(TV Show) Six Million Dollar Man - Bigfoot
In the 1970's, the Six Million Dollar Man starring Lee Majors as Steve Austin (Not Stone Cold Steve Austin) was a major hit with the younger generation at the time, as well as many older folks.
The below information is taken from the Bionic Wiki concerning Bigfoot's appearance on the show.
Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is an alien cyborg created by a group of aliens visiting earth; he was constructed by the alien Shalon in imitation of a lower form of life from the alien home world, using a technology called "Nyosynthetics," an advanced form of Bionics which are powered by Mergeron. He was created to cultivate mystery and fear in a remote part of the Pacific Northwest in order to protect the location and identity of the alien's secret base.
Ivan and Marlene Bekey are in the mountains near San Angelo, California, installing earthquake sensors. They detect a volcanic vent in a mountain not known to have any volcanic activity, but then, to Steve and Oscar, mysteriously vanish. Tom Raintree, a geology specialist, recognizes a footprint left by the Sasquatch, which Steve and Oscar believe was a myth. After Sasquatch disrupts the base camp and leaves another footprint, Steve follows the prints up the mountains, unaware he is being observed by curious alien scientists.
After a short skirmish between Steve and Sasquatch, the beast quickly runs off after Steve rips off an arm, discovering Sasquatch does not have a biological link to that arm. Steve follows it into the mountain and is restrained and studied by the alien scientists who Sasquatch protects.
The Secret of Bigfoot (Part II)
Steve finds friendship with Shalon, the alien who created Sasquatch, but must again confront Sasquatch to prevent Shalon from disarming a nuclear bomb that will cause a man-made earthquake needed to stop a more devastating quake. Steve and Sasquatch work together to rescue the aliens and restore power. The aliens, per their standard procedure, wipe Steve's memory of his visit to them, and his understanding of what Sasquatch really is.
A series of thefts seems to implicate bionics at work, and Steve as suspect. Steve sees a footprint on the pavement that triggers a memory he cannot bring into focus. Eventually, one of the aliens, Gillian, makes contact with Steve, restores his memory of the encounter, and tells him that a breakaway group is using Sasquatch to steal things for their own fortress. Sasquatch is being coerced by the rebel group, threatening to harm Shalon if he disobeys.
Shalon figures out what the breakway group is building and what they still need. Steve beats Sasquatch there and confronts the beast, but when his bionics are damaged, Steve receives a fatal does of radiation from them. Jamie has to pick up the effort, even as Oscar and Rudy continue to doubt the whole story.
The Return of Bigfoot (Part II)
Jamie finds the alien science outpost near San Angelo after a brief skirmish with Sasquatch; Gillian takes Jamie to an isolated part of the Mexican coast so she can try to penetrate the rebel outpost, while Gillian takes alien medicine to Steve to treat him for the radiation. After Steve recovers, he and Gillian head to join Jaime, and once Jaime gets free, she grabs the remote device used to order Sasquatch around, assuring the beast that Shalon cannot be harmed by the rebels. Sasquatch, Steve and Jaime work together to terminate a violent volcanic event using the aliens' time-acceleration technology. Once again, Steve and Sasquatch end up working together.
Sasquatch is discovered by a wildlife biologist, sleeping in a chamber where the alien outpost used to be. He reacts violently to being awoken. When Rudy arrives, he discovers Sasquatch is changing from being partly nyosynthetic to being all biological, but needs to finish before he will be stable emotionally. That will take a few more years.
Deconstructed
Bigfoot was played by two different actors, well known for their extraordinary height. André the Giant originated the role in the initial two-parter followed by Ted Cassidy in all subsequent appearances.
Character played by: André the Giant
"The Secret of Bigfoot" "The Secret of Bigfoot (Part II)
Character played by: Ted Cassidy (Lurch from Addams Family)
"The Return of Bigfoot" "Bigfoot V" "The Return of Bigfoot (Part II)"
Real World
Bigfoot/Sasquatch is a legendary man-like creature believed to live in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Trivia
A scene from "The Secret of Bigfoot" was recreated for the 2004 TV movie, Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Charlie's Angels' with Ben Browder playing Lee Majors (playing Austin) and John DeSantis as Bigfoot. DeSantis is only credited as "Bigfoot," not Andre the Giant nor Ted Cassidy. Like Cassidy before him, DeSantis is also best known for playing the character of Lurch, in The New Addams Family, a series produced in the late 1990s.
Bigfoot was an extremely popular character, and one of only three televised villains to receive his own Bionic Bigfoot action figure (Fembots and Dr. Dolenz's robot, "Mr. "X", were also so honored).
