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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!

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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 hates wearing the suit, immediately loses its instruction booklet, and

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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 5 - Classical Gas
    6.7/10(93 votes)

    #1 - Classical Gas

    S2:E5

    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

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  2. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 7 - The Lost Diablo
    6.7/10(84 votes)

    #2 - The Lost Diablo

    S2:E7

    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

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  3. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 4 - Hog Wild
    6.9/10(109 votes)

    #3 - Hog Wild

    S2:E4

    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

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  4. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 14 - A Chicken in Every Plot
    6.9/10(86 votes)

    #4 - A Chicken in Every Plot

    S2:E14

    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:Unknown

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  5. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 16 - It's All Downhill from Here
    6.9/10(84 votes)

    #5 - It's All Downhill from Here

    S2:E16

    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:Unknown

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  6. The Greatest American Hero Season 1 Episode 2 - The Hit Car
    7.0/10(195 votes)

    #6 - The Hit Car

    S1:E2

    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.

    Directors:Robert C. Thompson, Rod Holcomb
    Writer:Stephen J. Cannell

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  7. The Greatest American Hero Season 1 Episode 3 - Here's Looking at You Kid
    7.0/10(160 votes)

    #7 - Here's Looking at You Kid

    S1:E3

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Juanita Bartlett

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  8. The Greatest American Hero Season 3 Episode 8 - Space Ranger
    7.0/10(82 votes)

    #8 - Space Ranger

    S3:E8

    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:Unknown

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  9. The Greatest American Hero Season 1 Episode 4 - Saturday on Sunset Boulevard
    7.1/10(130 votes)

    #9 - Saturday on Sunset Boulevard

    S1:E4

    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.

    Directors:Gabrielle Beaumont, Rod Holcomb
    Writer:Stephen J. Cannell

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  10. The Greatest American Hero Season 1 Episode 5 - Reseda Rose
    7.2/10(124 votes)

    #10 - Reseda Rose

    S1:E5

    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

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  11. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 12 - Just Another Three Ring Circus
    7.2/10(88 votes)

    #11 - Just Another Three Ring Circus

    S2:E12

    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

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  12. The Greatest American Hero Season 3 Episode 13 - Vanity, Says the Preacher
    7.2/10(80 votes)

    #12 - Vanity, Says the Preacher

    S3:E13

    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

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  13. The Greatest American Hero Season 1 Episode 7 - Fire Man
    7.3/10(118 votes)

    #13 - Fire Man

    S1:E7

    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.

    Directors:Robert C. Thompson, Gabrielle Beaumont
    Writer:Lee Sheldon

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  14. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 10 - Now You See It...
    7.3/10(89 votes)

    #14 - Now You See It...

    S2:E10

    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:Unknown

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  15. The Greatest American Hero Season 3 Episode 3 - This is the One the Suit Was Meant For
    7.3/10(83 votes)

    #15 - This is the One the Suit Was Meant For

    S3:E3

    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

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  16. The Greatest American Hero Season 3 Episode 9 - Thirty Seconds Over Little Tokyo
    7.3/10(71 votes)

    #16 - Thirty Seconds Over Little Tokyo

    S3:E9

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. The Greatest American Hero Season 3 Episode 12 - Desperado
    7.3/10(80 votes)

    #17 - Desperado

    S3:E12

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Stephen J. Cannell

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  18. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 15 - The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
    7.4/10(90 votes)

    #18 - The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

    S2:E15

    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

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  19. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 19 - The Good Samaritan
    7.4/10(77 votes)

    #19 - The Good Samaritan

    S2:E19

    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:Unknown

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  20. The Greatest American Hero Season 3 Episode 4 - The Resurrection of Carlini
    7.4/10(82 votes)

    #20 - The Resurrection of Carlini

    S3:E4

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Frank Lupo

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  21. The Greatest American Hero Season 3 Episode 11 - It's Only Rock and Roll
    7.4/10(91 votes)

    #21 - It's Only Rock and Roll

    S3:E11

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Babs Greyhosky

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  22. The Greatest American Hero Season 1 Episode 1 - The Greatest American Hero
    7.5/10(362 votes)

    #22 - The Greatest American Hero

    S1:E1

    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

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  23. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 8 - Plague
    7.5/10(86 votes)

    #23 - Plague

    S2:E8

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 9 - A Train of Thought
    7.5/10(92 votes)

    #24 - A Train of Thought

    S2:E9

    Ralph crashes head first into a train, and gets amnesia. Pam and Bill have to convince him that the suit really works.

    Director:Lawrence Doheny
    Writer:Frank Lupo

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  25. The Greatest American Hero Season 2 Episode 11 - The Handpainted Thai
    7.5/10(81 votes)

    #25 - The Handpainted Thai

    S2:E11

    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
    Writers:Frank Lupo, Stephen J. Cannell

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Classical Gas" is the worst rated episode of "The Greatest American Hero". It scored 6.7/10 based on 93 votes. Directed by Bruce Kessler and written by Frank Lupo, it aired on 12/2/1981. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Lost Diablo".