Die grüne Hornisse

I was a huge fan of The Green Hornet TV series when it premiered in the fall of 1966.Several years ago I bought the complete set of tapes for the show & watched it with great interest having not seen it since it went off the air in '67.It has many wonderful qualities to it.A fine cast,intriguing hardware,and a serious approach.I am still impressed with The Black Beauty,loaded with an array of clever weapons, as it revolves out of its hiding place.The Hornet Gas Gun is a nifty,non-lethal device that originated with the character when he first came to radio.I always loved The Hornet Sting as it telescoped outward in order to use its sonic waves.And what an imaginative premise it was to have a crimefighting duo "appear" as mastermind criminals in order to infiltrate the bad guys orginizations,and thus break them up from within.Yes, the series does have its drawbacks.The 30-minute format does not allow much character development of the cast or guest stars,as well as the plot.Bruce Lee's superb martial arts skills are underutilized,and he was never happy that Kato was a servant.Some of the scripts are formulaic and the crooks of the week routine.Van Williams who played Britt Reid,a.k.a.the Green Hornet,said that the show was renewed for a second season.But there was a dispute between the ABC network & the producers of the show.One wanted to have the series return as an hour show,the other wanted it to remain in its half-hour format.As an hour series it could have corrected its flaws & become a cult classic.Come to think of it,it already is.

I have been a Green Hornet fan since the TV series first appeared in 1966. I was very angry when ABC took it off the air after the first season without even having the decency to run reruns. I first had to do with reel-to-reel recordings to help me remember my favorite TV show, so when I finally found a source for the videotapes I was thrilled. These tapes like most pirated tapes made from the TV were not very clear and suffer horribly from the butchering TV stations do to fit in the extra commercials added to recycled TV shows. I am eagerly waiting for the day when Fox finally decides to put out official uncut epsiodes. For all that butchering, the Green Hornet series has held up very well considering that 33 years have passed since that first airing. While a lot of people like to compare the Green Hornet TV series to the Batman series, it is like comparing apples and oranges. The Batman series, although it was typical of the overblown psychedelica of the mid 60's, is considered by this long time Batman reader to be an insult to one of comicdom's most powerful characters, an error that was not rectified until the first Batman movie (Micheal Keaton?- who woulda' thought?). The Green Hornet series does not owe its style to psychedelica but is closer in feeling to the black and white detective stories of the forties and fifties, and especially to the original radio show of the 40's. Also the Green Hornet TV series was designed to be more serious in tone with James Bond in mind than that horrid Batman show. I believe that given the time restrictions of the half hour format the Green Hornet did quite well. After all, there was a lot of stuff to fit in that short time including the story set up, the story itself, and the conclusion- and adding the gadgets and Bruce Lee's Gung Fu. Especially considering that all 30 mins were not alloted to the story but time had to be allowed for commercials. The driving, jazzy theme by Al Hirt fitted the series beautifully. The Black Beauty still is the greatest, and coolest supercar to ever hit the streets. Van Williams, who played the Green Hornet, was the sexiest man on TV then- those eyes!!! And Bruce Lee was great in his first TV series. In other words see the Green Hornet, and enjoy for what it is. Don't expect Camp, or pychedelica, and don't expect to see Bruce Lee as the star of the show. Remember it is called THE GREEN HORNET. BTW re: the comment from the Irish chap- leather mask?, peaked cap? excuse me... the masks used were plastic formed to the shape of the actors' faces, and Kato's hat wasn't peaked, at least not the way I define it.

I ordered the entire series on VHS (pirated) and this show is great! It's definitely not everybody's taste, since it is a little hokey, but NOT campy. It really is a treat to see Bruce Lee before he'd made those great movies, even though in most episodes he has about 2 lines. It's kind of obvious that 60's American TV wasn't ready for a real chinese action star. (the show Kung Fu anyone??)But even so it's a fun show and it would have been even better if they'd let Bruce show them what he can really do. The best episode has to be the Preying Mantis where Kato totally stole the show!

This was meant to be an action-adventure series about the grand-nephew of Texas Ranger John Reid (better known as The Lone Ranger) and a stacked luxury car named "Black Beauty", but ended up being a vehicle for the great Bruce Lee and his amazing exhibitions of the martial arts.

While it didn't have the hilarious campiness of William Dozier's other series "Batman", it did have some goofiness about it. I recall one show featuring Canadian actor Larry D. Mann as some kind of freaky space dude who landed at Britt Reid's home to negotiate their takeover of humanity through the Daily Sentinel. This episode also showed Reid interrupting his TV station's programming via some broadcast console in his living room (yeah, no home should be without one) to warn viewers to take shelter and stay calm.

The fact they had this false floor in Britt Reid's garage that clamps onto that bitchin' sports car, so that the floor can turn upside down and allow Black Beauty to roar out and save the day was kinda fun. Oddly, the Reid estate seems to be within a block of a seedy area of Central City, as Green Hornet, Kato and the rolling arsenal fly out from behind a billboarded wall, onto a conveniently abandoned street!!

Of course, we can forgive all the wacky inconsistencies of the show, when we see the great Bruce Lee in action. Well worth sitting through all the silliness just to see that. How sad sexy Wende Wagner watched her career nosedive after Green Hornet. I always liked the idea of a fighting reporter like Mike Axford. Britt Reid must have been a one-of-a-kind publisher, because I just couldn't imagine a maverick like Axford working for control-freaks like William Randolph Hearst.

Did I mention that I liked Bruce Lee?

The best thing about The Green Hornet TV Series is that it is really a show for Adults that will entertain children too. The tone of the series and the storylines where so far ahead of their time and gritty back in 1966 and 1967 and as a consequence of this The Green Hornet was often (and unfavourably) cast in the shadow of the far less superior, campy Batman TV Show. The episodes often dealt with the Mafia, Chinese Triads, Drug Abuse et al, but all done in a glossy exciting way remeniscent of the Marvel comics being churned out by Stan Lee and co at the same time. The most remarkable thing is the onscreen chemistry between Van William's Green Hornet/Britt Reid and megastar in waiting Bruce Lee's Kato. Firstly Van Williams as The Green Hornet and his millionaire alter ego Britt Reid, the publisher of the Daily Centenal is as good as the best actors to play Superheroes. He is certainly as good as George Reeves was as Superman, and alot more believable than Adam West's Batman. Williams plays the role with an air of Sean Connery-esque suave, cool and confidence making for a memorable Green Hornet. Bruce Lee is simply a revelation as Kato, possesing an confidence and arrogance in the role really lifting the character of Kato off the comic book page. Together Williams and Lee work excellent. You get the impression that these guys really are the best of buddies and would die for one another. All this is met by fantastic production values culminating in the most impressive representations of superhero movie vehicles, the sublime Black Beauty. There is also the memorable opening credits set to the whirling theme tune by Billy May.

On the downside it might just be possible that the series takes itself too seriously. But there is enough here to enjoy. Five minutes of Bruce Lee in action as Kato is worth an admission fee, trust me. The writers, and producer William Dozier came up with a great representation of the Fran Striker and George W Trendle characters : an exciting, action packed series, with the odd blimp not withstanding was far too under-rated and undervalued. Kevin Smith and Jake Gyllenhall, the future of The Green Hornet is now in your hands. Do your best guys.