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The Greatest American Hero is an American television series which aired from 1981 to 1983 on ABC. It starred William Katt as Ralph Hinkley, Robert Culp as Bill Maxwell, and Connie Selleca as Pam Davidson.
The series is a camp superhero drama-comedy. In it, Hinkley is a schoolteacher who encounters aliens who give him a special bright red suit which endows him with superhuman abilities. The novelty of the show was based on Hinkley's inability to properly learn to use the suit other than by trial and error, due to his having clumsily lost the instructions.
The suit's powers were reportedly substantial, so much like those of the character Superman that DC Comics threatened a plagiarism lawsuit. However, the premise's core concept of a human receiving an alien costume/weapon to fight evil is closer to the Silver Age Green Lantern. In practice, Hinkley's superhero is more akin to a Buster Keaton-style clown. For example, sequences where he flies throuh the air under his own power usually show him flailing his arms and legs, instead of adopting the Superman "arms extended, legs together" pose.
Maxwell is an FBI agent who partnered with Hinkley on most adventures to help the schoolteacher use the suit (which he called the "red jammies") to fight crime. Davidson is Hinkley's girlfriend.
The series was produced by Stephen J. Cannell, and the theme "Believe It or Not" was composed by Mike Post (music) and Stephen Geyer (lyrics) and sung by Joey Scarbury. The theme song became a popular hit during the show's run.
In 2004 it was announced that a motion picture based upon the television series was in the planning stages.
Trivia The main character's name was originally Ralph Hinkley, but after the assassination attempt of Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, Jr. the writers changed the character's name to Ralph Hanley or simply just "Mr. H". After fans got in an uproar about the change the name was reverted to Ralph Hinkley.
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