Bionic Fans
| Mailing List | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Bionic Fans, The Bionic Fan Network (bionicfans.net) The Bionic Fan Network (bionicfans.net) |
| Date(s): | 2 June 1998 to 14 December 2019 |
| Moderated: | Yes |
| Founder(s): | Paul K. Bisson |
| Type: | Discussion |
| Fandom: | The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man |
| Scope: | General events news |
| URL: | https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/bionicfans/info |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Bionic Fans (later also known as The Bionic Fan Network (bionicfans.net)) was a public Yahoo group that had moderated posting, with 705 members at its close. The group's peak period was in 2002-2003. The group had a steady amount of posting until 2014, after which it dropped off rapidly. When it was most active it had as many as 462 messages a month. Discussion ranged from celebrity news and merchandise offers to searches for episode recordings and episode discussion, as well as convention reports and con discussion.
The group was connected to a website of the same name.
Description
The Bionic Fan Network celebrates the "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman," which starred Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner, respectively. Launched in 1998, we started as an online discussion group. Today we're an active fan community that helps maintain interest in these shows through multiple fan sites,blogs, social networks, podcasts, a collaborative wiki, and audio-visual media. There's been a kind of "Bionic Renaissance" in recent years and some of us have had the privilege to participate in the development of new, officially licensed products, such as the Time-Life Six Million Dollar Man Complete DVD Collection, Universal's official Bionic Woman DVD collection, Rittenhouse Trading Cards, and COZI-TV's promotional campaign for the return of Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman to syndication. This forum is where it all began back in 1998. The frequency of posts has slowed down a bit due to the rise of social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. But we still have interesting and lively discussions. Join us! For Fans, Old & New, Of THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN And THE BIONIC WOMAN! Whether You Want To Share An Opinion, Deliver News, Talk FX, Vote On Your Favs, Roast The Ones You Hate, OR Just Mingle With Bionic Fans Like Yourself -- The SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN & BIONIC WOMAN Mailing List Is The Best Place For Discussion!
Sample Posts
October 2, 1998
Okay guys, I'm getting a little confused here. I thought that there were only 3 TV movies done.... 1. Return of the SMDM and Bionic Woman 2. Bionic Showdown 3. Bionic Ever After
I have never heard of Bionic Breakdown. When was it done?? Anyway I would like to get copies of the movies so you could send prices on how much to have them done I would appreciate it muchly.
July 10, 1999
Ok, guess I should quit lurking and start participating so I'll start things off with a brief bio and tell you folks about the near miss I had with the Bionic Woman.
I'm 34 yrs old and live in Lompoc, Ca (which btw is only a= bout 1 1/2 hrs from Ojai...but I've haven't been there yet.) I was a completly crazy about the BW show when I was a kid...absolutely, positively had to watch the show...even when it was in re-runs during the summer. I was sooo fanatic about it I would even record the show on a tape recorder (before VCRs) so I could listen to it and re-listen to it over and over.
Ok, now for the near miss...like I said I live in Lompoc, Ca which is 5 miles away from Vandenberg AFB which is where they filmed a few scenes for "Fembots in Vegas". Yes I lived here when they filmed it but don't ya know my silly parents forced me to go on summer vacation with them and I wasn't here when the BW crew was filming...UGH!!! I didn't even want to go on that stoopid trip to begin with and then to find out when I got back that LW had stayed in a hotel here in Lompoc and they were filming out at VAFB...ugh...needless to say I was sooo pissed! LOL, in fact over 20 years later I still get pissed at my parents for dragging me along and missing the opportunity of a life time. Damn parents anyways...wanting to spend quality family time...the nerve!! LOL
Any more near misses out there?? Would love to hear them.
July 10, 1999
Kelly, what a great story! I would've been just as upset! I also taped recorded what I could back before VCRs became affordable! (boy, have times changed or what?!). Thankfully, a local station re-ran the BW epidsodes in syndication when I did have a VCR. Now that I'm married with 2 small kids, my husband thinks I'm a nutcase to save them all.
July 11, 1999
the fact that universal is just sitting on thes episodes, and not putting them on video, frustrates me to no end!!
i mean, just last night i thought wouldn't it be great if they put together kill oscar 1,2 and 3 and packaged them as 'the first fembots' or 'the origin story of the fembots', or, heck, even 'shaggadelic oscar'!
October 4, 2006
I hate to be the bad news bearer here, but the rumors yesterday that Lee Majors would not show at all at Bionicon came true today. As slap-in-the-face disappointing as that comes to us fans who made the trip here to LA to attend, however, I am not going to let such a cold act ruin the time I got to spend with old/new friends here. Plus, it was a great opportunity for me to see Martin E. Brooks and Jennifer Darling in person. I'll post pictures later when I'm back.
July 4, 2007
Richard Anderson and Martin E. Brooks were asked about the new show at their second Q & A. Both said that they felt it was going to be too "dark" compared to the original series. Kenneth Johnson stay for the sneak peak viewing, but did not come out and bash it publicly.
April 8, 2017
I don't think it was Kenny's idea to do this eppy or The Bionic Dog eppy. I think they were forced on him. Did the networks really think having a Bionic Dog and/or Bionic Boy show wouldn't lead to bionic burnout, lol ?
I heard on the Bionic Dog commentary that Kenny Johnson was no longer involved with BW in Season 3. The commentary further revealed that the new producers were hoping that this episode would spur on yet another bionic spinoff, this time for Maximillian.
Bionic burnout indeed!
April 8, 2017
Yes you are correct. Max was an inspiration already created by a woman in Germany so they would not receive any credit for their version, so Max simply stayed on BW. Kenny and Lindsay had a major falling out early in season 3 and Kenny left BW and moved onto shows like Incredible hulk and V. You could see the shift in story lines after his departure. I often wonder if Kenny had written the 3 reunion movies, would have they have been better and/or more authentic to the original characters.
April 8, 2017
Unless I completely missed the boat, Kenny Johnson never mentioned anything about a major fallout with Lindsay during both bionicons when I saw him 10 years ago. I heard Lee Majors had had some differences with Lindsay due to compensation contracts, but this news about Kenny leaving BW because of problems with Lindsay comes as a shock. I guess they must have reconciled after that because in the conventions, Kenny was always praising Lindsay.
April 8, 2017
They did indeed have a falling out. Kenny talks,about it in the Bionic reconstructed book ( is that the right title?)by Herbie Plato. But Kenny also said that he felt higher ups were pushing Lindsay to get rid of him. If i find my copy of book, i will post the passages.
I was also pleasantly surprised at how well they got along at bionicon1
June 10, 2018
Thanks Paul. While there are indeed advantages of social media in sharing images/videos and collaborating in an even faster tempo than email, I agree that this has taken away from the family feel of typing/reading longer messages with more thought into them as opposed to quick postings on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
What happened to all the bionic buddies I remember from the bionic conventions on this forum? I do see that Lori, Paul, Scott, and others still post; but I do miss the bionic blond reviews, the crazy rhymes based on bionic episodes from one member, and some Wonder Woman fan's drive to figure out the legalities of why it took so long for the SMDM and BW DVD's to be released.
As for my post from a 7-yr old thread, I have a confession to make. I had been saving all the bionic fan groups' posts related to SMDM/BW episodes I've never yet watched in an email folder. Just recently I managed to complete years worth of watching bionic episodes and/or reunion movies because I would watch only one episode per week on average (just as if it was on air all over again), plus spend a lot of time on the DVD extras. Finally, I'd been able to read the posts people have been making on these episodes or reunion movies because any spoilers I would already know about! Unfortunately, the bionic blond author must have already left this group by now because it was fun reading and replying to her posts.
Who knows, maybe this group will make a comeback. Meanwhile, it is interesting making new bionic friends on social media as well.
Happy 20th!