As part of my Make-Up March, I finally cover a TV Experiment that I came across Months ago. Today seems like a good day to do it.
In 1983 (great year), The Greatest American Hero ended. Whether you believed it or not, he was not walking on air anymore.
In 1986, a new Network- NBC- was interested in a Revival.
If you believe William Katt, he turned down a full-time return due to his work on Perry Mason TV Movies.
Whether that is true or not, that led to this mostly-forgotten Pilot...
A Teacher (William Katt) is chosen by some Aliens to use a special suit that gives you powers. This is the same Plot as the Safety Woman Shorts from 1974, by the way.
The catch: he lost the Instruction Manual (twice!), so him and his companion (Culp) have to wing it.
Jumping ahead to this Pilot (finally!), Katt is discovered in Public as a Super-Hero and his work turns from heroism to promotion. He's also missing his trademark frizz.
We rush past that Plot Point (added for this Pilot) to the Aliens calling Katt back
They tell him that he can't keep being a Hero if he's famous and they will erase people's memory of him as such if...he gives up the suit.
Thankfully, he knows a woman who fits the bill.
Culp is annoyed that he was overlooked for the suit.
Let's be honest though- he would flown right to Russia and started WWIII!
Let's be honest though- he would flown right to Russia and started WWIII!
Katt and his lady friend (Connie Seleca) bow out at this point, leaving our Heroine to train with Culp.
We get some wacky hijinks as she learns all of the suit's powers- including invisibility and flight- while Culp doesn't seem happy.
He's 'a suit' and she's got the suit.
They get their first mission as she takes them to Newfoundland to find some bad Whalers.
We get hijinks during a big Bar Fight and...that's it.
We get hijinks during a big Bar Fight and...that's it.
I guess they ran out of time and money, so...um, enjoy this build-up to nothing. The End.
For as obscure as this is, it is funny to see how close we came to getting it back. In 2018, there was a Pilot produced for a Female-led Greatest American Hero Reboot. ABC passed on it, as did Fox in 2014 AND 2015. So much for walking on air!
As far as this one goes, it is a good attempt. The idea is a good one- give a new character the suit. It opens things up to new adventures, new interactions and new things in general.
The tricky thing here is that they spend A LOT of time on recap. If the property needs this much explanation, how popular can it be?
While it is nice to see the Aliens and some decent effects, the thing feels a little bit cheap. There's lots of Stock Footage and such here to make this feel full-length.
Given how abrupt the ending feels, time could have been better spent, no? I like the overall presentation here.
I do have to note that Katt's trademark semi-afro is gone here (since he was doing other projects). Even if you only see him in the suit once, seeing him without that haircut feels...incomplete.
I wanted to really like this and I sort of did.
Since it is a one-and-done, however, it is hard to get too attached to anything here. I obviously don't speak for NBC Executives back in 1986, but I would have given it a shot.
After all, the Franchise as a whole is still remembered enough to this day to get amusing fan art like this piece from 2014...
A fun, but ultimately-empty experience. I like the idea here- teaming up the hippy lady with Culp- and it could have gone somewhere. On its own, it is a strange oddity.
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