The Green Hornet & The '60s Superhero Universe That Never Was

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The Green Hornet ’66 promised to be William Dozier’s next big superhero hit after Batman, but instead it became one of the era’s biggest TV flops. In this episode, we explore how The Green Hornet rose, fell, and took Dozier’s entire 1960s superhero universe down with it.

Just six weeks after Batman debuted to gigantic ratings and Batmania exploded across the media landscape. ABC bought The Green Hornet without a pilot, committing it to the Fall 1966 schedule.

The Green Hornet, created by George Trendle and Fran Striker was a hardboiled crime fighter debuting on Radio in the the 1930s. He battled racketeers, organized crime, smugglers and bootleggers.

Dozier’s TV series starred Van Williams as Britt Reid, the crusading newspaper publisher who spent his nights secretly moonlighting as a masked crime fighter posing as a criminal. Williams played him with deliberate restraint, serious and unflappable.

And then there was Bruce Lee.

The character of Kato may have started as “valet, chauffeur, and bodyguard,” but Lee’s Kato, wasn’t an employee, he was a partner. Lee's screen presence was electrifying. His chemistry with Van Williams was impressive, and his fight scenes were something American television audiences had simply never seen before. Kato was the dynamic part of the series, and the reason many viewers tuned in each week.

Filling out the cast was Wende Wagner as Miss Case, Britt’s secretary, and confidante. She was strong, intelligent, and fully aware of his secret. Veteran Character Actor, Walter Brooke played District Attorney Frank Scanlon, the fourth person in on the secret.

And of course we can’t forget the Black Beauty, one of the coolest TV cars of the decade. Famous Car designer Dean Jefferies customized a matte-black Chrysler Imperial that was loaded with gadgets.

Because Green Hornet shared producers with Batman, there was an expectation that the show would be similar. Both series starred masked heroes, were narrated by William Dozier, and featured cool music scores, but the similarities ended there.

We are going to discuss the details of the shows quick demise and examine possible reasons. Why did something that looked so cool fail to get hot!

We'll also take a look at two other projects that William Dozier and 20th Century FOX were developing for their own TV superhero Universe.
First up is Dick Tracy the series was to star Ray McDonnel AKA Dr. Joe Martin from All My Children. Also set to star as his daughter was Eve Plumb, Jan Brady!

Also on the drawing board was DC Comic's Wonder Woman. Before Lynda Carter and Cathy Lee Crosby, there was Ellie Wood Walker, a very different Wonder Woman! Stay tuned as we go into the details.