The Six Million Dollar Man: The Secret of Bigfoot (part 1)

Oscar: “Well, what is it?”
Steve: “A mountain lion? Well, it's too big. What do you think, a huge grizzly?”
Tom: “No...no, not a cat...not a grizzly.”
Oscar: “Well, what is it?”
Tom: “There's only one thing in the mountains that leaves a track like this...a creature of legend that roams the timberline. My people named him...Sasquatch. You call him...Bigfoot.”

episode number: season 3, episode 18 (1976)
viewing setting: home DVD, 11/21/16 and 2/7/12

episode synopsis: Steve goes into the northern California mountains to help set up some geological equipment. He and others find more than they counted on, though, as a huge, hairy beast-man sabotages their camp and attacks their crew. It's up to Steve to solve this mystery.

impressions: This was one of the ones I remembered from my childhood. It has everything: nice wilderness, a scientific mission, Bigfoot, a fight between Steve and Bigfoot, disaster drama, aliens hiding among us, super technology that's way beyond what mankind has...good stuff. This is actually a plausible (from a sci-fi standpoint) explanation of the Bigfoot legend.

notable guest stars: Andre the Giant is inside the Bigfoot suit, and being fairly athletic, he did a good job. Charles Cyphers was one of the aliens.

significant bionic antics: Steve jumps on top of a truck, chases Bigfoot, fends off blows from a tree used as a club, wrestles with Bigfoot, and uses his eye to spot giant footprints from afar.

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