Bionic Woman (2007 TV series)
Since the rights to the novel "Cyborg" by Martin Caidin were held by other parties, the new series excluded any overt elements from it (although it did not prevent the writers from giving Jaime elements of bionics from the original novel, such as a bionic eye). This was the same for the character Steve Austin from the "Six Million Dollar Man", of which the original "The Bionic Woman" was a spin-off. Neither Kenneth Johnson nor Martin Caidin received screen credit on the new series, where they did in the original "Bionic Woman". Johnson has confirmed on his website that he had no involvement with the new "Bionic Woman" series. Lindsay Wagner, the original Bionic Woman, also played no part in the new series. Wagner said, "On a technical level, it was very good, but I don't think they understood the show. It was steeped in that old-school thinking. It was like a lot of things today, angry and dark."
Evel Knievel
Knievel made several television appearances, including frequently as a guest on talk shows such as "Dinah!" and Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show". In 1977, Evel made a guest spot on "The Bionic Woman", where he played himself, getting inadvertently caught up in East German espionage while appearing in West Germany. Actual footage from Evel's L.A. Coliseum jump over crushed cars was used in the beginning of the episode, and an indoor jump over 11 cars and 1 van was used at the end of the show. Also in 1977, Warner Bros. released "Viva Knievel!" This movie starred Knievel as himself and co-starred Lauren Hutton, Gene Kelly and Red Buttons. Similar to "The Bionic Woman," actual footage from the Wembley jump was used in the movie. In addition, the 1999 children's TV series "Hilltop Hospital" featured a character based on Knievel called Weasel Kneasel, who was the focus of an episode of the same name.