ALL SCI-FI

[Pow]

"The Green Hornet" was a 30-minute ABC Television Network series that ran from 1966~1967 for a total of 26 episodes.

The character was created by George Trendle & Fran Striker in 1936 as a radio series.

The TV show was produced by William Dozier who also produced the "Batman" TV series.

Fortunately WD had TGH show done as a serious dramatic series and not at like the camp & comedic style of "Batman."

WD also did the opening narration used each week for the show explaining the premise for the series.

Britt Reid (Van Williams) is the crusading publisher of the newspaper known as the Daily Sentinel.

In order to stop the rampant crime in his city Reid creates the Green Hornet. Reid's plan is that the GH appears as a mastermind criminal to the public at large in order to infiltrate organized mobs and break them up from within.

Crucial to Britt's covert operations is his friend/valet Kato (Bruce Lee) who is a superb martial artist.

Britt & Kato's secret identities are only known to Reid's secretary, Lenore "Casey" Case (Wende Wagner) and D.A. Frank P. Scanlon.

The GH & Kato ride in their "rolling arsenal" known as the Black Beauty" which is equipped with numerous weapons such as rockets that can be launched from both the front and the rear of the deadly sedan.

The BB also has a drop down nozzle on the front grill which emits a knockout gas.
On the rear of the limo is a rod that extended outwards can spray out a smokescreen or oil slick.

Housed in the trunk of the auto is the Hornet Scanner which is a drone that can fly and transmit pictures back to the television monitor in the BB.

The Black Beauty was a 1966 Imperial Crown sedan customized by Dean Jeffries. Two were created for the TV show.

In addition, the GH also has 2 weapons he carries with him at all times.

The Hornet Sting is a telescoping gadget that is capable of sending out sonic disruption waves that can blast through steel.

The Hornet Gas Gun spews out a green colored knockout gas that renders its victims unconscious for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

The theme song is the classic Flight of the Bumblebee and is performed by jazz legend Al Hirt.

[Gord Green]

The Green Hornet as conceived by Fran Striker was a modern day version of THE LONE RANGER.
Actually, The Hornet, Brit Reid was the great nephew of John Reid, The Lone Ranger.
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[trekriffic]

l built a model of the Black Beauty back when I was a kid.

https://images.app.goo.gl/QKxB7MPPK4Wj5xNx9

[Pow]

Additional GH Fun Facts } Britt's garage had a revolving floor.
On on the top side he would park his white convertible in a normal fashion.

When the BB was needed, Kato would operate some buttons hidden behind a tool board on the wall of the garage.

That would cause clamps to rise from the floor in the front & back of Britt's car & lock onto it.
The floor would then rotate with the BB having been stored on the underside of the floor.

Once the clamps came off the BB, Kato, with Reid in the back seat, would wait for the back wall of the garage that had a planter attached to it rise upwards so that the BB could exit the garage covertly.

A large billboard advertising candy that was in an alleyway would then separate vertically from the middle and allow the BB through it & into the alleyway and then onto the city streets.

[Krel]

As a kid, I liked this show over "BATMAN". I have a green Fedora because of the show.

Dean Jefferies was given the job of creating the Black Beauty, because he had the job of creating the Batmobile taken away. He had started modifying a 1959 Cadillac, getting as far as removing the roof and front and rear end, when he was told that the car was needed in two weeks, instead of six.

The Black Beauty had two sets of headlights. Regular lamps and green lamps. The green lamps were to be a form of night vision. There was a green clear panel above he steering wheel which could high-lite the green light. There was a clothing closet built into the back of the front passenger's seat. In addition to the drone, the trunk held a mortar.

The Black Beauty had many features that were never shown. Brushes could be lowered from the rear end to obliterate tire marks in dirt. There were small doors on either side of the rear window, so the Green Hornet could fire out of them.

There were three Black Beauties. A hero car. A car that was filled with all the mechanisms needed for the different devices. And a static car that had no engine, which was used just of scenes of the car just sitting there. I have now idea why it didn't have an engine. You would think that, that would make it easier to move around, than just pushing it.

When the cars were delivered they had a hand-applied black lacquered finish. Van Williams said it was the most beautiful finish he had ever seen, it really looked like a Hood's car. On the first night of filming, they rolled the car out...And it reflected EVERY light for miles around. They rolled the car into the Fox paint shop and gave it a flat-black finish.

When they filmed the pilot, for the gas gun they used colored gas. The problem was that in low light, the gas was invisible. They switched to colored powder, so you could see the "gas".

The Hornet Sting also had problems. They used a powerful spring to open the Sting, and in most cases, the Hornet Sting flew apart in Van William's hand when opened. After a few episodes they took the spring out, and Van Williams would open it with a flick of his wrist.

Bruce Lee was VERY competitive, and was always trying to get people to arm wrestle him. Van Williams always refused, but finally relented. Wan Willams grew-up wrangling Horses, and so had very powerful arms. He beat Bruce Lee and promptly regretted it. Bruce Lee was always bugging him for a rematch.

They had a problem with Bruce Lee on his fighting scenes. He was too accurate, and they couldn't convince him that they didn't actually have to come that close to the actor. They could fix it all with the blocking and camera angles. He was always practicing, and a person would feel something tickle their earlobe. That was Bruce Lee kicking them. One day as he did that, the person unexpectedly turned, and he broke the mans jaw. Bruce Lee was shocked and inconsolable that he actually injured someone. He listened to them on filming the fights after that.

Because of the Hornet's costume, green suit, fedora and overcoat, combined with the California climate, Van Williams lost three to five pounds in water weight every episode.

The show did well in the ratings, and was renewed. The problem was that the production wanted to move to an hour long show. They were having problems doing thirty minute shows. The Network wanted to keep it at thirty minutes. Because of this the deal fell apart.

David.

[Pow]

More GH Fun Facts } Britt can signal D.A.Scanlon via Reid's pocket watch. When the watch is pressed a small antanna pops up and sends a buzzing sound that emits from the temple of Scanlon's glasses.

The pocket watch also is a audio communication device that allows Britt as the GH to speak & hear Kato when Kato is in the Black Beauty operating the hand radio.

Whenever Frank Scanlon was covertly meeting Britt and Kato at Reid's residence he would park his car in an alley by the home.

Exiting the vehicle, Frank would push aside a section of a wooden fence.

Inside Britt's home there would be a sound signaling that Scanlon was now in the hidden elevator which when it arrived the living room fireplace would rise upwards revealing the entryway for Frank.

[ralfy]

Original soundtrack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5_qDrlDqoE

The "Green Hornet" scene from Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4cvTaP7RS8

[Pow]

Black Beauty Intel } Bulletproof.

Front Rockets Total : 16. Rear Rockets Total : 20.

Speaker & Recorder : Back seat. Speaker & Intercom: Front seat.

P.A. System Loudspeaker : Heard through the BB's front grill.

Telephone: Backseat.

Remote Control : Operates an unmanned BB via a handheld gold-colored electronic box.

Hornet Mortar : A powerful cannon which would rise up from the trunk.

Note from me : The HM was used on only one episode,"Freeway To Death,"but how was it able to be located in exactly the same spot inside the trunk as the Hornet Scanner? Both gizmos rose up out of the same slot.

Magnesium Wheels.

Silent Mode : Allows the BB to operate in silent running.

Oscilloscope.

Ice Spreader : On Exhaust.

Rear Oil Slick Gun.

Foam Spray Nozzle : Emerges from the back of the BB just below the trunk link.

Revolving License Plate.
Note from me : How was this feature of any real use to Britt & Kato? Were they expecting to get into some kind of trouble that different license plates would resolve for 'em? After all, the GH & K are already notorious & wanted criminals.

[Krel]

[Pow]

Van Williams and Bruce Lee became good friends during the run of the show.

Van would promote Bruce whenever he could so that Lee could have more screen time.

Many actors would have felt very threatened by Bruce as their co~star due to his charisma and stunning martial arts skills. They'd attempt to push Bruce as far into the background as possible.

Can anyone say William Shatner or Jack Lord?

However, Van did all he could for Bruce. Not only for their friendship but for the sake of the show itself.

Van always said in interviews that he felt he and Bruce were equal partners on the show and that Lee wasn't in a supporting role only.

Bruce loathed having to play a valet/houseboy on the series which made it a challenge for the writers to include Kato into scenes when he was in his civilian role.

In TGH episode "The Frog Is A Deadly Weapon" the guest star was Victory Jory as that week's nefarious villain.

Jory once played Lamont Cranston aka The Shadow in a movie serial.

Guess we can say that the Green Hornet & Kato met the Shadow.

[Bud Brewster]

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Bless my soul, all the episodes are on YouTube with fine pictures! Enjoy!

________ The Green Hornet - 01 - The Silent Gun


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___ The Green Hornet - 02 - Give 'em Enough Rope


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__ The Green Hornet - 03 - Programmed for Death


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_________ The Green Hornet - 04 - Crime Wave


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__ The Green Hornet - 05 - The Frog is a Deadly Weapon


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___ The Green Hornet - 06 - Eat, Drink, and Be Dead


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_The Green Hornet - 07 - Beautiful Dreamer (Part 1)


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_The Green Hornet - 08 - Beautiful Dreamer (Part 2)


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____ The Green Hornet - 09 - The Ray Is For Killing


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_____ The Green Hornet - 10 - The Preying Mantis


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The Green Hornet - 11 - The Hunters and the Hunted


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_____The Green Hornet - 12 - Deadline For Death


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The Green Hornet - 13 - The Secret of the Sally Bell


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_____ The Green Hornet - 14 - Freeway To Death


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__ The Green Hornet - 15 - May the Best Man Lose


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_The Green Hornet - 16 - The Hornet and the Firefly


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__ The Green Hornet - 17 - Seek, Stalk and Destroy


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_The Green Hornet - 18 - Corpse of the Year (Part 1)


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_The Green Hornet - 19 - Corpse of the Year (Part 2)


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_______ The Green Hornet - 20 - Ace in the Hole


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__ The Green Hornet - 21 - Bad Bet On A 459 Silent


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The Green Hornet - 22 - Trouble For Prince Charming


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_______ The Green Hornet - 23 - Alias The Scarf


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____ The Green Hornet - 24 - Hornet Save Thyself


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_The Green Hornet 25 Invasion from Outer Space (Part 1)


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_The Green Hornet 25 Invasion from Outer Space (Part 2)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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I watched episode 1 from YouTube today, and I was VERY impressed!

This series is as well done and serious as other crime dramas I've recently come to appreciate, like Mannix — who also drove around in a terrific car during one of his seasons!





I've never given The Green Hornet a fair series a chance until today, so I didn't appreciate just how good it was! The story is imaginative, the direction is good, the acting is excellent . . . and even the music is terrific!

That's not always true for series in the 1960s . . . but it certainly is for this one.

I'm looking forward to watching all 26 episodes of this fine series!

And I'm very grateful to Mike (Pow) and David (Krel) for sharing their opinions (and their enthusiasm) for The Green Hornet!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Glad to hear that you are enjoying viewing TGH, Bud.

I thought it was fun and entertaining when I first watched it as a 13 going on 14 year old.

I was unfamiliar with the characters prior to the debut of the television show back in September of 1966.

I was disappointed with the camp Batman TV series that was played for laughs.

So when my older brother told me the news about this show called "The Green Hornet" premiering in the fall and that it was by the same producer of Batman (William Dozier), I was underwhelmed to say the least.

What kinda goofy skintight costume would this dude wear?
A dude I had never heard of before.

During the summer they started to show the promos for the returning television shows as well as the brand new ones coming.

I saw TGH ads. There was a guy with a cool looking mask on his face and wearing a fedora in the close up.

The narration to that scene said : "Who is TGH? " "Mastermind criminal or brilliant crime fighter?"

Huh? I thought he was supposed to be a good guy? He can't be both, right?

Now I'm intrigued. Next they show him standing outside this sharp looking sedan. He ain't wearing a costume. He's wearing a normal looking hat, evening overcoat and pants & shoes.

Then the next scene shows his chauffeur.

The guy's also wearing a mask. A black one not a green one like the Hornet.

He's dressed in a traditional looking chauffeur's uniform but it looks great with it being black and having a bib-style front.

Then this guy starts performing martial arts moves the likes of which I've never seen before. Man, its not only impressive but the guy moves like lightning!

Now I've rethought skipping checking out this new superhero TV show even if its by the same gent producing Batman.

Maybe, just maybe this Hornet guy and his assistant might be worth investigating in the fall.

The commercial finally ends with the white convertible parked in the garage having clamps rise up from the floor and attach to the bumpers.

Then the floor rotates and now that awesome looking black sedan is on top.

Now I just knew I had to see what the heck this show was all about.

I did and immediately became a huge fan of TGH.

It was not played for laughs or camp in any way much to my relief.

What's fun is the show has dated relatively well, Bud.

Not all TV shows that we once loved manage to age well.

I was a big "Man From U.N.C.L.E." when the show first was broadcast.

When I saw it in reruns a few years ago I was shocked.

The pacing was slow, some plots were dated, and having THRUSH as the enemy each week grew boring.

In an attempt to garner the stellar ratings of Batman, TMFU's third season clearly went camp and comedic.
They did return to their earlier style for their fourth season but by then the luster was lost.

I was pleased that TGH still holds up. No, it isn't perfect by any means but it does retain the wonder & fun it did when it ran from 1966~'67.

And they pulled it off each week with only a 30 minute format to work within!

[Pow]

Interesting that they accomplished what they could within a half-hour format.

Many dramatic television shows from the 50's, 60's and even into the early 70's were only 30 minutes long.

Dragnet, Adam-12, The Silent Force, only ran for half an hour.

Many of the westerns that proliferated the TV screen were only a half hour.

The Rifleman, The Rebel, Have Gun Will Travel, Track Down and Wanted Dead Or Alive---to name a very few---were 30 minutes.

As late as 1974 we had a western show, The Cowboys, that was only a half hour.

Nowadays we only see a half hour TV show in the sitcom form and not a dramatic form.

Although I grant you some sitcoms are more "Dramadey" like M*A*S*H which combined wonderful humor with intense drama.

TGH producer William Dozier wanted to expand TGH to an hour in length had the series been renewed for a second season by ABC.

To that end Dozier commissioned three two-part episodes of TGH in order to demonstrate that the show really required an hour in order to tell their stories.

An hour would have allowed more character development and screen time for both the regular cast as well as the guest stars.

Hour long episodes could create more complex plots and action scenes.

ABC was not interested in bringing the show back for an hour but apparently did reconsider renewing it according to some sources.

Producer Dozier wasn't at all keen to continue the show for less than an hour so that was the end for TGH.

I believe that it should have been a 60 minute show for all the advantages I mentioned above.

Can you imagine such TV series as Star Trek, Mission: Impossible or Laredo working well at all in just a half hour?

An hour GH show could also have allowed the regular cast to go undercover for episodes and expand their roles in the process.

It would have also been great to have some plot departures for our heroes from fighting the usual mobsters.

Terrorists, spies, survivalist militia groups, fanatic cults, a rogue black ops government agency would be some fresh foes for Britt & Kato to have to deal with in their operations.

The mobsters were a bit too realistic for the show in that they were somewhat on the drab side.

Taking a page from the James Bond movies it would have been fun to see our heroes face some Dr.No and Goldfinger villains.

Perhaps they could have a recurring enemy like Dr.Loveless was on The Wild Wild West.

I would enjoy it if TGH could be updated for a brand new TV series one day.

[Bud Brewster]

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Good comments about the demise of the half-hour format for the dramatic series.

We should also remember that half-hour shows in the 1950s and early 1960s had running times of about 26 minutes, such as the episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show now on Youtube.

The one at the link below from season five, "Go Tell the Birds and the Bees", has a running time of 26:08!

Today's half-hour shows are about 20 minutes so that the networks can show more commercials.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)