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The Worst Episodes of The Greatest American Hero

Every episode of The Greatest American Hero ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Greatest American Hero!

The chronicles of  teacher Ralph Hinkley's adventures after a group of aliens gives him a red suit that gives him superhuman abilities. Unfortunately, Ralph, who...
Genres:Action & AdventureComedyCrime
Network:ABC
Episodes
43
Avg. Rating
7.4
S1
S2
S3
S4
E1
E2
E3
7.5
7.7
7.8
7.0
7.7
7.5
7.0
7.7
7.3

Worst Episodes Summary

"The Lost Diablo" is the worst rated episode of "The Greatest American Hero". It scored 6.5/10 based on 74 votes. Directed by Lawrence Doheny and written by Juanita Bartlett, it aired on 12/16/1981. This episode scored 0.1 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Classical Gas".

  • The Lost Diablo
    6.5/10(74)
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    #1 - The Lost Diablo

    Season 2 Episode 7

    Aired 12/16/1981

    Bill has a treasure map, and takes Ralph and his class out to the desert to find the lost Diablo Gold Mine that vanished a long time ago, and are met with resistance from the local thieves.

    Director: Lawrence Doheny

    Writer: Juanita Bartlett

  • Classical Gas
    6.6/10(83)
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    #2 - Classical Gas

    Season 2 Episode 5

    Aired 12/2/1981

    Ralph's students start a band, and a promoter lands them a spot on a big ticket concert while trying to get Pam to go out with him.

    Director: Bruce Kessler

    Writer: Frank Lupo

  • A Chicken in Every Plot
    6.7/10(76)
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    #3 - A Chicken in Every Plot

    Season 2 Episode 14

    Aired 2/17/1982

    Ron O'Neill, John Hancock, Thalmus Rasulala, Lincoln Kilpatrick Scenario: When an old FBI buddy invites Bill to his Caribbean retreat, Maxwell takes Ralph, Pam and the students along. Unfortunately, they find themselves involved in a voodoo plot to take over the island's government.

    Director: Rod Holcomb

    Writer: N/A

  • Hog Wild
    6.8/10(96)
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    #4 - Hog Wild

    Season 2 Episode 4

    Aired 11/25/1981

    A motorcycle gang steals the super-suit, and tries to use it to take over a town. It only works on Ralph, so they must force HIM to do their dirty work while holding Bill captive.

    Director: Ivan Dixon

    Writer: Stephen J. Cannell

  • It's All Downhill from Here
    6.8/10(74)
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    #5 - It's All Downhill from Here

    Season 2 Episode 16

    Aired 3/3/1982

    Ralph skis like a pro with the suit on, and stands in at the Olympics for a Russian skiier so the man can defect to America, and hand over top secret information that he stole.

    Director: Sidney Hayers

    Writer: N/A

  • Space Ranger
    6.8/10(72)
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    #6 - Space Ranger

    Season 3 Episode 8

    Aired 1/27/1983

    One of Ralph's students invents a radio telescope capable of decoding Russian satellite messages. The KGB tries to steal his system. When that maneuver fails, they decide to kill him before he can share his discovery with the CIA.

    Director: Ivan Dixon

    Writer: N/A

  • The Hit Car
    7.0/10(180)
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    #7 - The Hit Car

    Season 1 Episode 2

    Aired 3/25/1981

    Bill, who has been trying to bust open a drug ring for over 20 years, must drive a witness to Los Angeles for the trial of the gang leader and asks Ralph for help.

    Director: Rod Holcomb, Robert C. Thompson

    Writer: Stephen J. Cannell

  • Here's Looking at You Kid
    7.0/10(145)
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    #8 - Here's Looking at You Kid

    Season 1 Episode 3

    Aired 4/1/1981

    When a secret gunsight is stolen, Bill asks Ralph for help in solving the case. However, Ralph runs into problems when he keeps turning invisible unexpectedly, and must deal with the pressure of meeting Pam's parents.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Juanita Bartlett

  • Just Another Three Ring Circus
    7.1/10(76)
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    #9 - Just Another Three Ring Circus

    Season 2 Episode 12

    Aired 2/3/1982

    Ralph takes a job at the circus as a human cannonball while trying to help Bill bust a crime ring that involves a phony dating service.

    Director: Chuck Bowman

    Writer: Stephen J. Cannell

  • The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
    7.1/10(77)
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    #10 - The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

    Season 2 Episode 15

    Aired 2/24/1982

    Ralph and Bill hunt for the sea creature ""Carrie"" in the Bermuda Triangle thinking that the monster may be responsible for all of the boats that disappear there. They undercover a stolen boat ring, and never find the creature.

    Director: Sidney Hayers

    Writer: Frank Lupo

  • Thirty Seconds Over Little Tokyo
    7.1/10(61)
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    #11 - Thirty Seconds Over Little Tokyo

    Season 3 Episode 9

    Aired 2/3/1983

    A young Chinese scientist has invented a deadly particle "ray gun" weapon. A local gang kidnaps his uncle, hoping to obtain the gun. Bill's plan to save the Uncle backfires, and Ralph must test his suit against the deadly ray.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Desperado
    7.1/10(70)
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    #12 - Desperado

    Season 3 Episode 12

    Aired 2/24/1983

    A weekend in the country leads Ralph, Pam and Bill into a race to save a wild stallion from a cruel rancher. The man blames the horse for a crippling injury. His men are also selling horses for use as dog food.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Stephen J. Cannell

  • Reseda Rose
    7.2/10(111)
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    #13 - Reseda Rose

    Season 1 Episode 5

    Aired 4/15/1981

    Ralph uses his suit to help Rhonda, one of his students, after her mother is kidnapped by the Russians.

    Director: Gabrielle Beaumont

    Writer: Juanita Bartlett

  • Fire Man
    7.2/10(108)
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    #14 - Fire Man

    Season 1 Episode 7

    Aired 5/6/1981

    Ralph lends Tony a hand by finding him a job as a car repossesser. When Tony is arrested for arson, Ralph and Bill team up to find the real criminal.

    Director: Gabrielle Beaumont, Robert C. Thompson

    Writer: Lee Sheldon

  • Now You See It...
    7.2/10(81)
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    #15 - Now You See It...

    Season 2 Episode 10

    Aired 1/20/1982

    While practicing flying in the desert with Bill, Ralph gets a vision of a plane crash. It's the suit showing it to him, and Bill can only see it when he touches Ralph. They rush to the scene to find no plane, and figure out that it must be something that hasn't happened yet, and they're supposed to prevent it. We come to find out that Pam is on that plane, and it's been hijacked. To make matters worse, the plane has an experimental cloaking device that makes it invisible to radar, and the Air Force would rather shoot it down than have the plane in enemy hands.

    Director: Robert C. Thompson

    Writer: N/A

  • It's Only Rock and Roll
    7.2/10(81)
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    #16 - It's Only Rock and Roll

    Season 3 Episode 11

    Aired 2/17/1983

    Bill is called by the manager of a rock group that is aboard a plane threatened by a bomber, who has hidden a device set to explode if the plane descends below 1000 feet. Ralph flies into action, but matters escalate when Pam is kidnapped and a band of bikers threaten Bill's life.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Babs Greyhosky

  • Saturday on Sunset Boulevard
    7.3/10(114)
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    #17 - Saturday on Sunset Boulevard

    Season 1 Episode 4

    Aired 4/8/1981

    Russians are trying to find an heiress and her Russian husband in order to force them to establish a missile cache hold on their private island. Bill needs Ralph's help when he is suspected of failing a lie-detector test at FBI headquarters.

    Director: Gabrielle Beaumont, Rod Holcomb

    Writer: Stephen J. Cannell

  • This is the One the Suit Was Meant For
    7.3/10(73)
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    #18 - This is the One the Suit Was Meant For

    Season 3 Episode 3

    Aired 11/12/1982

    With their relationship in trouble, Ralph convinces Pam to go on a vacation without Bill or his suit. Unfortunately Bill shows up unannounced with his suit and trouble ensues.

    Director: Ivan Dixon

    Writer: Babs Greyhosky

  • The Resurrection of Carlini
    7.3/10(70)
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    #19 - The Resurrection of Carlini

    Season 3 Episode 4

    Aired 11/19/1982

    A magician killed performing his greatest trick seemingly returns from the grave to murder his three rivals. Ralph must use his suit to out trick the would-be killer.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Frank Lupo

  • Vanity, Says the Preacher
    7.3/10(67)
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    #20 - Vanity, Says the Preacher

    Season 3 Episode 13

    Aired 3/3/1983

    It seems that 30 years ago Bill helped some revolutionaries overthrow a corrupt regime in an unnamed Central American country, where he is now regarded as a hero. But now Bill's old revolutionary compadres have turned up, and they soon kidnap him and try to get him to help lead another revolution.

    Director: Robert Culp

    Writer: Robert Culp

  • Plague
    7.4/10(77)
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    #21 - Plague

    Season 2 Episode 8

    Aired 1/6/1982

    A psycho military cult leader tries to spread the small-pox virus.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Handpainted Thai
    7.4/10(71)
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    #22 - The Handpainted Thai

    Season 2 Episode 11

    Aired 1/27/1982

    Years ago, prisoners of war were brainwashed to respond to a code phrase. Now, someone is using them to commit acts of sabotage. Bill and Ralph investigate, but Bill inadvertently falls under a hypnotic trance, leaving the heroics up to Ralph.

    Director: Bruce Kessler

    Writer: Frank Lupo, Stephen J. Cannell

  • The Good Samaritan
    7.4/10(67)
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    #23 - The Good Samaritan

    Season 2 Episode 19

    Aired 3/31/1982

    Tired of using the suit to fight crime, Ralph decides to branch out. He tries to intervene in a battle between an old man fighting for his home and the city taking it away, but Bill has him on the hunt for bank robbers.

    Director: Bruce Kessler

    Writer: N/A

  • The Greatest American Hero
    7.5/10(332)
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    #24 - The Greatest American Hero

    Season 1 Episode 1

    Aired 3/18/1981

    Ralph Hinkley, an average school teacher, is given a suit with amazing powers by aliens. Now, Ralph must decide if he'll use his new powers to fight crime, even though he already lost the suit's instruction manual.

    Director: Rod Holcomb

    Writer: Stephen J. Cannell

  • The Best Desk Scenario
    7.5/10(108)
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    #25 - The Best Desk Scenario

    Season 1 Episode 8

    Aired 5/13/1981

    At FBI headquarters, promotions are being handed out. However, Bill considers retiring from his job. Meanwhile, Ralph must use his suit to save Pam when she discovers her boss is the head of an underground operation.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A