Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Invasion from Outer Space"

If you're going out, go out with a BANG...

...and there's no bang bigger than an atomic explosion!

Mad scientist Dr Mabuse has created a citywide panic by faking a flying saucer crash and appearance by "stranded aliens".

Invading Britt Reid's townhouse (and zapping Kato), the spacesuited fiend demands the publisher help him and his fellow "aliens" get out of town without police interference so their mothership can send a rescue craft to pick them up in a remote area...the same "remote area" a secret military convoy transporting atomic weapons is due to pass through!

Though skeptical, Reid complies and Mabuse leaves, taking Lenore Case as a hostage.

Mabuse intercepts the convoy and hijacks an atomic bomb!

Rescue Casey from a leering lunatic and save the city from atomic Armageddon!
It's a far cry from the gangsters and thieves the Hornet and Kato usually handle!

With a new producer and a totally-different approach, this ep seems like a last-gasp attempt to boost the ratings by going with a much more sci-fi/fantasy-oriented storyline.

Thankfully, they didn't go to the campy level of Batman.
It's still played straight.

Every last cent in the series budget was thrown in for location shooting and optical fx, including lots of highway stunt driving along with the show's best stunt-piece; The Green Hornet leaping from the back of Black Beauty to Mabuse's truck while both are barreling down a curving highway at 60+ mph.

Side notes:

The villain's last name, Mabuse, is taken from a famous German pulp supervillain.
The GH character is not related to the German character, except in his revenge-crazed desire to blow things up.
Larry D Mann plays him with all the scenery-chewing panache of a James Bond foe.
Curiously, Mabuse knows Kato's name, even though every other criminal in the series referred to him as The Hornet's "chauffeur" or "aide" or "man"!

Linda Gaye Scott who played the villain's "shocking" sidekick Vama, appeared on numerous '60s genre shows including Batman, Lost in Space, and Man from U.N.C.L.E., usually in a skintight ensemble!

These are the only episodes without an appearance by reporter and (Hornet's nemesis) Mike Axford, but another red-headed reporter named "Bill" does appear!

And, it's the only episode where Kato is actually knocked unconscious (albeit by electric shock)!

Here's the finale of The Green Hornet (and hint of how the show might have proceeded if they had done a second season) which aired on March 10th, 1967 (Part 1) & March 17, 1967 (Part 2).

Part 1

Preview & Synopsis for the Two Episodes

Part 2

We hope you've enjoyed our re-presentation of The Green Hornet on the 50th Anniversaries of their original airings!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Hornet, Save Thyself"

Happy Birthday, Britt Reid!

Here's Your Present: a Prison Cell!

A joyous surprise birthday party for Britt Reid turns tragic when the publisher guns down an ex-employee in front of two dozen witnesses...or does he?

Reid was holding the gun when it went off, but did he fire it?

And if he didn't...who did? 
How did they do it?
And why?

Even old friend Frank Scanlon, who was at the party, is skeptical...and he's the District Attorney!

Reid knows he's innocent...and he needs his masked alter ego to help him prove it!

Trivia:
Despite the fact he knows Britt Reid is The Green Hornet, Scanlon doesn't use that knowledge to capture the fugitive publisher!
When Reid ducks out the disguised fireplace entrance Scanlon usually uses, the DA doesn't reveal it's existence to the police.
Nor does he show them where the Black Beauty is, fully knowing Britt will use it shortly.
It's only the third time we see an unmasked Reid in a fight.
The Hornet and Kato actually invade a police station where the case evidence is being stored, trashing several officers in the process!
The same huge soundstage interior used for two different warehouses in "Bad Bet on a 459-Silent" is used here as a dry-cleaning plant Reid hides in.
Van Williams does the same "almost-fall" from scaffolding in this episode he did in that one!
There's no "Produced by" credit on the episode!
The two remaining episodes ("Invasion from Outer Space" Parts 1 and 2) are produced by a new producer.

From March 3, 1967, here's the 24th filmed and aired episode..."Hornet Save Thyself".

Next: the 2-Part Series Finale as the Show Goes Full-On Sci-Fi!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Alias the Scarf"

It's an Episode Better Suited for Halloween than the Middle of Winter...

...as a local wax museum updates it's displays to include The Green Hornet and Kato, the statue of the previous "spotlight" exhibit, The Scarf, apparently comes to life and resumes his murderous ways!
One of the weirder shows in the series, heavy on mood, no fight scenes, and no appearance of The Black Beauty!
Legendary horror film star John Carradine as museum researcher (with an ominous secret) James Rancourt was the only famous guest-star on the series. Unlike Batman, where celebrities from Tallulah Bankhead to Liberace were given villain roles written especially for them, Green Hornet used dependable, but little-known, character actors as baddies.

Side Notes:

John Carradine had been considered for the role of The Joker on Batman, but his poor health precluded his doing the role.

SPOILER (sorta): The Scarf's statue really should have shown a younger version of Carradine.
Since it looks just like the elderly James Rancourt (albeit with a Van Dyke beard) played by Carradine, it's obvious who The Scarf really is from the very beginning!

The music score written specifically for this episode was never reused! (Most of the music on the series was reedited and reused in at several other episodes besides the ones they were originally written for.)

Background info on a number of the unnamed city's villains from the early 1900s up to the late 1940s, when The Scarf disappeared, is presented during a tour of the museum, but there's no mention of an earlier Green Hornet.
So, gangster Glen Connors framing Britt Reid's father decades earlier in "Frog is a Deadly Weapon" doesn't refer to Reid Sr being the 1940s Hornet.
What the elder Reid had been blamed for is never explained.

From February 24, 1967, here's the 23rd filmed and aired episode..."Alias the Scarf".

Next Week: It's a Surprise Birthday Party for Britt Reid...but the Present is Death!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Bad Bet on a 459-Silent"

One of the problems pretending to be a criminal, as The Green Hornet does...

...is that you're as likely to be wounded or killed by police as by criminals!

And that's exactly what happens here!
Investigating the possibility that crooked police are looting crime scenes before their honest comrades show up, The Green Hornet is caught escaping from a break-in location, and shot by legitimately-responding cops. ("459-Silent" is police code in this city for a silent burglar alarm.)

He escapes, wounded, but can't go to a hospital since there's an all-points-bulletin out for a wounded Green Hornet, and even the Daily Sentinel's respected publisher would be hard-pressed to explain how he had a gunshot wound in exactly the same spot on his body where the legendary verdant villain was shot! (Plus, the bullet could be forensically-matched to the gun of the policeman who shot the Hornet!)
How will Britt and Kato...
1) Get medical treatment for the wounded hero while avoiding connecting Reid and the Hornet, and having CSIs expose the incriminating evidence (the bullet)?
2) Solve the problem of the criminally-inclined cops, and save reporter Mike Axford, who thinks the Hornet is responsible for the robberies, and plans to trap the wounded "criminal", not knowing that crooked cops...who won't hesitate to kill anybody in their way...are behind the break-ins?
The answer to #1 is rather ingenious, and solving #2 is made more difficult since Britt is almost-incapacitated and barely functioning! (Thank God for Kato!)

Tune in below for the exciting answers...

Side Notes:
More day-for-night photography.
Since the story involves break-ins at warehouses, a couple of 20th Century-Fox soundstage exteriors are used for the outside of the two different warehouses, but only one soundstage interior (redressed) is used for both interiors. (The Batman tv series used the same exteriors over and over for their "warehouse" and "alleyway" shots, too.)
Here's the 21st filmed and aired episode..."Bad Bet on a 459-Silent", which aired on Feb 10th, 1967.

Next Week: Will The Green Hornet Create an International Incident...and Why?

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Corpse of the Year" Part 1 & Part 2

It's Green Hornet vs Green Hornet...

...as an evil impostor with a duplicate Black Beauty (but no masked chauffeur) is wreaking havoc on the Daily Sentinel, attacking delivery trucks (killing a driver) and tossing a grenade into the paper's newsroom!
Who's behind it?
That's what Britt Reid has to discover before more people are injured or killed by this fake, but lethal, "Green Hornet"!
This second two-part episode has lots of twists and turns as suspects are uncovered, revealed as red herrings, and then killed by the Hornet doppelganger!
Side Notes:
This is the second, and final, appearance of Barbara Babcock as Britt's on again-off again girlfriend, Elaine Carey, who previously appeared in "Frog is a Deadly Weapon".
There were two fully-functional Black Beauties built for the tv show. Both were used in the chase sequences. (Here's a link to a kool website detailing the history of the tv show's autos.)
Here's the 18th (January 13, 1967) & 19th (January 27, 1967) episodes of The Green Hornet...

Part 1

Part 2

Next: The Green Hornet Brings His Work Home...Literally!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "May the Best Man Lose"

You'd think DA Frank Scanlon wouldn't stand a chance of winning re-election...

...considering how he's never caught the city's most notorious criminal; The Green Hornet!

When the DA's car explodes after a TV debate, Britt Reid suspects Scanlon's opponent, Calvin Ryland.

But Calvin is as honest as the day is long! His brother/campaign manager, Warren, on the other hand, will do anything to see his brother is elected...including killing anyone standing in his brother's way...including The Green Hornet & Kato!
From December 23, 1966..."May the Best Man Lose"

Next Week, The Green Hornet and Kato Face Off Against an Arsonist with the Help of a Retired Fire Department Investigator...or Is He Helping?

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Freeway to Death"

It's not often someone can take on the captain of the USS Enterprise...and win!

The Green Hornet can!

OK, technically, he's not the captain of the Enterprise here, but Jeffrey Hunter was the first man to sit in the captain's chair during the first Star Trek pilot episode, "The Cage".

When NBC said, "close, but not quite", and ordered a second pilot, Hunter turned down the option to return, preferring to do a pilot for Batman producer William Dozier called Journey into Fear based on a novel by Eric Ambler, previously done as a feature film in the 1940s starring Orson Welles!

Ironically, it was in competition for an NBC schedule slot against, among other shows, a second Star Trek pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before" with William Shatner as the new captain of the Enterprise!

Trek sold. Journey didn't.

Hunter began doing tv guest-star roles, and when offered, took the guest-villain gig on Dozier's Green Hornet series, playing construction magnate Emmett Crown, who's also secretly financing an insurance company which offers "protection" to businesses!

Daily Sentinel reporter Mike Axford is investigating the matter and is told by his boss, Britt Reid, to work with The Green Hornet to expose the still-unknown head of the "insurance" company! Axford intends to do exactly that, and capture The Hornet, as well!

It's cross and double-cross as plans are made and plans go awry, resulting in kool fight scenes, Crown being exposed and captured, and The Hornet and Kato escaping the law again!

SideNotes:

More location shooting, this time at an active construction site outside LA, where Britt Reid is almost "accidentally" killed and, later, The Hornet and Kato face several of Crown's bulldozers trying to crush the Black Beauty.

Since the car's rockets are ineffective against the heavy metal blades of the bulldozers, The Hornet and Kato use the previously-unseen Hornet Mortar (located in the same rear trunk compartment where the flying Hornet Scanner is kept), to loft explosive shells over the blades and disable the dozers' treads (and probably kill the drivers)! The Hornet Mortar is never seen or mentioned again!

From December 16, 1966..."Freeway to Death".

Next Week: The Green Hornet dabbles in politics!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Secret of the Sally Bell"

The only person who knows where a shipment of illegal drugs is hidden on a salvaged freighter is accidentally rendered comatose before he can tell The Green Hornet and Kato.
They take him to a nearby hospital for treatment, but, after they leave, the man's associates kidnap him...and the attending doctor.
Now our dynamic duo have to a) rescue the doctor, b) keep the comatose guy alive, and c) stop the criminals from acquiring the drugs.
It's cross and double-cross as The Hornet allies himself with the crooks to accomplish his own goals.
But the gangsters have no intention of keeping their side of the deal, either...
Side notes:
For the first time, we see the Black Beauty operated by remote control, including maneuvering and firing it's front-mounted rockets at a sniper trying to kill The Hornet and Kato.
One of the running gags on both Batman and The Green Hornet was showing characters on one series watching the other series on tv! In this ep, the crooks are watching Batman when it's interrupted by a news bulletin about The Green Hornet leaving a wounded man (their drug contact) at a hospital.
More location shooting, this time at a commercial Los Angeles shipyard seen in a number of films and tv series, most notably Escape from the Planet of the Apes.
The show indavertantly poses a question...where is the Green Hornet's unnamed city?
The "Sally Bell" is described as wrecked by a typhoon, and towed to port!
Typhoons only occur in the Pacific Ocean, so the Hornet's city must be on the West Coast, right!
Except, in comics or the radio show, it was described as being one of several midwestern cities; usually Detriot (where the show's home station, WXYZ was located) or Chicago!
And the idea of a character running around in an overcoat in a town where "winter" is usually in the 70-degree range is...odd to say the least!

From December 9th, 1966..."The Secret of the Sally Bell".

Next Week: The Green Hornet meets the first captain of the USS Enterprise!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Deadline for Death"

A series of wealthy home break-ins has one thing in common...all the victims had recently been profiled by Daily Sentinel reporter Mike Axford!

Has he used his interviews to case the homes?
When Axford is arrested at the site of the latest break-in, The Green Hornet and Kato must uncover evidence to free the hapless newshound.

SideNotes:

The Green Hornet has his first solo fight scene...which he loses! (To be fair, it is against three guys.) When he and Kato catch up to the three crooks in the finale, guess who wins?
When the Hornet is trapped, Kato grabs the Hornet Sting he dropped and blasts the door open. When Van Williams saw how Bruce Lee elegantly-flicked the Sting open in the dailies, he decided to adopt the mannerism himself for the remainder of the series!

Seeking info, The Hornet questions a stolen-goods fence named Tubbs, indicating that he's been allowing the fence to continue operating as long as he served The Hornet when needed. A nice touch, adding credibility to the crimefighter's cover as a criminal.

Later, there's a scene at Reid's home where the duo, in costume, but without masks or hats, review evidence. This happens several times in the series. (You never saw Batman and Robin partially in costume)

More location shooting, this time at a small local airport and aircraft hanger also used in several Batman episodes.

Much more day-for-night photography.

Originally airing December 2, 1966..."Deadline for Death".

Next Week: The Green Hornet gets involved in drug-running!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Hunters and the Hunted"

The opening narration to the Hornet's radio show was "The Green Hornet; he hunts the biggest of all game..."

In this tv episode, the tables are turned.

Wealthy (and crooked) businessman Quentin Crane and his fellow members of the exclusive Explorers' Club use exotic weaponry (like blowguns and crossbows) to hunt and kill gang leaders.
Ironically, the other members are well-intentioned innocents who believe their "hunts" will end crime in the city, while Crane is using them to eliminate competition as he takes over, one gang at a time!
And...the group's next targets are...The Green Hornet and his masked associate!

SideNotes:
When Crane's gangsters break into Reid's home intending to kill him, Kato (with Reid's aid) take them down.
It's the second time we see Kato in action sans costume, and the first time in the series we see an unmasked Reid in a fight.
Speaking of which, I wonder what do Reid's neighbors think of the constant hubub at the young publisher's townhouse?
If it's not a robbery where a police car gets blown up by a laser beam ("The Ray is for Killing"), or gunshots ("Beautiful Dreamer"), this episode features the first of several noisy brawls in the house.
And then there's the sinister black car constantly prowling the alleys at all hours...
Those neighborhood association meetings must have been interesting!
 (At least the tv Batman's oft-invaded stately Wayne Manor was out in the country. No neighbors to disturb!)
Another thing, the criminals who raid Reid's house are the same baddies he and Kato KOed (while in costume) at a gang-leader's office earlier in the episode.
We don't see them again.
Rather than let the twice-trashed hoods put 2+2 together ("That little guy who helped Reid fights like the Hornet's driver...Hey wait a sec..."), I wonder if Britt and Kato discreetly "disposed" of them?
There's a LOT of day-for-night scenes.
Depending on the quality of the episode's print, I've seen it almost as bright as day, to barely able to make out silhouettes.

From November 25th, 1966..."The Hunters and the Hunted"

Next Week: The Green Hornet must discover who framed the Daily Sentinel's crime reporter Mike Axford, for burglary!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Preying Mantis"

Did you know The Green Hornet was promoted as "The Kato Show" in Hong Kong?

The spotlight is on Kato, as he and The Green Hornet battle a normally-benevolent Chinese secret society whose younger members are extorting "protection" money from helpless Chinatown business owners.
In addition, the society (or "tong") is being secretly manipulated by white gangsters using one of the tong members, Low Sing, as a cats-paw.
The Hornet wants to end the protection racket by removing Low Sing from his position of power by exposing the gangsters' influence on him.

Side Notes: When people mention The Green Hornet tv series, this is the episode they usually refer to.
It was the featured episode (due to it's emphasis on Chinese martial arts) in a compilation movie released theatrically shortly after Bruce Lee died.
This is the ep for Bruce Lee fans as he finally gets to strut his stuff in solo combat against multiple foes!
Lee choreographed the fights, including the one-on-one finale with Low Sing.
Rumor has it that most of the tong members participating in the climactic fight scene were students from Lee's dojo.
It's the only episode where Kato is defeated in hand-to-hand combat as a masked Low Sing attacks him from behind early in the ep.
Besides blasting a door and a tommy-gun with it, The Hornet uses the Hornet Sting extended to full-length as a fighting staff several times in this episode
There are things in this ep that beg the question; what's Kato's ethnicity in the tv series?
On the radio show he's said to be "Oriental", which became Filipino after World War II began.
In the two 1940s movie serials, he was Korean.
In the 1980s NOW Comics (which took the various Green Hornets and made them into a family legacy much like The Phantom) and the current Dynamite series, he's Japanese.
In this episode, he's familiar with Chinatown and many of it's residents, especially the lovely Mary Chang.
He speaks Chinese, and translates conversations between tong members for the Hornet's benefit.
Plus, he's well aware of social conventions and procedures of the tong itself.
Of course, he's well-versed in the Chinese martial art of gung-fu.
Is he Chinese? It's never specifically stated.
Curiously, at the end of the episode, when Britt Reid, Lenore Case, Mike Axford and the previously-blackmailed businessmen celebrate over dinner at one of the businessmen's restaurant, Kato is nowhere to be seen!
Weird Trivia: the toy company that resurrected the 1960s Captain Action action figure line 20 years ago with both a reissued Green Hornet costume and a never-before done Kato costume was called "Playing Mantis"!

Here's the tenth episode, which aired on November 18th, 1966..."The Preying Mantis".

And here's a bonus: the feature film combining this episode plus several others!

Next Week: The Green Hornet, who "hunts the biggest of all game" (as his radio show opening said) finds himself being stalked!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Ray is for Killing"

The Green Hornet and Kato face art thieves armed...with a laser rifle?

Except for the two-part series finale, "Invasion from Outer Space", this was the most scifi-oriented episode of the series.
Usually, the show was a straight "detectives with masks" format, dealing with gangsters, extortionists, etc.
No flashy costumed villains.
No super-weapons (except The Hornet's arsenal, of course).
Curiously, there's no explanation as to how these criminals got their hands on a laser, who taught them how to use it (or who's gonna fix it if it breaks), or why they're not using it for more lucrative crimes.
SideNotes:
We don't know who built the laser.
These guys certainly didn't have the scientific background to do so.
Was there a mad scientist running around the city?
Why didn't The Hornet take the laser and incorporate it into his weaponry?
As it is, leaving it for the police left open the possibility that they could adapt it and use it against him and Kato!
The laser itself is shown to be powered by simply plugging it into an electrical outlet!
(110 or 220 volts?)
It also conveniently fits into a suitcase.
There's location shooting in the Los Angeles storm drain system, both inside the tunnels (where the Black Beauty's green headlights really glow with an eerie effect unseen any other time in the series), and outside using some of the same viaducts seen in Terminator 2 and THEM!
Though it's the ninth episode aired, this was the second episode shot, after "Programmed for Death".

From November 11, 1966..."The Ray is for Killing"!

Next Week:

The most-famous Green Hornet episode of all!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Beautiful Dreamer" Part 2

When Last We Left the Other Dynamic Duo...

Peter Eden is a criminal posing as the owner of a health spa to the rich and famous called The Vale of Eden. Using subliminal motivation via "sleep teaching" to make his clients steal from their own companies and families, turn the loot over to him, and then forget all about it, he's created the perfect method to commit crimes and let others take the blame.The Hornet (as Britt Reid) and trusty Girl Friday Lenore Case go "undercover" to investigate the spa. Eden becomes suspicious of them, believing Reid might expose his operation in his newspaper, The Daily Sentinel, and "programs" Casey during her spa treatment to shoot Reid.

When Casey tries to carry out her programming, only Kato's quick action saves Reid from being killed by his own secretary.
The now-angered Green Hornet vows he'll take down Eden...

SideNotes:

This is the only episode we see The Hornet and Kato's gas masks (which they just test, not use). Considering how often they use gas, either from the Black Beauty's grille-gun or the Hornet's pistol, I'm surprised the masks weren't seen more frequently.
You'll note in the photo above they're also color-coordinated for the Hornet (green) and Kato (black/midnight blue).
There's lots more location shooting since the finale involves stealing the proceeds from a racetrack and the duo, in Black Beauty, pursue Eden's henchmen in an armored car all over the place; thru the stables and onto the track itself!
(Note: the same racing track was used a year later for location shooting for the Batman ep "A Horse of Another Color")
This version of the episode (From Encore Action) doesn't have the "previous episode" recap before the opening credits.
It is in the MeTV and SyFy versions.

From October 28th, 1966; "Beautiful Dreamer" Part 2

Next Week:

The Green Hornet was pre-empted on November 4th, 1966, so we'll present an Election Day special: a political-themed episode of the radio show and its' comic adaptation!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Beautiful Dreamer" Part 1

Since The Green Hornet was a weekly show, rather than twice-a-week like Batman, the producers avoided two-part or continued stories.

However, whether the original concept was to do an hour-long show, or the story editors were unaware of the edict when they solicited scripts, there were several shows that ran an hour, broken into two parts.

This was the first two-parter.

Peter Eden is a criminal posing as the owner of a health spa to the rich and famous called The Vale of Eden.
Using subliminal motivation via "sleep teaching" to make his clients steal from their own companies and families, turn the loot over to him, and then forget all about it, he's created the perfect method to commit crimes and let others take the blame.
The Hornet (as Britt Reid) and trusty Girl Friday Lenore Case go "undercover" to investigate the spa. Eden becomes suspicious of them, and "programs" Casey during her spa treatment to shoot Reid.
When Casey tries to carry out her programming, only Kato's quick action saves Reid from being killed by his own secretary.
SideNotes:
This is the only episode written (actually co-written) by one of the Batman tv series writers.
The basic concept of a spa being a cover for a criminal operation hypnotizing/programming innocents to commit crimes was also used in the movie In Like Flint and the final Batman tv series episode "Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires"
There's no "teaser" for Part 2 at the end of Part 1 on the video, indicatiing it's derived from the Encore Action run of the show several years ago.

It does exist, and both SyFy and MeTV have included it when they run the episodes.

From October 21, 1966..."Beautiful Dreamer" Part 1!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Eat, Drink and Be Dead!"

Continuing our weekly feature "Video Friday"...

In a plotline probably based on one of the original radio show's scripts, the Hornet and Kato take on liquor bootleggers operating out of a local dairy, using it's pasturizing equipment to ferment booze on a massive scale! (Why, in 1966, bars would even need illegally-produced liquor is not explained.)
In an interesting modern twist, the criminals use a helicopter to bomb any who oppose or betray them.
Effective, and leaves no ballistics!
When The Daily Sentinel begins a series exposing the racket, the gangsters grab reporter Mike Axford, threatening to kill him if any further articles are printed.
To save Mike, The Green Hornet cuts himself in on the racket, agreeing to turn Sentinel publisher Britt Reid (aka The Hornet) over to them in exchange for a percentage of profits.
Once inside, Reid sabotages the operation, rescues Mike, and defeats the helicopter bombing-baddies!
Side notes:
The Green Hornet series did quite a bit of location shooting during it's run.
Last week it was a marina.
In this episode, a huge local dairy.
The Green Hornet likes to make use of darkness to make dramatic entrances.
He does it twice in this episode!
Another "cold opening" where we see the criminals in action and no appearance by either Britt Reid or the Green Hornet!
Another on-screen costume change as Britt Reid changes in the back seat of Black Beauty, this time donning his Hornet garb.
Lots of play for The Black Beauty as more of its' gimmicks are introed, including built-in loudspeakers (with tape player so The Green Hornet and Britt Reid can seem to be in two places at once), rear smoke screen projectors, and the (rare for the time) mobile telephone.
Plus, both the flying Hornet Scanner and the car's rocket launchers get a healthy workout!
This is the only episode where the villain's lair is blown up, James Bond style! (And, no, they didn't blow up the actual dairy!)
From October 14th, 1966..."Eat, Drink and Be Dead!"

Next Week: the first two-part episode!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Frog is a Deadly Weapon"

 The Green Hornet faces off against The Shadow!

Well, sorta...

The villain of this episode, gangster Glen Connors, is played by Victor Jory, who portrayed The Shadow in the 1940 movie serial based on both the pulp magazine and radio show!
Connors is impersonating millionaire recluse Charles Delaclare, and slowly draining the dead millionaire's assets.
Britt Reid wants to expose Connors/Delaclare, not only because Connors evaded the law by faking his own death and replacing Delaclare, but Connors was part of a conspiracy that framed Reid's father years ago!
Side notes:
The frame-up of Reid's father is never pursued beyond this episode.
Was dear old Dad the 1940s Green Hornet? We'll never know...
The concept of the villain replacing a reclusive millionaire and utilizing the the deceased Plutarch's empire for evil is later used in the film version of Diamonds are Forever.
The idea of fighting a flock of frogmen (say that five times fast) was probably inspired by the box-office success of the then-current James Bond flick Thunderball!
You'll also note the Hornet performing gymnastics like swinging on poles for the only time in the series.
(It is more difficult to do that stuff in an overcoat than in leotards...) 
Lenore "Casey" Case, played by the lovely Wende Wagner, finally gets serious screen time in this episode as she does some investigating for Reid, but gets caught by Connors' henchmen. As clever as she is beautiful, she keeps herself alive by bluffing the criminals until The Hornet can rescue her!
For the first time we see The Hornet change from his costume to civilian garb in the back seat of the Black Beauty.
He does this several times during the show's run (or from civilian garb to costume) to appear as both Reid and The Hornet to criminals within a short time-frame.
This is the first appearance of Barbara Babcock (Hill Street Blues) as Elaine Carey, a competitor with Casey for Britt Reid's affections.
Barbara performed on the original Star Trek five times (twice on-screen, three times doing voiceovers), each time as a different character!

From October 7th, 1966...."The Frog is a Deadly Weapon"!

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Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Crime Wave"

It's a 1960s version of cybercrime as The Green Hornet faces a computer that can predict his crimes! (A neat trick since The Hornet is just pretending to be a criminal!)

There's double-crossing, a couple of elaborately-planned robberies, and a kool all-out fight scene at the climax as The Hornet and Kato both go hand-to-hand and use the Black Beauty's gas-guns for the first time to take on a group of foes!

Trivia notes:
Despite being computer whizzes, the criminals in this episode can't construct a pistol-sized gas gun like The Hornet, and have to lug a huge canister of knockout gas around with them!
The use (by criminals) of the Green Hornet's stickers (or clever counterfeits) to frame him for crimes dates back to the radio show, where he was constantly leaving them at locations where he had just set up criminals
There's a costume party scene with a number of outfits containing elements (helmets, tunics, sidearms) from various Irwin Allen shows (Lost in Space, Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)!

From September 30, 1966..."Crime Wave"!

Enjoy!

Next week: The Green Hornet meets...The Shadow! (No lie!)

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Programmed for Death"

Frank Miller tries to kill The Green Hornet!

No, not THE Frank Miller, writer-artist of 300, Daredevil, Dark Knight Returns, and other comic classics!
This guy was a criminally-oriented gemologist who tried to freeze the Hornet in today's episode "Programmed for Death", the third show aired on ABC in 1966, but the first episode filmed.
There's a number of differences between what you'll see here and our previous two posts.
It's slower-paced since it had to introduce the various elements of the show to an audience unfamiliar with the character.
The last Green Hornet radio show was 14 years earlier, and an entire generation had grown up with no idea as to who he was!
Unlike Batman, there were no ongoing Green Hornet comic books or licensed products during this period, except a couple of lp record albums of radio shows.

The heroes have different masks (see photo at top) that actually work better to hide their identities, but obstructed peripheral vision. After this episode, molds were taken of their faces and new, form-fitting masks were created and used for the remainder of the show's run.

Note, also, that Kato does all the hand-to-hand fighting in this episode.
From September 23rd, 1966, the first episode filmed, but the third one aired..."Programmed for Death"!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "Give 'Em Enough Rope"

The second episode aired (on 9/16/66), though the fifth filmed, is still experimenting with exactly how to "structure" the story.
In order to be as different as possible from studio-mate Batman, some episodes had more emphasis on plot elements and surprises than just the "something happens-hero investigates-big fight-something else happens-big fight-end", though, that structure domniates most of the show's run.

The early episodes (like this one) featured a "cold opening" where The Green Hornet and Kato didn't appear.
There's only one big fight scene, and most of Kato's participation in it (though he takes out the majority of criminals) is off-camera!
(That would soon change..)
There's also a one-time use of the Black Beauty's normal (non-green) headlights.
Speaking of those headlights, they were supposed to be "infra-green", which would be invisible to the human eye and their light could only be seen through transparent green sunvisors in the front of the car.
(Since the duo operate at night, they wouldn't need normal sunvisors in the car...)

Kato looks through his sunvisor to see the "infra-green" light, giving him a greenish hue while he's driving, but the visors' use is abandoned shortly after this episode is filmed.

Be here next week when we present the pilot episode!

Captain's Theatre THE GREEN HORNET "The Silent Gun"

Exactly 50 years ago today, at 7:30 pm Eastern time...

...ABC-TV's other Dynamic Duo made their first TV appearance!

Though the third episode filmed, it was the first one aired, a distinction it shares with Star Trek (which premiered the night before)!

Enjoy...

You'll note the "tag scene", (the short scene after the last commercial, but before the final credits usually wrapping up loose plot threads and ending with a joke) is missing, indicating this video is from the Encore Action Channel airings a decade ago.

(The MeTV and Sci-Fi Channel [now SyFy] versions had the "tag scene", but they also had commercials, and Sci-Fi Channel cut the 26-minute episodes to 22 minutes to allow extra commercials.)

The scene featured Mike Axford commenting to Britt Reid and Lenore Case, that, though the two criminals the Green Hornet set up were captured, the "silent gun" had disappeared!

Axford comments he hopes the gun hasn't fallen into The Green Hornet's evil hands as Reid and Case nod in obviously mock agreement!