Review(s): DVD The Greatest American Hero - Season One
Flying away on a wing and a prayer...
Throughout the past few decades, superhero television shows suffer from a brand of overexposure. It is a chore to keep cranking out episodes, keeping them fresh and interesting on a very limited special effects budget. With CGI technology finding a home within television productions that effects budget limitation may be extinct, but in 1981 it was a definite issue. One show had a creative approach to that problem: Without short-changing the `super feats' elements, pad the stories with "Welcome Back Kotter" teacher/student relationships. The result was the 3 season GREATEST AMERICAN HERO, now available on DVD.
The first season introduces a red super suit to likable high school teacher RALPH HINKLEY, and then introduces Ralph to the world. The problem is Ralph has lost the instructions on the use of the suit. You can't blame him, there were aliens and a walking dead FBI agent and a bus load full of teenage sweathogs. At into the mix, Robert "I Spy" Culp as scenarist Bill Maxwell, a man of action teamed with Ralph to point out things that need be avenged. Oh, there's also the divorce attorney / girlfriend played by Connie Selleca. Add in a still catchy theme song (and a less than catchy soundtrack) and your ready to fly. Well almost.
The greatest American hero is harmless comedy but is by no means ground-breaking. The special effects tire easily, especially when seen in an on-demand DVD format. An additional issue with the DVD format comes with some historical ironies. The show was just hitting the tube when assassin John Hinckley, jr. tried to take out President Ronald Reagan. Fearing backlash against the Hinckley name, the show creators tried to change the name mid-season to HANLEY. It never really works and eventually the give-up and go back to Hinckley. It becomes extremely awkward in one episode when a woman says his name twice while standing at the airport. The name `conveniently' drowned out by perfectly timed airplane flyovers!
The stories are consistently cute, and never take themselves too seriously. In addition to the superhero storylines and high school student issues, the cartoon pairing liberal with conservative is also milked to excess.
Overall, I think the show is pretty good mindless entertainment, but it won't bring many new adult fans. Young teens and pre-teens may find it amusing. Still, it is always great to see television shows that would otherwise fly off into oblivion, available for multiple viewings were you can watch with great scrutiny.
This DVD set comes with some interesting `looking back' interviews with the stars as well as an unaired pilot for the spin-off series THE GREATEST AMERICAN HEROINE. In that episode, Ralph is exposed to the earth as a superhero (celebrity gone to his head) and he must pass on the suit to an eligible heir, in this case a free spirited single mom with a heart of gold. With its excessively forced narration and the loss of the shows heart (William Katt), the show was doomed to be forgotten... until now!
As American superheroes go, this one is better than most
The Greatest American Hero captured a mood in the United States that began to question what its leaders were up to in the 1980s. The series had a good story line and a reasonably self-consistent mythology that, however improbable the plot, allowed viewers to believe what they saw for the duration of the episode, which is the best one can hope for from couch potatoes.
The show's popularity in the US made it expensive fare for non-Americans, so it wasn't seen on Australian TV until the 1990s. By that time the idea that the behaviour of American agencies can sometimes be less than ethical had worked itself into the collective psyche of world opinion. Connecting to that sentiment is part of the show's enduring relevance, but so is the theme song which topped Aussie radio hit parades. It is the memory of that tune that prompted me to order the DVD over a decade later.
The Greatest American Hero of the late twentieth century comes up better than ever in the twenty-first. He is, I believe, very much needed.
Memories
We love our DVD! It brings back so many memories from watching in the 80's.
Related DVD's The Greatest American Hero - Season One
I read the other reviews for GAH Season Two and was amazed at the depth the other reviewers go into.
While the in-depth reviews are sometimes helpful, I found that I personally enjoyed the entire season. Sure, there were a couple of questionable episodes in the writing department -- but there hasn't been a series or movie (to date) that hasn't fallen prey to that problem in some form.
The entire series was good, clean family fun. I own all three seasons, and my family has enjoyed every episode. We laughed at the really silly way Ralph flies and fumbles his way through using the "jammies"; Bill Maxwell's snacking habits (MilkBone Biscuits) and Pam's level headed guidance of "the boys." (My wife especially likes Pam -- in a house full of boys, she's the one that... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): William Katt DVD Release Date: Released the 05 April 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The first season of THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO introduced a red super suit to likable high school teacher RALPH HINKLEY, and then introduces Ralph to the world. The problem is Ralph has lost the instructions on the use of the suit. You can't blame him! After all, there were aliens and a walking dead FBI agent and a bus load full of teenage sweathogs. Add into the mix, Robert "I Spy" Culp as scenarist Bill Maxwell, a man of action teamed with Ralph to point out things that need be avenged. Oh, there's also the divorce attorney / girlfriend played by Connie Selleca. Add in a still catchy theme song (and a less than catchy soundtrack) and your ready to fly. Well almost.
Then came the second full but sub par season. Now we have the last, abridged third season.
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