Posted on 02/03/2023 2:33:03 PM PST by nickcarraway
Given the fact that superhero stories have dominated our television and movie screens for almost two full decades, it can be easy to forget that there was an earlier wave of them decades ago.
This '70s-era micro-boom followed in the wake of the extraordinary, absurd and fantastically entertaining Batman TV series of the '60s, and included TV shows like Shazam (CBS), Wonder Woman (ABC/CBS), The Incredible Hulk (CBS) and the Christopher Reeve-led Superman, which was the first prestige superhero film ever made.
Unfortunately, one of the most lovable projects from that time is also one of the most often forgotten: The Greatest American Hero, which ran on ABC from March 18, 1981, until Feb. 3, 1983, and helped save the career of television super-writer Stephen J. Cannell.
Cannell got his start on the Universal series It Takes a Thief in 1968, and five years later was creating his shows, including The Rockford Files, Baretta and Baa Baa Black Sheep. In 1979, Cannell struck out on his own, leaving Universal to form Stephen J. Cannell Productions. His first attempt was a detective show for ABC that for some reason was called Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, which failed after a single season.
Cannell needed a hit or at least a show that proved he could make a go of it with his own company. And he got one, or just enough of one, with The Greatest American Hero.
Watch the Opening Credits of 'The Greatest American Hero'
"THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO" Opening Credits | Crackle Classic TV | THEME SONG Subscribe to Ultimate Classic Rock on
The show starred William Katt, who had made his name in the '70s cinema classics Big Wednesday and Carrie. His high school teacher named Ralph Hinkley has landed the unenviable job of working with the school's most problematic students. In the pilot, Hinkley takes these students on a field trip in the desert, where they meet an obstreperous FBI agent named Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp) before their van breaks down.
When Hinkley decides to go for help, he runs into Maxwell again. The two are then approached by an alien spaceship, which delivers a red costume to Hinkley along with the message that he is to use it to create good in the world. The suit gives its wearer several superhero powers, and it comes with an instruction manual – which Hinkley immediately loses.
It was a quirky opening, half-dramatic social messaging and half-comedic superhero satire, and it presages virtually the entirety of this series. Throughout its three seasons, Hinkley teams up with the curmudgeonly Maxwell, some of his students, and occasionally even his divorce lawyer Pam Davidson (Connie Sellecca) and uses the powers of the suit to do heroic things – everything from chasing down arsonists to preventing World War III to helping citizens under threat of eviction from their homes. Yet it was usually in a bumbling way because he doesn't have any instructions for it.
The charm of the show exists in this quirkiness. In the best moments, The Greatest American Hero becomes not so much a superhero show as one that poses a series of comedic questions about the idea of superheroes. Hinkley, for example, never really learns to fly very well, and when the suit sends him into the air he tends to flail around, waving his arms and legs, until he crashes at his destination.
That feels exactly right, because what normal person would also immediately become cool if they were suddenly granted superpowers? It's funny because it points out all kinds of absurdities that ordinary, serious superhero fare tends to ignore.
Watch the Opening Credits of 'The Greatest American Hero'
Believe It or Not (Theme from "Greatest American Hero") Subscribe to Ultimate Classic Rock on
Arguably, however, the show's greatest impact didn't come from what appeared on the screen, but from its title song. Written by prolific TV theme writer Mike Post with lyrics by Stephen Geyer, and sung by Joey Scarbury, "Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe it or Not)" is a yacht-rock anthem whose longevity has long outstripped that of the show. It spent 18 weeks in the Billboard Top 40, reaching No. 2 and hitting No. 1 internationally. It's a staple of '80s best-of compilations, and through the years appeared in everything from an Alvin and the Chipmunks album to Seinfeld, The Family Guy, and The 40-Year-Old Virgin.
The show itself has continued to be beloved by fans. Anchor Bay released The Greatest American Hero on DVD in the early '00s – but annoyingly replacing almost all of the original music other than the theme song with cheap knock-offs of '90s hit songs. There have long been rumors of a remake: Actress Hannah Simone at one point was featured in a pilot for a reboot, which ABC declined to pick up.
In the end, The Greatest American Hero was only a middling success when it originally aired, but its offbeat sensibility and extraordinary theme song have granted the show a place in television history.
Perhaps its most lasting impact was the way it helped propel Stephen J. Cannell's career forward into the '80s. Buoyed by having his first self-produced success under his belt, he would go on to create some of the decade's biggest shows, including Hardcastle and McCormick, Riptide, Hunter and, of course, The A-Team.sw255
Barbara Hale aka Della Street from the Perry Mason TV show.
Grew up with Della!
Mom (and I) enjoyed Perry.
Stopped watching entertainment TV about 3 years ago. Went back to books.
I could never understand what was was being said on the radio as it switched automatically between stations to delivery a coded message.
Watch this one. Magnum and Rockford in the same show. Side-splitting.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0688097/
White on White and Nearly Perfect
Handsome, charmed PI Lance White (Tom Selleck) may speak lines that sound like they’re from a 1940s B movie, but everyone is so attracted to him they hang on his every word. That is, everyone except Jim.
To my surprise, I remember Tenspeed and Brownshoe. It was a mixed-race buddy comedy/drama about two private detectives, played by Ben Vereen, who was called “Tenspeed” because he was “so shifty,” and Jeff Goldblum, who was called “Brown shoe” because he was such a stereotypical square, that completely failed to be “I Spy.” Imagine that. A show starring Ben Vereen and Jeff Goldblum, scripted by Stephen J. Cannell and with music by Mike Post, that flopped so badly it’s barely remembered now.
I remember that show it wasn’t something I cared for that much and I really didn’t watch it. I thought it was kind of goofy and ridiculous, but there are a lot of goofy and ridiculous shows on television.
Is that Richie Brockelman, Private Eye, but grown up?
Now I do remember that television show and I kinda liked it. It was interesting. It was kind of groundbreaking away also. Back in the early 1970s there was a show on NBC that ran about one season I think it was on the mystery movie series that had Columbo and some others. It was called Tenafly and star James McEachin. He was a black actor who has done a lot of good shows and it was a great little show. He was a private detective at work for a big company, and I thought it was very well done I’d like to see it again but it’s hard to find it. It’s not even on YouTube.
Don’t push this, man! I’m still reeling from the cancellation of Combat!.
Dennis Dugan played Ritchie Brockelman.
IMO, the Lance White (Tom Selleck) character was not the Ritchie Brockelman character at all. Lance White was the typical high school hero jock who always got the good-looking women, married the boss’ daughter and never had to work for the rest of his life.
And stupid as a tree stump.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Dugan
https://thrillingdetective.com/2020/11/17/richie-brockelman/
Apparently it is on the free Pluto TV streaming service..
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080289/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
that was a fun show....we loved it....
“I love it when a plan comes together!” The A Team.
One of Cannell’s last movie roles. Fairly decent movie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Spiders
A team of young Winter Olympic hopefuls must slalom to safety when a hoard of giant mutated spiders spin their way out of a top secret laboratory.
James McEachin has a very interesting Bio.
James McEachin was born on May 20, 1930 in Rennert, North Carolina. At the age of 18 he joined the US Armed Forces and served in the Korean War earning many medals of valor to include the Purple Heart and Silver Star.* After leaving the military he spent time as a policeman and then fireman before moving to California and becoming a record producer. After a short stint in the music industry McEachin went into acting and spent many years in film and television. Not yet content he took time away from acting to become an award-winning author and maker of audio books. In 2005 McEachin was appointed as a US Army Reserve Ambassador and spends his free time speaking to soldiers, veterans and America. In late 2006 he produced the film-short Old Glory, a film short for the soldier, veteran and patriot in us all. In 2008 McEachin opened his one-man play, Above the Call; Beyond the Duty at the John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, DC and his since played Casa Manana, Ft. Worth, TX, Brentwood Theater, Los Angeles, CA, and Merle Reskin Theatre, Chicago, IL.
McEachin is married with three grown children and resides in So Cal.
* In 2005, CA Congressman David Dreier awarded him medals of valor earned (but never issued by the government) to include the Purple Heart and Silver Star, some fifty-four years after he served in the Korean War. . . McEachin was completely unaware of the Silver Star until “Team Dreier” presented the findings.
David Huddleston and James McEachin both stared first in a 11 minute short film, Reville. IMBD lists Old Glory as a 23 minute film, but I could not find anything other then a two minute clip from it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyZ9b4My6NU&t=5s
“Old Glory” which won the 2007 GI Film Festival Award for Best Short Film in Washington, DC at the Ronald Reagan International Building. Old Glory won against a film short whose budget was $5.5 million dollars and many times that of Old Glory’s budget.
In 2004, twin brothers Adam Montierth & Donovan Montierth along with writing partner, Jason Walters, wrote, produced and directed a little 35mm film that changed their lives. That film, which started out as a tribute to their grandfather, was called Reveille and starred film and American Forces Veteran’s David Huddleston and James McEachin. Reveille soon was screened at over 50 film festivals, winning over 20 awards and was shown on The Pentagon Channel and the American Forces Network. In 2007, it was viewed by the Armed Forces in Balad, Iraq, became a viral sensation by being viewed to over 5 million people on Google Video (before there was YouTube) and won the twins an Emmy Award.
Have you rewatched it? I remember enjoying it, but I find it unwatchable now - and the level of particularly stupid political sniping is just dretch.
#45 There is a similar episode in “Maverick” where James Garner protects a guy from the bad guys. That guy gets the job as sheriff and is very popular with the towns people and marries the rich ranchers daughter in the end and Maverick rides out of town and no one notices him leave....
I think this was the inspiration for Lance White.
I have all the DVD’s of Rockford. One has a 20 minute interview with Steven Cannell where he discusses how he fleshed out the Rockford character.
In just about every episode, Rockford talks about his fee first thing - “$200 a day, plus expenses.”
Cannell said in all the TV private eye shows previous, no one ever discussed fees or money, and he thought that was not realistic. He wanted Rockford to be more of an Everyman, and with bills to pay, loans, and other money worries.
Great interview.
Closest series in past years has been Tim Allen’s: Home Improvement and Last Man Standing.
Also liked the beginning episodes of Last Man On Earth. Then that show went into the toilet, literally.
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