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!