with the arrival of Jaime Sommers. Something I always underestimate is just how charismatic and lively Lindsay Wagner is and how magnetic a screen presence she has. The balance is perfect. She’s perky and winsome - sexy even - while never being defined by these qualities. She can be strong and vulnerable. She’s immediately likeable and congenial, but - as seen in the latter stages of this story - not afraid to play against that for the sake of the story. The other players are solid character actors. Richard Anderson as the mostly-stolid Oscar Goldman was someone I saw in quite an avuncular light when I was young. Now, as then, it’s his spectacles that grab the most attention from his direction (I’m in awe of anyone who can pull off aviators. Sadly, I’m not one of them) while Anderson quietly and effectively does his stolid Oscar thing behind them. Allan Oppenheimer as Rudy Wells was a surprise, as I so associate the role with Martin E. Brooks on TBW series (I couldn’t help noticing that in addition to the moustache, Allen and Martin both have the same high cheekbones, so I suspect these are an intrinsic part of his character). Allan’s Rudy is very likeable. It’s a shame this is the one and only time I’ll see him this time round. continued...</blockquote>

Verification: Who played JR Ewing?