I'm halfway through the first season of The Greatest American Hero on dvd and I have to say that it wasn't nearly as cheesy as I remembered it being. There was always something about this series that stuck in my brain which, I thought, was the theme song -- which, you have to admit, probably goes down as one of the top 10 tv theme songs of all time -- but now I think it was something much deeper.
My theory is that The Greatest American Hero was a metaphor for America during 80s, Ronald Reagan, Cold War era.
In the show, aliens grant common every-man Ralph Hinkley an all-powerful suit in order to save the world from destruction, but he looses the instruction booklet and, as a result, he stumbles and bumbles his way through episode after episode, barely competent and never really learning from his past mistakes. America, at the time, was also granted great power (some would also say from a higher power as well) yet it never really learns how to use its power, so it stumbles and bumbles its way across the globe, never really learning from its mistakes.
Of course, it's 2:00 o'clock in the morning right now and I'm drunk, so take my theory for what its worth.
My theory is that The Greatest American Hero was a metaphor for America during 80s, Ronald Reagan, Cold War era.
In the show, aliens grant common every-man Ralph Hinkley an all-powerful suit in order to save the world from destruction, but he looses the instruction booklet and, as a result, he stumbles and bumbles his way through episode after episode, barely competent and never really learning from his past mistakes. America, at the time, was also granted great power (some would also say from a higher power as well) yet it never really learns how to use its power, so it stumbles and bumbles its way across the globe, never really learning from its mistakes.
Of course, it's 2:00 o'clock in the morning right now and I'm drunk, so take my theory for what its worth.
) on the first day of release. It was also $18, highly affordable. As I never saw the pilot it was especially satisfying. I've been waiting for this a long time! The Flash tv series is due out this spring, another great "superhero" series. Now, if they would only release the original "Green Hornet"!!!
