The intro to the Six Million Dollar Man was probably the best intro to a show ever, IMO. “Steve Austin, astronaut, a man barely alive... We can re-build him...” Totally mesmerized me when I was a kid watching this.
That footage of the crash was real, and the pilot survived. It was a Lifting Body Reentry Vehicle.
http://blog.nasm.si.edu/highlights-from-the-collection/a-crash-made-famous-on-tv/