Customer Reviews

The Greatest American Hero - Season Two

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

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.

Schoolteacher Ralph Hinkley (William Katt) is taking his class on a field trip to the desert when their bus breaks down. Hiking back to get help, he finds FBI agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp). His car also mysteriously dies just as a flying saucer appears. Not to worry, they come in peace. In fact, they want to help create peace on earth by giving Ralph a suit that will give him super powers. Teaming up with Bill, he sets out to right the wrongs of the world. Rounding out the trio is Pam Davidson (Connie Sellecca), Ralph's girlfriend. Just one little problem. Ralph lost the instruction book so has no idea how to control his powers.

Okay, I admit it. It sounds cheesy and stupid. But, if you'll buy the premise, it works and it works well. The show is entertaining and sticks to it's premise well. You do also have to get beyond the special effects. Many of them, especially Ralph flying, look bad by today's standards. But if you'll remember it was a TV show from 1981, you'll do just fine.

Collected here, we have the 8 episodes that were the first season, including the two-hour series premier. During the episodes, not only does Ralph struggle with his new powers, but also with how to deal with them in his life. And he truly struggles, most noticeably in "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys."

And there is also lots of humor. Great one-liners and slapstick as Ralph tries to figure things out. I especially appreciate his constantly struggle changing out of his street clothes into his suit. I can identify with that. But the humor also comes from the characters. Ralph is idealistic and Bill is cynical. Bill also has little use for Pam, even when she provides a vital piece of information. The three leads have great chemistry and pull things off admirably. This is best shown in "The Best Desk Scenario," easily my favorite in the set.

As mentioned, this season only consisted of 8 episodes. They're preserved here on 3 discs. The picture is sharp. Obviously, they put lots of love into restoring it. The sound is stereo. Nothing fancy, but since the show is over 20 years old, it doesn't have to be. Also included in this set is the only aired in syndication pilot for a proposed spin-off series, "The Greatest American Heroine." I'm not a fan since it finds Ralph having to hand off the suit to someone else. I'm a bit surprised it didn't get included in a season 3 set, since it serves as a coda to the series. Still, it's nice to have somewhere for completion. Rounding out this set is 75 minutes of new interviews with creator Stephen J. Cannell, the three stars, and Michael Pare, who played the leader of Ralph's students. The interviews are interesting and well worth watching.

Did I mention you get the theme song? You can't miss it since it plays on all the menus and, naturally, before each episode. Honestly, I'm just as glad to get it as I am the episodes themselves.

I was slightly disappointed when I found out how few episodes there were in this season. But for the price, you really can't complain. I haven't been able to stop watching this set and am sorry to have finished it already. Bring on season 2!

If you don't know much about this particular series, it is not completely surprising. This series had some rough starts and a rough run overall. The show is about a school teacher named Ralph Hinkley who inherits a super-suit from aliens. With help from Bill Maxwell, an FBI agent, and his girlfriend Pam Davidson, he is able to use his suit to "capture the bad guys" with amazing abilities.
The show was intended to be a kind of comic book comedy. Ralph loses the instruction manual when he first receives the suit so he has to figure out how to use it as he goes along. Of course, the flying ability was originally one of the most "comical" of his powers.
The nice thing about the show was that it is family oriented. There is little to no foul language (Sometimes Ralph and Bill say "Damn", but that's about the strongest word in the series) and silly violence when Ralph throws the crooks around.
You never know what kind of powers Ralph will inherit from the suit, so anything could happen as the writers went along and continued to think up new ideas on what Ralph could do.
There were two big problems about the show. The first was that it became a major target for DC comics Warner Bros to sue over the similarity to Superman. That was an ongoing battle worthy of a comic book story in itself. The other problem was a tragic coincidence. Right when the show was beginning, that was when President Reagan had an attempted assasination by a real life man named "Hinkley". So the producer decided to briefly change Ralph's last name to HANLEY. But after a while it went back to HINKLEY. Ralph had some kind of temporary identity crisis.
Robert Culp is hilarious as Bill Maxwell and really is the best character on the show. William Katt is your typical American caring JOE ANYONE. Connie Selleca is beautiful even today.
The show really didn't last long on the air. the first season was very short. The second season was a full season of episodes. The third season was cancelled halfway through the run. The show was rarely shown in reruns, so many people don't even remember the show anymore. But many people probably still remember the theme song, BELIEVE IT OR NOT because it was a big hit on the radio. Its one of the few times a theme song became a bigger hit than the show.
If you are wondering about purchasing the show, I would recommend it as a fun, safe family entertaining show. The effects are cheesy but the stories are decent. It takes me back to the early 80s when I would watch the show religiously.
The show was meant for laughs and it succeeded in that. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I was 10 when "Superman" was released in 1978, and like many kids that age, was very impressed with "Superman."

Fast-forward to 1981. ABC ran commercials for "The Greatest American Hero" and I was hooked even before the pilot aired in March 1981. I watched every episode during the show's brief run, and I missed out on seeing the show in syndication due to my having joined the Navy in 1986.

Television nostalgia formed the bulk of programming on the cable channel "Nick At Night" in the 1990s, and "The Sci-Fi Channel" also aired shows like "The Six Million Dollar Man." I kept waiting for one of those channels to air "The Greatest American Hero."

Imagine my surprise as I walked through my local video store and saw the DVD cover with Ralph (William Katt), Pam (Connie Selleca) and Bill (Robert Culp) on it. My favorite show as a kid was on DVD? I could hardly believe it. I took my purchase home and became a kid again as I watched the show.

The season one DVD contains all the episodes of that season, including the pilot from 1981 and, worth the price of the DVD alone, the unaired pilot of "The Greatest American Heroine" from 1986, which reunited the cast. In this pilot, Ralph is finally revealed to the world as a superhero, and all of the attention inflates Ralph's ego. The aliens who gave Ralph the suit returned and demanded Ralph find a replacement. The show was to air on NBC, but never did.

So, how does the show hold up after 25 years? Pretty well, actually, aside from plots involving Russians and the cold war. For a low-budget show, the special effects were effective, and Ralph's flying scenes hold up well. Not as well as the flying scenes from 1978's "Superman," but still fun to watch.

The premise: Ralph Hinkley, a liberal high-school teacher, finds himself lost in the California desert. Also lost is conservative FBI agent Bill Maxwell. While in the desert an alien spacecraft arrives, informing Ralph that he would be granted a suit to give him incredible powers to help mankind -- and would have to work with Maxwell. The suit would only work on Ralph. After receiving the suit, Ralph loses the instruction book. Much of the humor of the show involved Ralph trying to figure out how to be a superhero. Katt's Hinkley is an instantly likeable character, suddenly thrust into the role of unlikely hero; Culp's Maxwell is your typical 1980s G-man, played straight by Culp, although he adds a touch of humanity to Maxwell's tough-guy image. The pair are joined by Ralph's girlfriend Pam (Connie Seleca), an attorney who, like Ralph, has a hard time coming to grips with the whole superhero idea.

The trio have great chemistry, which makes for an engaging series. And it's great fun to discover, with Ralph, what powers he has with the super-suit. He can fly, but unlike Superman, Ralph has a tendency to crash into buildings, people, or the ground (Ralph doesn't quite get the hang of flying). As the series progressed, Ralph started to figure out what powers he had.

Included in this DVD set is 75 minutes of current interviews with the cast, another great bonus feature.

Soon, season two will be released, and will offer up more nostalgia for those of us in our late 30s who tuned in to every single episode of "The Greatest American Hero."

I won't be purely vitriolic, the video is fine, the episodes without song replacements are fine, but episodes where the song is ESSENTIAL have had the life tampered out of them -- one is OPERATION SPOILSPORT, where the aliens contact Ralph by playing EVE OF DESTRUCTION on a radio station -- it's been replaced by some lousy 90s sounding wimprock, and it makes no sense (Ralph later tells Bill he heard EVE -- no ya didn't, Ralph!) In CLASSICAL GAS, a silly but fun episode, Ralph's students sing BRASS IN POCKET at a Woodstock type festiveal while he fights crime -- not now -- they've cut ALL frontal shots of Faye Grant singing, and repeated one shot of the back of her head over and over, with a new lame song. Again, many episodes are fine, and some others with song replacements aren't AS ruined as these 2 -- but these 2 (and SPOILSPORT is a fan favorite) are reallllly screwed. Caveat emptor. Long Live Bill Culp, regardless!

Returning one last time, it's teacher Ralph Hinkley, his girlfriend/wife Pam, and FBI agent Bill Maxwell. Ralph still has his super suit and really has the basic stuff like flying and holograms and disappearing down. Of course, there's still the odd new power like mind control to deal with. And he still needs to keep the suit a secret from everyone as he helps Bill keep the world safe from Communists and terrorists alike.

Season 3 is only 13 episodes long, with 4 of them only having aired in syndication. All of them are present in this four-disc set, although they are in random order. This creates some continuity problems as Ralph and Pam are married in some episodes from discs one and two before the ceremony in disc three. While annoying, it hardly detracts from the overall enjoyment of the shows.

And they are fun. The three leads continue to have great chemistry and tackle every problem with wisecracks and teamwork, whether it be a rock and roll singer's life in danger, a plot to give top secret info to the Russians, a missing Middle Eastern prince, or a high school classmate in trouble. The special effects aren't the best and a few of the episodes seem forced, but this is still an entertaining show.

My biggest disappointment is the lack of the students. They're in a few shows, but in many they seem to be forgotten. I always liked the problems Ralph faces while trying to save the world while teaching his students. Still, this is a minor complaint overall.

As I noted, my biggest complaint is that the episodes aren't in original order, causing some confusion until I realized the problem. Still, they look and sound good with a clear picture and nice Dolby sound. There are no extras on this set. The box has a built in chip that plays a short clip from the chorus of the theme song when pressed. Fortunately, it seems hard to trip accidentally.

It's wonderful to have a mostly forgotten show like this released for the fans to enjoy. I'll be enjoying my sets for many years to come. You can believe it.

"The Greatest American Hero" is a short-lived superhero comedy show from the early 80's about a teacher (William Katt) who is given a super suit by space aliens. Each week, he must team up with his girlfriend (Connie Sellecca) and a FBI agent (Robert Culp) to save the world as we know it. The problem? He lost the instruction book, so he has no clue what all he can do and how to control it.

The show only had one full season and this is it. 22 full episodes to be enjoyed. Connie Sellecca is missing from five of the episodes near the beginning because she was having her first child. This leaves a hole because I find the show is strongest while focusing on the interactions of the three leads. Once she's back, the show begins to pick up steam and it gets better as it goes along.

Yes, the show is cheesy at times. Yes, the special effects are obviously low budget for 20 years ago. Do I care? Nope! We've got entertaining stories and great characters. What else do I need?

I realized while watching this set just how little I remember about specific episodes. Honestly, it was like watching a new show for me. Which is one reason why any changes to the music for copyright reasons didn't bothered me. I'm sure if I knew the show, these changes would be a problem, but I didn't notice at all.

This set includes six discs. The episodes look good for their age, although effects shots and stock footage are often worse. The sound won't challenge your system any, but it gets the job done. Extras include interviews with creator Stephen J. Cannell and composer Mike Post. These cover their careers and, while entertaining, don't add much to a discussion of this show. Also included are a photo gallery and the screenplay and a Japanese language track for the season premier.

This show can have me laughing at the banter between characters one minute (there are some great one-liners) and worried about how they'll get out of the mess they're in the next. I'm glad it came out on DVD at all so I can enjoy it for years to come.

I've been reading several of the reviews lowering the overall rating of season 2. I understand the dissapointment of many fans that the soundtrack as been changed. However I also realize that its not always up to the company (Anchor Bay) concerning what they have liscense to add to a DVD. I'm just glad that they found a way to release it in the first place. I remember watching this show as a child and never understood why it was gone so quickly. More resently I've learned of the issues with Hinckley/Hanley (that i failed to notice as a child). As well as the issue with Warner Brothers (who have no concept of what DVD content should be) & DC comics concerning the alleged Superman concept rip off. I mean come on....Superman & Hinckley.....lol. He would have been more of a Clark Kent rip off if you ask me. On to my point. At the time of this review S2 is only getting 2 1/2 out of five stars. I know this is a show that most of the negative reviewers loved & understand they are reviewing the quality of this release and not the actual show. However you must understand that overall it is the show that is getting the less than deserved rating. Please people, rate the Show first...then put any notes about DVD quality in your review. Show your love for a lost treasure. I give it 5 stars when I would have given it 4 just to try and bring up the rating. I'm thankful that a company like Anchor Bay truly knows what a fan like me wants.

I loved this show when it came out.
So much so that I kept many of the episodes on VHS tape.
That is why I was so excited to be able to get it all on DVD.
But then comes the dissapointment. They changed a great deal of the music!
For example: The very first time Ralph uses the suit, Elton John's song, Rocket man is supposed to be heard..., it fit perfectly. Not on the dvd however, they replace it with some lame song that does not fit at all. And they did this in several places. Action scenes are filled with what seems like elevator music.
Hey, charge us a few bucks more and keep it like it was!
Bottom line - Characters and story still great but sound changes took away from the experience!

From the people who brought you "Wiseguy", "The A-Team", "The Rockford Files", "21 Jump Street", "Hunter", "Hardcastle and McCormick", and many, many more...comes one of the most underappreciated and misunderstood shows in the history of television.

I often think of it as a complementary piece to "The A-Team". It was produced in the two years immediately preceding the premiere of "The A-Team", by the same creative personnel. But whereas "The A-Team" was a straightforward concept executed in a very outlandish style, "The Greatest American Hero" was an outlandish concept executed in a very straightforward style. The show is often misidentified as a comedy, spoof, or satire, but it isn't; no more than any of the other series I mentioned in the first sentence.

It was a series whose premise was difficult for the masses to "get"; and, apparently, impossible to explain to someone who didn't see the pilot episode. This is the one place where I would fault the producers. After the pilot, the series never really recapped the premise in a way that would help a brand new viewer understand the show (ala The A-Team's opening narration, or the OCB briefing sessions at the beginning of many Wiseguy episodes).

High school teacher Ralph Hinkley (William Katt) and FBI agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp) are partnered to "...change things, save this planet from destruction", by aliens who give Ralph a suit that will give him unearthly powers when he wears it. However, before he can even get it home, Ralph loses the instruction book the aliens provided to properly operate the suit and it's powers. The first time he tries to fly, he crashes into a brick wall and knocks himself unconscious (while a homeless man makes of with his street clothes, no less). Sound like a silly premise? It's not.

It's a show about ordinary people in extaordinary circumstances. It's about struggling against adversity when you don't always have the necessary resources; or when you do have the nesessary resources, but no idea how to use them. In short: it's The Human Condition...in 49 minutes, set to a jaunty Mike Post score...

Was it an early 1980's, prime-time, action-adventure show? Sure. Was it a satire, a spoof, a kiddie show? Never! The seriousness with which "The Greatest American Hero" was written and acted (the respect for the premise and the characters, keeping it all rooted in reality) is what makes this show unique, unforgettable, and a must-have for everybody's home video library. The best episodes in this set are written by series creator Stephen J. Cannell, and director Rod Holcomb helps set the tone with his brilliant work on the 1st, 2nd, and 4th episodes

Co-starring: Connie Sellecca, Michael Pare, Faye Grant, Don Cervantes, Jesse D. Goins, and Brandon Williams.

...and, if you don't blink, you'll even see a young Danny Glover as plain clothes cop in the episode "Fire Man".