The Six Million Dollar Man (1974–1978): Season 5, Episode 11 - The Cheshire Project - full transcript
FLIGHT COM:
It looks good at NASA One.
B-52 >PILOT:
Roger.
BCS Arm switch is on.
FLIGHT COM:
Okay, Victor.
B-52 PILOT:
Landing Rocket Arm switch is on.
Here comes the throttle.
Circuit breakers in.
STEVE:
We have separation.
B-52 PILOT:
Inboard and outboards are on.
I'm comin' forward with the side stick.
FLIGHT COM:
Looks good.
PILOT:
Ah, Roger.
STEVE:
I've got a blowout in damper three.
SR-71 PILOT:
Get your pitch to zero.
STEVE:
Pitch is out. I can't hold altitude!
B-52 PILOT: Correction. Alpha Hold is oil“.
Threat selector is emergency.
STEVE: Flight Com. I can't hold it!
She's breaking up! She's breaking...
ANNOUNCER:
Steve Austin. Astronaut.
A man barely alive.
Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.
We have the technology.
We have the capability
to make the world's first bionic man.
Steve Austin will be that man.
Better than he was before.
Better, stronger, faster.
(MAIN TITLE THEME)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
HI, Steve.
Sorry I'm late, Rudy.
Where's Oscar?
He's supposed to be with you.
He had to cancel out.
Emergency meeting
with the Secretary.
But this is heavy stuff.
Rudy, next to Oscar, you're the heaviest
man in the O.S.I., so stop worrying.
Okay. Arthur.
Steve, this is Arthur Vail,
Project Manager on Cheshire.
Mr. Vail.
And Jenny's in the hangar.
Oh, good.
Hi.
Steve!
Mmm. Long time.
Too long.
Worth waiting for?
You bet.
VAIL: You two know each other?
Yes.
Miss Fraser and I,
we've been involved in other projects.
So this is the Cheshire Project?
Mmm-hmm.
Yeah. Now you see it,
now you don't.
Climb up. I'll show it to you.
Now this is the power unit
and that's the force field generator.
And that's why
we need a small test pilot.
You mean this thing really works?
The important thing is it makes
the airplane radar invisible.
Nice and cozy for the Air Force.
Hundreds of planes could sweep down
over a target without warning.
Oh, thanks, Hal.
Steve, Hal Martin.
Arthur's assistant.
He handled the telemetry.
Glad to meet you, Colonel.
Pleasure.
These are the test results of the last three
ground trials on the backup plane.
Here's a picture of the plane
with the force field on.
STEVE: Then it's not invisible.
The important thing is
it's 100 percent radar invisible...
according to all computer studies.
Or tomorrow's test will tell.
STEVE: What time is the test?
0800.
Well, that gives us plenty of time.
Perhaps Jenny and I can
have a little dinner...
and she could explain
the details of the test to me.
Yeah. I think that would be
a practical use of our time.
(SOFT JAZZ PLAYS)
Thank you for
remembering the wine.
It's the same year.
It tasted different under
the stars in Hawaii.
Maybe the wine
doesn't travel well.
It's a California wine.
That was the night you decided
to enter the hang gliding contest.
And, uh, I really sweated out
all that next day.
Yeah, but I won.
Yeah, you won.
That was the last time I saw you.
Well, you were off to Alaska
doing that magnetic survey anyway.
That was three days away.
If I had waited three days, I would have
missed the air show in Paris.
Oh.
(SIGHS)
Why do we have conflicting jobs?
I asked myself that
during those three days.
I had some questions, too.
I kept thinking, why can't I be
like the girl next door...
who makes meat leaf
and apple pie.
Somehow, I just don't
picture you with meat loaf.
If I'd been one of those girls,
you never would have looked at me.
But I make terrific scrambled eggs.
I remember.
I really logged a lot of hours
thinking about you.
I'll match my log book
against yours anytime.
You know what's wrong with this place?
What?
No starlight.
My hotel is serving
dinner on the patio.
I know it's not Hawaii,
but it's a lot closer to where we left off.
What do you think?
That sounds terrific.
Let's hurry. I have an
early flight tomorrow.
You got it.
(SLURRING)
Uh, hi.
Hi.
Oh, hi. I guess you want to get
your car out of there, huh?
That's the general idea.
I guess we can work that out
if you'll help me find my ignition key.
Why did you pick this spot
to lose your keys?
It's not as dumb as it seems.
You see, I got in my car
and I was driving...
and I remembered something
so I got out of my car...
and I lost my key.
And after I lost my key,
I forgot what I was trying to remember!
It's lucky for everybody
that you lost your key...
because I don't think you're
in any condition to drive.
What do you mean I'm in no... condition?
If you don't know what he means,
then you're in no condition.
Hey, that makes some sense, doesn't it?
Oh, hey. She's beautiful.
You're beautiful.
You remind me of my wife.
You're so different.
Uh... my wife!
She's got another set of car keys.
I think I'll call her.
Oh, that's a good idea.
Why don't I call her and then
I'll have her come down and pick you up?
Okay. It's 555-2426,
if I can find a dime.
No, no, no. We've got it.
Here. I got it.
555-2426.
Thank you.
Oh, she's classy.
She's a classy girl.
Why don't you just sit in the car here
and relax till she gets back, huh?
Okay.
Oh, look! Look at what I've found!
Right here, you sneaky little devil.
It's a key car.
Car key.
I'll get in now.
Wait, you can't drive.
Wait a minute.
What do you mean I can't drive?
Who says I can't?
(ENGINE SPUTTERS)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(THUMP)
(ENGINE STARTS)
Ooh!
How you doing?
Oh, fine.
You going to make it
home all right?
Oh, yeah, I just go down
to the bottom of the this hill...
Okay, back it up.
Okay.
She's on her way.
What happened?
Ah, you know drunks.
(HONKS TWICE)
(PHONE RINGS)
Damien here.
MAN: Glad you're still there.
You're late.
Sony. Wells just left.
This is the first chance I've had.
Everything's ready here.
You know they have you
under surveillance?
Nothing to worry about.
I'll slip them tonight.
How about the girl?
The test pilot?
Don't worry about her.
Once she takes off tomorrow,
they'll never see her again.
(BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT)
(BOMB TICKING)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
But why the backup plane?
If they wanted to stop the test...
they could've sabotaged
the one Jenny's gonna fly.
We better go over every
rivet on the test plane.
I wish I could fly this mission.
You saw the cockpit.
Jenny barely fits in.
No way you could make it.
I could try.
Steve, she knows the program.
She's worked it through with Vail.
She's prepared.
All right.
Why don't you reschedule
the test for nine o'clock?
In the meantime,
Jenny can show me the plane.
What's the matter, male chauvinist?
Don't you trust me to do
my own per-flight check?
Didn't I read somewhere
where two heads are better than one?
Rudy, what am I gonna do
with a man with two heads?
Radar checks out.
Instrumentation ready.
Just fly the test schedule.
Don't be a hero, huh?
You really are a chauvinist,
aren't you?
Last night was fun.
Yeah. I'll watch you
from the Test Center.
Okay. Aloha.
Let's put an identifying fix
on our target.
Steve, come on in.
That's Jenny's plane.
We can also watch her
on the monitor.
CONTROLLER: O.S.I. Test One,
you are cleared to takeoff to test area "Yb".
O.S.I. Test One, cleared for takeoff.
There's a lot of buffeting.
Airspeed's about where
the computer predicted.
Jenny can handle it.
When we run the next test,
I'd like a camera ship alongside.
You can fly that, Steve.
O.S.I. Test One, Test Base.
Roger, we have you on radar.
Climb 1,200 feet a minute.
Air speed 150 knots.
Altimeter 4,000.
She'll level at six.
JENNY: O.S.I. Test One to Test Control.
VAIL: Test Control to OS! Test One,
go ahead, Jenny.
Tell Steve I'm almost high
enough to see the Sauna Loa.
Say again. I didn't understand
your last transmission.
JENNY: You weren't meant to.
Coming up on 6,000.
Leveling off.
Level at six.
Am now going on auto pilot.
Looks good here.
Everything is go, Jenny.
Jenny, you're not there to make history.
Any sign of trouble, abort,
return back to the field.
JENNY: Rudy, tell the chauvinist
Colonel that, like certain wines...
his instructions don't travel well.
Is that a private joke?
Uh, no joke.
I have now engaged the
gamma phase generator.
Standing by to energize.
VAIL: Energize.
It's working.
We clock the operation time
of the gamma generator.
Telemetry's dead.
It's supposed to be.
We can't get through that
force field she generates.
How do we communicate?
We have a powerful VHF directional
antenna that could blast through.
But we don't need it.
This test is scheduled to last 30 seconds.
She's got five to go.
STEVE: Why doesn't she register?
Her blip should be on
the radar screen right now.
Where is she?
Why doesn't she show?
Give me the coordinates
of her last position.
And plot a line
33 seconds from there.
O.S.I. Test One, from Test Center.
Jenny, do you copy? O.S.I.Test One.
Come in, Jenny.
Come in.
It's been over a minute.
Jenny, can you read me?
Jenny, switch off. Switch off.
Mojave Control, this is Air Search
Tango-Two-Niner.
No sign of OS! Test One in area "Yb".
CONTROL: Tango-Two-Niner,
break off from area "Yb"...
and proceed to vector 3-5-6.
PILOT: That's a roge.
Tango-Two-Niner.
Our search pattern has covered all the
designated areas that you've suggested.
And you found nothing?
Absolutely nothing.
How about the Coachella area?
Our calculations show that
that would be the most likely place.
Mr. Wells, we have covered all of
Sector "Yb" and 15 miles beyond.
No wreckage. Nothing.
Break off the search.
Thank you, General.
We'll try another approach.
If the plane blew up in this area,
the wreckage has got to be in that area.
But they didn't find a thing!
Maybe it totally disintegrated.
Nothing in the test program
indicated that it would.
Could buffeting have torn it apart?
No.
Then maybe the plane didn't explode,
she just couldn't communicate.
One way to find out what happened.
I'll fly the backup plane.
Duplicate her flight pattern.
No way. I'm not taking a chance
with the backup plane.
Rudy, forget the hardware.
What about Jenny?
Easy. I'm worried
about Jenny, too.
Colonel, you wouldn't fit.
The backup unit is just as
crowded as the prime unit.
All right. It has automatic pilot.
We'll fly it by remote control.
Colonel, it's untried, and to take
a risk with the only other unit is...
Look, we're risking Jenny.
I want to know what happened.
If there's a chance of finding her,
I'm gonna take it.
CONTROLLER: O.S.I. Test 7,
drone and helicopter.
You are cleared for takeoff
and proceed to Test Area Yb.
Are you ready?
Telemetry's perfect.
Energize.
Well, we know closing
the circuit didn't blow it.
All right, we've proven that.
Let's de-energize, bring it back to the field,
and let me look over the...
There's your answer.
But why didn't it blew up
during the ground tests?
Why don't you
check the wreckage?
Hadn't we better let the crash
investigating team handle this?
I want that flight recorder.
I want to know what
happened to that plane.
The main part of the
fuselage is over there.
Colonel, it'll take
a derrick to get it out.
I'll take a look.
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(METAL CREAKING)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(RUSTLING)
STEVE: Here's her last known position.
Since there was no wreckage,
she didn't blow up.
Do you have any ideas?
She was carrying a limited supply
of fuel, due to the added weight.
That's a range of
approximately 100 miles.
On her last known track, that would
carry her somewhere near Bakersfield.
Let's assume the force
field knocked her out.
She's unconscious.
You're assuming the plane is intact.
That's a large assumption.
Look, Steve, I called our
Washington office.
I asked for every scrap of information we
ever had on the project to be put on the line.
We'll get a computer analysis,
we'll try to find a lead.
Rudy, until they come up with something,
this is the only way to proceed.
We draw a circle
100 miles in diameter.
Then cover north to Bakersfield...
east to Barstow,
south to Long Beach...
west to Santa Barbara.
We'll have to cover some of the
Channel Islands down here, too.
Do you know how long it would take
to search an area that large?
Anything on that flight recorder?
Not yet. Dr. Vail took it.
Where?
To the hangar. He said
he wanted to work on it alone.
But you're the telemetry man.
Yeah, but he's the
project manager.
All right, stay with him,
see if he comes up with anything.
Right.
(LOW HUMMING)
What can we do for you, Colonel?
I'm looking for any UFO reports...
explosions or brilliant lights in the sky
in the last two hours within 100 mile radius.
UFOs are generally reported at night.
What's this all about?
I'm sorry, sir.
But it's classified.
But we need to know immediately.
Any strange reports,
anything in the UFO category.
But believe me, General, it's vital.
All right, Colonel.
We'll get the word to all controllers,
flight service stations, and observers.
Thank you.
It'll take days to get this sorted out.
Well, it won't be easy.
(DOOR OPENS)
Did Dr. Vail come back?
You said he was in the hangar.
He told me he was going there.
(PHONE RINGS)
Wells here.
When was that?
You're sure about that?
Give me a picture of Damien.
Last night, a call was placed from Vail's
office to Wilfred Damien in New Orleans.
There he is.
Damien has been involved in dozens
of thefts of military secrets...
from our government and others.
This morning, he flew to Los Angeles,
he checked into the Bonaire Hotel.
A call was placed from
this office to the Bonaire.
Shortly after that, Damien disappeared,
he evaded our security.
Both planes gone.
What does Vail have to sell?
That's what I'm going to find out.
(PHONE RINGS)
Yeah?
It's for you.
Austin here.
Where?
Are those the only two?
Right. Thank you.
Two UFO sightings.
One, a maiden lady in Santa Maria...
who claims a man with eleven hooves
tried to lure her into a saucer.
The other was a highway
patrolman in Coachella, though.
He said he saw
something very low...
going fast and
could've been the airplane...
(INTERCOM BUZZES)
of the description he put out.
You're sure?
On my way.
They found Vail, unconscious.
Keep digging.
The answer to this mess has
gotta be in those computer reports.
Colonel, I was a fool.
Deal with a man like Damien, and you
always end up with your head in your hands.
Damien?
Wilfred Damien.
International wheeler-dealer
in dirty tricks.
He's after the gamma generator.
So that's why?
STEVE: What?
Not me.
It had to be Hal he was dealing with.
When I found nothing wrong
with the flight recorder...
and wanted to go into the computer
analysis of the tests...
Hal attacked me.
Hal did this?
More precisely,
the wrench he hit me with.
O.S.I., priority.
I want Hal Martin picked up immediately,
he is not to get off this base.
What?
Right.
He left the base 10 minutes ago.
The answer's got to be
those computer test records.
Maybe Hal tampered
with the reports.
I've to check that computer.
No, no, no. You stay here.
At least for a couple hours observation.
Just hang in there.
I'm going to search for Jenny myself.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(GROANS)
Steve!
Oh god.
What happened?
It was a nightmare.
I couldn't see.
I was literally flying blind.
I don't know howl got out
of the plane before it crashed.
Are you all right?
Oh yeah. Oh,
I'm so happy to see you.
Are you alone?
Where's Rudy?
Yeah, he's back at the base.
Come on. Let's get out of here.
(MOANS)
What about him?
He'll be all right. Come on.
I've got a plane just over the hill.
I'm afraid not.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Don't cut off the circulation,
just make it good and tight.
Steve, please understand.
I've got to keep you out of the way.
As wholesome as apple pie.
Loyal, courageous, trustworthy...
None of that changes the way
I feel about you.
(TIRES SCREECH)
JENNY: There they are.
My partner and my client
right on time.
Everything secure?
Why are you doing this, Jenny?
That's such a silly
question to ask, honestly.
I know this probably doesn't
mean much, at this point...
but I really do love you, Steve,
please believe me.
Of course I believe you.
Doesn't everybody that loves
somebody stick a gun in their face?
Good bye.
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
Mr. Damien...
I'd like you to meet
a member of our team.
Mr. Damien, Jenny Fraser, test pilot.
She'll demonstrate the device for you.
How do you do, Ms. Fraser?
How do you do, Mr. Damien?
The device is clumsy.
It can't be aerodynamically sound.
Well, in the production model...
we can reduce the extra weight and then
there'd be no effect on the air speed.
But the important thing is
the radar invisibility.
Even old World War One planes
could score a smashing victory...
if they could get to the target
without being detected.
You ask a great deal of money.
It's a great weapon.
Let me set up the radar for you.
I have my own.
Stoner, get the radar scope.
Yes, sir.
My own scope.
So there will now be
no possibility of deceit.
You wanna get a closer look?
Go ahead, get closer.
It's all right, Mr. Damien.
What Colonel Austin sees here
will never be reported.
You said you tied him up.
I did. I don't know
how he get loose.
I was trying to protect you.
What're you doing here?
I see what you're doing,
but what I don't understand is why?
One million dollars is why.
How many Hawaiian
sunsets will that buy you...
with every agency in
the world looking for you?
It wasn't supposed to be like that.
Plane was supposed to have disappeared,
never to be found.
You spoiled that.
Now your friend is going to spoil me.
Miss Fraser...
it's already late.
We must be in Mexico before dark.
Here is your first payment,
50,000 dollars...
now please proceed with your job.
We'll start the test.
Take care of him.
No!
Hey! Lock him up, tie him up!
Do anything you want, but don't kill him!
There's no time to be sentimental.
We've come too far.
Then you fly the test.
You hurt him, I'm through.
I mean that, Hal.
Jenny, we've spent too much time
setting this up to blow it now.
We're not safe as long as he's alive.
You kill him, you might as well kill me,
because I will not fly that plane.
You locked him up before
and he broke out!
Well, there's an empty storage room
in the mess building that's airtight.
It's strong enough
to hold King Kong.
Hey, don't let your love for me to blind
you to the possibility of suffocation.
We'll get you an oxygen bottle.
I'll make the demonstration...
I'll cross the Mexican border
and radio his position.
They'll find him in plenty of time.
By the time I radio, you'll be able
to get out of here. Agreed?
Three hours supply,
if used sparingly.
I know you don't understand.
But one million dollars
has a lovely sound to it.
50,000 dollars,
just for pocket money.
The rest is gonna be put in
a Swiss bank after the demonstration.
I'd love to share it with you.
I know you're too square
to consider it.
But, if you weren't the way you are,
I wouldn't love you.
Goodbye, Steve.
You're a patriot, too.
A patriot with a brilliant future?
Like Vail's?
Maybe finally head of my own division
at a fat 30,000 a year?
While some dumbbell who makes
a toy ends up a multi-millionaire?
Nobody's going to be hunting
that dumbbell for the rest of his life.
Colonel, you'd be surprised how well
a multi-millionaire can hide.
Your room is ready.
Hal, you're really stupid.
Stupid? Who's stupid?
You, hoping to keep alive on an oxygen
bottle, or me with ten million dollars?
Nine million.
One of it belongs to Jenny.
She's gonna find it
a little hard to collect.
Rudy.
That's it.
Why the test plane blew up.
The critical time is 37 minutes.
What does that mean?
There's a whole series of tests
that Hal didn't send me.
Fortunately, they're
in the Master Computer.
That device can run for
a total time of 37 minutes...
before it triggers an irreversible
process which causes an explosion.
I don't understand.
Why one plane and not the other?
All the testing was done
on the backup plane.
That had the most total time.
Remember how Hal fought
against the test entirely?
Yeah?
That's why he tried to blow it up.
When we took it up as a drone,
Hal knew it was very near that critical factor.
And you saw what happened.
Then Jenny's plane
must have blown up, too.
Unless it...
landed before it reached
37 minutes total elapsed time.
If it didn't, it's a bomb waiting to go off.
Ready to go.
Jenny, climb to 3,000 feet.
Energize directly over the field...
then proceed to designated area.
Have you got your maps?
Affirmative.
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
Level at 3,000.
Approaching field.
JENNY: Approaching runway boundary.
Now!
Energize!
(CLICK, LOW HUMMING)
DAMIEN: I can still see it.
HAL: I never claimed optical invisibility.
Radar invisibility is
what you're buying.
Come on, I'll show you.
DAMIEN: It doesn't register on radar!
We have it!
Ha! We have it!
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(ALL TALKING)
O.S.I. 7 to Mojave Control.
O.S.I. 7, this is Mojave.
Patch me through to O.S.I. Test Center.
Steve, where are you?
Airborne, heading for Mexico.
Jenny's the one who stole the plane.
I'm chasing her now.
Jenny?
What?
Arrange to have Damien,
Hal and two others...
picked up at an air strip
12 miles south of Coachella Airport.
Steve, that test plane is going to
blow up just like the drone did.
When will it blew?
Anytime after the clock hits 37 minutes.
Anytime from one second
to a maximum of five minutes.
Jenny, this is Steve.
Come in, please.
You have an emergency.
Please answer.
Come in, please. You have an emergency.
Please come in.
Jenny, you've got minutes,
maybe less before that thing blows.
Hal knew it. He was sacrificing you
for the demonstration and the money.
Now land, right now.
Steve, get away.
You can't con me.
Jenny, it's no con.
We flew the backup plane.
It exploded.
All ground tests were run on it...
so it had most total time.
Vail just got the test data
Hal suppressed.
No way, Steve. it won't work.
JENNY: Aloha.
This is my last transmission.
Rudy, she won't believe me.
I'm going to have to
force her down.
Steve, you get away from there.
She's a flying bomb. She'll kill you, too.
She saved my life, Rudy.
I owe her one.
O.S.I., Priority One.
Get me your fastest chopper!
Jenny, I'm not lying.
The device is going to blow...
sometime after it reaches 37 minutes.
I'm not buying it.
STEVE: Turn that clock off.
No way.
You're going to land that thing.
Look up. I'm right above you.
I'm coming down. You'll either land,
or we both crash together.
Would you get away from me, Steve?
You're crazy.
Count of three, Jenny.
You're gonna blow up and kill us both
or you're going to land that thing now.
There are no options.
One.
Two.
Three.
Get away from me!
Steve, you're crazy!
Now get away from me.
I turned the clock off.
What did it read?
37.
It's too late. Set it down.
Jenny, if you're lucky,
we've got three minutes.
It's not worth dying for.
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
Wait! My money!
Forget it!
(YELLS)
JENNY: You've loused up my life,
you know that? I had it made.
If you just let me go
get my money...
(JENNY SCREAMS)
Hal and Damien?
They're in custody.
What about Jenny?
I got her out
before it exploded.
I'm not so sure I did her a favor.
I know that plane's worth
a million dollars...
but all I can think of is the
ashes of my 50,000 dollars.
Will you use your influence
to get me a lighter sentence?
I didn't think you would.
Ah...
If only I'd stayed in Hawaii
those three days instead of—-
Nothing would be different.
Probably not.
I'm so sorry, Steve.
I'm so sorry for so many things.
Everything costs.
When it looks free,
there's always a catch.
I wanted it all.
It had to be filet mignon.
Where I'm going,
I'll be lucky if I get meat loaf.
I'd ask you to come visit...
but I don't think you would.
I'd ask you to write,
but I don't think you would.
We do read each other, don't we?
Yeah, we sure do.
Come on.
Jenny, I'm sorry.
Me too.
For my whole life.
Except you, Steve,
and I really mean that.
Please don't forget me.
I won't forget you.
A long time to remember
that promise.
Well, let's not keep
your friends waiting.
(END THEME MUSIC)
It looks good at NASA One.
B-52 >PILOT:
Roger.
BCS Arm switch is on.
FLIGHT COM:
Okay, Victor.
B-52 PILOT:
Landing Rocket Arm switch is on.
Here comes the throttle.
Circuit breakers in.
STEVE:
We have separation.
B-52 PILOT:
Inboard and outboards are on.
I'm comin' forward with the side stick.
FLIGHT COM:
Looks good.
PILOT:
Ah, Roger.
STEVE:
I've got a blowout in damper three.
SR-71 PILOT:
Get your pitch to zero.
STEVE:
Pitch is out. I can't hold altitude!
B-52 PILOT: Correction. Alpha Hold is oil“.
Threat selector is emergency.
STEVE: Flight Com. I can't hold it!
She's breaking up! She's breaking...
ANNOUNCER:
Steve Austin. Astronaut.
A man barely alive.
Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.
We have the technology.
We have the capability
to make the world's first bionic man.
Steve Austin will be that man.
Better than he was before.
Better, stronger, faster.
(MAIN TITLE THEME)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
HI, Steve.
Sorry I'm late, Rudy.
Where's Oscar?
He's supposed to be with you.
He had to cancel out.
Emergency meeting
with the Secretary.
But this is heavy stuff.
Rudy, next to Oscar, you're the heaviest
man in the O.S.I., so stop worrying.
Okay. Arthur.
Steve, this is Arthur Vail,
Project Manager on Cheshire.
Mr. Vail.
And Jenny's in the hangar.
Oh, good.
Hi.
Steve!
Mmm. Long time.
Too long.
Worth waiting for?
You bet.
VAIL: You two know each other?
Yes.
Miss Fraser and I,
we've been involved in other projects.
So this is the Cheshire Project?
Mmm-hmm.
Yeah. Now you see it,
now you don't.
Climb up. I'll show it to you.
Now this is the power unit
and that's the force field generator.
And that's why
we need a small test pilot.
You mean this thing really works?
The important thing is it makes
the airplane radar invisible.
Nice and cozy for the Air Force.
Hundreds of planes could sweep down
over a target without warning.
Oh, thanks, Hal.
Steve, Hal Martin.
Arthur's assistant.
He handled the telemetry.
Glad to meet you, Colonel.
Pleasure.
These are the test results of the last three
ground trials on the backup plane.
Here's a picture of the plane
with the force field on.
STEVE: Then it's not invisible.
The important thing is
it's 100 percent radar invisible...
according to all computer studies.
Or tomorrow's test will tell.
STEVE: What time is the test?
0800.
Well, that gives us plenty of time.
Perhaps Jenny and I can
have a little dinner...
and she could explain
the details of the test to me.
Yeah. I think that would be
a practical use of our time.
(SOFT JAZZ PLAYS)
Thank you for
remembering the wine.
It's the same year.
It tasted different under
the stars in Hawaii.
Maybe the wine
doesn't travel well.
It's a California wine.
That was the night you decided
to enter the hang gliding contest.
And, uh, I really sweated out
all that next day.
Yeah, but I won.
Yeah, you won.
That was the last time I saw you.
Well, you were off to Alaska
doing that magnetic survey anyway.
That was three days away.
If I had waited three days, I would have
missed the air show in Paris.
Oh.
(SIGHS)
Why do we have conflicting jobs?
I asked myself that
during those three days.
I had some questions, too.
I kept thinking, why can't I be
like the girl next door...
who makes meat leaf
and apple pie.
Somehow, I just don't
picture you with meat loaf.
If I'd been one of those girls,
you never would have looked at me.
But I make terrific scrambled eggs.
I remember.
I really logged a lot of hours
thinking about you.
I'll match my log book
against yours anytime.
You know what's wrong with this place?
What?
No starlight.
My hotel is serving
dinner on the patio.
I know it's not Hawaii,
but it's a lot closer to where we left off.
What do you think?
That sounds terrific.
Let's hurry. I have an
early flight tomorrow.
You got it.
(SLURRING)
Uh, hi.
Hi.
Oh, hi. I guess you want to get
your car out of there, huh?
That's the general idea.
I guess we can work that out
if you'll help me find my ignition key.
Why did you pick this spot
to lose your keys?
It's not as dumb as it seems.
You see, I got in my car
and I was driving...
and I remembered something
so I got out of my car...
and I lost my key.
And after I lost my key,
I forgot what I was trying to remember!
It's lucky for everybody
that you lost your key...
because I don't think you're
in any condition to drive.
What do you mean I'm in no... condition?
If you don't know what he means,
then you're in no condition.
Hey, that makes some sense, doesn't it?
Oh, hey. She's beautiful.
You're beautiful.
You remind me of my wife.
You're so different.
Uh... my wife!
She's got another set of car keys.
I think I'll call her.
Oh, that's a good idea.
Why don't I call her and then
I'll have her come down and pick you up?
Okay. It's 555-2426,
if I can find a dime.
No, no, no. We've got it.
Here. I got it.
555-2426.
Thank you.
Oh, she's classy.
She's a classy girl.
Why don't you just sit in the car here
and relax till she gets back, huh?
Okay.
Oh, look! Look at what I've found!
Right here, you sneaky little devil.
It's a key car.
Car key.
I'll get in now.
Wait, you can't drive.
Wait a minute.
What do you mean I can't drive?
Who says I can't?
(ENGINE SPUTTERS)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(THUMP)
(ENGINE STARTS)
Ooh!
How you doing?
Oh, fine.
You going to make it
home all right?
Oh, yeah, I just go down
to the bottom of the this hill...
Okay, back it up.
Okay.
She's on her way.
What happened?
Ah, you know drunks.
(HONKS TWICE)
(PHONE RINGS)
Damien here.
MAN: Glad you're still there.
You're late.
Sony. Wells just left.
This is the first chance I've had.
Everything's ready here.
You know they have you
under surveillance?
Nothing to worry about.
I'll slip them tonight.
How about the girl?
The test pilot?
Don't worry about her.
Once she takes off tomorrow,
they'll never see her again.
(BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT)
(BOMB TICKING)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
But why the backup plane?
If they wanted to stop the test...
they could've sabotaged
the one Jenny's gonna fly.
We better go over every
rivet on the test plane.
I wish I could fly this mission.
You saw the cockpit.
Jenny barely fits in.
No way you could make it.
I could try.
Steve, she knows the program.
She's worked it through with Vail.
She's prepared.
All right.
Why don't you reschedule
the test for nine o'clock?
In the meantime,
Jenny can show me the plane.
What's the matter, male chauvinist?
Don't you trust me to do
my own per-flight check?
Didn't I read somewhere
where two heads are better than one?
Rudy, what am I gonna do
with a man with two heads?
Radar checks out.
Instrumentation ready.
Just fly the test schedule.
Don't be a hero, huh?
You really are a chauvinist,
aren't you?
Last night was fun.
Yeah. I'll watch you
from the Test Center.
Okay. Aloha.
Let's put an identifying fix
on our target.
Steve, come on in.
That's Jenny's plane.
We can also watch her
on the monitor.
CONTROLLER: O.S.I. Test One,
you are cleared to takeoff to test area "Yb".
O.S.I. Test One, cleared for takeoff.
There's a lot of buffeting.
Airspeed's about where
the computer predicted.
Jenny can handle it.
When we run the next test,
I'd like a camera ship alongside.
You can fly that, Steve.
O.S.I. Test One, Test Base.
Roger, we have you on radar.
Climb 1,200 feet a minute.
Air speed 150 knots.
Altimeter 4,000.
She'll level at six.
JENNY: O.S.I. Test One to Test Control.
VAIL: Test Control to OS! Test One,
go ahead, Jenny.
Tell Steve I'm almost high
enough to see the Sauna Loa.
Say again. I didn't understand
your last transmission.
JENNY: You weren't meant to.
Coming up on 6,000.
Leveling off.
Level at six.
Am now going on auto pilot.
Looks good here.
Everything is go, Jenny.
Jenny, you're not there to make history.
Any sign of trouble, abort,
return back to the field.
JENNY: Rudy, tell the chauvinist
Colonel that, like certain wines...
his instructions don't travel well.
Is that a private joke?
Uh, no joke.
I have now engaged the
gamma phase generator.
Standing by to energize.
VAIL: Energize.
It's working.
We clock the operation time
of the gamma generator.
Telemetry's dead.
It's supposed to be.
We can't get through that
force field she generates.
How do we communicate?
We have a powerful VHF directional
antenna that could blast through.
But we don't need it.
This test is scheduled to last 30 seconds.
She's got five to go.
STEVE: Why doesn't she register?
Her blip should be on
the radar screen right now.
Where is she?
Why doesn't she show?
Give me the coordinates
of her last position.
And plot a line
33 seconds from there.
O.S.I. Test One, from Test Center.
Jenny, do you copy? O.S.I.Test One.
Come in, Jenny.
Come in.
It's been over a minute.
Jenny, can you read me?
Jenny, switch off. Switch off.
Mojave Control, this is Air Search
Tango-Two-Niner.
No sign of OS! Test One in area "Yb".
CONTROL: Tango-Two-Niner,
break off from area "Yb"...
and proceed to vector 3-5-6.
PILOT: That's a roge.
Tango-Two-Niner.
Our search pattern has covered all the
designated areas that you've suggested.
And you found nothing?
Absolutely nothing.
How about the Coachella area?
Our calculations show that
that would be the most likely place.
Mr. Wells, we have covered all of
Sector "Yb" and 15 miles beyond.
No wreckage. Nothing.
Break off the search.
Thank you, General.
We'll try another approach.
If the plane blew up in this area,
the wreckage has got to be in that area.
But they didn't find a thing!
Maybe it totally disintegrated.
Nothing in the test program
indicated that it would.
Could buffeting have torn it apart?
No.
Then maybe the plane didn't explode,
she just couldn't communicate.
One way to find out what happened.
I'll fly the backup plane.
Duplicate her flight pattern.
No way. I'm not taking a chance
with the backup plane.
Rudy, forget the hardware.
What about Jenny?
Easy. I'm worried
about Jenny, too.
Colonel, you wouldn't fit.
The backup unit is just as
crowded as the prime unit.
All right. It has automatic pilot.
We'll fly it by remote control.
Colonel, it's untried, and to take
a risk with the only other unit is...
Look, we're risking Jenny.
I want to know what happened.
If there's a chance of finding her,
I'm gonna take it.
CONTROLLER: O.S.I. Test 7,
drone and helicopter.
You are cleared for takeoff
and proceed to Test Area Yb.
Are you ready?
Telemetry's perfect.
Energize.
Well, we know closing
the circuit didn't blow it.
All right, we've proven that.
Let's de-energize, bring it back to the field,
and let me look over the...
There's your answer.
But why didn't it blew up
during the ground tests?
Why don't you
check the wreckage?
Hadn't we better let the crash
investigating team handle this?
I want that flight recorder.
I want to know what
happened to that plane.
The main part of the
fuselage is over there.
Colonel, it'll take
a derrick to get it out.
I'll take a look.
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(METAL CREAKING)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(RUSTLING)
STEVE: Here's her last known position.
Since there was no wreckage,
she didn't blow up.
Do you have any ideas?
She was carrying a limited supply
of fuel, due to the added weight.
That's a range of
approximately 100 miles.
On her last known track, that would
carry her somewhere near Bakersfield.
Let's assume the force
field knocked her out.
She's unconscious.
You're assuming the plane is intact.
That's a large assumption.
Look, Steve, I called our
Washington office.
I asked for every scrap of information we
ever had on the project to be put on the line.
We'll get a computer analysis,
we'll try to find a lead.
Rudy, until they come up with something,
this is the only way to proceed.
We draw a circle
100 miles in diameter.
Then cover north to Bakersfield...
east to Barstow,
south to Long Beach...
west to Santa Barbara.
We'll have to cover some of the
Channel Islands down here, too.
Do you know how long it would take
to search an area that large?
Anything on that flight recorder?
Not yet. Dr. Vail took it.
Where?
To the hangar. He said
he wanted to work on it alone.
But you're the telemetry man.
Yeah, but he's the
project manager.
All right, stay with him,
see if he comes up with anything.
Right.
(LOW HUMMING)
What can we do for you, Colonel?
I'm looking for any UFO reports...
explosions or brilliant lights in the sky
in the last two hours within 100 mile radius.
UFOs are generally reported at night.
What's this all about?
I'm sorry, sir.
But it's classified.
But we need to know immediately.
Any strange reports,
anything in the UFO category.
But believe me, General, it's vital.
All right, Colonel.
We'll get the word to all controllers,
flight service stations, and observers.
Thank you.
It'll take days to get this sorted out.
Well, it won't be easy.
(DOOR OPENS)
Did Dr. Vail come back?
You said he was in the hangar.
He told me he was going there.
(PHONE RINGS)
Wells here.
When was that?
You're sure about that?
Give me a picture of Damien.
Last night, a call was placed from Vail's
office to Wilfred Damien in New Orleans.
There he is.
Damien has been involved in dozens
of thefts of military secrets...
from our government and others.
This morning, he flew to Los Angeles,
he checked into the Bonaire Hotel.
A call was placed from
this office to the Bonaire.
Shortly after that, Damien disappeared,
he evaded our security.
Both planes gone.
What does Vail have to sell?
That's what I'm going to find out.
(PHONE RINGS)
Yeah?
It's for you.
Austin here.
Where?
Are those the only two?
Right. Thank you.
Two UFO sightings.
One, a maiden lady in Santa Maria...
who claims a man with eleven hooves
tried to lure her into a saucer.
The other was a highway
patrolman in Coachella, though.
He said he saw
something very low...
going fast and
could've been the airplane...
(INTERCOM BUZZES)
of the description he put out.
You're sure?
On my way.
They found Vail, unconscious.
Keep digging.
The answer to this mess has
gotta be in those computer reports.
Colonel, I was a fool.
Deal with a man like Damien, and you
always end up with your head in your hands.
Damien?
Wilfred Damien.
International wheeler-dealer
in dirty tricks.
He's after the gamma generator.
So that's why?
STEVE: What?
Not me.
It had to be Hal he was dealing with.
When I found nothing wrong
with the flight recorder...
and wanted to go into the computer
analysis of the tests...
Hal attacked me.
Hal did this?
More precisely,
the wrench he hit me with.
O.S.I., priority.
I want Hal Martin picked up immediately,
he is not to get off this base.
What?
Right.
He left the base 10 minutes ago.
The answer's got to be
those computer test records.
Maybe Hal tampered
with the reports.
I've to check that computer.
No, no, no. You stay here.
At least for a couple hours observation.
Just hang in there.
I'm going to search for Jenny myself.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
(BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(GROANS)
Steve!
Oh god.
What happened?
It was a nightmare.
I couldn't see.
I was literally flying blind.
I don't know howl got out
of the plane before it crashed.
Are you all right?
Oh yeah. Oh,
I'm so happy to see you.
Are you alone?
Where's Rudy?
Yeah, he's back at the base.
Come on. Let's get out of here.
(MOANS)
What about him?
He'll be all right. Come on.
I've got a plane just over the hill.
I'm afraid not.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC)
Don't cut off the circulation,
just make it good and tight.
Steve, please understand.
I've got to keep you out of the way.
As wholesome as apple pie.
Loyal, courageous, trustworthy...
None of that changes the way
I feel about you.
(TIRES SCREECH)
JENNY: There they are.
My partner and my client
right on time.
Everything secure?
Why are you doing this, Jenny?
That's such a silly
question to ask, honestly.
I know this probably doesn't
mean much, at this point...
but I really do love you, Steve,
please believe me.
Of course I believe you.
Doesn't everybody that loves
somebody stick a gun in their face?
Good bye.
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
Mr. Damien...
I'd like you to meet
a member of our team.
Mr. Damien, Jenny Fraser, test pilot.
She'll demonstrate the device for you.
How do you do, Ms. Fraser?
How do you do, Mr. Damien?
The device is clumsy.
It can't be aerodynamically sound.
Well, in the production model...
we can reduce the extra weight and then
there'd be no effect on the air speed.
But the important thing is
the radar invisibility.
Even old World War One planes
could score a smashing victory...
if they could get to the target
without being detected.
You ask a great deal of money.
It's a great weapon.
Let me set up the radar for you.
I have my own.
Stoner, get the radar scope.
Yes, sir.
My own scope.
So there will now be
no possibility of deceit.
You wanna get a closer look?
Go ahead, get closer.
It's all right, Mr. Damien.
What Colonel Austin sees here
will never be reported.
You said you tied him up.
I did. I don't know
how he get loose.
I was trying to protect you.
What're you doing here?
I see what you're doing,
but what I don't understand is why?
One million dollars is why.
How many Hawaiian
sunsets will that buy you...
with every agency in
the world looking for you?
It wasn't supposed to be like that.
Plane was supposed to have disappeared,
never to be found.
You spoiled that.
Now your friend is going to spoil me.
Miss Fraser...
it's already late.
We must be in Mexico before dark.
Here is your first payment,
50,000 dollars...
now please proceed with your job.
We'll start the test.
Take care of him.
No!
Hey! Lock him up, tie him up!
Do anything you want, but don't kill him!
There's no time to be sentimental.
We've come too far.
Then you fly the test.
You hurt him, I'm through.
I mean that, Hal.
Jenny, we've spent too much time
setting this up to blow it now.
We're not safe as long as he's alive.
You kill him, you might as well kill me,
because I will not fly that plane.
You locked him up before
and he broke out!
Well, there's an empty storage room
in the mess building that's airtight.
It's strong enough
to hold King Kong.
Hey, don't let your love for me to blind
you to the possibility of suffocation.
We'll get you an oxygen bottle.
I'll make the demonstration...
I'll cross the Mexican border
and radio his position.
They'll find him in plenty of time.
By the time I radio, you'll be able
to get out of here. Agreed?
Three hours supply,
if used sparingly.
I know you don't understand.
But one million dollars
has a lovely sound to it.
50,000 dollars,
just for pocket money.
The rest is gonna be put in
a Swiss bank after the demonstration.
I'd love to share it with you.
I know you're too square
to consider it.
But, if you weren't the way you are,
I wouldn't love you.
Goodbye, Steve.
You're a patriot, too.
A patriot with a brilliant future?
Like Vail's?
Maybe finally head of my own division
at a fat 30,000 a year?
While some dumbbell who makes
a toy ends up a multi-millionaire?
Nobody's going to be hunting
that dumbbell for the rest of his life.
Colonel, you'd be surprised how well
a multi-millionaire can hide.
Your room is ready.
Hal, you're really stupid.
Stupid? Who's stupid?
You, hoping to keep alive on an oxygen
bottle, or me with ten million dollars?
Nine million.
One of it belongs to Jenny.
She's gonna find it
a little hard to collect.
Rudy.
That's it.
Why the test plane blew up.
The critical time is 37 minutes.
What does that mean?
There's a whole series of tests
that Hal didn't send me.
Fortunately, they're
in the Master Computer.
That device can run for
a total time of 37 minutes...
before it triggers an irreversible
process which causes an explosion.
I don't understand.
Why one plane and not the other?
All the testing was done
on the backup plane.
That had the most total time.
Remember how Hal fought
against the test entirely?
Yeah?
That's why he tried to blow it up.
When we took it up as a drone,
Hal knew it was very near that critical factor.
And you saw what happened.
Then Jenny's plane
must have blown up, too.
Unless it...
landed before it reached
37 minutes total elapsed time.
If it didn't, it's a bomb waiting to go off.
Ready to go.
Jenny, climb to 3,000 feet.
Energize directly over the field...
then proceed to designated area.
Have you got your maps?
Affirmative.
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
Level at 3,000.
Approaching field.
JENNY: Approaching runway boundary.
Now!
Energize!
(CLICK, LOW HUMMING)
DAMIEN: I can still see it.
HAL: I never claimed optical invisibility.
Radar invisibility is
what you're buying.
Come on, I'll show you.
DAMIEN: It doesn't register on radar!
We have it!
Ha! We have it!
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(ALL TALKING)
O.S.I. 7 to Mojave Control.
O.S.I. 7, this is Mojave.
Patch me through to O.S.I. Test Center.
Steve, where are you?
Airborne, heading for Mexico.
Jenny's the one who stole the plane.
I'm chasing her now.
Jenny?
What?
Arrange to have Damien,
Hal and two others...
picked up at an air strip
12 miles south of Coachella Airport.
Steve, that test plane is going to
blow up just like the drone did.
When will it blew?
Anytime after the clock hits 37 minutes.
Anytime from one second
to a maximum of five minutes.
Jenny, this is Steve.
Come in, please.
You have an emergency.
Please answer.
Come in, please. You have an emergency.
Please come in.
Jenny, you've got minutes,
maybe less before that thing blows.
Hal knew it. He was sacrificing you
for the demonstration and the money.
Now land, right now.
Steve, get away.
You can't con me.
Jenny, it's no con.
We flew the backup plane.
It exploded.
All ground tests were run on it...
so it had most total time.
Vail just got the test data
Hal suppressed.
No way, Steve. it won't work.
JENNY: Aloha.
This is my last transmission.
Rudy, she won't believe me.
I'm going to have to
force her down.
Steve, you get away from there.
She's a flying bomb. She'll kill you, too.
She saved my life, Rudy.
I owe her one.
O.S.I., Priority One.
Get me your fastest chopper!
Jenny, I'm not lying.
The device is going to blow...
sometime after it reaches 37 minutes.
I'm not buying it.
STEVE: Turn that clock off.
No way.
You're going to land that thing.
Look up. I'm right above you.
I'm coming down. You'll either land,
or we both crash together.
Would you get away from me, Steve?
You're crazy.
Count of three, Jenny.
You're gonna blow up and kill us both
or you're going to land that thing now.
There are no options.
One.
Two.
Three.
Get away from me!
Steve, you're crazy!
Now get away from me.
I turned the clock off.
What did it read?
37.
It's too late. Set it down.
Jenny, if you're lucky,
we've got three minutes.
It's not worth dying for.
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
(BIONIC SOUND EFFECT)
Wait! My money!
Forget it!
(YELLS)
JENNY: You've loused up my life,
you know that? I had it made.
If you just let me go
get my money...
(JENNY SCREAMS)
Hal and Damien?
They're in custody.
What about Jenny?
I got her out
before it exploded.
I'm not so sure I did her a favor.
I know that plane's worth
a million dollars...
but all I can think of is the
ashes of my 50,000 dollars.
Will you use your influence
to get me a lighter sentence?
I didn't think you would.
Ah...
If only I'd stayed in Hawaii
those three days instead of—-
Nothing would be different.
Probably not.
I'm so sorry, Steve.
I'm so sorry for so many things.
Everything costs.
When it looks free,
there's always a catch.
I wanted it all.
It had to be filet mignon.
Where I'm going,
I'll be lucky if I get meat loaf.
I'd ask you to come visit...
but I don't think you would.
I'd ask you to write,
but I don't think you would.
We do read each other, don't we?
Yeah, we sure do.
Come on.
Jenny, I'm sorry.
Me too.
For my whole life.
Except you, Steve,
and I really mean that.
Please don't forget me.
I won't forget you.
A long time to remember
that promise.
Well, let's not keep
your friends waiting.
(END THEME MUSIC)