The era of (fictional) Bionics (Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman)

[Skipper]

I used to misremember that Barney Miller/Hiller in "The Seven Million Dollar Man" was a failed prototype, so I was surprised when I rewatched the episode and they said he was made after Steve.

Didn't it eventually get revealed that Max the Bionic Dog was the first prototype? So it would be Max, Steve, Barney, Jamie. And then a few people in the revival movies, though I'm not sure if anyone else was bionicized in the interim. I have a vague impression of the first revival movie establishing that Rudy had moved into developing regular-strength bionic prosthetics for general medical use, but I could be misremembering.

There was a bionic kids in the TSMDM show I think, right now I can't google it ..

Edit: Found!

The Bionic Boy

Andy Sheffield, a once-athletic youngster living in a small Utah town, has been selected by an OSI computer to receive an implant to restore his paralyzed legs, which were injured in a landslide that killed his father - a controversial figure. The implant gives Andy great physical power as he...

bionic.fandom.com

 

[Christopher]

There was a bionic kids in the TSMDM show I think, right now I can't google it ..

Ah, I see -- I didn't read far enough on the "Category:Cyborgs" page. It calls him a borderline case because he only had a spinal bypass implant to restore his mobility, rather than bionic limbs.

 

[the G-man]

I used to misremember that Barney Miller/Hiller in "The Seven Million Dollar Man" was a failed prototype, so I was surprised when I rewatched the episode and they said he was made after Steve.

I seem to recall, but this could be my own faulty memory, that Barney was jokingly (?) referred to as "the Seven Million Dollar Man," because the cost had gone up since Steve was "built."

 

[Christopher]

Barney was $7 million because he had both arms replaced instead of just one. Logically, the cost per limb would go down after the prototype as the bugs are worked out and the process gets more efficient.

 

[Skipper]

Barney was $7 million because he had both arms replaced instead of just one. Logically, the cost per limb would go down after the prototype as the bugs are worked out and the process gets more efficient.

They also made a joke about inflation. I think it was pretty high in the US in the 70s, right?

Barney: How much did you cost?
Steve: Six million.
Barney: (taps chest) Seven.
Steve: Well, ol' inflation gets us all.

 

[Christopher]

They also made a joke about inflation. I think it was pretty high in the US in the 70s, right?

I do seem to recall hearing a lot about inflation, though I was a kid then. I never understood why everyone didn't just agree to lower their prices by the same percentage at the same time. To tell the truth, I still don't quite get it.

 

[the G-man]

They also made a joke about inflation. I think it was pretty high in the US in the 70s, right?

Yeah. Inflation, combined with high unemployment and a stagnant economy. Nothing romantic about growing up in that era (which I did).

I do seem to recall hearing a lot about inflation, though I was a kid then. I never understood why everyone didn't just agree to lower their prices by the same percentage at the same time. To tell the truth, I still don't quite get it.

There was actually an "ABC Afterschool Special" about that back in 70s and how it wouldn't/couldn't work.

 

[Nerys Myk]

They also made a joke about inflation. I think it was pretty high in the US in the 70s, right?

Then President Ford had a slogan "Whip Inflation Now". There were buttons,

 

[DarrenTR1970]

Well, I'm old enough to remember waiting in line with my parents to get gas every other day or so and the mention of 'Stagflation' and Jimmy Carter's 'Crisis of Confidence' speech on television.
Inflation might have hit a little harder here in the Pacific Northwest/Puget Sound/Seattle area because gas prices seemed higher than the national average at the time, inching closer to a dollar and above in some places.

 

[Noname Given]

Well, I'm old enough to remember waiting in line with my parents to get gas every other day or so and the mention of 'Stagflation' and Jimmy Carter's 'Crisis of Confidence' speech on television.
Inflation might have hit a little harder here in the Pacific Northwest/Puget Sound/Seattle area because gas prices seemed higher than the national average at the time, inching closer to a dollar and above in some places.

Well it was the whole Iran Hostage situation and the Oil Crisis that did Carter's re-election chances in. I turned 16 in 1979, and from then up through early 1980, parts of the U.S. were on a gas rationing system. Gas stations had trouble getting supplied, and they went to a system where if your License plated ended with an even number you could buy gas on Mon./Wed./Fri. and if odd, Tues./Thurs./Sat. and Sun. anyone could buy. That said, lines were LONG (read hours waiting on high demand weekdays) at gas stations that had gas.

It worked out though because my mom hated waiting in those lines, so she had me do it (since I now had my Driver's License) and it got me a guaranteed day to use/borrow it on the weekends.

 

[Christopher]

Well it was the whole Iran Hostage situation and the Oil Crisis that did Carter's re-election chances in.

Yeah -- even though I was 12 at the time, it was obvious to me that Khomeini was deliberately holding onto the hostages until after the election in order to scuttle Carter's re-election chances. I was astonished that the electorate fell for such blatant manipulation. (Although I didn't suspect what we now know was probably true -- that the Reagan campaign actively colluded with the Iranian regime to hold onto the hostages longer. So it was far worse than I thought.)

 

[Noname Given]

Yeah -- even though I was 12 at the time, it was obvious to me that Khomeini was deliberately holding onto the hostages until after the election in order to scuttle Carter's re-election chances. I was astonished that the electorate fell for such blatant manipulation. (Although I didn't suspect what we now know was probably true -- that the Reagan campaign actively colluded with the Iranian regime to hold onto the hostages longer. So it was far worse than I thought.)

That was just icing on the cake for Ronald Reagan (and yes, I believe Bush senior helped negotiate in) - but it was a big political stunt at the Hostages expense (IMO) - and taints Reagan's legacy quite a bit (IE - That he would use U.S. citizens in that way for political gain.)

But what sunk Jimmy Carter's re-election for good (and also lead to Reagan's landslide victory), was the disastrous failed U.S. Iran Hostage Rescue attempt (Operation Eagle's Claw) that went so horribly wrong. The Helicopters they used weren't even rated or properly configured for the environment they were flying in before they hit the Sandstorm that caused the mission to be aborted. Jimmy Carter was banking on it to end the situation and the U.S. was hedging in aspects of it's negations for 6 months because they knew it was coming, and gave the military involved 6 months to train for it.

 

[Christopher]

I always felt that President Carter was simply too good and selfless a human being to be a successful politician -- that he lost because he just couldn't lower himself to play as dirty as his opponents. As his later life proved, he was perhaps the saintliest person ever to hold the office.

Then again, President Biden has proven to be both a splendidly decent and selfless human being and a gifted politician, so maybe I was wrong about that. Still, it's been said about Carter that he's the one person who ever used the presidency as a stepping stone to greater accomplishments.