'The Greatest American Hero' TV Series (1981-83) Discussion

Yeah it's definitely a step-up from KNIGHT RIDER. I think the reason why there may be some disappointment with GAH is that it started off really well as memory serves -- even received good reviews -- and then kind of drifted into the formulaic. The show's sense of humor, one would think, would serve it well today if a revival was produced properly, especially in lieu of the endless super-hero genre stuff we see nowadays.

Great point on that busted pilot -- back in the 80s there was seldom any closure for canceled, self-contained series! It did serve that purpose but not much else lol.

 

Would love to see it again, loved it when I was a kid and had the theme song on 45 with a picture sleeve of the alien symbol on the front. Used to play the heck out of the record. I never missed an episode. Been a long time since I have seen it, there are a few episodes on YouTube.

Trivia:

Ralph Hinkley's name was changed to Ralph Hanley to not be reminded of John Hinkley (I didn't know they changed it, I always knew him as Hinkley).

There was a second series planned:

During 1986, the original principal cast reunited for a pilot movie for a new NBC series to be named The Greatest American Heroine, which did not result in a new series, and the pilot was never broadcast by NBC. Ultimately, the pilot was re-edited as an episode of the original series (complete with original opening credits and theme), and added to syndication sets of the original series aired on several local television stations in the late 80s, for which it is the final episode.

There were plans by ABC to reboot the series with a female lead. ABC opted not to pick it up. I don't know if a pilot was made.

William Kat auditioned for Luke Skywalker with Kurt Russell auditioning for Han Solo.

For anyone interested there is a fan made web series of the show I just found. They are short, the first clip is about 5 minutes long with 2 minutes taken up by the introduction. Haven't watched more than the first one but I'll check it out, good or bad.

 

Cute little show.

 

I think that he lost it right off of the bat. So, he would often crash land to comedic effect or would use his body as a battering ram for doors, windows, or solid walls when he had to save somebody.

 

The only thing I remember about the CBS Spider Man was Spidey climbing the brick building. I guess that it was a pretty involved and extensive stunt to accomplish.

 

I remember the second time - he was given a new instruction manual, and in it he learned that he could shrink himself a la Ant-man.

So he tried it out, manual in-hand, shrinking himself to smaller than the size of an ant. He absent-mindedly placed the manual on a boulder beside him, and enlarged himself to normal size, and reached for the manual on the boulder - which of course was no longer beside him, because the boulder had been a grain of sand.

(Realistically he could have shrunk himself down again, searched for the right "boulder", and found the manual.)

 

Yeah----loooooongg takes of a stuntman climbing up a building with a rope set to some snazzy post-disco funk music. Good times.

Occasionally they'd have him crash through a window and spin a web on some thugs. That was about the extent of the action.

 

I remember this show being in syndication in the mid-80s and being bored to tears every time I would try to watch it. I would've been about 8-10 years old during this time.

 

Five year old me loved it.

And early morning repeats in 1998 showed that twenty year old me still enjoyed it. In fact, it replaced early morning repeats of "MacGyver". Both shows are actually great viewing at 5am after an all-nighter.

 

I used to enjoy after Ralph would fly into some sort of obstruction, he'd say "Damn!" That was back in the days when even a very mild remark like that was very unusual indeed!

 

The "Good Samaritan" episode from season 2 filmed the exterior of a defunct record store in Pacoima, CA: Joe's Swing Shop.

 

There is somewhat of a casting curse for live action TV superheroes. For the bulk of the rest of their careers, George Reeves, Adam West, Burt Ward, and Bill Bixby never transcended their superhero roles or moved on smoothly to other roles of similar stature. It's hard to shake the superhero costume or character. The costume really solidifies a certain type of role with the public.

 

Yes, 4 different versions of the theme song "Believe It or Not"

Number one was the version heard during the shows first season, then the longer version (with the music altered slightly) released as a single, and on Scarbury's America's Greatest Hero album. The 2nd season of the show altered between the theme heard the first year, and a 2nd version (again with the music changed slightly) Finally, in the final season of the series another version was heard attached only to the episode called The Newlywed Game. That version is the same as the original 1st season, and is different only towards the end of the song when you hear "dueling voices" singing "Who could it be, How could it be, Believe it or not it's just me"

You will only find the original 1st season version of "Believe It Or Not" on the DVD sets. It's been attached to all 3 seasons worth of episodes. I can't recall if when the series was in syndication in the 1980's, and on FX in the 90's if all three versions originally heard on ABC were still attached to the episodes. I would need to check my old VHS tapes of both of those runs to say 100%. I recorded all but 2 episodes during the original ABC broadcasts, and are most familiar with those cuts.

 

Such a great show, mostly for the outstanding chemistry between the three leads. The first season was more adult oriented in terms of dealing with the routine complexities of everyday life, especially with Katt's character being recently divorced while sharing joint custody with his son. However, the series eventually evolved into more outlandish plotlines with chasing sea monsters and alien squids in underground tunnels. I watched this show religiously since it first premiered on ABC back in March of 1981 and still enjoy it today. Robert Culp's 'Bill Maxwell' character rocks!

 

Yep, I totally agree. Had Cannell been allowed to continue the series as it was set up in the first season, I think the show would have turned better than it did. I've been a fan since the premiere also, and even as a 14 year old kid I accepted the idea of aliens giving Ralph the suit, but I did NOT want to see him chasing alien squids through underground tunnels...LOL it took me many years to appreciate that episode (The Shock Will Kill You) for the comedic interaction between Katt, Culp, and Sellecca. Before that I just hated that one, and apparently Katt wasn't happy with it either according to a 1982 TV Guide article about the series.

 

The show is now available for free for Prime members on Amazon. I'll check it out again, been a long time since I have seen it.

 

I’m also surprised that William Katt didn’t have a bigger career. He went on to appear in the 1980s Perry Mason revival, and I can’t remember anything else of note that he did.

I thought it was cool that the three leads came back for the NBC revival pilot (Culp would have been a regular in the proposed new series). Connie Sellecca didn’t have to do that - she was in the successful “Hotel” at the time. I also like that it wrapped up the original series, even if the new series didn’t get off the ground.

 

Katt and Cannell teamed up again for the short lived series Top of The Hill for CBS in 1989. Cannell was a bit ahead of his time, as political drama would not be popular on network TV for a few more years.

 

yeah he didn't do much after that. Maybe House?

 

The bigger issue was that the show was on at the same time as Cheers.

 

William Katt also played the prom date of Sissy's Spasek's character 'Carrie ' in the film of the same name.
He is famously killed off during the climatic scene at said prom where Carrie uses her powers to wreak havoc upon the gathered.





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Yes for sure, and don't forget the 30 minute sitcom Dear John that only slipped in ratings points a little below the Cheers numbers. Sorry, my point was if political drama had been more popular at the time, maybe TOTH would have had a better shot against that hour of programming on NBC. The series did fairly well against ABC's The Long Riders, matching or falling just shy of that shows ratings. No way was it going to take out the Cheers juggernaut.

About what Katt was in after TGAH, besides the Perry Mason TV moives, various B movies, he made many guest starring shots (or semi regular) on several series: Good Sports, Sisters, Murder She Wrote, Dark Justice, Burke's Law, Diagnosis Murder, Models Inc, 7th Heaven, Viper, Walker, Texas Ranger, etc.

 

i don’t think the show aired over here and I can remember being deeply disappointed that George’s answerphone message wasn’t a Costanza original.

 

I think it started airing in the UK in 1986. It ran on a limited basis on ITV in some regions, and Sky Cable ran the whole series at least twice. This being based on some old publications in my collection (Starburst, TV Zone) from years ago.

 

I think it was shown in Australia in near real time there is no way I was remotely near 17 (1986) when it aired down under.