| abstract
| - Oliver Spencer was the ostensible, though not explicit, head of the Office of Strategic Operations. It was Spencer who oversaw the operation to rebuild Steve Austin after his near-fatal plane crash. (The Six Million Dollar Man (1973)). His precise relationship to Oscar Goldman, if any, was never explored, because Spencer was not seen after Steve's first bionic mission. Little is revealed about Spencer in the telefilm, other than he comes across as somewhat world-weary and cyncial, and has adopted an "ends justifies the means" approach to his work with OSO, treating human beings as tools to be used and, if necessary discarded. His initial mission for Austin is designed to be a suicide mission should he fail, Spencer's justification being he can always build another bionic man. After Austin returns, Spencer asks Rudy Wells about the feasibility of keeping Austin in electrosleep full-time, reviving him only if needed. Another aspect of the character is that he walks with a cane due to an unexplained leg injury or medical condition; this leads Steve, at one point, to suggest Spencer might have been a more appropriate bionic test subject.
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