The Bionic Criminal
From The Bionic Wiki
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| Production 43012 Original Airdate: November 9, 1975 | |||
 Episode-at-a-glance. | |||
| Teleplay by Richard Carr | |||
| Story by Peter Alan Fields | |||
| Directed by Leslie Martinson | |||
| Guest Cast | |||
| Guest Star(s) Monte Markham as Barney Hiller Maggie Sullivan as Carla Peterson John Milford as Tom Shatley Donald Moffat as Lester Burstyn | |||
| Broadcast Order | |||
| Season 3 | |||
| ← Previous | Next → | ||
| "One of Our Running Backs is Missing" | "The Blue Flash" | ||
| Related episodes | |||
| The Seven Million Dollar Man | |||
Contents |
[edit] Summary
Barney Hiller, a race driver, is reactivated as the second bionic man over Steve's protests. Oscar explains that it is a test to see if bionics can be turned back up to full strength, on the premise of having a number of bionic men who live normal lives but are all "tuned up" when required in a time of emergency.
Steve has reason to doubt Barney's mental stability, and soon his fears are justified. When car owner Tom Shatley takes Barney out of the big race, Barney, in a fit of rage, uses his bionic strength against his sponsor, whom he believes he has killed. When his wife is kidnapped shortly thereafter, Barney has no choice but to use his powers for a series of crimes.
[edit] Deconstructed
[edit] Quotes
Carla: (about Barney) I don't know. In the next world, he's probably gonna be some laser beam with overhead cams or something.
Steve: Why are you doing it? Why make another Bionic timebomb?
Barney: Hey, come on, now Steve, don't rush me. I've only got 48 hours to play superman again, I wanna enjoy every minute.
Barney: Look, Mr. Burstyn, if everything else in my life goes down the tubes... you'd still be waisting your time.
Burstyn: My dear friend...
Barney: I'm not your dear friend. You're lucky I didn't report you to Oscar Goldman the first time you called me.
Burstyn: Yes, I suppose I am. The fact is you didn't tell Goldman. And another fact is: at this moment you're bionically activated and will be for 48 hours...
Steve: Oscar, don't you realize that a bionic man turned criminal how much he could steal? He could burrow into Fort Knox.
Oscar: I don't want to think about it.
Burstyn: You show amazing strength, Colonel Austin. Anyone who can hold his own with a bionic man...
Steve: Well I keep in shape.
Barney: Look Burstyn, what am I going to have to do to get you to release Carla?
Burstyn: I'll think of something, Barney.
Barney: I thought you'd never show up.
Steve: Well, after what you did to my neck, I wasn't sure I would.
[edit] Trivia
[edit] Cast
- Alan Oppenheimer once again appears on this episode as Dr. Rudy Wells two months after Martin E. Brooks made his debut on The Return of the Bionic Woman. This one-off return was necessitated by the use of flashback footage from The Seven Million Dollar Man featuring Oppenheimer that would not have matched a new actor playing the role.
[edit] Character
- Barney's last name changes to "Hiller" in this episode, contradicting the fact that he was named "Barney Miller" in The Seven Million Dollar Man. This is due to the debut and rise to popularity of a sitcom entitled Barney Miller, which premiered in January 1975, two months after the broadcast of "The Seven Million Dollar Man".
- Carla Peterson is still credited by her maiden name despite being married to Barney Hiller.
[edit] Gaffes
[edit] Sound Effects
- In the flashbacks to "The Seven Million Dollar Man", bionic sounds are added to the arm wrestling between Steve and Barney. When the original episode aired, it pioneered a greater use of these sounds, which had only appeared intermittently and without consistent application to that date. Afterwards, it became consistent to the point where it had to be used or it would be missed. This removes a central aspect of the original scene, which plays on the mystery of whether or not Barney is bionic, revealed when he wins. The sounds remove all doubt, although in the context of the flashback in this episode, Barney's bionic nature was no longer a mystery.
[edit] Music
- The episode The Seven Million Dollar Man establishes a distinct new musical theme by Oliver Nelson, which would prove popular for "tracking", ie reuse on other episodes. It is ironic therefore that, in the episode where the Seven Million theme might be deemed appropriate, that it is unused here.
[edit] Credibility
- In a scene late in the program, Steve and Barney are wrestling, and roll down 20 yards or so of a parking ramp. This is highly improbable to say the least. It appears as though they are just having a good time.
- As is often the case, there are demonstrations of bionic strength in this episode that fall on the missing "bionic back". The scene where Barney turns an armored car with an iron pipe for a lever begs us to forget that Barney's bionic arms are attached to a normal torso. This is a running "gaffe", as it recurs whenever Steve lifts a car, for example.
[edit] Video Links
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