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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 264467" data-attributes="member: 23">Return Of The Six Million Dollar Man And The Bionic Woman <img src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTcyMDIzODgtZGM5NS00OTQ1LWFmMjgtNjE4YWU3YjBhY2EwXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTg2NjYzOA@@._V1_.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="width: 491px" /> Or - depending on your source - The Return. But I’ve done all the semantics business with The Return Of The Bionic Woman, so let’s not dwell on that. A decade doesn’t seem a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it’s still a bit of a shock to find a middle aged Jaime and Steve with feathery late Eighties hairdos and flowing or baggy clothes (including, in Jaime’s case, an ill-advised boiler-suit). Everything about this screams “Eighties” to the point it looks (to me at least) far more dated than the earlier series. From the busy opening titles to the synthesised score throughout featuring copious electronic drumbeats that call to mind Dempsey And Makepeace or the Dallas opening titles during the Donna Reed season. It’s not all bad news. The heart of both earlier series beats strong. In addition to the two leads, also returning are Richard Anderson and Martin E. Brooks, both of whom look reassuringly similar. Yes, they’ve both aged a tad, and MEB has a questionable mahogany rinse, but because they’re settled in their styles they are instantly recognisable as the same characters. Oscar sports a lighter version of his trademark aviators. In addition to his white lab coat and eternal moustache, Rudy appears to wear exactly the same reading glasses frame style, but updated to a bronze crystal frame rather than the solid red tortoise ones of a decade earlier. Their timelessness helps greatly and makes them the least dated aspect of the whole production. There’s a very enjoyable Eighties soundtrack. The first song I spotted was Hip To Be Square from Huey Lewis And The News. Which raised an eyebrow considering just last week I watched American Psycho for the first time in around two decades. Also making themselves heard were The Pointer Sisters with Automatic and Simply Red’s Holding Back The Years, which straddled the line between appropriate and ironic. Continuity was great in some ways but seemed a little iffy in others. Oscar recalling his conversation with Jaime from On The Run was a nice touch. But the block with Jaime’s memories which affected their romance felt slightly retconned. Yes, it was certainly there in The Return Of The Bionic Woman and Welcome Home, Jaime. But they were more romantically involved in later crossovers so it felt as though they’d overcome that obstacle through the course of both series. I don’t recall the block being addressed explicitly post Welcome Home, Jaime, so I could give this film the benefit of the doubt and suppose they’d not actually dealt with the elephant in the room, which was at least partly why they drifted apart. Chris had been killed off in the interim period between final episode and first reunion, and I felt it was given enough weight and significance to further the story. And it was arguably necessary for Jaime and Steve to have no obstacles. While I don’t believe Helen and Jim were mentioned (a shame, since they link Jaime and Steve together in a very special way), I’d have to assume they’re both still alive. Jaime and Steve haven’t seen each other since the days of the series, and I can’t imagine either of them missing a funeral of characters who are so important to them. Unless something happened while Jaime was recuperating in hospital from the mission in Budapest in which Chris was killed.  And that would be a whole lot of tragedy. continued...</blockquote>

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