I'm too young to have watched The Six Million Dollar Man, and the only reason I'm even remotely familiar with The Fall Guy and The Big Valley is because my father would sometimes watch those shows (The Big Valley was in syndication when I was younger). So Me & Lee, a new pilot for FOX in which Lee Majors helps an injured man (played by Jamie Kennedy) by sprucing him up with a new bionic body a la the Six Million Dollar Man, did not catch my attention because of Majors' involvement, it caught my attention because Paul Dinello, co-creator and co-star of one of my favorite shows of all time (Strangers with Candy) was attached to direct the pilot.
I've had a chance to read the pilot script, written by Matthew Salsberg (Weeds, The War at Home, Entourage), and while that's not exactly the best way to judge a show, I think the idea has potential. There's no legitimate reason given as to why Majors has decided to devote his life to duplicating the technology from his former series, and if he plays the role straight-faced I think there's plenty of comedy to be mined from this oddball concept. The script had a few laugh out loud moments, and Majors treats his "patient" less like a human being and more like a new video game he can manipulate and push around. All around, it's a weird idea, and it really shouldn't work, but if done right, I think it just might surprise.
My only concern is that Kennedy might play his role as Joel Salsberg (same surname as the script writer, you'll notice) too over-the-top, which I think would be detrimental to the whole concept. What I loved about the script is that we're pretty much dropped into this world and asked to either accept or not, which is something you can get away with in comedy moreso than in drama. I'll definitely check this show out when it airs, and hopefully my forecast won't be too far off the mark.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-04-2007 @ 1:33PM
Seth said...
Well, sadly I do remember the $6M man, but I had some issues with him - like, he had one bionic leg, yet could run 60 miles an hour - how did his other leg keep up?
I have spent many years trying to figure out the physics - now, back to my diagrams...
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4-04-2007 @ 1:42PM
Rogphi said...
I watched The $6M man and He had TWO bionic legs, 1 arm and 1 eye. Thus by both legs being Bionic they were able to keep up with each other! I think this show has potential if its written and played the right way!
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4-04-2007 @ 1:53PM
Akbar Fazil said...
will this work with David Eick's upcoming reimagine of the Bionic Woman?
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4-04-2007 @ 1:55PM
epobirs said...
Seth, you may be confusing the $6M Man with the knock-off cyborg character added to the G.I. Joe line of toys when the $6M Man toys were big sellers.
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4-04-2007 @ 2:50PM
Brian Erst said...
Seth -
As others have stated, Lee/Austin had two bionic legs. Now, if you had been watching one of the all-time awful/great movies (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes), THEIR bionic man only had one bionic leg (due to budget problems).
When he ran, he just spun around in circles and when he did the bionic jump, he rocketed off at a 45-degree angle...
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4-04-2007 @ 4:17PM
LC said...
Seth-
Though he had two bionic legs, I agree that the physics were a bit off. His entire muscular skeletal system was not bionic so one would wonder when he lifted a car from the bumper with his bionic arm why it didn't just rip out of the socket where it was grafted to his human parts.
Plus it would have driven me nuts to have a cross hair ever present in one eye.
Though that's what suspension of disbelief is for. I'm glad I was just a kid when it was on and enjoyed it without thinking about it too deeply. Although us kids at the time did wonder why they simulated super speed by using slow motion.
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4-04-2007 @ 6:42PM
scotty said...
I get the sense that I'll love this series (or the pilot at least). I predict the type of humor is probably like "Strangers with Candy", "Andy Barker P.I.", "Get A Life", and "HEAT Vision and Jack".
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4-05-2007 @ 1:04AM
Caitlin said...
Oh wow, you got to read the script, how exciting! I too am interested in the show pretty much exclusively for Paul Dinello (I only briefly know anything about Lee Majors). I run http://pauldinello.net (yeah that was a shameless plug) so I've been following information on the pilot pretty closely and was glad to see this entry.
The show sounds really bizarre, but I'm hoping it's in the weird and wonderful way that an audience can get behind. I'm really hoping it will actually make it to air. I have faith in Paul to pick a good show.
I can't help but keep thinking of the Mayor West character in Family Guy when I think about Lee Major's character in this. It seems like a similar idea to take an actor that has sort of a camp following and turn it into an eponymous sort of thing. I think it really has the potential to be a unique show.
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4-05-2007 @ 4:39AM
Nina said...
Anyone who claims that their too young to have seen Six Million Dollar Man or Charlie's Angels or I Love Lucy, for that matter, is trying way too hard to be too young.
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5-08-2007 @ 12:00AM
kimberly anthony said...
I am a childhood fan of 6million dollar man... the idea of the after serious ...where are they now is brilliant. so silly yet you can't look away.
Anything attatched to Jamie Kennedy has to be funny and turn to epic pop culture!
Keep watchin the blowin up episodes...they are timeless.
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5-08-2007 @ 10:47AM
Random Guy said...
Hi, I just watched the pilot and wanted to dispell some of your fears. I didn't even recognize Jamie Kennedy off the bat. Puffy, dark hair and stubble have something to do with it, but his acting isn't over-the-top in his usually style. Spirit broken and a little cynical, it's pretty funny. You also said it would be funny if Lee Majors played it straight-faced...which he definitely does. He is dead-pan the entire time in that rugged, whickey-drinking, cowboy-hat-wearing, 70s-drama manner. The pacing seemed slightly off, but it is a pilot after all. It has an interesting cinematography/feel (similar in style to Curb Your Enthusiasm) and nice background music. Will be interesting what direction subsequent episodes take.
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