I’ve really been enjoying being able to watch “The Greatest American Hero” again thanks to good old DVD. Lots of genuinely funny moment between the Ralph Hinckley and Bill Maxwell characters (the Hinckley character’s name was briefly changed to “Hanley” for an episode or two after John Hinckley did his wicked little trick), and Connie Sellica never looked hotter. Definitely up there on my list of all-time TV babes (though why she decided to shack up with John Tesh in anyone’s guess). The series is one of Stephen Cannell’s finest creations, even though there was a planned “Greatest American Heroine” spinoff that thankfully never aired, but whose pilot can be seen on the first season of “GAH.”
The real beauty here, though, is checking out William Katt’s stunt double. And really, this could have only happened with the glorious DVD pause and frame advance buttons. Sure, you may have been able to pull it off on some VCRs, but for full-on clairty nothing’s gonna beat the DVD. Anyway, anytime Katt takes off into the air (sometimes even when he’s running to take off), the stunt double comes in. The people who made this show obviously never dreamed that such things as DVDs would come along years later to really zero in on these things, and therefore they didn’t really seem to care much if the double resembled Katt in any way. The dude is much bulkier for one thing. I mean, he really fills out that supersuit in ways Katt never could. Then there’s the killer Harpo Marx wig the guy is wearing. Totally out of whack, and wooly as hell, this thing hardly looks like even a wig, let alone real hair, it’s that bad. I tell you, I’ve had as much fun just frame advancing the stunt double’s moments on screen as I have watching the episodes themselves. Some good unintended hilarity if ever there was some.
Come back Connie, I forgive you.
