Back in 1981, ABC decided to take a chance on a superhero comedy that most thought had no chance of succeeding.  The cast was relatively unknown, which brought the uphill climb further into focus. Not only that, but the storyline wasn't about an actual, existing comic book superhero.

The plot was interesting for the time period.  A school teacher and an FBI agent meet accidentally in the desert.  The two men inadvertently stumble upon a spaceship and meet the alien inhabitants.  The aliens, for some unknown reason, choose to bestow a red suit upon the school teacher that gives him super powers when he is wearing it.

This sounds like a decent plot on the surface.  This could have followed a typical super hero formula and had the school teacher start fighting crime and doing cool things around town.  But this was a comedy, so they had to add a little wrinkle"¦

When the aliens gave the suit to the teacher, they also gave him an instruction book on how to use it.  Unfortunately, in his haste to keep his students from seeing him with the aliens he dropped it in the dessert.  This led to the base of the comedy that ensues from week to week as the teacher, Ralph Hinkley, tried to figure out how to utilize his new powers.

Ralph's most famous problems come from trying to fly, and of course, how to land.  The sight of this skinny little guy flying through the air, completely out of control was hilarious during its time. Week after week, Ralph was working with Bill Maxwell, the FBI agent, to try and master different aspects of the suit. Throughout the series, it was a major source of laughs.

Relative unknown actor William Katt played the school teacher, Ralph Hinkley.  The FBI agent, Bill Maxwell, was played by seasoned actor Robert Culp.  Connie Selleca played Pam Davidson, who was an attorney as well as Ralph's girlfriend.  These three actors anchored this show for three seasons and created the makings of a true cult classic.

This series was a hit from 1981 to 1983.  It was a short run, but a memorable one. The theme song still sticks in your head whenever you think of the show.  The insignia on the suit that was never explained during the show still adorns the tee shirt of Dr. Sheldon Cooper on the Big Bang Theory.

Perhaps this is why FOX has decided to give it another run.  The network recently decided to engineer a reboot of the iconic series.  Given the landscape in Hollywood for this kind of thing, it seems to be as good an idea as any.

Why not?  They are rebooting the X-Files, and that seems to be going well. If it has something to do with superheroes or the supernatural, there is probably a market for it somewhere.  Hopefully they will continue with the same formula that brought them success 35 years ago; comedy, good writing and an occasional guest star that has some relevance to the audience, like they did with Andre the Giant back in 1982.

The network is bringing in some seriously heavy hitters to pull it off.The reboot will be written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa, known for his work on My Family Wedding and Dope.  The duo that brought us the big-screen version of the TV show, 21 Jump Street, will also be attached to the project, as Phil Lord and Chris Miller have signed on.

The original creator of the Greatest American Hero, Stephen J. Canell, will also be represented on the creative team.  His daughter, Tawnia McKiernan, has signed on to the project as well.  She will be looking to maintain the original theme and tone of the hit TV show, the way her father would have wanted it to be.

There is no hard release date on when this will be coming to Fox, and the project is still in the very early stages of development.  It should be fun for folks who were watching TV back in 1981 to compare the old, classic version with whatever the creative team decides will be the new and improved version of the Greatest American Hero.  As long as they don't drastically change the suit, they should be alright.