The Greatest American Hero

antwalsh

Anybody remember this series from the early 80's?
It was about a guy who got a suit that could make him fly from some aliens but he lost the instruction book. So he became a sort of bumbling super hero. I still rate it as my favourite show from the 80's even though I haven't seen it since it first played.
Has anybody seen it since then?

BTW My favourite show from the 90's was Twin Peaks

aidan_dunne

Yeah, I remember it. He used to constantly end up flying into walls and things like that. There was an FBI agent who used to send him on various assignments and would tell him to "go put on your magic pajamas", as he used to call the suit. The character's name was Ralph Hinkley but after the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan by John Hinkley they changed the character's name to Handley for one season, or something like that!

I actually have a video clip of the opening titles I downloaded somewhere, complete with really cheesy 80's "sparkle" effects writing across the screen. And, of course, the theme tune has gone down in television legend.....

Believe it or not, I'm walking on air,
I never thought I could feel so free.....eeeee....eeeee.
Flying away on a wing and a prayer,
Who could it be?
Believe it or not, it's just me.

.....made even more legendary by George Costanza's telephone answer machine message in Seinfeld.

mike65

Great show! One of the best US imports of the 80s but unfortunatly
about 10 years ahead of it time. They should consider reviving the format. The cast made it though, esp Robert Culp as the Heros' contact in the US government.

Mike.

antwalsh

Here is that answering message!!

WhiteWashMan

i used to love that show
in fact i did some research on it a few years ago and i think it only ran for 2 seasons in 83 and 84 or something.

it was really popular. i loved it. thought it was brilliant!

that and simon and simon

in fact, i liked all those stephen j cannel (or whatever his anme was) programs. a -team as well.

Space Coyote

I loved The Greatest American Hero. A bumbling super-hero, classic stuff. Theme tune was brilliant.
Found quite a few sites by googling.

click me

Thanx 4 The Fish

Was it thathe used to crash or fall oputta the sky when he stopped concentrating or saw red or something like that, which is quite odd considering he wore a red suit.

patch

Used to love that!! William Katt- the same guy who was the star of the first House movie.

Was the guy in Hardcastle and mcCormack as well???

Johnmb

No, he just didn't know how to work the controls for the suit. The seeing red thing was in a film, I think the actor's name was Terrance Stamp. He had powers and lost them when he saw red, but the film had nothing to do with the Greatest American Hero, as his powers weren't given to him by a suit.

Hyzepher

I remember the episode where the aliens came back and gave him an instruction manual for the suit. The first thing he did was to make himself really small -- while tiny he left the manual on the ground and made himself big again - forgetting the manual. Of course he couldn't remember how to make himself small again so lost the manual. He had it for about 2 minutes - Classic.

hyzepher

antwalsh

I wrote into Murphy's mailbag (remember that!) to ask RTE to repeat it. That and the Hardy Boys. The Hardy Boys was eventually repeated but not TGAH. Don't know if it has been repeated anywhere ever.

Ludo

After reading this thread yesterday evening, I left to drive home at 5.55 and what do they play on Lite FM???
The theme song from the show....nice coincidence.
Someone had requested it.

blastman

Who sings it again? Used to love that show in my younger days.....

mike65

A guy called Joey Scarbury

Joey Scarbury
b. 7 June 1955, Ontario, California, USA. Joey Scarbury made his mark on the US pop charts in 1981 with Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not), from the American television series of the same name. Scarbury began singing as a child and was later discovered by the father of songwriter Jimmy Webb. Scarbury first recorded in 1968, cutting a Webb song, She Never Smiles Anymore. He continued to record for numerous record labels, including Dunhill, Bell, Big Tree and Columbia Records but managed only one minor chart single, Goodbye To You, in 1971 on Lionel Records. For the next nine years Scarbury sang backing vocals for Loretta Lynn and for sessions produced by Mike Post. His break came when he recorded the television theme, written by Post and Stephen Geyer, on Elektra Records. It reached number 2 in the US, but Scarbury returned to the singles charts just once more, with the minor hit When She Dances, later that year. His AMERICA'S GREATEST HERO just missed the Top 100 albums list in 1981. Scarbury recorded for RCA Records with no luck and later switched careers to become a baseball player.

Mike.