In this
Six Million Dollar Man episode, Steve Austin is dispatched to find two company men who disappeared while checking out some bizarre ore in
sacred Indian ground. Some badly stereotypical Indians intercept Austin and require him to pass various tribal tests to gain permission to enter this ground. Naturally, these test measure physical prowess, so secretly bionic Austin passes handily -- even though one testing Indian cheats repeatedly (in one instance, Austin must dodge a
spear; the bad Indian chucks
two spears; Austin dodges both). The bad Indian "accidentally" spears Austin's arm (with a slow-acting
poison, we later learn, a futile effort because, hey, bionic arm).
Austin is then permitted to enter the sacred ground -- where he must catch an
eagle for the tribe. The Chief's daughter, "Little Deer" (the lovely
Kathleen Beller) follows Austin, admonishes him for drinking "bad water," and watches over him during his resulting
nightmares. The next day, they find the missing company men's
jeep, near a cave-in. But before investigating the cave-in, Little Deer spots an eagle, and Austin bionically
jumps up and snatches it out of the air.
Everything after that is
anticlimactic. Having secured the eagle in a bag, Austin clears away the boulders to find the company men inside. The Chief and the bad Indian arrive, threatening to shoot the men (the Chief has secretly sold the ore to unseen "powerful men") but Little Deer stands up to them. The bad Indian plans to shoot them anyway (including Little Deer), but Austin bionically chucks a rock into his gut, then grabs the gun. End of fight. End of story, except the
denouement, where the Indians honor Austin, giving him the privilege of freeing the eagle (who leaves behind some tail feathers, apparently a good
omen).
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