The Greatest American Hero
Ralph Hinkley was minding his own business, a teacher on a field trip with his high school students, when the bus he's driving mysteriously drives itself out into the desert. A startled Ralph is soon visited by aliens, who had decided to endow him with superhuman powers to fight the battle against injustice and crime. To this end, they gave him a special suit and an instruction manual. Unfortunately, Ralph managed to lose the instruction manual, and the aliens have a nasty habit of never being around when you need them.
- 1981-1986
- 3 seasons
- ABC
- Action & Adventure, Comedy, Science Fiction
- TV-14
Ralph Hinkley was minding his own business, a teacher on a field trip with his high school students, when the bus he's driving mysteriously drives itself out into the desert. A startled Ralph is soon visited by aliens, who had decided to endow him with superhuman powers to fight the battle against injustice and crime. To this end, they gave him a special suit and an instruction manual. Unfortunately, Ralph managed to lose the instruction manual, and the aliens have a nasty habit of never being around when you need them.
Season 2 Episode Guide
22 Episodes 1981 - 1982
Episode 1
The Two-Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Fast Ball
Wed, Nov 4, 1981 50 mins
Crooks needing cash to swing an arms deal bet heavily on a baseball game and beat up the star of the team they bet against. Ralph joins the underdogs to make sure they win and the gamblers lose their money.
Episode 2
Operation Spoilsport
Wed, Nov 11, 1981 50 mins
The aliens return and tell Ralph and Bill that they have to stop World War III when they are told that a failsafe system which will launch an attack on the other side if the country's been decimated has been activated. So they have to stop it. But unfortunately they discover someone on their side is behind the whole thing.
Episode 3
Don't Mess Around with Jim
Wed, Nov 18, 1981 49 mins
Ralph and Bill are knocked out and the suit is taken by their abductors. They're brought some place and are taken to see that the man who abducted them is a millionaire who's suppose to have died recently. He reveals that he knows about the aliens and the suit. He tells them that he entrusted his doctor with his final will and testament which basically gives all of his fortune to charity. But the President of his company convinced the doctor to give him the will so that he could remain in control of the company. So he wants Ralph and Bill to get the will back. They're accompanied by the millionaire's confidant who tells them how the suit works.
Episode 4
Hog Wild
Wed, Nov 25, 1981 49 mins
When a motorcycle gang learns about Ralph and the suit, they grab Bill and force Ralph to help them get back at the Sheriff who humiliated them.
Episode 5
Classical Gas
Wed, Dec 2, 1981 47 mins
Ralph and Pam help the kids rehearse their rock band for a show not realizing the promoter plans to release nerve gas into their crowd.
Episode 6
The Beast in the Black
Wed, Dec 9, 1981 49 mins
Bill is possessed by a woman's spirit. To rescue him, Ralph crosses to another dimension and discovers that his super-suit won't function.
Episode 7
The Lost Diablo
Wed, Dec 16, 1981 60 mins
Bill learns of a lost gold mine and tricks Ralph and the kids into helping him search for it.
Episode 8
Plague
Wed, Jan 6, 1982 49 mins
Bill and Ralph must track down a group of gun-runners while dealing with a plague threat.
Episode 9
Train of Thought
Wed, Jan 13, 1982 49 mins
Ralph and Bill are pursuing some terrorists who steal a train. Ralph chases them but crashes into the train. He's knocked out. So Bill takes him to the hospital. Pam goes there and Ralph wakes up. When he sees Bill, he doesn't recognize him. They deduce that he forgot from the moment he met Bill and they met the aliens because Ralph had a little trouble accepting meeting the aliens so he blocked it out. They try to get him to remember because the train the terrorists took has radioactive material.
Episode 10
Now You See It
Wed, Jan 20, 1982 49 mins
Ralph discovers a new power - the ability to see the future. For example, he can see the plane on which Pam is traveling will crash.
Episode 11
The Hand-Painted Thai
Wed, Jan 27, 1982 49 mins
American pilots, hypnotized years ago in Vietnam, are activated to bomb a dam, destroy valuable farm land and disrupt an important scientific meeting. Ralph and Bill must stop the planes before they reach their target.
Episode 12
Just Another Three-Ring Circus
Wed, Feb 3, 1982 49 mins
Bill is assigned to locate a missing circus clown. Ralph is recruited to infiltrate the circus as a human cannonball act.
Episode 13
The Shock Will Kill You
Wed, Feb 10, 1982 49 mins
While rescuing a stricken space shuttle Ralph becomes hyper-magnetized resulting his being attracted to all things metal.
Episode 14
A Chicken in Every Plot
Wed, Feb 17, 1982 49 mins
Ralph, Pam and the kids fly to a Caribbean to visit a friend of Bill Maxwell's. When they arrive they find Bill's friend murdered and island racked by a voodoo-driven revolt against the government.
Episode 15
The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Wed, Feb 24, 1982 49 mins
While visiting Bermuda, Bill investigates whether dinosaur attacks may cause the loss of ships in the Bermuda Triangle.
Episode 16
It's All Downhill from Here
Wed, Mar 3, 1982 60 mins
Ralph goes undercover as a skier to help a defector escape his pursuers.
Episode 17
Dreams
Wed, Mar 17, 1982 49 mins
A man arrested by Bill and Ralph is released from prison and vows vengeance upon the two men. The normally unperturbed Maxwell is scared out of his wits by the threats.
Episode 18
There's Just No Accounting...
Wed, Mar 24, 1982 49 mins
Ralph has to deal with an IRS audit, Bill is suspended for losing a kidnapping ransom, and everyone is harassed by the IRS. Fun times.
Episode 19
The Good Samaritan
Wed, Mar 31, 1982 49 mins
Ralph, tired of just going after criminals, decides he wants to help people. And he starts by helping a man who's being forced out of his home.
Episode 20
Captain Bellybuster and the Speed Factory
Wed, Apr 7, 1982 49 mins
A man who plays a superhero for a hamburger chain discovers the stores are a front for drug dealers. When a reporter investigating his claims for murder, the icon calls on Ralph for help.
Episode 21
Who's Woo in America
Wed, Apr 14, 1982 60 mins
Ralph's mother comes for a visit, and announces that she is engaged to be married to Philip Kaballa, a much younger man. Kaballa has a shady background though, and a bunch of thugs mistake Ralph for the fiance.
Episode 22
Lilacs, Mr. Maxwell
Wed, Apr 28, 1982 49 mins
Ralph breaks into the FBI archives and helps Bill solve a number of cold cases. As a result, Bill becomes a hero and a target for a beautiful KGB assassin.
