In May 1977 'Ladies Home Journal' published results of a survey the magazine conducted of 1000 teenagers from grades one through 12 asking them, "If you could be any famous person in the world today, who would you be?" The girls voted to be Farrah Fawcett (1); Lindsay Wagner (3) and Kate Jackson (10). The boys voted to be Lee Majors (1), Jimmy Carter (2) and Gerald Ford (5).
Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner played the nuclear-powered bionic pair of Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers who could run 60 miles an hour and performed pole vault. Lee told the press in 1975, "Unfortunately, kids will always try to ape hero figures. I remember the number of injuries that occurred when 'Batman' series was around. And the number of kids injured when they thought they could fly like 'Mary Poppins'. I don’t know how you overcome this problem other than keep a close watch on kids with vivid imaginations. I would ask that the parents of such kids stress to them that they mustn’t try to do what they see their TV heroes are doing on screen. They must warn them they will almost certainly get hurt."
Lindsay Wagner spoke to Peter McDonald in 1978, "A successful series gives you the freedom, the power within the industry to do things you want – but you’re so locked into it, it’s impossible to do them. It’s a mad circle. I think I’m more objective about my whole life now. I recognize the need for balance, and that work can’t be your entire life." One critic observed, "'The Bionic Woman' was a smash hit of the new (1975-76) mid-season television schedule even before the first episode was shown. And, ironically, Lindsay Wagner had become famous in the role before the first script was penned for her new series. Lindsay Wagner captured the public attention when she guest starred on 'The Six Million Dollar Man' (in March 1975). The ratings soared."
Kenneth Johnson remembered, "ABC reran the original episodes where I introduced her on 'Six Million Dollar Man' and said, 'Tune in next week for 'The Return of The Bionic Woman!' It seemed like all of America watched because the ratings for 'Six Million Dollar Man' shot up into the Top 10 for the first time and stayed there." On 'The Bionic Woman', producer Lionel Siegel stated, "Our show will get into the mysteries of the origins of mankind."
"The quest for identity - the person who is struggling to find out who am I by all sort of maladjustments, all sort of quarrels, all sort of encounters - is always a violence quest," Marshall McLuhan reminded. "It's a series of adventures and encounters that creates all sort of disturbance. I don't think you have to go very far in literature, for example Ovid, I suppose.
"Don Quixote is a great popular hero and 'Flash Gordon' and 'Superman'...'The Bionic Man', 'The Bionic Woman' - these are vicarious forms of violence in which young people are trying to discover who am I? I once asked to my granddaughter who was then 6, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' and she said instantly, 'Bionic Woman'. This is a kind of violence that permits you to discover who you are."
Lindsay maintained, "I feel strongly about remaining in television because it is the most influential of the media. There are so many opportunities available that aren't being taken. So much can be done in television once people in the industry begin to care about something besides bucks and ratings." Lindsay insisted in 1984, "Before doing another series, I wanted a project that would help mold minds and contribute to society.
"Most shows pay too little attention to quality, content and values. I can't look at my work simply as a means of making a living because what I do is seen by millions of viewers and it can affect their lives. I feel responsible for that impact. All performers and the industry as a whole have a responsibility to give the public something good and not rationalize or neglect the fact that TV is the most impactful medium on Earth – more so than schools, churches and parents."
Of 'Charlie's Angels', Jaclyn Smith made the point, "So many stories were exaggerated or untrue. We were just 3 girls on the screen in a slick, glamorous show. 'Charlie's Angels' got so much media hype. People say there was no reality to it. The whole thing was so overanalyzed … Granted, it wasn't Shakespeare." Producer Brett Garwood told Kitty MacNab, "When it came out it was a whole new novel idea. Women were just as big fans as men were.
"The show was filled with action and it had all the elements for success – even the attractive clothes. On Wednesday nights our 'Charlie's Angels' was a real winner and we were averaging a 34% share of the market. We never wanted to go to Sunday nights in its 5th year. But against the CBS line-up of comedies on Sunday nights we knew we were in trouble."
In 1977, Patrick Duffy played the last surviving citizen of the mythical underwater city of Atlantis. He told the press, "I heard a horror story – that someone was daring Lindsay Wagner to lift up a car. They saw her on the street and were adamant that they wanted to see her lift a car! In my most paranoid moments, I fear that some kid will go under the water and try to breathe. I want everyone to know I can’t breathe underwater!" He also made the comment, "I'm jealous of the other guys sometimes. They wear wet suits and oxygen tanks. I practically freeze – and I needed a scuba certificate for that."
Between 1973 and 1978, Richard Anderson could be seen on both 'The Six Million Dollar Man' and 'The Bionic Woman'. Richard made the observation, "Lindsay was ahead of everybody. She was ahead of her time … She was one of the first woman with her own dramatic series of that time. That took a long time to see happen on TV. In 'The Six Million Dollar Man' I'm the Washington man. In 'The Bionic Woman', the Washington man.
"I don't think there's anything wrong with being typecast, if you are typecast in the right thing. I'm very grateful to Oscar Goldman. He's been very good to me." Of the series, Richard recognized, "It's a show that doesn't go away … People grew up, as you say, with the show. They have fond memories of it … They want a show that has adventure and action, but also has a medical message.
"'The Six Million Dollar Man' started out on Friday night at 8:00pm (from 1974-75) and then we moved to Sunday at 8:00pm (from 1975-78). That’s where we stayed for 3 years. Harve Bennett, the producer and writer of the show, told me he was doing some editing one day and the film was showing Steve Austin was walking fast somewhere in the scene and the editing machine got off center, it skipped and went into slow motion. By accident that famous opening and super feats all became slow motion. History was made by accident!"
"I don't think there's anything wrong with being typecast, if you are typecast in the right thing. I'm very grateful to Oscar Goldman. He's been very good to me." Of the series, Richard recognized, "It's a show that doesn't go away … People grew up, as you say, with the show. They have fond memories of it … They want a show that has adventure and action, but also has a medical message.
"'The Six Million Dollar Man' started out on Friday night at 8:00pm (from 1974-75) and then we moved to Sunday at 8:00pm (from 1975-78). That’s where we stayed for 3 years. Harve Bennett, the producer and writer of the show, told me he was doing some editing one day and the film was showing Steve Austin was walking fast somewhere in the scene and the editing machine got off center, it skipped and went into slow motion. By accident that famous opening and super feats all became slow motion. History was made by accident!"
