Believe it or not. Those four words usually trigger an immediate mental soundtrack for anyone who grew up with a cathode-ray tube television in the early 1980s. We're talking about The Greatest American Hero, a show that premiered on ABC in 1981 and somehow managed to be both a superhero parody and a genuine heart-warmer before the MCU was even a glimmer in Kevin Feige’s eye. It was weird. It was clunky. Honestly, it was a miracle it ever got made.
Stephen J. Cannell, the legendary producer behind The A-Team and The Rockford Files, took a high-concept premise and grounded it in the most frustrating way possible. He gave a guy a super-suit but lost the instruction manual. Imagine being gifted the powers of a god and then realizing you have no idea how to land. You’re basically a human pinball. That’s the core of the Greatest American Hero show, and it’s why people are still obsessed with it decades after Ralph Hinkley took his last crash-landing.
What Actually Made Ralph Hinkley Work
William Katt played Ralph Hinkley (later briefly changed to Ralph Hanley because of a weird coincidence with the Reagan assassination attempt and John Hinckley Jr.). Katt wasn't your typical square-jawed hero. He was a frizzy-haired special education teacher. He was empathetic, tired, and deeply skeptical of the "green guys" from space who gave him the suit.
The suit itself was ridiculous. Bright red spandex with a symbol that looked vaguely like a stylized "G" or maybe a piece of clip art. But the magic wasn't in the suit; it was the chemistry between the trio. You had Ralph, the reluctant hero; Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp), the hard-nosed, paranoid FBI agent; and Pam Davidson (Connie Sellecca), the attorney who kept them from getting sued or arrested.
Culp, especially, was a revelation. He played Maxwell as a man who lived on black coffee and cigarettes, constantly exasperated by Ralph's "scenario" (his favorite word). Their relationship wasn't a standard partnership. It was a friction-filled mess that felt surprisingly real. They argued about ethics, paperwork, and the fact that Ralph kept losing the instructions. Seriously, the guy loses the manual in the desert in the very first episode. That is peak 80s writing.
The Legal Battle Most People Forget
You can't talk about the Greatest American Hero show without mentioning the massive shadow of the Man of Steel. DC Comics and Warner Bros. were absolutely livid when the show debuted. They filed a lawsuit claiming copyright infringement, arguing that Ralph Hinkley was just a rip-off of Superman.
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It went to court. Multiple times.
The judges eventually ruled in favor of ABC and Cannell. Why? Because Ralph Hinkley was the antithesis of Superman. Superman is graceful; Ralph flails. Superman is confident; Ralph is terrified. The court basically said that "The Greatest American Hero" was a parody, and because Ralph was so incompetent, nobody would ever confuse him with Clark Kent. It’s one of the few times in legal history where being a total screw-up was a valid defense.
A Theme Song That Outlived the Show
"Believe It or Not," the theme song performed by Joey Scarbury, reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. Think about that. A TV theme song was competing with Diana Ross and Hall & Oates. Mike Post and Stephen Geyer wrote a power ballad that perfectly captured the "regular guy" vibe. It wasn't an orchestral march like John Williams' Superman. It was soft rock. It was approachable.
The song has had a massive second life. It was famously parodied on Seinfeld when George Costanza used it for his answering machine message. "Believe it or not, George isn't at home..." That alone kept the show in the cultural zeitgeist for an extra twenty years.
Why it Failed (and Why it Succeeded)
The show only ran for three seasons. By 1983, the novelty was wearing thin. The special effects—mostly bluescreen work that looked dated even then—couldn't keep up with the rising expectations of TV audiences. ABC tried to spin it off with a female lead in The Greatest American Heroine, but it never went to series. The pilot was eventually edited into the syndication package as the final episode.
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But here’s the thing: it succeeded because it was the first time we saw a superhero who didn't want to be one.
Ralph was constantly worried about his students. He had a life. He had a girlfriend who was smarter than him. He hated the suit because it was itchy and made him a target. In the 2020s, we call this "subverting the genre." In 1981, they just called it a Tuesday night.
The Lost "Instruction Manual" of TV History
The show dealt with some surprisingly heavy themes for a lighthearted comedy. Cold War paranoia, the struggles of the American education system, and the ethical dilemma of having power without oversight. Bill Maxwell wanted to use the suit for national security; Ralph just wanted to help people without getting shot.
- The Power Set: Ralph had super strength, flight (badly), invisibility (sometimes), and "holography" (which was basically just him seeing things far away).
- The Weakness: Not kryptonite. Just his own lack of coordination and the fact that he was a normal guy in a weird situation.
- The Aliens: They were never really the focus. They were the "Greens." They showed up, gave the orders, and left the humans to figure out the mess.
If you watch it now, the pacing is slower than you'd expect. There’s a lot of talking. A lot of Bill Maxwell yelling in a sedan. But the heart is there. It’s a show about a guy trying to do the right thing when he feels completely unqualified to do it.
Lessons from the Suit
If you're looking to revisit the Greatest American Hero show, or if you're a writer trying to understand why it worked, there are some pretty clear takeaways. First, character always beats powers. We didn't care about Ralph flying; we cared about Ralph trying to fly. Second, the "buddy" dynamic needs friction. If Bill and Ralph got along, the show would have been boring.
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The legacy of the show lives on in things like The Boys or Invincible, where the "hero" part of the job is treated as a burden or a mess. Ralph Hinkley was the blueprint for the reluctant, blue-collar superhero.
To truly appreciate the series today, look past the grainy film stock. Notice how the show prioritizes Ralph's relationship with his students. See how Robert Culp turns a trope-heavy FBI agent into a three-dimensional, albeit grumpy, human being.
Next Steps for the Super-Fan:
- Track down the pilot episode: It’s almost movie-length and sets the tone perfectly, featuring the iconic scene of the spaceship in the desert.
- Listen to the soundtrack: Mike Post was a genius of 80s TV music, and the incidental scores are just as good as the theme.
- Watch for the guest stars: You'll see early appearances from actors like Joe Mantegna and Mark Hamill.
- Study the "Seinfeld" connection: Watch the "The Susie" (Season 8, Episode 15) to see the most famous parody of the theme song in history.
The suit might be in a museum (or a box in a producer's garage), but the idea that any regular person can be a hero—even if they crash into a few walls along the way—is a sentiment that doesn't age. Stick to the original three seasons for the best experience. Avoid the reboot rumors until they actually have a trailer, because people have been trying to "bring back the suit" for thirty years with very little luck. Just let Ralph have his clumsy, glorious moment in the sun.