episode #21 - The Deadly Replay

episode # 8 of 2nd season / Air Date: 11/22/74 written by Wilton Denmark Directed by Christian Nyby II

This was more of a character study than what we were used to from this show. The story has Austin revisit the day of his terrible accident, the crash of the test plane which resulted in his becoming a bionic man. The test plane has been reassembled and Austin's past colleagues, his old ground crew, have all also reassembled to test the flying vehicle again; the question is whether Austin has what it takes to get in the ship and try it again. Early indications say no - he appears to freeze during simulation and even has what looks like a nervous breakdown. The biggest eye-opener, though, is the news from Goldman that Austin's original test flight in this machine may have been sabotaged. Of course, more sabotage may be happening in this replay.
Lee Majors as Austin was surprisingly effective in this episode; I say surprising as I always felt him to be limited as an actor. But, I could feel his apprehension when he first sees the test plane reassembled and his later scenes of seeming to break down in the simulator were convincing. The episode also benefitted from some fine character actors, notably Clifton James and Jack Ging. This wasn't too exciting (we're back on the golf course as one display of Austin's bionics) but, as drama, it worked. It's also an important episode as it shed a completely new light on that fateful crash (in the pilot film) - it was no longer an accident but intentional. The story also revealed some behind-the-scenes villainous businessman who is responsible for all this - his face is hidden and it suggests some larger conspiracy. BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10

Bionic Trivia: the revelations in this episode concerning sabotage, adjusting the events of the pilot telefilm, obviously contradict the premise in the original novel by Martin Caidin in which the crash was depicted as purely an unfortunate accident.