David Edward Martin It's hard to remember now what an impoverished time the 1970s were for science fiction and superhero television shows. While the SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, BIONIC WOMAN, INCREDIBLE HULK, and WONDER WOMAN seem to have done well in our memories, their budgets were limited and the creativity was hampered by the SFX technology of the time.But that did not stop studios from trying. And occasionally a network would begrudgingly cough up the money for a pilot in the form of a made-for-TV flick.In this case, the guys behind the two bionic shows on ABC got NBC interested in their pitch for another Martin Caidin concept. Caidin was the leading "tech thriller" writer of the 60s and 70s. His NASA novel MAROONED (actually three novels) was a famous film. His gritty novel CYBORG was softened into the popular SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN. NBC probably asked for "something like the $6M Man but different." They got it.Caidin again looked to cutting edge technology for his gimmick. NASA and the Pentagon had been working on "man-amplifiers", powered frameworks a user could wear and use to possess forklift-like strength. The chemical industry had developed "memory plastic", materials that could be deformed then spring back into shape when an electric current was supplied. So there was the concept-- a man-amplifier suit that used memory plastic joints to make it work.Of course this is television so they needed a crisis to compel the hero to build the thing in the first place. In this case, the hero was a college professor who witnessed a crime. The local mobsters tried shutting him up by nearly killing him. Now paraplegic, the hero decided to combine his work with memory plastic with research by his colleagues to produce an armored plastic suit that can walk on its own. And of course, this being TV, he used the suit to get revenge on the mobsters. He even picked up the obligatory street-smart young assistant along the way. The idea looked good on paper. The only problem was, the best mid-70s SFX tech could come up with was plastic plate mail the wearer could barely move in. NBC took a look at the pilot, let it air once, and quietly forgot about it. As did most of the viewers.Martin Caidin just cashed his check and went on with his life. After all, he still had the royalties from the bionic shows coming in. A few years later, Caidin decided to recycle the basic ideas behind EXOMAN in his early-80s tech thriller MANFAC. Like CYBORG, this is a very serious, very adult novel that still holds up well. MANFAC also enabled Caidin to have his final say on some of the exaggerated powers of THE $6M MAN, especially that "running at 60 mph" trick (the suit's legs literally run out from under the wearer).

sunkorg I was quite a young child but remember this movie. I recall the handicapped man visiting museums and studying chain mail while designing his special armor. He would climb into a tanning booth-like device that would encase him in the suit. Once in it, he was able to walk and, of course, fight crime. Ah, the 70's! ;)For years I had assumed it was a short-lived series...I had no idea there was only one movie ever made! Apparently there was a lot of studio wrangling that prevented this pilot concept from taking off. Too bad. It's interesting that this idea has since been used in other film productions.Search YouTube for "Exoman" and you'll find a five-minute clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0KSqelmgN8

valeriemaxim The film of Exoman has, to my knowledge, only ever been seen by myself and my friend John. Periodically I make a point of asking new acquaintances whether or not the have caught the movie and the answer has always, always been NO. This adds to the film's mass intrigue. Other elements of the film that add to this are the insane plot. Are the people that made this film a band of comic geniuses? At maybe more than one moment in the past they must have sat around a table and discussed the script. Were these meetings minuted? Conducted in a hail of intoxicants? Were mental folk brought in as consultants?Exoman is a festival of incredulity. For example the film is nearly over by the time he gets a crime fighting, most of the film regards a scientist doing research and development, he makes the exosuit airtight (for what reason?) which very nearly kills him and he has to be rescued by a child in an alley! (The obviously scared urchin approaches the downed bright orange limbed cylinder and opens an air tap, as you would.)To strengthen what may be seen to be gaping holes in the story the film is bolstered by lines such as, "Isn't that the compound we found to be bullet proof?" (A fact that somehow means a jeep, when driven directly at him at speed, bounces off?)If there is one thing that I would change about the film it would be that it gets on the National Curriculum for England and Wales and taught in maths lessons. This film is quite clearly a work of modern art that should make Damain Hurst, Tracey Emin et al take a good long look at the work they're producing.

gatebanger Another good idea ruined by the TV people. "Exo-Man" is the story of a college professor who is crippled by a spinal injury during a break-in (the bad guy whacks him across the back with a length of pipe). He uses his talents to build an exoskeleton (actually a suit) to enable himself to walk - and to avenge himself on the bad guys.The movie started out OK, but the special effects were poor for 1977 and the script was horrible.If this sounds familiar, the idea was handled a bit better in the short-lived series M.A.N.T.I.S.