"The Greatest American Hero" gave us a real twist on the super-hero show. William Katt (also known as Paul Drake, Jr. in earlier Perry Mason TV movies) was a school teacher chosen by aliens to receive a "super suit" with which to do good deeds. That leads to the second innovation in the series ... he lost the instruction manual. Therefore, throughout the first season he has no idea what the suit will really do. He only learns by accident and trial and error. Leaving clothes behind as he shucks them to reveal the suit and fly away puts pressure on his meager budget. LOL
Robert Culp, always entertaining, is perfect as the gung ho FBI agent who finds out about the suit and is determined to help Katt use it to fight crime. His back and forth quips with Katt's semi juvenile delinquent class roster were always amusing. Connie Sellecca was a trendy casting choice in the day because of her beauty, but she delivered solid acting performances, and here she's quite good as Katt's fiance. Her profession in the show is an attorney.
The shows have somewhat serious plots dealing with bad guys, but they are all played for laughs as Katt struggles to use the suit and struggles between his anti-establishment penchant and the circumstance that finds him working closely with an FBI agent. The theme song was one of the few TV themes to chart highly as a single.
Although the series sort of ran out of steam in the second season, the first season works very well, and we found it to be unforgetable. Make sure to get it from a reseller though. The fifty dollar "new" price (as I type) is ridiculous, and resellers have it used for as little as three dollars or less, plus shipping.
20 minute Interview with Stephen J. Cannel
