Steve Austin Goes Toy Shopping

[RSS]

Seeing as it's Christmas time I thought it would be fun to bring up this vintage bit of strangeness. These captures from the fourth season of the Six Million Dollar Man, the episode is "The Bionic Christmas Carol". You see in 1974 Gerald Ford passed into law the "Dickens Act" which meant every TV show, no matter how ridiculous or nonsensical had to do their own adapatations of "A Christmas Carol". Fred Sanford was a good American, as was Doctor Johnny Fever and of course, Col. Steve Austin.

I won't bother with the specifics but in one key scene Steve follows Bob Crandall (oh brother) to a toy shop and of course, Steve wants to bring presents for the family. There is a lot of fun eye candy in the scene, you can see a nice GI Joe Adventure team set there and the Ideal Jaws game is prominently featured. However what can we see when Steve dramatically checks in on poor Bob with his bionic vision?



The horrible fourth wall breaking money shot! I ask you Plaidstallions readers, what is cheesier here, the shameless obvious Kenner toy plug or that fricking horrible, almost series wrecking porn moustache that Steve is rocking?

For more Fashion Mockery and 70's toy love visit us at Plaid Stallions.com


More...

[MIB41]

Yeah. We were talking about this very scene a couple of weeks back. This episode is now part of our essential holiday viewing in my household. I never had any problem with the mustache myself. Although that was a style most guys couldn't get away with, this wasn't the case for Lee Majors. The guy just personified "cool". I mean c'mon. The guy got away with running in slow motion with bell bottoms on! And those scenes STILL look cool today. It just exemplifies as unique Lee was... and still is!

[HardyGirl]

Yeah. We were talking about this very scene a couple of weeks back. This episode is now part of our essential holiday viewing in my household. I never had any problem with the mustache myself. Although that was a style most guys couldn't get away with, this wasn't the case for Lee Majors. The guy just personified "cool". I mean c'mon. The guy got away with running in slow motion with bell bottoms on! And those scenes STILL look cool today. It just exemplifies as unique Lee was... and still is!

Amen, and pass the biscuits!

[Saroyan]

Someone please remind me as to why no one has built a time machine for me to go back in time and buy all those cool toys???

[JediJaida]

Too cost prohibitive.

Doc Brown spent most of his family fortune just to build the flux capacitor, not to mention adapting the Delorean for its usage.

[kennermike]

Love this scene from the 4th season !

[Falstaff13]

I appreciate Ford's Law. How else can we get Michael Keaton as an 80s Scrooge on Family Ties or even last year's Doctor Who special (clearly, having the deal with BBC America left them having to fulfill it even as a British show). And that's not even beginning to discuss "X-Mas Marks the Spot" on The Real Ghostbusters, when time (and one would have to believe space) travel causes the Ghostbusters to capture the three spirits, keeping Scrooge from being redeemed.

[ddgaff1132]

Usually. Scenes like this are populated by No-Name generic toy types. Did they not have to get permission from toy companies to show products on camera, Or was this just considered gratous commercial time for toy products?

[slats7]

Usually. Scenes like this are populated by No-Name generic toy types. Did they not have to get permission from toy companies to show products on camera, Or was this just considered gratous commercial time for toy products?

Pretty sure they did have to get permission. Of course, Kenner would have been nuts to turn down free product placement on a Top 5 tv show.

[palitoy]

I do TV placement almost every week these days for work, you have to sign a release form, it's a pretty simple clearance issue.