Fox To Reboot 1980s Classic The Greatest American Hero

Believe it or not, Deadline reports that The Greatest American Hero will be getting a reboot at Fox.  The original The Greatest American Hero was created by the late Stephen J. Cannell, and the two-hour pilot debuted on ABC on March 18, 1981 garnering rave reviews from critics and audiences alike.  ABC, already knowing it was going to be a success from test audiences, had already planned it to be a mid-season replacement.  But a conglomeration of unfortunate events would soon cancel the series after three seasons.

On March 30, 1981, the world saw the assassination attempt of then President Ronald Reagan by a deranged man named John Hinkley, Jr.  Since the protagonist of the show was named Ralph Hinkley, the producers of the show wanted to distance themselves from the event.  During the rest of Season One, the character would only be referred to as “Ralph” or “Mister H.”  In an episode where the audience saw a door plaque for Ralph, the name on the plaque read “Ralph Hanley.”  When Season Two started, the character’s name reverted back to “Hinkley.”  But Season Three saw the character write his name on the chalkboard as “Hunkley” during the intro.  In 1983, DC would launch a lawsuit against ABC for copyright infringement due to The Greatest American Hero being too similar to one of DC’s most prized properties — Superman.  Though the suit would ultimately be dismissed, the cost of legal fees and headaches had already done its damage to the series.

In 1986, NBC attempted to revive the show as The Greatest American Heroine with a female protagonist.  The filmed pilot was never aired, but was later reedited and added as the final episode of The Greatest American Hero when the original series went into syndication.

The reboot will be executive produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Cannell’s daughter, television director Tawnia McKiernan.  Lord and Miller are famous for writing and directing The Lego Movie.  Consequently, this will also not be the pair’s first Cannell property reboot.  They’re also responsible for the recent Jump Street movie franchise — rebooted from Cannell’s 1980s 21 Jump Street series.

Also produced by 20th Television and written and executive produced by Rodney Rothman, the new series synopsis reads:

"The new Greatest American Hero will chronicle inner-city teacher Isaac’s adventures after his discovery of a superhero suit that gives him superhuman abilities. Unfortunately for Isaac, he hates wearing the suit and has to learn how to use its powers by trial and error because he quickly misplaces the suit’s instructions. He also has to deal with a government handler who has very different objectives than him and struggles as to whether he should use his newfound gifts to help others or just himself."

No casting information has been revealed at this time.  The original The Greatest American Hero starred William Katt as Ralph Hinkley, the late Robert Culp as FBI Special Agent Bill Maxwell, and Connie Sellecca as Pam Davidson.  The show also spawned the iconic theme song, Believe It or Not, which was composed by Mike Post (music) and Stephen Geyer (lyrics) and performed by Joel Scarbury.  Believe It or Not would debut in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 on May 9, 1981 and later peak at No. 1 during the weeks of August 15 and August 22, with a total of eighteen weeks in the Top 40.  The song also peaked at No. 1 on the Record World Chart.

My hope is that Fox doesn’t reboot it to be a dark series — like most reboots of late.  The show was endearing because it was about an average Joe who was given extraordinary abilities, but no guidance.  By always experimenting with his powers, most of the time ending in comedic results, the audience could identify with Ralph Hinkley.  I still remember being four years old when the series debuted.  I was nuts about the show and would imitate the character by wearing my red footie pajamas with a towel tied around my neck, playing the cassette-recorded theme on my GE shoebox recorder, and jumping off of the living room coffee table.  I lost some front teeth due to that, but it was all worth it.  I took the song to heart and thought that I was really “walking on air.”

If you barely remember the famous intro of the show, here it is in glorious 4:3 standard-definition to get you reminiscing: