#38

The Greatest American Hero

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s ….. Ralph?

ABC’s action/comedy The Greatest American Hero was a superhero parody show, but it was so much more.

Teacher Ralph Hinkley was stranded in the desert when he was approached by a UFO. The UFO left him a suit, complete with cape, that gave Ralph a variety of super powers, from super strength to flight to invisibility. One problem… Ralph lost the instruction manuel.

Ralph bumbled his way through misadventure after misadventure, always seemingly coming out on top. Ralph team up with FBI agent Bill Maxwell and the two of them fought the “bad guys.”

William Kitt played Ralph and Robert Culp played Bill, and the two of them had a great chemistry. Their friendship was one of the keys to the shows success, even if at times, Bill could be hard to handle.

Connie Sellecca was on the show as well, as Ralph’s girlfriend Pam Davidson.

One wondered why Ralph did not have a mask on the show. There were so many times where a mask would have helped him. Oh well, part of the comedy I guess.

The theme song of the show was a major hit and reached #2 on the Billboard top 100 chart.

Believe it or not.