Retro Round-Up: The Greatest American Hero

The 80's have produced so many great and memorable television shows that are deeply ingrained in the American pop culture psyche. Of these great 80's television shows, there is one that stands out in my mind more than any others - The Greatest American Hero. Not everybody will remember this 80's cult classic, but those of you that do will have as fond memories of it as I do.

The premise is simple, but the execution is what makes this 80's television show a cult classic. Ralph Hinkley is a teacher of special needs children who becomes a super hero, though this happens against his better judgment at first. He is aided by an FBI agent by the name of Bill Maxwell and a lawyer Pam Davidson. That is the show in a nutshell, but the true beauty of The Greatest American Hero lies deeper.

In the two hour pilot of The Greatest American Hero, Ralph Hinkley takes his students to the desert on a sort of geological study field trip, hoping this will help him get through to the children better. On the way home from the fated field trip, the school bus breaks down and Mr. H, as he becomes through one of the many name changes of the three seasons The Greatest American Hero was on ABC, decides it is best if he walks to get help. At the same time, Agent Bill Maxwell is driving along and suddenly loses all control of his car and narrowly avoids hitting Ralph. While arguing, the two see purple lights in the sky and hop in the car to escape, but surprise, the car will not start.

Much to the duo's surprise, they discover the purple lights are actually from an alien spacecraft. The aliens proceed to explain that it is up to Ralph and Bill to save the world together, which is cutely done through the car radio (much like the alien Bumblebee from Transformers). This obviously scared the woo-hoo out of Ralph who runs in fear. Agent Maxwell ends up finding a black box, which he later opens to find a special suit and the alien instructions on the use of this suit. Bill finds Ralph and convinces him to wear the suit and the Greatest American hero is born.

One problem... the instructions on how to use the suit have become lost! This is where the fun begins. The Greatest American Hero, which is technically labeled a dramedy though there is more zany comedy than drama, often draws its humor from Mr. H learning how to use his magical jimmies, his term of endearment for the amazing suit. For example, scenes of the Greatest American Hero attempting to fly often show him flying through the air, flailing his arms and legs and crash landing, instead of the graceful super hero flights we have become accustomed to.

There are other reasons that The Greatest American Hero has become the cult classic of the 80's besides its cheesy special effects and hilarious zany comedy. A big contributor to its success is owed to its theme song. This is back in the days when a television show's theme song was as important as the show itself. 'Believe It or Not' reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts and is featured in film and television to this day. Another interesting fact of The Greatest American Hero is the odd name changing of the title character I referred to earlier. Early in the series, the teacher's name was Ralph Hinkley, but after the attempted assignation of President Ronald Regan by John Hinckley, Jr., producers of The Greatest American Hero thought Hinkley was too close the assassin's name and changed it to Ralph Hanley. This was shortened to Mr. H by his students and eventually became Hinkley again. The name changes are never explained in the show, but fans have always found this one of the most interesting trivia facts surrounding The Greatest American Hero.

The cast is as impressive as the massive, worldwide following The Greatest American Hero has obtained over the past two decades. William Katt stars as the reluctant hero. Katt may be most memorably from the motion pictures House and House IV, though he can be seen and heard in many television and film projects in smaller roles and voice-overs in recent years. Agent Bill Maxwell is played by Bill Cosby's co-star from I, Spy, Robert Culp. Pam Davidson, Ralph Hinkley's divorce lawyer turned wife, is played by Connie Sellecca who starred opposite James Brolin in the television series Hotel.

If you have never seen The Greatest American Hero, you have ample chances these days with the release of the entire series on DVD. If you have seen the show, and love it as much as I do, these seasons have come with special collectibles, such as a life size cape or the alien instructions to the suit.