The Greatest American Hero - Season 1

Rating:
Summary: One of the GREATEST shows ever
Review: First of all, AnchorBay did an AWESOME job for this dvd set. The opening intro, the re-mastering of footage, and cast interviews were all phenomenal. After getting the dvd sets for Buck Rogers and MacGuyer(which had ZERO extras and less than spectacular attention paid to film clean up) I wasn't expecting much. Die hard fans will be pleased.
Don't want to get into the story, as many posts here have already done that. It's just one of those shows that, if you watched it when it originally aired, was that surprisingly good. The early 80's were the greatest time to be a kid,(Star Wars, Superman, Galactica, Buck Rogers, etc), and the GAH was extra dessert on a great meal(Who would've known at the time that William Katt almost landed the role of Luke Skywalker?) When I first saw the commercials, I just wanted to see a guy in a hero suit flying, but after watching the pilot, I liked regular guy Bill Maxwell a little more than whiny Ralph(Robert Culp in the role he was born to play). From always saying "Scenario", eating dog biscuits, and always finding a way to get Ralph to his bidding, Maxwell was the strength of the show. And Connie Selleca, Mamasita!! First Lynda Carter, and then Connie as the next hot blue-eyed, dark haired sci-fi vixen. She was hot and yet fit the role and story. Funny back story as she obtained one the suits to gave to her son(Gib, son of Connie and Buck Roger's Gil Gerard), to her daughter years later, then back to her son.
Its a shame it got cancelled when it did, they were finally getting to do more shows about the 3-way relationship between Ralph, Pam, Bill, trying to establish new powers with suit, and getting more info on the "green guys."
I think my only complaint with this dvd set the removal of Scarbury covers of "Rocketman" and "Help me, Rhonda." I know music companies are very anal about obtaining rights to use their songs these days, but come on! Hopefully with the sucess of this first dvd, that Cannell Co. might be willing to fork out a little more dough for the music. And here's to hoping they get audio commentary and interviews from Faye Grant, Don Cervantes, and the rest of the other semi-regulars from the show. Wasn't Jesse Goins one of Boddicker's gang members in Robocop I?("ah, a new toy! Can I plaaay?")


Rating:
Summary: The world's least likely superhero
Review: Although it's now fashionable to watch a superhero struggle with his or her abilities in movies and TV, it wasn't always the case. William Katt played Ralph Hinkley an ordinary guy who is left a gift from aliens from outer space-a suit that gives its wearer the ability to fly, super strength, invisibility and much more. Suddenly, he had all these super powers but lost the owner's manual to tell him how to use it correctly. Ralph ends up flying into walls and generally having as many mishaps as a superhero could possibly have. Befriended by FBI agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp) Hinkley partners with him and decides to fight for good. These first eight episodes (including the two hour pilot ) made up the first season of the series. The two hour pilot soars with nice comedic touches by Katt, Connie Selleca and the perfect straight man in Culp. In fact, Culp plays it so seriously that it comes off almost as a parody of a government agent.

With an exceptionally good transfer, "The Greatest American Hero" looks almost as if it was invulnerable to the ravages of time. The transfers look very nice with solid blacks and color reproduction. Considering the show is twenty five years old, there are few of the flaws that one might expect. The image is occasionally soft but and has some minor analog imperfections (such as dust, dirt particularly during the effects shots) on the whole, Anchor Bay has done a meticulous job in transferring this series to DVD. The sound while limited by the technology of the time (it was broadcast in mono) has good presence with the dialogue very clear. Some minor background hiss crops up from time to time. Although the box says this is in stereo it sounds like mono to me.

We get a pilot for a spin off entitled "The Greatest American Heroine". While only one episode was shot, what we have is quite good and promising. Sadly, no network picked up the spin-off so, until recently, it has sat on the shelf. In the spin off Hinkley hands off the suit to a young woman and she takes up where he left off. We also get interviews with stars William Katt, Robert Culp, Connie Selleca and writer/producer/creator Stephen J. Cannell. Culp provides some interesting tidbits in his interview. For example, the reason Bill Maxwell comes across so intense and humorless is because Culp decided to play the role that way. He figured that there with others playing for laughs, presenting his character as serious would provide an anchor to reality and prevent the show from becoming too tongue-in-cheek. With over an hour of interviews, this portion of the set is extremely generous. No commentary tracks from anyone but, really, the interviews do make up for that. Hopefully in future sets we can have commentary tracks on key episodes by the actors and Cannell.




Rating:
Summary: Best Series Ever
Review: As series box sets go, The Greatest American Hero is not the Greatest, but honestly, it's well worth the price to relive some fond memories of when television was fun to watch. Included in this set is the unaired (except in syndication) pilot for the spinoff series The Greatest American Heroine. This was a genius idea not only because it's rarely seen, but because this season is so hurting for episodes in general (only eight). Additionally you'll find 75 minutes worth of interviews with all the principle actors...a great feature to be sure. Get this now!!

Rating:
Summary: Great Cheesy 80's TV!!!
Review: Background: High school teacher (Ralph Hinkley) is on a field trip with his students in the middle of the desert when their school bus breaks down. While in search of help he meets up with FBI Agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp) who is (conveniently) also having car trouble.

Then (of course), a Spaceship appears out of sky and aliens tell the pair that they have been chosen to save the world. Ralph is given a suit that gives him special powers. Unfortunately, he promptly loses the instruction book so he and Maxwell will have to learn the hard way what the suit is capable of.

How did this show ever make it to television? Only in the 1980s would a story line this hokey not only air, but also do so well. But the 1980s were great for cheesy fun sitcoms. And GAH is no exception! I pre-ordered the DVD as soon as I found out about it. And it certainly didn't disappoint! It is a great addition to my 1980s TV collection.

The DVD contains the first 8 episodes of the show (which make up the entire first season). Also included are 75 minutes worth of cast interviews and a bonus pilot episode for a proposed but never aired spin-off called "The Greatest American Heroine". It's easy to see why the spin-off never lasted, but still great to see the pilot included on the DVD.

One piece of trivia I recently learned: how the producers came up with Ralph's last name. Originally, for the first 3 - 5 episodes, Ralph's name last name was Hinkley. Then in March of 1981, a man named John Hinkley tried to assassinate Ronald Regan. Fearing bad publicity, the show's producers changed the character's name to Hanley for the last 3 episodes of season one. But later in Season 2 they change it back to Hinkley.

Can't wait for Season Two - due out on DVD in April of 2005.

Rating:
Summary: Great DVD set, with one exception
Review: I loved this series when it was originally broadcast, I loved it in syndication, and I love it now looking crisp and remastered on DVD!

However, I couldn't give it five stars because some of the songs originally used in the show have been changed, no doubt due to licensing issues. Of course they kept the main, "Believe it or Not" theme, but in the pilot episode they used "Help Me Rhonda" and "Rocket Man" both sung by Joey Scarbury, and both have been replaced with music with far less feeling and impact on this DVD set. I know it's expensive, but what a shame Stephen J. Cannell & Co. wouldn't spend the extra money to include those original songs!

That said, the remastering job is superb and it is wonderful to finally own the series in this format. It looks so much better this way than on my aged and and chopped up tapes from syndication.

Rating:
Summary: A school teacher that flies and saves the day
Review: I remember watching this show on Wednesday nights. It's just as fun to watch now as it was then. The show is about an ordinary person (Ralph Hinkley, the school teacher), who is given a suit with powers. He teams up with an FBI agent (Bill Maxwell) and together they fight crime.

What I like most about the show is that whenever Ralph puts on the suit, he is not perfect when using the suit because he is still getting used to his new powers. I remember my friends and I used to make fun of him because he always had trouble flying (and landing).

For die-hard fans of the show, the proposed spinoff pilot "Greatest American Heroine", is worth a look, but it's easy to see why it did not become a series.

The interview with series creator Stephen Cannell explains a lot about the series including how it was created and why it only lasted two and half years.

The book that shows what is on which DVD is in the form of the "instructions book" that Ralph lost in the pilot/first episode.

If you look in the first few minutes of "Fire Man", Danny Glover plays a police officer.

Rating:
Summary: FINALLY. NOW I CAN DIE
Review: I've been waiting so long for this to make it to dvd. This is a magical and charismatic show. It's too bad Cannell couldn't cut a deal with Elton John on Rocketman which should be in the pilot episode.



Rating:
Summary: Believe it or not!... another crappy series on DVD
Review: Seems like lately we're seeing a lot awful TV shows coming out on DVD.
We've seen 'The Dukes Of Hazzard', 'Full House', and now 'The Greatest American Hero'.
I know this show is meant to be a spoof of super-hero shows of the 70s, but the show itself was totally lame and boring. I can't possibly figure how can people waste their time watching this crap.

Meanwhile great TV shows from the 80s like 'The Cosby Show' and 'The Wonder Years' haven't been released on DVD, and people are still waiting for them.

Rating:
Summary: BELIEVE IT OR NOT IT'S ON DVD!
Review: This is one of those shows that Kind of gets lost in your memory until some genius decides to throw it on DVD and surprise the heck out of everyone. Oh Yeah! THAT show! Greatest American Hero was never a big hit and lasted only three seasons and 44 episodes. But it's one of those shows that seems ingrained into our memories..the part of the memory that stores schlockey, cheesy fun. Part of it certainly has to do with the very catchy theme song that was a hit in its own right and gained new fame when George Costanza used it as music for his answering machine on an episode of Seinfeld.

William Katt Stars as Ralph Hinkley (later renamed Hanley after the assasination attempt on President Reagan), a rather sheepish high school teacher who gets stuck with a class full of dilinquents led by Tony (Michael Pare). Taking his students on a field trip out to the desert, thier bus mysteriously dies. As Ralph walks back to a gas station he encounters FBI Agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp) and a UFO. The pair are informed by Bill's dead partner about a suit that grants its wearer great powers of strength, flight, invisibility, and more...Ralph reluctantly wears the Suit and joins with Maxwell to use the powers to fight evil. Only problem is that Ralph lost the instructions for the suit so learning the powers becomes trial and error.

Season one had just 9 episodes including the pilot where Ralph got the suit.

"The Hit Car" - Ralph and Bill must escort a mobsters girlfriend to court so she can testify against him. Ralph has to fight off several attempts to stop them and then they find it was all a set-up.

"Here's looking at you kid" - Pam's parents come for a visit, but before Ralph can even meet them Bill shows up to get his help to stop a group of rogue arms dealers. Ralph discovers the suits power of invisibility but has trouble controlling it.

"Saturday on Sunset Boulevard" Bill enlists Raplh's aid, along with Ralph's students to track down a Soviet defector. Also the students begin calling Ralph "Mr. H" as the Hinkley would be dropped or dubbed over.

"Reseda Rose" - Ralph and Bill try to unravel a case involving secret military plans, a Russian submarine, and the kidnapping of Rhonda's mother. Ralph's name "officially" is changed to Hanley.

"My Heroes have Always Been Cowboys" - Ralph nearly kills a busload of people while chasing some crooks. Ralph decides to put away the suit for good but then changes his mind after speaking to his own boyhood hero John Hart who played the Lone Ranger. Great Episode!

"Fire Man" - Tony is hired to repossess cars, and unknowingly takes a car filled with arson equipment. He gets pulled over, and blamed for setting fires. The real arsonist must be found in order to clear his name, and free him from jail.

"The Best Desk Scenario" When Bill is passed over for a promotion, he decides to quit the FBI. But Ralph needs his help to rescue Pam who has been kidnapped by the mob.

In addition to the 9 episodes the DVD set includes a pilot for the spinoff series Greatest American heroine shot a few years later where Ralph has to give up the suit and find someone to take his place.

This was the kind of fun, 80's show, much like the A-Team where there was a lot of action but no one ever really got killed or hurt. A simpler show for simpler times. Katt was perfectly cast as the nebbish, reluctant superhero and Culp was sardonicly well-fit for the role as the tough FBI agent. An enjoyable throw back and great to see on DVD.


Rating:
Summary: Believe it or not....this show made it to DVD!
Review: This series spoofed the many superhero sci-fi series which were popular during the late 1970's early 1980's (Wonder Woman, The Incredible Hulk).

Schoolteacher Ralph Hinkley (William Katt, whose other best known work was a part in `Carrie') receives a suit from aliens while on a field trip with his students.

Because he quickly looses the instruction manual, Ralph now has to things out on his own. The whole series revolves around Ralph trying to figure out how to save the world while also learning how the suit works.

Ralph is paired with FBI agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp) after the later convieniently experiences car trouble nearby the landing site. Ralph also has a girlfriend, Pam Davidson (Connie Selleca).

Joey Scarbury sings the theme song which became a runaway hit during the series run. The only really annoying thing was Hinkley's temporary name switch in the aftermath of the Reagan assasination attempt (end of this season), most people had understood this show did not endorse harming any president.

Notable episodes from this season are (obviously) the "Pilot" which explains how Ralph got his suit and basically sets up the entire series. "The hit car" has Ralph helping to transport a witness in a high-profile drug smuggling case which Agent Maxwell has finally cracked. I also like "My heroes have always been cowboys" because meeting a childhood hero ultimately helps Ralph deal with his (obvious) feelings of disillusionment after he had almost wiped out a busload of tourists with one of his many mishaps with the suit.

There are only eight episodes in this season (including the two hour pilot) but the DVD has extras. All-new interviews with the series stars Katt, Culp, and Selleca and series creator Stephen J. Cannell PLUS a pilot for the `Greatest American Heroine' ought to compensate for this slim season.