It wouldn't be Christmas without toys and these Bionic characters were favorite gifts among young Spy Vibers for Christmas and birthdays. Fans still reminisce about a doll that allowed you to actually peer through Steve Austin's Bionic eye! Check out the vintage toy commercial below to get the full effect. I love how they presented their product so seriously- appropriate considering the commercial shows kids pretending that the Six-Million Dollar Man has to save New York from an atomic bomb. I've also added a fun video of Lee Majors looking back at the show and the toys.
There were also cool dolls based on the Fembots- robotic baddies that first appeared in a three-part cross-over story (Kill Oscar) with The Bionic Woman. Below you can see the original Austin doll with magnifying-glass eye socket and a 2012 re-issue Fembot (the original was packaged with Bionic Woman graphics). More retro commercials 1, 2, 3, and full Youtube playlist here.
Many Six-Million Dollar Man playlets were released ("Mission Control", "Repair Center", "Mission Vehicle", and others), but the show also spawned some surreal toys- like accessory packs of extra arms and legs for various critical missions... and a Bigfoot doll. Yes, the Six-Million Dollar Man faced Sasquatch in the cross-over episodes Secret of Bigfoot (played by Andre the Giant) and Return of Bigfoot (played by Ted "Lurch" Cassidy) in 1976. The plot had something to do with aliens sending a mechanical monster to steal precious jewels from the US government -way more stealthy than, say, a ninja. Hopefully the government offices were decorated in thick blown shag carpeting. Kenner produced a huge doll that was over a foot tall. The "Bionic" Bigfoot was so marketable, another figure was released with his own car so he and Austin could compete at the drag races (see link #3 above)! I know, that's just how things used to roll back then. Not quite the Aston Martin DB5, but campy Cold War fun nonetheless. See an overview of related toys at the ToysYouHad blog here. Bigfoot doll below from the Gozillavengers blog. Happy Holidays! What were your favorite toys?
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