The Six Million Dollar Man (TV Series) The Coward (1974) User Reviews

First mention of Steve's back story

[markymark70 · 6/10 · 11 October 2007]

The penultimate episode of series one is the first time we hear anything about Steve Austin's background. Okay, we know he's a colonel in the Air Force and he walked on the moon - but what we see here is of a more personal nature.

Steve's mission is to go to the Chinese border to recover some documents from a plane that crashed there during WWII. And not just any old plane either - but the plane that Steve's father piloted.

We learn a few things in this episode: 1. Steve's Dad supposedly died during WWII whilst piloting a plane. 2. Steve never saw his father. 3. We meet Steve's Mom for the first time 4. And also learn that Steve has a StepDad.

Not a lot of information you'd think, but this is the first scrap of a back story since episode 1 of the series - where we learned that Steve went to school 20 miles from a town called Norris.

Sulu (from Star Trek) helps Steve to climb the mountain - on top of which the stricken plane lies - but comes to a grisly end quite soon. Steve befriends an American who seems to have adapted to the area and he agrees to help him reach the plane instead.

The episode leads the viewer into thinking that this American is in fact Steve's father. It turns out in the end that he was not - but the storyline is left open enough for the viewer to make up his own mind about that nugget of information. Steve's father supposedly bailed out of the plane leaving his crew to die. This American who helps him has Steve's father's dog-tags and looks suspiciously like his Bionic son. Me? - I like to think that he was in fact his real father and ashamed of his actions all those years ago, puts his life on the line now for his son - the boy he never saw.

Not a particularly thrilling episode by any stretch of the imagination but an important one to flesh out some more information about the Six Million Dollar Man.

The Father

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 21 May 2015]

Steve Austin(Lee Majors) is given a most personal assignment by Oscar Goldman(Richard Anderson) that involves his late father Carl, who had flown a lost World War II airplane called "My Little Girl" that has been found in the Himalayas after an earthquake dislodged it after nearly thirty years in hiding. Steve is determined to learn the truth about his father's reported cowardice in bailing out, leaving his crew to die, while trying to retrieve valuable documents inside with the help of a mysterious expatriate American... Interesting and serious-minded episode takes a welcome look at Steve's background, and we get to meet his mother too.

The Coward

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 31 August 2023]

When an earthquake in the Himalayas uncovers a DC-3 plane containing secret papers that went down during World War II, Steve is sent to recover them. Steve also tries to clear the name of the pilot-his father-who was accused of bailing out and leaving the rest of the crew to die.

An interesting story due to the backstory of Steve Austin and a neat little mystery where the identity of his father isn't totally conclusive as the answer Steve gets at the end might not be the truth. It's not the most exciting story, it's more serious-minded like an episode of Kung fu ( David Carradine) without the deep philosophy. There's some good mountain climbing and Austin technique of hammering in the piton isn't advised, well not unless you have bionic limbs!

A Beautiful Story

[supergye · 9/10 · 7 May 2021]

Steve goes on a mission to get documents from a crashed plane that emerged after an earthquake in the Himalaya's. It was currying documents from an agreement between Nationalist Chinese and the Russians. He must find these before the Communist Chinese finds them in order to preserve the delicate political balance. It also is a mission to find the truth about his father, and it leads to trouble. This episode has some interesting things we learn for the first time about Steve's family. First, we find out Steve is adopted, and his characters father crashed his plane in the Himalayas during WWII and supposedly bailed out before landing, leaving the crew to die. In real life Lee Majors was also adopted, but his real father's name was Carl Yeary who died in a work-related accident 5 months before Lee was born. It would seem this story element minus the crash was borrowed from Major's real life including the first name of his in-episode father also being Carl.

We get to see George Tekei play an experienced mountain climber who guides Steve on his trip until he can't, let's just say. Interesting how the previous episode guest starred William Shatner.

I liked the mystery of this episode and it left me itching to find out the truth which made it feel all the more exciting. Who is the older man leading Steve to the plane at the top of the mountain? Is it his long-lost father? What really happened during the plane crash? Watch the episode and find out!

If Only The Entire Series Had Maintained This Edge

[Steve_Nyland · 9/10 · 15 September 2023]

Really superb episode from the first season of The Six Million Dollar Man. Before Bigfoot and the Bionic Tennis Shorts became fads the series was an action adventure midseason replacement for grownups. My dad thought it was cool and let me watch. Steve Austin was originally a human outfitted with mechanical parts, not a comic book superhero with a disco mustache. Still wore the lounge suits but there was some serious television going on, and while my heart will always be with "Day of the Robot" this is likely the most serious of them all.

The subplot involving Steve getting to the bottom of the mystery surrounding his father's disappearance is a masterful way to both humanize the Bionic Man and build upon the character that Lee Majors had slowly been developing. Climbing a mountain to find a crashed spy plane are just the action/adventure trappings, around which are some decent performances. The cast helps drive the story forward, with "Star Trek" alumni and a convincing appearance by George Montgomery as the deserter co-pilot who has to break it to Steve that his father wasn't a coward after all.

Interestingly, Steve then apparently climbs back up the mountain to retrieve his father's remains for burial back at Arlington. When? Did he report back to Oscar first or go back up alone solo? Or did someone have the good sense to formally intervene for a diplomatic truce and land a Chinook up there with a qualified forensics team. While uniformly enjoyable, most of the first season stories don't leave one wondering what happened between scene wipes. This one has a complexity that is greater than what the series usually expected of itself.

Also done without much fuss or bother. The episode is straightforward, such to the point that there isn't much humor or joking around. No sly one liners, but Montgomery's line about Steve having just buried his father sticks with you. Dodgy stock shots of parachutists and mountain climbing scenes with the ground visible below aside, there isn't a spare scene or unnecessary moment and it's all storytelling. No tricks or gimmicks. The bionics work is part of the story and none of it is sensationalized. Compared to the mayhem with Bigfoot or the Death Probe it is almost a totally different show.

If only the series had been able to maintain such an edge, though sadly seven year olds like myself were enthralled and our parents put off by the body count. ABC found out and by the end of the 2nd season it was a family show. By the end of season 3 he was jumping up into trees to save cats, and then came the mustache. Still never missed an episode.