What is this? A Mexican standoff? Between two sets of dynamic duos?
That is what’s happening this coming Saturday on Me-TV (www.metv.com) at midnight when “The Green Hornet” (Van Williams), his aide Kato (Bruce Lee), and their rolling arsenal Black Beauty comes to Gotham City in the climatic, classic two-part “Batman” crossover.
The first part finds the Hornet and Kato looking for a “Piece of the Action” in shutting down Colonel Gumm’s stamp counterfeiting ring – just like Batman (Adam West) & Robin (Burt Ward), Gotham City’s famed and caped crusaders for justice. What Batman & Robin do not know, however, is the “arch-criminals” Green Hornet and Kato are on their side in pursuing the enemies of law and order, for their names are indeed legendary among the masked crime-fighters of the ABC Network: The Lone Ranger (Clayton Moore) and Zorro (Guy Williams), and Batman & Robin, of course. The second part finds Colonel Gumm receiving “Batman’s Satisfaction” as well as receiving the satisfaction of justice from the Green Hornet and Kato.
This is honor of Van Williams, who died on November 28 from renal failure at the age of 82. Williams played “The Green Hornet” on ABC for 26 episodes from 1966 to 1967. The superhero/crime/detective series became a cult fan favorite thanks to Bruce Lee, who played the Hornet’s kung-fu enforcer/Black Beauty driver Kato.
Created in 1936 by Fran Striker and George W. Trendle, the Green Hornet is the alter-ego of Britt Reid, the dashing and crusading owner/publisher of “The Daily Sentinel”. With Reid’s secretary Lenore Case (Wende Wagner) and district attorney Frank Scanlon (Walter Brooke) by their side, the Hornet and Kato are both the hunters and the hunted in the hunt for justice. Wanted by the police, feared by the underworld, they faced one challenge after another in putting the sting on organized crime and corruption: protecting the law … by breaking it in protecting the rights and lives of decent citizens. The Green Hornet is the blood relative of the Lone Ranger, the daring and resourceful masked rider/masked deputy of the plains during the early years of the American West.
Reruns of “The Green Hornet” can be found at the buzz of “Comic Book Heroes” with back-to-back episodes every Saturday morning at 5am on Heroes & Icons (www.heroesandiconstv.com).