It was 24 years ago today...

[PDavidson1981]

That's right, folks...it was on this date in 1981, at 8 p.m. EST, we saw a man in a funny red suit have a go at being a superhero.

It was the night that...[glow=red,2,300]The Greatest American Hero[/glow] took off.

So, a toast *raises glass of sparkling cider*, and a happy 24th anniversary to one of the best (and sadly, most underrated) series of all time!

[mom2jared]

OH MY GOSH!!! That is too cool!!!

I didn't know that! Thanks for letting us know!

Ilana

[Maxwell - F.B.I.]

And now I am totally creeped out. Not only was it 24 years ago today, but the reply post about it by Ilana went through at 7:22am - the EXACT TIME I WAS BORN.

<cue twilight zone music>

I wanna go home...

[RalphsJammies]

Cool! Now I know just what I was doing 24 years ago on this date.

I was 9 years old and sitting in front of the TV mesmerized by GAH!

[greenguy]

I was sitting in front of the tv, slice of pizza in one hand....enjoying the show.

[mom2jared]

I was 10, now I feel old! Man, I'm going to be 35 in three weeks. I feel like hiding now!!!

Ilana

[The J-Man]

I don't really remember what I ate that night, but considering that Mom and Pop were out, and the baby-sitter (or pre-pubescent-sitter or whateverthehell) was in, the chances that I had pizza (delivery), too, are in the 90% neighborhood.

The crap we remember, huh?

[The J-Man]

greenguy said:

I was sitting in front of the tv, slice of pizza in one hand....

um...dare we ask what was in the other hand?

[scenario]

I was 5 years old. I don't have any idea what I ate or drank that night. All I remember was that the series was being promoted very heavily, on Saturday mornings too I believe.

The promos got my attention. GAH was the first brand new current TV show that I remember falling in love with. Before that I remember liking reruns of Six Million Dollar Man, Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island. What enthralled me back then was that the show felt like MAGIC. Everything about it, from the rousing theme song that created such an intense sense of wonder, to the eye catching red suit, to the mind boggling alien ship,...it was all so magical. There was also something about the way Ralph flew, that seemed so real to me. Him having trouble with the flying, flailing about in the air and crashing into the ground just was so cool to me. And Ralph and Bill having discussions about pitch and yaw, up and down, air resistance...it just seemed so REAL. Far more real then the way Supes or any other hero flew. I don't ever remember two guys just sitting around and talking about human flight like that before. It was almost like Ralph's flight problems were exactly what a person would go through in the air if he or she really did have the lift (courtesy of the magic jammies) necessary to fly. I would almost get the impression they were on the cusp of solving the Wilbur and Orville problems.

The coolest thing about GAH was that there were so many deeper layers and textures to the show that would go over your head as a kid, but one could enjoy later as an adult. The whole superhero angle brought in a ton of kids, but it was written on an adult level, so there was need to abandon the series as just a silly kiddie show once you got to a certain age. You could still keep watching and enjoy it as a very rich adult comedy-drama.


-scenario-

[mom2jared]

Oh my gosh, Scenario, you just brought up some very vivid memories. I too remember sitting at home watching tv and hearing the promos for the show and thinking that I've got to see this show to see what the hype is all about. Well I saw the pilot episode and was hooked. I remember I had to practically beg my parents to stay up because the show was on after my bedtime, esp when it moved to Fridays in the last season.

I remember how fascinated I was that a normal, average run of the mill guy could fly and wishing I could do that. I remember taking a tape recorder and recording some scenes I loved because I did not have a VCR. I think somewhere I had an old recording (voice only) of the proposal scene from "This is the One the Suit Was Meant For" and the wedding from "The Newlywed Game" and I can hear my brother in the background laughing at me because I was recording it. Funny I can remember things like this but can't remember what I ate for dinner last night. I love that I can share these memories with all of you guys!!!

Ilana

[ThatGirl]

TheJMan said:

um...dare we ask what was in the other hand?

Geeze, the remote, of course.

[Ms_Lilacs]

PDavidson1981 said:

So, a toast *raises glass of sparkling cider*, and a happy 24th anniversary to one of the best (and sadly, most underrated) series of all time!

Oh wow! *giggles* I remember....ah, memories...
I remember watching this show when it first aired.
Then I fell in love as it remained in my heart since then.

Hey, pass over some of that sparkling cider!! ;D Mmm...
And I watched GAH today, so I'm happy now!

[MissDavidson]

I may have been sucking my thumb, if I had thumbs at that point. . .anyway. . .

here's to Ralph Hinkley and Company, the Greatest American Dramedy/Sci-Fi/Fantasy show ever conceived!!!!

[MissDavidson]

BTW greenguy, thanks for all those audio clips on the site! I downloaded some of them and it's so cool to hear stuff like that, the voiceovers and stuff from back then. I never got the chance to hear them then. It's just awesome.