"Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better... stronger... faster, " proclaims a confident Oscar Goldman during the intro to one of the most iconic television shows ever - The Six Million Dollar Man. The show, starring Lee Majors, was so popular in the seventies that it spawned an equally popular spinoff, The Bionic Woman, which starred Lindsay Wagner as Steve Austin's female counterpart Jaime Sommers. Oscar Goldman, played with particular panache by Richard Anderson, was the boss. Merchandising quickly followed with everything from lunchboxes to dolls being offered for public consumption. I found this Oscar Goldman doll on eBay years ago and, impressed by its condition and compelled by nostalgia, bought it to add to my toy collection.
The narrow box does show signs of wear and age, but that's to be expected. The plastic cover inside is torn, but the doll, remarkably, is in excellent shape.
The Oscar Goldman doll, produced by Kenner, comes complete with full outfit and an "exploding briefcase".
I was very happy to see that he did not have any chewing or scarring anywhere on his body, including his face. I mean, these were toys meant to be played with and let's face it - most kids (especially boys) are pretty rough with their toys, but this Oscar seems to have survived the seventies and beyond with very little tampering.
The vivid colors of his turtleneck and tweed jacket fared well during the ages with only the pants being slightly discolored with what looks like faint water stains. Even the shoes look practically new. And he came with both his socks! Impressive.
But here's where things get really good: the exploding briefcase! Looks like any normal briefcase, right? Very plain and unassuming, correct?
Well, if you open it the "normal" way, you get to see all the gadgets and doodads pertinent to upcoming top secret missions, including a bionic scanner, decoder with a fully articulated knob, headset and personal files on both Jaime Sommers and Steve Austin. Classified stuff, you know.
But if you try to get cheeky and Oscar feels threatened or infringed upon, unlocking the case without his permission (turning the handle all the way to the right) will have dire consequences...
KABOOM! The briefcase explodes, blowing the case's one panel clear off...
... and leaving the contents inside "destroyed". All files and top secret info are now illegible and irretrievable. A sure fire way to keep all documents secure and away from prying eyes.
Again, minus some minor wear, the case is in very good condition. And the exploding mechanism being still operational (which I didn't think it would be) is a major plus.
I can only imagine how many hours of fun little kids had playing with this doll. I mean, I'm a grown woman and I think it's awesome! It's a cool toy based on cool characters from a super cool TV show created during an era when kids used to race home and park themselves in front of the tube and let their imaginations run wild.
Don't know if I'll ever get the other dolls from the series, but I'm totally content with Oscar for now. He's a very fortunate find, indeed.
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