Bionic Six facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bionic Six |
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| Genre | Animation |
| Created by | Ron Friedman |
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| Directed by |
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| Creative director(s) | Bob Dranko |
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| Country of origin |
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| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 65 (list of episodes) |
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| Executive producer(s) | Yutaka Fujioka Eiji Katayama |
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| Editor(s) | Sam Horta |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Universal Television Tokyo Movie Shinsha |
| Distributor | MCA TV |
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| Original network | USA Network & syndicated |
| Original release | April 19 – November 12, 1987 |
Bionic Six (バイオニックシックス, Baionikku Shikkusu) is an exciting animated TV show from 1987. It was made by Universal Television and animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha in Japan. The show is about a family of superheroes who get special powers from bionic technology.
The Bionic Six are a family of machine-enhanced humans. Each person has unique powers after getting special bionic parts. They use these powers to form a superhero team. The show was first planned as a follow-up to The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman.
Contents
Story of the Bionic Six
"A family, brought together by fate and given superpowers through the miracle of modern science!"
In the future, Professor Dr. Amadeus Sharp creates amazing new technology. This tech can give humans special bionic abilities. His first secret agent, Jack Bennett, known as Bionic-1, was one of his first subjects.
One day, while on a ski trip, Jack's family gets buried in an avalanche caused by an alien spaceship. Jack uses his bionic powers to free himself. He finds his family unconscious. Professor Sharp thinks Jack's bionics saved him. So, he gives bionic technology to the rest of Jack's family. This wakes them up and gives them powers too!
After this, the Bennett family secretly becomes the Bionic Six. They are a team of superheroes who fight crime and help people.
Facing Doctor Scarab
The main bad guy in the series is the mad scientist Doctor Scarab. He has his own group of henchmen: Glove, Madam-O, Chopper, Mechanic, and Klunk. Scarab also has many robot helpers called Cyphrons.
Doctor Scarab is actually Wilmer Sharp, Professor Sharp's brother. He wants to live forever and rule the world. Scarab believes his brother's secret bionic technology is the key to his goals. He is always trying to steal it.
Meet the Characters
The Heroes: The Bionic Six Family
- Professor Dr. Amadeus Sharp is the brilliant scientist who gives the Bionic Six their powers. He works for the government and has a secret lab hidden in his private museum. This lab is also the Bionic Six's secret base. He is Doctor Scarab's brother.
The Bennett family lives in a hidden home by the ocean in California. Each family member wears a special ring and a "wristcomp" (a mini-computer on their wrist). They use these to turn on their bionic powers. The Bionic Six can also combine their powers by holding hands. This creates a "Bionic Link" that makes their abilities even stronger.
- Jack Bennett (Bionic-1) is an engineer and a great test pilot. He is also a secret agent. Bionic-1 has amazing bionic eyes that can see through things (x-ray vision), see far away, and shoot energy blasts. He also has super hearing. He was the first one to get bionic powers.
- Helen Bennett (Mother-1) is Jack's wife. She studies the ocean and marine life. Mother-1 has special ESP powers. She can sometimes see the future, talk to animals and machines with her mind, and create hologram illusions. She is also a skilled fighter.
- Eric Bennett (Sport-1) is Jack and Helen's athletic son. He plays baseball at school. As Sport-1, he has electromagnetic powers. He can attract or push away metal objects with great force. He can also use objects like a baseball bat to hit or deflect things.
- Meg Bennett (Rock-1) is Jack and Helen's daughter and Eric's younger sister. She loves music and is very energetic. As Rock-1, she can shoot sonic beams from blasters on her shoulders. She is also the fastest runner among the Bionic Six.
- James Dwight "J.D." Corey (IQ) is Jack and Helen's adopted son. He is super intelligent, which is why he's called IQ. While all the Bionic Six are strong, J.D. is the strongest of them all.
- Bunjiro "Bunji" Tsukahara (Karate-1) is Jack and Helen's foster son from Japan. He loves karate. As Karate-1, his martial arts skills are made even better by his bionics. He is the most agile and has super-sharp reflexes.
- F.L.U.F.F.I. is a robot who looks like a gorilla. He works as a housekeeper for the Bennetts. He loves to eat aluminum cans and other metal objects! Even though he can be clumsy, he often helps the Bionic Six.
The Villains: Doctor Scarab's Gang
The main villain is Dr. Scarab, whose real name is Wilmer Sharp. He is Professor Sharp's brother. Scarab is a smart but very proud man who wants to live forever and take over the world. He has a special monocle in his right eye that can find people with bionics and shoot powerful beams.
Dr. Scarab has given his henchmen lesser bionic powers. He is always trying to learn the secrets of his brother's better bionic technology.
- Glove is a purple-skinned villain with a blaster glove on his left hand. He often leads Scarab's plans and wants to take over as leader. He is cunning but usually runs away when he starts losing.
- Madame-O is the only female member of Scarab's team. She has blue skin, wears a mask, and uses a harp-like weapon to fire sonic blasts. She often ends her sentences with "...darling."
- Mechanic is a big, not-so-smart brute. He uses tools like nail guns and wrenches as weapons. He can get angry easily but loves animals and children's cartoons.
- Chopper is a tough guy who uses a chain as a weapon. He makes sounds like a revving motorcycle and sometimes rides a three-wheeled bike.
- Klunk is a strange, gooey monster who can barely speak. He is not very smart, but he is incredibly strong and hard to hurt. His body can even trap opponents. Unlike the others, he wishes he could be human again.
When Scarab and his gang need to be sneaky, they use "Bionic Masking Units" to disguise themselves. To turn off their disguises, they hit their chests and shout, "Hail Scarab!" (Scarab himself shouts, "Hail me!"). This also gives them a temporary boost in strength.
Scarab also uses his own robots called Cyphrons. They are usually not very smart but can be dangerous in large groups.
Helpful Friends and Foes
The Bionic Six also features other characters who sometimes help or cause trouble.
- Bunji's Father: Bunji's father, who taught him martial arts, disappeared years ago. He sometimes appears to help Bunji when he is in danger, often without anyone else noticing.
- Perceptor: Peter Wilcox was a bionic researcher who accidentally blinded himself while testing bionics. He blamed technology and became an anti-tech vigilante. After meeting the Bionic Six, he changes his ways and sometimes helps them.
- Dr. Hugo Fish: An unusual scientist and Professor Sharp's friend. Dr. Fish creates strange inventions, like food that makes you smarter or devices that create giant mushrooms. His inventions often get him caught between the Bionic Six and Scarab.
- The Bandroids are androids created to be a musical band. They are Rivet Rick (guitar), Techno Tex (keyboard), Metalhand (bass), and Bob (drums). Each Bandroid has a special ability, like creating force fields or shooting electricity.
- Kaleidoscope: Harlan Nails was a brilliant scientist who worked with Professor Sharp. He invented a suit that could change an item's atomic structure. After Scarab betrayed him, Kaleidoscope became a master of disguise. His suit can not only create illusions but also temporarily change matter. He sometimes helps the Bionic Six, even though he claims to be a crook.
Bionic Six Vehicles
- The Sky Dancer is the Bionic Six's main jet. It's used for long missions and can carry all their other vehicles. It's hidden in their base and takes off from an underwater runway.
- The M.U.L.E.S. Van (Mobile Utility Energizing Station) is a support vehicle. It can fly, carry the team on shorter missions, and transport their motorcycles and ATVs.
Episode Guide
The first season of Bionic Six introduces the Bennett family, Scarab, and his gang. We learn how Karate-1 got his powers and the mystery of his missing father. The origins of both the Bionic Six and Scarab's team are revealed early on. Characters like Dr. Fish and Perceptor also appear.
The second season continues the story. Old friends like Perceptor and Dr. Fish return, and new characters like the Bandroids are introduced. The second season includes a two-part episode called "I, Scarab." In this story, Professor Sharp puts together a second Bionic Six team to rescue the original team. This new team includes Kaleidoscope, Perceptor, and the Bandroids.
In the final episode, some of the Bionic Six get trapped in a cartoon world. After they escape, one of them wonders if they themselves might also be cartoon characters. Their family just laughs it off, and then some cartoon characters from the other dimension walk by their house, looking at the audience as the show ends.
Merchandise
Action Figures
LJN produced a line of Bionic Six action figures in 1986. There were 13 figures, including the Bionic Six family, F.L.U.F.F.I., and Doctor Scarab's team. The line also included five vehicles and one playset. These toys were made from plastic and metal, and some figures had clear limbs. F.L.U.F.F.I. was hard to find at first but became easier later. Today, these toys are still collected, with the playset and vehicles being the rarest.
Books
Grosset & Dunlap Publishing released the Bionic Six Super Picture Book. This book was a collection of colorful and black-and-white pictures of the Bionic Six, Dr. Sharp, F.L.U.F.F.I., and Scarab's team.
See also
In Spanish: La familia biónica para niños
