History Series / TheGreenHornet

''The Green Hornet'' premiered on Creator/{{ABC}} on September 9, 1966. The series garnered respectable ratings when it premiered, winning its time slot against competition from ''Series/TheWildWildWest'' (Creator/{{CBS}}) and ''Franchise/{{Tarzan}}'' (Creator/{{NBC}}), but after several weeks ratings began to slip. The failure of the series to maintain its initial high ratings exacerbated the conflicts between Trendle and Dozier which first became manifest during initial production. As ratings slipped, it became clear that ABC had little interest in giving the series a second season (in fact, Dozier was concerned that the network wouldn't even run the series during the summer re-run period). In a valiant attempt to save the series, Dozier presented network executives with a proposal to convert the series from a DramaticHalfHour to a DramaticHourLong, and featured the Hornet and Kato in an IntercontinuityCrossover in two episodes of his still popular ''Batman'' series hoping to generate interest in ''The Green Hornet'' among ''Batman'' fans. While ABC did eventually order summer re-runs of the series, it did not order a second season, and the series ended its run.

Because of its crossover with ''Batman'', the show is canon to the Series/{{Arrowverse}} due to Creator/BurtWard cameo appearance in ''Series/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths2019''.

In 1966 producer William Dozier, wielding some clout owing to his smash hit series ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'', brought an adaption of ''Radio/TheGreenHornet'' to the small screen as a DramaticHalfHour series. Van Williams starred as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet (who, in a modernization of the radio property, is not only publisher of the ''Daily Sentinel'', but is also owner/general manager of an associated television station; Creator/GaryOwens, the iconic "Announcer" on ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'', occasionally appeared as a news anchorman on Reid's station). The show is best known for introducing martial arts legend Creator/BruceLee, playing Kato, to Western audiences. Lee's portrayal became so popular in UsefulNotes/HongKong (his Chinese home town) that [[SpotlightStealingTitle the show was retitled]] ''[[SpotlightStealingTitle The Kato Show]]'' when broadcast there. Because Lee himself was a martial artist, his Kato demonstrated those skills in the show (although the radio series made isolated references to Kato's ju-jitsu expertise, martial arts skills had never been an important part of Kato's characterization in either the radio series or film serials), and this development has had a huge influence on later Green Hornet adaptations: rumors of various proposed film adaptations have universally had a martial arts star being cast in the role of Kato, and it is now probably unthinkable for Kato ''not'' to be a martial arts master in any subsequent ''Green Hornet'' adaptation in any medium.

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The version for the TV show was performed by jazz legend Al Hirt and it's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIwsqFjfKPs awesome!]]

* ToTheBatpole: Similarly on television; while Reid's and Kato's costume changes were not implied to be anything other than normal changes of clothes, the problem of parking both Reid's day-to-day car and the Black Beauty in a one-car garage was given [[RuleOfCool a very cool]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2RDh0EqRH8 solution]].

[[caption-width-right:325:The Green Hornet, his aide Kato, and [[CoolCar their rolling arsenal]], the Black Beauty, from the TV series.]]

-->--''OpeningNarration to the 1966 TV adaptation''

* TheCastShowOff: Creator/BruceLee as Kato in the TV series. In prior versions of the property, Kato was merely Reid's valet and the Hornet's sidekick, and he did not demonstrate any notable fighting skills, much less martial arts mastery. [[AdaptationalBadass Owing to Lee's status as a martial arts master, his Kato was given every chance to show that mastery on the air. This has influenced subsequent adaptations of the property;]] it is now probably unthinkable for Kato ''not'' to be a martial arts master in any new adaptation of The Green Hornet in any medium.

* LightningGun: Vama's belt in "Invasion from Outer Space".

* TheTriadsAndTheTongs: "The Preying Mantis."

In 1966 producer William Dozier, wielding some clout owing to his smash hit series ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'', brought an adaption of ''The Green Hornet'' to the small screen as a DramaticHalfHour series. Van Williams starred as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet (who, in a modernization of the radio property, is not only publisher of the ''Daily Sentinel'', but is also owner/general manager of an associated television station; Creator/GaryOwens, the iconic "Announcer" on ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'', occasionally appeared as a news anchorman on Reid's station). The show is best known for introducing martial arts legend Creator/BruceLee, playing Kato, to Western audiences. Lee's portrayal became so popular in UsefulNotes/HongKong (his Chinese home town) that [[SpotlightStealingTitle the show was retitled]] ''[[SpotlightStealingTitle The Kato Show]]'' when broadcast there. Because Lee himself was a martial artist, his Kato demonstrated those skills in the show (although the radio series made isolated references to Kato's ju-jitsu expertise, martial arts skills had never been an important part of Kato's characterization in either the radio series or film serials), and this development has had a huge influence on later Green Hornet adaptations: rumors of various proposed film adaptations have universally had a martial arts star being cast in the role of Kato, and it is now probably unthinkable for Kato ''not'' to be a martial arts master in any subsequent ''Green Hornet'' adaptation in any medium.

* CoolCar: The Black Beauty was even more tricked out in the 60s TV adaptation: a customized 1966 Chrysler Crown Imperial with green headlamps, a mobile telephone (in ''1966''!), a sleep gas sprayer, rockets, mortars, and a flying video scanner.

** It's rare to be curb stomped twice in a row. Especially since the latter was at the hands of the same guy he had curb stomped earlier.

** As an interesting note, "infra-green" would be yellow light.

** It's also reflective of the fact that, as noted by multiple fans, particularly Asian Americans, that Kato is more of a hero than Britt Reid.
** Because Kato got a few more fight scenes [[SarcasmMode that made him a better hero despite that The Hornet was much smarter than Kato and saved him just as often as vice versa and beat up murderous gangsters just as easily as Kato did.]]

** [[CelebrityParadox Which is weird]] because Batman and Robin are ''real'' in the show's universe, Britt and Kato even teamed up with them once.
** Could be explained as a TV show based on "the true life adventures" of Batman (without revealing his true identity of course :)).

[[redirect:Radio/TheGreenHornet]]