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“The Return of Bigfoot”

S4 E1

Production 45124
Original Airdate: 19 September 1976
Robf
Steve caught in an explosive fight with Bigfoot
Produced by
Lionel E. Siegel
Written by
Kenneth Johnson
Directed by
Barry Crane
Guest Cast
Guest Star(s)
John Saxon as Nedlick
Stephen Young as Dallet
Severn Darden as Apploy
Ted Cassidy as Sasquatch
Special Guest Star(s)
Sandy Duncan as Gillian
Stefanie Powers as Shalon
Special Guest Appearance
Lindsay Wagner as Jaime Sommers
Co-starring
Charles Cyphers as Faler
With
Vince Howard as Nuclear Center Guard
Will J. White as Lab Guard
Michael J. London as Guard
Broadcast Order
Season 4
← Previous Next →
"Big Brother" "Nightmare in the Sky"
Related episodes
"The Return of Bigfoot (Part II)"
"The Secret of Bigfoot"
"The Secret of Bigfoot (Part II)"
"Bigfoot V"
Th-Der.6-Millionen-Dollar-Mann.-.S04E01.-.Kampf.der.Ausserirdischen.Teil

Episode collage

Summary[]

A series of burglaries point to the use of bionics, and Steve falls under suspicion. Steve is approached by Gillian, an alien whose fellow explorers were first encountered by Steve in The Secret of Bigfoot. Gillian restores his memory of those experiences in order to gain his assistance. A rebel splinter group of aliens, led by Nedlick, have damaged the alien power generator, and have taken the Sasquatch. Steve agrees to help, but suspicion of him grows as he refuses to reveal the information that could clear him. When he finally tells Oscar, who doesn't believe him, Steve flees. Meanwhile, Jaime Sommers has overheard the truth about the aliens, and her faith in Steve makes her believe it. The alien rebels have set up a new base in Mexico, and are drilling into an extinct volcano for geothermal energy. The Sasquatch is stealing various components which will allow the aliens build a shield for their base which will make them invulnerable. Steve is injured fighting the Sasquatch and receives a lethal dose of radiation- unless he is treated with the alien wonder drug Neotraxin, Dr. Rudy Wells believes he will not last another day. Jaime is the only one who can save Steve and stop the alien rebels in their bid for global dominion. To Be Continued on The Bionic Woman...

Deconstructed[]

Quotes[]

Oscar: What do you think?
Steve: Well, If I didn't know better, I would think a bionic man came through here.
Oscar: You haven't gone into business for yourself, have you, pal?


Jaime: Whoa... whose foot is that?!
Rudy: The Indians say it's the print of the Sasquatch.
Steve: We found it in the northern California mountains last year.
Jaime: Right... the Sasquatch is the... uh...
Rudy: The legendary creature that the white man named Bigfoot.
Jaime: Right, and I can see why they call it Bigfoot.


Jaime: Did you actually get to see the creature that made that thing?
Oscar: No, we never saw it, Jaime.
(Steve has wisps of memory).
Jaime: What's the matter?
Steve: I don't know. It's... it's like there's something there. I can almost remember, but not quite... it's frustrating.
Jaime: Tell me about it. I'm the one who wrote the book on partial memory, remember?
Steve: Yeah...
Jaime: Hey, why don't we go out and take your mind off things? I mean, we could go for a walk or something.
Rudy: Hey - make it a bionic run, willya? I can check your heart pulse when you get back.
Jaime: Slavedriver.


Gillian: It's a time-line converter, a TLC. It allows us to move faster or slower through time than the objects around us. So, we can apparently disappear... (she does just that, reappearing behind Steve) ...and reappear somewhere else. We can't go through locked doors, but we can go through unlocked ones so fast you can't see us.


Nedlick: Sasquatch, attack, or you know what happens to Shalon.


Nuclear Center Guard: Alright, freeze, mister. Hit the deck! Come on, hit the deck!
Steve: Wait a minute, I'm Colonel Steve Austin.
Nuclear Center Guard: I don't care if you're Nelson Rockefeller, hit the deck, come on!

Trivia[]

Opening Credits[]
  • Martin E. Brooks is added to the opening credits sequence, while Richard Anderson adopts an "action" pose, picking up a red telephone; a loaded symbol for viewers during the cold war. Despite the fact he now sported a mustache, no new footage of Lee Majors was added to the opening.
Character[]
Der.6-Millionen-Dollar-Mann.-.S04E01.-.Kampf.der.Ausserirdischen.Teil.1

Steve's mustache

  • Beginning with this season premiere, Lee Majors would sport a mustache as Steve Austin. This change of appearance proved unpopular[citation needed] and would be abandoned towards the end of Season Four, following the episode "The Privacy of the Mind", - but not before it had been incorporated into book covers, comic books, and merchandising.
Cast[]
  • Ted Cassidy takes over the role of Bigfoot from André the Giant in this episode. After this two-parter, Ted would return once more for "Bigfoot V". Nonetheless, flashback footage of André is also incorporated into the episode, including several close-ups, despite the differences in appearance between the two actors.
Storyline[]
  • The characters in this episode often refers to prior events in "The Secret of Bigfoot" as taking place a year prior, when in fact this episode and its predecessor were first broadcast seven months apart.
Bionics[]
  • While the nuclear power of Steve's bionics have been established from the beginning, this marks the first incident where damage to his limbs has led to harmful radioactive leaks. This is also the second time an episode involving Jaime has included a scene in which Austin suffers severe leg damage.
  • When the series began, knowledge of Steve's bionics was restricted to a very few people, but by the time of this episode it appears a number of US government agencies are aware of Steve's bionics.
  • One of these agencies demands that Austin's bionics be tuned down, which was what was done to Barney Miller.

Gaffes[]

Illusion-Breaker[]
  • Stunt doubles are an easy target, but this episode features a stunt double for Ted Cassidy's Bigfoot that not only lacked a fully developed costume, but upon whom the slow-motion camera lingers, making the double's use here particularly jarring.
Return bigfoot bloop

Boom mic in shot

  • At the conclusion of Steve and Jaime's bionic run in the countryside, a sound boom can be momentarily detected in the lower portion of the shot.
  • Gillian contacts Apploy via her wrist monitor that allows her to view Apploy. Apploy asks her if she's made contact with Steve. Then the camera cuts to Apploy's angle which contains a viewing screen where it's clear Steve is sitting right next to Gillian.
  • It seems the directors of this series have all had the same problem with point-of-view shots: whenever the camera is used as a character's POV, the opposite person within the POV eyeline should naturally be looking INTO the camera lens, as though looking at the character. However, the opposite person usually ends up looking either to the left or right of the character POV. The same applies here with the viewing screens. Gillian and Steve are communicating with Apploy via Gillian's wrist monitor and are looking directly into it from their angle, however from Apploy's angle, they are looking to the right of the monitor as opposed to properly looking INTO it.
  • After Steve is caught by the cops, Nedlick is by a fence wearing his purple outfit. He engages his invisibility device and disappears - but if you watch closely they turned the camera back on a frame too soon and you can see him walking out of the scene to the left.
Nitpicks[]
  • Rudy requests Steve & Jaime go for a bionic run, so he can check Jaime's "heart pulse," the next scene shows them beginning the run. Steve took the time to change from his powder blue sweat suit, to black shorts however, Jaime is still wearing the same street clothes. Why hadn't she taken the time to change, even bionic enhanced people would be more comfortable in workout gear.

Gallery[]

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