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News The Greatest American Hero Reboot Lands at ABC

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ABC has given a put-pilot commitment to a reboot of ’80s cult hit The Greatest American Hero. But there’s a twist: Instead of the original’s accidental superhero Ralph Hinkley, the new Hero will be an Indian-American woman named Meera who’s fond of drinking tequila and singing karaoke.

As in the original, Meera will stumble upon an alien superhero suit that endows her with superhuman powers… that she’s barely in control of. Fresh Off the Boat writer Rachna Fruchbom will pen the pilot script, and since ABC gave it a put-pilot commitment, the network will face major financial penalties if it passes on the show, which virtually guarantees it’ll make it to air.
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Of course, everything will be rebooted. As long as it's done well it's ok with me. And now , I know what a put-pilot is.
 
A TGAH reboot in this era would have to be very different. The original was made in a time when superheroes were seen as silly kid stuff, and someone seen in public wearing a superhero costume was seen as a freak or mentally ill, so Ralph was rather embarrassed by his situation. These days, superheroes are the pinnacle of pop culture, so if this Meera character were seen in the suit, she'd probably just be seen as a cosplayer. And someone who actually had demonstrable superpowers might well be admired. It would certainly be enormously harder to stay anonymous in an age of ubiquitous phone cameras and surveillance. If there's a Bill Maxwell, he'd probably have to have an intern constantly removing videos from YouTube and Instagram. In today's climate, he'd probably be working with Meera with the full knowledge and approval of the FBI and Homeland Security and whatnot, rather than as a lone wolf with a secret weapon even his bosses didn't know about. Which would open some cans of worms about the kind of assignments he'd give her.

In short, I'm not sure a modern update could really capture what gave the original its identity and flavor. But I suppose the most essential thing that made it work was the relationship between Ralph and Bill -- and the sheer charisma and talent of Robert Culp. If they focus on a similar relationship and get a comparable actor, maybe it could work even with so much else being different.

And of course, they should keep the theme song.
 
Actually there was an attempt to reboot it shortly after the original left the air. It did not go well.
 
Christopher said:
A TGAH reboot in this era would have to be very different. The original was made in a time when superheroes were seen as silly kid stuff, and someone seen in public wearing a superhero costume was seen as a freak or mentally ill, so Ralph was rather embarrassed by his situation.
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This is probably still true if it's not Halloween or at a convention.
 
Mr. Adventure said:
This is probably still true if it's not Halloween or at a convention.
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They exaggerated this a bit too much in the original tv show. They often tried to have him committed even when he provided a good explanation for his costume.

"See officers, I was at a costume party and went out for a moment to smoke so..."
"Naah, you are obviously a dangerous lunatic, and you have to be interned without seeing a judge or lawyer and depriving you of your basic rights."

Obviously I do not know how America was in the late '70s, but really was just wearing a superhero costume (but still behaving like a healthy and rational person) a one-way ticket to the madhouse?
 
E-DUB said:
Actually there was an attempt to reboot it shortly after the original left the air. It did not go well.
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By today's terminology, The Greatest American Heroine would be a sequel/revival rather than a reboot. Made three years later, it reunited the original cast as a pilot for a new series in which Ralph had gone public with his powers and let fame go to his head, leading to the aliens taking away the supersuit and giving it to a female lead who ended up partnered with Bill Maxwell.


Skipper said:
They exaggerated this a bit too much in the original tv show. They often tried to have him committed even when he provided a good explanation for his costume.

"See officers, I was at a costume party and went out for a moment to smoke so..."
"Naah, you are obviously a dangerous lunatic, and you have to be interned without seeing a judge or lawyer and depriving you of your basic rights."

Obviously I do not know how America was in the late '70s, but really was just wearing a superhero costume (but still behaving like a healthy and rational person) a one-way ticket to the madhouse?
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Maybe it was exaggerated for comic effect, but it reflected the cultural air of contempt for superhero fiction. That's one thing about the show that's never held up for me, the way it and its characters looked down at the idea of superheroes. Having a heroic identity and saving lives wasn't something that inspired Ralph or that he used to inspire others, it was a dirty little secret that embarrassed him. It kind of makes the title sound sarcastic.
 
Loved TGAH as a youngster, so much so that I went as Ralph in the suit for Halloween... and then wore the suit for fun afterward, half hoping the Green Guys would come down and give me superpowers. I also bought Joey Scarbury's entire album and listened to it constantly.

I surprisingly don't remember much about the Greatest American Heroine, though. Not sure how this reboot will go.
 
WarpFactorZ said:
I surprisingly don't remember much about the Greatest American Heroine, though.
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No reason you should. It was a single, failed pilot episode that we only know about because they tacked it onto the end of the syndication package. I've seen it and I barely remember it.
 
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I've never seen the original, so I don't really have anything to judge this by, but the premise does sound fun so it does have potential.
 
Mr Pointy Ears said:
Reboots after reboots,cant Hollywood come up with any original ideas any more
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Most Hollywood movies have always been adaptations or remakes of pre-existing works. There has never been a time when that wasn't the case. Most of the greatest movies ever are adaptations of one sort or another -- Casablanca is based on a play, countless great movies are based on books, Citizen Kane is based on a real person's life, etc. And remakes were far more common in the early days of film than they are today; the Judy Garland Wizard of Oz was the seventh screen adaptation of that book in less than four decades.

Most great literature and drama throughout history has been based on pre-existing works such as myth, history, or earlier works of literature and drama. Shakespeare never had an original idea in his life. Originality is in what you do with a story, not where you get it from.
 
To be fair, the concept of the show is good. I agree that there are too many reboots, but this one I'd like to see. I watched it religiously as a kid, I'm happy this is coming back. Better that they modernize it instead of it being remembered as a cheesy 80s show.
 
Oh man, how are they going to recapture the charm of the original without Robert Culp and Connie Sellecca sparring over his sexist comments toward her!?

Best eight dollars I ever spent was on a Greatest American Hero DVD set. The first season is a riot.
 
Ruaidhri said:
Oh man, how are they going to recapture the charm of the original without Robert Culp and Connie Sellecca sparring over his sexist comments toward her!?

Best eight dollars I ever spent was on a Greatest American Hero DVD set. The first season is a riot.
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And that is the point right there. What made the original show work was the charm and the chemistry with the actors and the characters. It did not take itself seriously and it was fun. I''m not sure that in this day and age that the magic can be recaptured. Powerless tried and failed.
 
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