ALL SCI-FI

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The Incredible Hulk was based upon the Marvel comic book by legendary writer Stan Lee & legendary artist Jack Kirby, which debuted in May of 1962.

The CBS television show premiered on November 4, 1977 and ended on May 12, 1982. It comprised 80 episodes, and 5 TV-movies. It was developed for television by Kenneth Johnson.

Opening narration by Ted Cassidy: Dr. David Banner ---- physician, scientist ---- searching for a way to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have. Then an accidental overdose of gamma radiation alters his body chemistry.

And now, when David Banner grows angry or outraged, a startling metamorphosis occurs. The creature is driven by rage and pursued by an investigative reporter.

"Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." Dr. David Banner.

The creature is wanted for a murder he didn't commit. David Banner is believed to be dead. And he must let the world think he is dead until he can find a way to contain the raging spirit that dwells within him.

Note from me: And thus began one of the finer science-fiction superhero television series ever produced. The Hulk, as created by Lee & Kirby, was a morphing of the Frankenstein monster & Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Just like the compelling The Fugitive TV series, Dr. David Banner is unjustly accused of the murder of a someone. It was Dr. Richard Kimble's wife that he was falsely accused of murdering; for Dr. David Banner, it's a colleague of his. Whereas Dr. Kimble is relentlessly pursued by the law (Inspector Gerrard); Banner is hotly sought after by dogged investigative Jack McGee.

Dr. Banner is wonderfully played by Bill Bixby. The incredible Hulk by the impressive Lou Ferrigno. [/i]

[Bud Brewster]

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I regret to say that in view of the wonderful movies which have featured the Hulk in recent years . . . this TV series looks seriously dated.

The fault lies in the fact that the original concept presented in the comic books simply can't be portrayed by painting a body-builder green and then filming his scenes in slow motion.

Even the first few Hulk movies which employed CGI didn't quite get it right. It took Marvel Studios a while to perfect their efforts to present Bruce Banner as the Hulk in a manner that impressed aging fans like me.

But the trailer below certainly shows us just how hard the TV network endeavored to impress us. To be fair, I applaud their efforts.

_ The Incredible Hulk (1977 - 1982) Modern Trailer


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

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The only option they obviously had back then is to paint a professional weightlifter green. CGI either didn't exist at all or was in its infancy. So in that regard, you can say the series is dated from what they could do visually with the Hulk.

However, the scripting remains pretty darn good in that the series stories usually dealt with topical issues such as child abuse, alcoholism, the mentally challenged, drug addiction, and so forth. It was a series that had something important to say from time to time. There were also episodes about good versus evil. The underlaying issue was David Banner's struggle with quelling that his rage could morph him into the superhuman powerful Hulk. So like Dr. Richard Kimble on The Fugitive, we saw David journeying from place in order to find the answer to his dilemma. And just like Kimble, Banner would encounter people who were in bad situations who could use his help.

The series really did have something to say with many of its stories. So to liken this to Irwin Allen's productions is really not accurate at all. I'm not proposing that the Hulk is a perfect show, or would have been nominated for any Hugo Awards. Although Mariette Hartly did receive an Emmy Award for her role as a guest star. But to dismiss the series entirely as dross is wrong.

[Bud Brewster]

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Mike, I guess this is just a difference in our opinions concerning the way the Hulk can be effectively presented in movies or TV series.

Here's what you stated.

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As a lifelong comic book fan, I eagerly awaited the day when films & television would be able to produce live action superheroes. I knew that in order to do the superpowered heroes and villains that the visual effects technology had to be able to successfully support such movies and shows.

When The Incredible Hulk first premiered back in 1978, clearly the then current special effects technology was was not up to the task of presenting a Hulk that would be as sensational looking as the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby comic. Plus, TV budgets and their grinding shooting schedules worked against such an endeavor.

What I'm trying to convey, Bruce, is that while it wasn't the time to created a Hulk TV series due to those factors I've mentioned, I believe that producer/writer Kenneth Johnson made the right calls with how the Hulk was done on TV within those limitations. Johnson knew that he could not give the audience a big science fiction show. He could not afford, or visually present a series that would be able to mimic the Marvel comics. So no outer space aliens, killer robots, or even any Marvel villains for the Hulk. Johnson had to work with what the tools that he had on hand in the medium he was in. David Banner became a new day version of Dr. Richard Kimble's classis Fugitive series. The lone and lonely man on the run attempting to seek the answer to his problem. Both were relentlessly pursued; and both would meet up with individuals and help them with their challenges, while still being unable to solve their own. At the end of that week's episode both would be forced back on the road.

Should such an ambitious character have been attempted in 1978? No, I would agree with you on that particular item. However, what Johnson did come up with was the best way to do the production under the circumstances. I would also say that many of the existing stories were entertaining, if not award winning ones. You seem to want to throw the baby out with the bathwater, Bruce. I'm looking at the diamonds in the rough (maybe diamonds is to extravagant a term) that were contained in some of the scripting, directing, and acting. To each their own.

[Bud Brewster]

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Mike, you've convinced me that I was wrong to say the series should not have been made until the special effects could create a more convincing hulk. Clearly the series excelled in other ways, and I've short-changed the production with my dismissal of it.

I'll confess that I was not a fan of the series, so I didn't give it a chance to show me just why it was well-worth watching. Part of the reason for my negative feelings are my lack of enthusiasm for the series was the use of slow-motion during dramatic scenes to supposedly enhance the action.

The Six Million Dollar Man, which aired a few years earlier, annoyed me with their use of slow motion scenes and electronic sound effects every time Lee Majors was supposed to run fast.

Oh brother . . .

Anyway, thanks for being patient with your pig-headed friend while he criticized a good TV show for all the wrong reasons.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[WadeVC]

Although very dated now, at the time, The Incredible Hulk was the show to watch every Thursday night.

Of course, the next day at school had all the boys running around the playground pretending to be the Hulk and engaging in all sorts of mayhem.

For many boys, Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk was the biggest living human we had ever seen.
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"You look like a pooped out pinwheel."
-Robot Monster

[Bud Brewster]

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I think the first show I ever recorded on my brand new Sony Betamax was an episode of the Hulk!


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

TV Guide Review by Robert MacKenzie for TIH from May 20, 1978.

I turn to this one to catch the writers thrash about, poor devils, trying to make a sympathetic character of a snarling monster who likes to wreck things.

The CBS series was inspired, if that's the word, by a repulsive comic book of the same name. Bill Bixby is a doctor who turns into the Hulk, a hyperactive green brute who tears off car doors and throws people across rooms.

The metamorphosis occurs when Bixby's character gets angry. At least that was the original idea. It must have become clear after the first few episodes that the audience couldn't be expected to warm up to a hero who throws fits of anger and turns into a mad beast.

In a typical early episode, Bixby ran afoul of a gang of dope dealers. They caught him in an alley and administered a brutal beating. Bixby got mad and became the Hulk, slavering and growling, to give an even worse beating to the hoods. Gratuitous violence, I think it's called. In a later story, the makeup men had gone back to the drawing board and the Hulk was noticeably more amiable looking --- something like a cross between Mr. Clean and the Jolly Green Giant. And this time he appeared when Bixby was merely distraught, trying to land a 747 after hijackers had doped the pilots and the hydraulic-power system had been jammed. The Hulk supplied the strength to unjam it, and even seemed pleased about it.

Then there was the matter of Bixby's shirt. In the initial stories Bixby would fly into a snit, fall behind a box or something, and up would pop the Hulk, barechested. It was logical to ask what became of Bixby's shirt? In the recent episodes, Bixby bursts the seams of the shirt as he changes, and the Hulk runs around in torn shreds. Unfortunately, this only makes us wonder about the pants. Bixby's pants shrink to knee-length, but why doesn't he burst out of them too? This is an unrewarding line of thought, but they started it with that shirt business.

The Incredible Hulk might have been fun if it had established a campy, comic book mood and played the Hulk as a spoof. But television is leery of satire, so the standard crime plots are laid out with dreadful sobriety. The writers have tossed in elements of The Fugitive with Bixby fatiguingly on the run from an investigative reporter. The music is melancholy and Bixby painfully sincere about all this foolishness.

Lou Ferrigno, the muscle man who plays the Hulk, had little to do but growl and throw things at first, but as the series progresses he may wind up helping old ladies across the streets.

For all the tinkering, the show is still hash, but I must admit it has a certain appeal for the rottener side of my character. The next time some foolish lout cuts you off in traffic, wouldn't it be nice to turn into a green monster, tear off the guy's door and toss him through the nearest window? I suppose there's a little Hulk in all of us.

Sidebar. I'm guessing that RM never read a comic book as a kid. Probably looked down on them, then and now.

Again, I enjoyed the show given the limitations of what television could do in 1977 with such a character.

Yes, the series certainly borrowed themes from the terrific Fugitive television series. I can also name a dozen more shows that did the same thing. Remember, The Fugitive borrowed from the classic novel Les Miserables.

Dr. David Banner is a decent man who now has the mysterious ability to morph into the all-powerful Hulk. And this happened during his research to better humankind. He never sought this superpower. In fact, it ruined his life. He lost his wife, his career, home, you name it and is forced to go on the run to seek a cure. And then there's that pesky investigative journalist hot on Banner's trail.

The stories were about decent Dave helping others who were also innocent victims. The Hulk really leveled the playing field on the physical end. But David's attempts to impart lessons to those he was aiding was also just as important to the stories.

RM writing that the show should have imitated the Batman series is hogwash. No comic book fans wanted to see their hero turned into a camp clown like Adam West & Burt Ward.
RM also did apparently note that while Barman was a smash hit when it debuted, the premise wore thin rather rapidly. The show burned out in a few years in spite of having been a major success in its beginning. The same fate would have likely happened to the Hulk.

Did you note how many times that RM referred to Bill Bixby by name in his scathing article? Never as the show's character of David Banner. Always as Bixby. I took that as an derisive putdown of the series in general when a reviewer constantly ignores the name of the lead character.

Not a perfect SF series by any means, but I like how they tackled the Hulk 47 years ago.