"The Bionic Criminal"
(Original air date 11/09/75)
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Steve tries to stop seven-million-dollar-man Barney Hiller
from turning criminal
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Story: Peter Alan Fields
Teleplay: Richard Carr
Director: Leslie Martinson
At Rudy's lab, the process is under way to reactivate former race car driver turned bionic man, Barney Hiller (Monte Markham).
Steve drives up to the lab and meets with his friend Carla Peterson (Maggie Sullivan) in the parking lot, who happily announces her recent marriage to Barney. After reminiscing over old times, specially the part on how he stumbled upon the existence of a second cyborg, Steve heads up to the lab.
He is appalled by Oscar and Rudy's decision to restore Barney's bionic capabilities, knowing full well that the man lacks the fortitude to control his strength. Oscar assures him that the reactivation is only temporary, and that Barney will be under constant supervision. The experiment consists in knowing whether an army of bionic soldiers could be reactivated in the event of a global war.
Rudy explains to Steve that the process entailed risks, hence the reason why they didn't test it on him, but on Barney instead who gave his consent.
The next day, Barney is pit against Steve in a series of exercises to measure his strength, after which he excuses himself to drive over to the racing circuit in order to participate in the preliminaries for Saturday's big race.
Steve accompanies Barney to the track. Together with Carla, they watch Barney make a few spins. Carla deplores Barney's decision to return to racing, wishing he would choose a more reasonable profession. Barney is obsessed with winning one last race before retiring for good, so much that he's convinced the owner of a stable, Tom Shatley, (John Milford) to lend him a car for Saturday's race.
Before Shatley can find fault in his mediocre performance, Barney puts the blame on the old clunker.
While Shatley's men do a complete overhaul on the car, Barney is approached by Lester Burstyn (Donald Moffat), a former OSI employee who contacted him earlier with a shady proposition that Barney had turned down flat. He threatens to report him to Oscar should he ever show his face again.
Steve zooms him on the man to memorize his features. Lester leaves Barney to argue with Steve that his bionic strength will provide him with the mental boost he needs to claim first place in the race. He needs a victory desperately to feel whole again.
When Shatley insists the car is in working order, Barney takes it for another spin, reaching the same results. Shatley has no choice but to give Barney the boot. The decision enrages Barney who hurls him against the fence with a bionic push that renders the man unconscious.
When Steve fails to get a pulse, he starts CPR. Barney panics and runs off just as Steve succeeds in reviving Shatley.
Depressed, Barney seeks Burstyn to accept his proposition.
At night, Steve asks Oscar for the roster of Rudy's lab personnel to verify his suspicion about Burstyn. Oscar explains that the man was discharged after the budget cut. Steve suspects that he and Barney may be planning to pull off a coup.
Steve's assumption proves true. The next day, Barney holds up and armoured truck and flees with the bags of money.
Back at the lab, Steve, Rudy and Oscar lose themselves in conjectures as to Burstyn's ulterior motives for compelling Barney to commit and hold up.
After taking his share of the money, Barney leaves for Rudy's lab to ask the good doctor to remit the money to Shatley's widow, while he goes into hiding for the murder of her husband. Rudy informs him that Shatley's alive, that Steve was able to revive him and therefore he has no reason to flee. Excited, Barney leaves to go tell his wife the good news, while Rudy notifies Steve of Barney's whereabouts on his car phone.
Outside his house, Burstyn intercepts Barney and threatens him into reconsidering his decision to terminate their arrangement at the risk of getting his wife killed. Barney is left with no other alternative but to go with Burstyn, unaware that Steve is following the van.
In a bank guard uniform, Barney is dropped off at the Bayshore Federal bank downtown to break open the safe, while Steve follows the van to another corner. After discovering the uniforms, Steve drives back to the bank's underground parking lot to stop Barney.
The two engage in a bionic brawl that Burstyn and his men interrupt. Suspecting Steve to be another cyborg, Burstyn orders him into the van with Barney.
Inside Burstyn's headquarters in an abandoned factory, Barney uses his bionic strength to force Steve into revealing the reason for his presence in the parking lot. When Steve loses consciousness, they carry him down to the basement where they lock him into a room with Carla.
When he regains his senses, Steve overpowers the guard, kicks the door down, strides upstairs to help Barney neutralize Burstyn and his men once and for all.
Days later, Steve drives over to Barney's own engineering business to congratulate him on his achievement and on Carla's pregnancy. The newly deactivated bionic man intends to enjoy life at its fullest.
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