^No argument there. Maybe he was shaking off a concussion or some spinal injury from the karate chop to the back of the neck.
MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
Ah, yes, "Runaway" and "Count On Me" were both lovely. From a couple of years earlier, but basically the same period, was "Miracles," which is probably my second favorite of all the Jefferson Airplane Starship Whatever bunch.
I'm going to have some season-end tallies to compile and report sometime after we review the next Hulk episode. One odd bit of old business revisited: Given how many times we've gotten plot-driven early First Hulk-Outs in Season 2, I've decided to include the (conveyed in flashback) FHO from "Of Guilt, Models and Murder" in the Season 1 average. That bumps the Season 1 average time for FHO's from -26:24 to -28:06.
As before, Season 1 averages don't include either of the pilot films. Season 2 averages won't include the 2-hour "Married" or the first part of "Mystery Man," which only had one new HO. "Mystery Man: Part II" and all other Season 2 episodes will be tallied.
As before, Season 1 averages don't include either of the pilot films. Season 2 averages won't include the 2-hour "Married" or the first part of "Mystery Man," which only had one new HO. "Mystery Man: Part II" and all other Season 2 episodes will be tallied.
Tonight, on The Incredible Hulk:
"Vendetta Road"
Originally aired May 25, 1979
Events in the news the week this episode aired:
New on the U.S. charts in the two weeks since the previous episode:
"Shine a Little Love," Electric Light Orchestra
(#8 US; #40 AC; #6 UK)
"Sad Eyes," Robert John
(#1 US; #10 AC; #31 UK)
"I Was Made for Lovin' You," Kiss
(#11 US; #37 Dance; #50 UK; Note of vague relevance to the Season 3 premiere: Their last top 20 hit until 1990)
"Lead Me On," Maxine Nightingale
(#5 US; #1 AC; #37 R&B)
"Bad Girls," Donna Summer
(#1 US; #1 Dance; #1 R&B; #14 UK)
*
"Vendetta Road"
Originally aired May 25, 1979
Events in the news the week this episode aired:
New on the U.S. charts in the two weeks since the previous episode:
"Shine a Little Love," Electric Light Orchestra
(#8 US; #40 AC; #6 UK)
"Sad Eyes," Robert John
(#1 US; #10 AC; #31 UK)
"I Was Made for Lovin' You," Kiss
(#11 US; #37 Dance; #50 UK; Note of vague relevance to the Season 3 premiere: Their last top 20 hit until 1990)
"Lead Me On," Maxine Nightingale
(#5 US; #1 AC; #37 R&B)
"Bad Girls," Donna Summer
(#1 US; #1 Dance; #1 R&B; #14 UK)
*
Now there's an obscure goodie. Not ELO's best, admittedly, but pretty good. Other than that, pretty much low points for Kiss, Maxine Nightingale, and Donna Summer (who, by the way, is from my hometown and went to school with my Uncle Joe).
Maxine Nightingale might disagree with you...that was her second biggest hit. And Donna Summer was enjoying her commercial peak--her third consecutive #1.
The second season finale of The Incredible Hulk!
"Vendetta Road"--
A teary eyed Ray Floyd places flowers on the grave of his father, vowing to do something in the only way he knows how. On a lonely highway, David Brennan stops to use a Westco gas station bathroom with an alarming sign mounted over the sink--
--lucky for Banner he's using shaving cream...
Ray and his wife Cassie pull up in a dune buggy; Ray plants three sticks of dynamite under a pump while Cassie holds the attendant at gunpoint. Sending the attendant running off, Ray lights the dynamite fuse, and speeds away--just as Cassie sees David emerging from the bathroom. Screaming a warning, David trips, and hits his head against an oil drum--knocking him out. The couple rescue David, racing away as the dynamite destroys the gas station.
Elsewhere, McGee complains to his publisher, not wanting to be pulled off of another Hulk trail in order to report on what he writes off as another "Bonnie & Clyde" story (which just so happens to be the Ray and Cassie situation). At the local sheriff's station, officers and reports discuss the latest of Ray's explosive attacks on Westco gas stations; Ben Madrid--security chief of Westco Oil discusses measures to be used against Ray, but stops himself short of revealing the level of company influence over the situation--
Madrid: "I intend to contin---I mean to say, the sheriff and his men--with the assistance of Westco will continue to man the roadblocks..."
It is clear local law enforcement bends to Madrid--and Madrid to owner John Fielding, who demands action to stop the costly attacks of Ray and Cassie. Fielding prepares to come to town--much to the dismay of Madrid, since Fielding's actions once caused a death....
David recovers, questioning why Ray & Cassie destroyed the gas station. They freely admit attacks on stations, but do not intend to kill anyone. As David leaves, a rifle fires a shot at his feet--the gunmen thinking they were targeting Ray. David races back to the couple, leaps into the dune buggy as all three narrowly escape...only now, the gunmen think David is part of the Floyd group.
At the sheriff's station, McGee questions the apparent excess of firepower Madrid (retired from the Army) gathered for the manhunt, but Madrid skips over the uncomfortable matter.
In hiding, Ray explains his campaign of revenge/terror: Westco murdered his father (implied explosion) as he was one of the last independently owned gas stations holding out in the area; the couple had no legal options as the county officials were in the back pocket of Westco, or the biggest law firms refused to take the case out of fear. Thinking his wife does not support him, Ray walks out in a huff.
At the local newspaper's offices, McGee--contrary to reporter Greg Bantam's defense of big business--believes Ray Floyd (with no prior criminal record) must have had some justification for his bombings of Westco gas stations. Bantam refuses to help, prompting McGee to offer the matter-of-fact joke:
McGee: "I don't believe the kid liked my style!"
Back at the Floyd's hideout, David and Cassie find themselves surrounded by Madrid the police...and Westco security hiding in the bushes, armed with sniper rifles. David believes surrendering to the be the best option, but the moment the duo walk out with their hands raised, a Westco sniper deliberately shoots one of the police cars--forcing the officers to assume (as planned) it was the Floyds--causing David and Cassie to leap back into the hideout just ahead of the fusillade of bullets.
Caught up in a shooting frenzy, the officers ignore David's attempt to "white flag" the situation--instead, shooting an oil lamp which spills near the fireplace, starting a rapidly growing fire. In that instant, a bullet hits Cassie in the shoulder--she slumps to the floor, unconscious. With the flames and line of fire boiling David's blood, he transforms into the Hulk, picks up Cassie and breaks out of the building's side, right as Ray returns to the scene. Only seeing the police firing at the shack, Ray hurls dynamite at the officers--the explosions sending all running for cover.
The Hulk makes his way through the woods, finally setting Cassie down near the makeshift moonshine still of four country locals. The curious Hulk shares a drink, finds the taste revolting, and runs back to Cassie--with the locals attacking the creature...and obviously losing. The creature eventually returning to Banner-state, steals clothes from the moonshiners' camp. Ray finds the duo.
At the sheriff's office, Madrid demands answers from Spalding--the Westco security officer who caused the shootout--wanting to know if he took his orders from Fielding. As Madrid tells the man to leave, McGee wants answers about the shootout and--of course--the Hulk--
McGee: "Mr. Madrid, I was wondering if I could have a few words with you about the shootout, and the fire...and the green creature that rescued Cassie Floyd."
Madrid: "Your paper's got to be thrilled--a shoot 'em up and a monster besides."
McGee: "Well...you have to realize that from the point of view of the quarry, the Hulk is as real to me as...Ray Floyd is to you."
Madrid: "You're a good reporter, McGee. What makes you work for a RAG like The National Register?"
McGee: "What makes you work for a company like Westco?"
At the moonshine shack, David tends to Cassie's shoulder; he treats the clear entrance/exit wound with moonshine, and places the arm in a sling, but she's not out of danger. After all the Floyds have been through, Ray intends to finish his attacks. Cassie insists on accompanying him, but feels she will be alright if David is there. Of course, after a Hulk-out, Banner is itching to leave town, but Cassie draws him back in by revealing she's pregnant. David finds it all to be an absurd situation.
That evening, the trio take shelter in an abandoned warehouse. David awakens and contemplates his next move...which is to call the newspaper, and who answers the line? Yeah. David explains Ray's story, hoping a fair minded reporter will be able to expose the entire affair before Ray attacks the Westco refinery, but thanks to the storm the phone connection is poor, so neither David or McGee recognizes the others voice, but McGee believes they have an agreement to meet at the refinery. Unbeknownst to McGee, the Westco-protective Greg Bantam was eavesdropping on the call, and soon calls Madrid...
David tries to convince Ray about his reporter angle possibly leading to a fair trial. A crying Ray balks at any solution other than revenge, and begs David to stay for Cassie's sake. The next day, as Ray & David speed toward the refinery, Fielding (and Spalding--the guard Madrid chewed out earlier) arrive at the site; Madrid challenges the owner about his role in the death of Ray's father, but in no surprise, Fielding deflects any threats by reminding Madrid of his file of Madrid's own criminal acts that could be used against him. Although Madrid is forced to use Spalding in the coming conflict with Ray, Madrid turns the tables, occupying the officer's time by ordering him to keep McGee out of the refinery.
On another side of the refinery gates, Ray cuts a way in, asking David to take care of Cassie. Despite Cassie finally telling him she's pregnant, Ray is Hell-bent on carrying out his last act of revenge--bailing on his companions as Westco security guards drive up and apprehend both--slamming the handcuffed David to the ground, and manhandling the injured, pleading Cassie. David's panicking turns into the Hulk, attacks the guards, then races after Ray, while at the guard station, Spalding--determined to kill Ray--grabs his rifle.
Madrid finds Ray preparing to set the dynamite, and holds him at gunpoint. Ray counters with his expectation of death--and taking Madrid with him. The Hulk makes his way through the refinery in time to spot Spalding on a service stairwell taking aim at Ray. The creature sends an oil drum hurtling at the would-be killer, sending the man violently falling down the stairs. The distraction gives Ray the opening to light the fuse; Madrid grabs at the dynamite, but it falls out of reach; the Hulk leaps down to the scene, picks up the dynamite, and with Ray's urging, sends it soaring, exploding harmlessly in the sky.
While all of this is going on, Fielding creeps up, recovering Madrid's gun, but the Hulk tosses the man into an oil runoff, then runs away. Madrid considers much as he aims his pistol at Ray..until Fielding excitedly demands Madrid to kill the young man. Madrid has reached his end, turns the gun on Fielding, and accepts McGee's offer of a tell-all interview, much to Ray's satisfaction.
The aftermath ties up many loose ends, as seen on a news report-watched by a sinking Fielding--
"Earlier today in testimony before the grand jury, Westco Industries security chief Ben Madrid admitted his involvement in numerous crimes for that company. His testimony implicated John Fielding a Westco vice president in political buy-offs, extortion and murder. Mr. Fielding was unavailable for comment. The Westco board of directors--eager to clear the company's name has offered to help Ben Madrid with his defense. Ray Floyd, whose vendetta against Westco led to the grand jury investigation, took time off from the trial proceedings to visit his wife in the hospital. The Floyds are expecting their first child in five months."
As always, David leaves town, walking along another nameless highway.
NOTES:
This is not a cure-related episode.
Similar to "Wildfire," a larger company resorts to crime--or in this case, murder--to drive all competition from a region.
The following should have been mentioned two weeks ago, but "The Confession" was the final episode featuring Ted Cassidy's voice as the Hulk. Cassidy passed away at the tragically young age of 46 on January 16, 1979, and was replaced by noted character actor Charles Napier (Adam from "The Way to Eden" among his many roles). In honor of Cassidy, his unforgettable narration of the main title was used for the remainder of the series. Napier will guest star in TIH episodes "The Slam" & "Triangle"--double duty for the busy actor.
Ironic that Woodward's character said he was in Dallas, since that's where the actor would end up--on the landmark CBS drama Dallas, starting in 1980 for what would be an eight year run as Punk Anderson.
Setting up the antagonist is important, but the Westco gas station restroom sign--
--was pushing it. Westco's on-screen actions & reputation were more than enough to sell all things evil without that added touch. We get it--they're the Bad Oil Company! Unfortunately,, since the 1970s, innumerable TV series have used the Bad Oil Company plot device.
Ray mentions "Sherman and Harris, Attorneys at Law" -- another in-joke reference to TIH writer / producers Jill Sherman & Karen Harris.
I will get into a full season 2 wrap-up in another post.
GUEST CAST:
Morgan Woodward (Ben Madrid) --to Trekkers, he holds a place in the guest star Hall of Fame for Star Trek appearances as the rattled Dr. Simon van Gelder in"Dagger of the Mind" and Captain Ronald Tracey--the well matched, villainous opposite of Kirk in "The Omega Glory".
Other fantasy credits:
"Vendetta Road"--
A teary eyed Ray Floyd places flowers on the grave of his father, vowing to do something in the only way he knows how. On a lonely highway, David Brennan stops to use a Westco gas station bathroom with an alarming sign mounted over the sink--
--lucky for Banner he's using shaving cream...
Ray and his wife Cassie pull up in a dune buggy; Ray plants three sticks of dynamite under a pump while Cassie holds the attendant at gunpoint. Sending the attendant running off, Ray lights the dynamite fuse, and speeds away--just as Cassie sees David emerging from the bathroom. Screaming a warning, David trips, and hits his head against an oil drum--knocking him out. The couple rescue David, racing away as the dynamite destroys the gas station.
Elsewhere, McGee complains to his publisher, not wanting to be pulled off of another Hulk trail in order to report on what he writes off as another "Bonnie & Clyde" story (which just so happens to be the Ray and Cassie situation). At the local sheriff's station, officers and reports discuss the latest of Ray's explosive attacks on Westco gas stations; Ben Madrid--security chief of Westco Oil discusses measures to be used against Ray, but stops himself short of revealing the level of company influence over the situation--
Madrid: "I intend to contin---I mean to say, the sheriff and his men--with the assistance of Westco will continue to man the roadblocks..."
It is clear local law enforcement bends to Madrid--and Madrid to owner John Fielding, who demands action to stop the costly attacks of Ray and Cassie. Fielding prepares to come to town--much to the dismay of Madrid, since Fielding's actions once caused a death....
David recovers, questioning why Ray & Cassie destroyed the gas station. They freely admit attacks on stations, but do not intend to kill anyone. As David leaves, a rifle fires a shot at his feet--the gunmen thinking they were targeting Ray. David races back to the couple, leaps into the dune buggy as all three narrowly escape...only now, the gunmen think David is part of the Floyd group.
At the sheriff's station, McGee questions the apparent excess of firepower Madrid (retired from the Army) gathered for the manhunt, but Madrid skips over the uncomfortable matter.
In hiding, Ray explains his campaign of revenge/terror: Westco murdered his father (implied explosion) as he was one of the last independently owned gas stations holding out in the area; the couple had no legal options as the county officials were in the back pocket of Westco, or the biggest law firms refused to take the case out of fear. Thinking his wife does not support him, Ray walks out in a huff.
At the local newspaper's offices, McGee--contrary to reporter Greg Bantam's defense of big business--believes Ray Floyd (with no prior criminal record) must have had some justification for his bombings of Westco gas stations. Bantam refuses to help, prompting McGee to offer the matter-of-fact joke:
McGee: "I don't believe the kid liked my style!"
Back at the Floyd's hideout, David and Cassie find themselves surrounded by Madrid the police...and Westco security hiding in the bushes, armed with sniper rifles. David believes surrendering to the be the best option, but the moment the duo walk out with their hands raised, a Westco sniper deliberately shoots one of the police cars--forcing the officers to assume (as planned) it was the Floyds--causing David and Cassie to leap back into the hideout just ahead of the fusillade of bullets.
Caught up in a shooting frenzy, the officers ignore David's attempt to "white flag" the situation--instead, shooting an oil lamp which spills near the fireplace, starting a rapidly growing fire. In that instant, a bullet hits Cassie in the shoulder--she slumps to the floor, unconscious. With the flames and line of fire boiling David's blood, he transforms into the Hulk, picks up Cassie and breaks out of the building's side, right as Ray returns to the scene. Only seeing the police firing at the shack, Ray hurls dynamite at the officers--the explosions sending all running for cover.
The Hulk makes his way through the woods, finally setting Cassie down near the makeshift moonshine still of four country locals. The curious Hulk shares a drink, finds the taste revolting, and runs back to Cassie--with the locals attacking the creature...and obviously losing. The creature eventually returning to Banner-state, steals clothes from the moonshiners' camp. Ray finds the duo.
At the sheriff's office, Madrid demands answers from Spalding--the Westco security officer who caused the shootout--wanting to know if he took his orders from Fielding. As Madrid tells the man to leave, McGee wants answers about the shootout and--of course--the Hulk--
McGee: "Mr. Madrid, I was wondering if I could have a few words with you about the shootout, and the fire...and the green creature that rescued Cassie Floyd."
Madrid: "Your paper's got to be thrilled--a shoot 'em up and a monster besides."
McGee: "Well...you have to realize that from the point of view of the quarry, the Hulk is as real to me as...Ray Floyd is to you."
Madrid: "You're a good reporter, McGee. What makes you work for a RAG like The National Register?"
McGee: "What makes you work for a company like Westco?"
At the moonshine shack, David tends to Cassie's shoulder; he treats the clear entrance/exit wound with moonshine, and places the arm in a sling, but she's not out of danger. After all the Floyds have been through, Ray intends to finish his attacks. Cassie insists on accompanying him, but feels she will be alright if David is there. Of course, after a Hulk-out, Banner is itching to leave town, but Cassie draws him back in by revealing she's pregnant. David finds it all to be an absurd situation.
That evening, the trio take shelter in an abandoned warehouse. David awakens and contemplates his next move...which is to call the newspaper, and who answers the line? Yeah. David explains Ray's story, hoping a fair minded reporter will be able to expose the entire affair before Ray attacks the Westco refinery, but thanks to the storm the phone connection is poor, so neither David or McGee recognizes the others voice, but McGee believes they have an agreement to meet at the refinery. Unbeknownst to McGee, the Westco-protective Greg Bantam was eavesdropping on the call, and soon calls Madrid...
David tries to convince Ray about his reporter angle possibly leading to a fair trial. A crying Ray balks at any solution other than revenge, and begs David to stay for Cassie's sake. The next day, as Ray & David speed toward the refinery, Fielding (and Spalding--the guard Madrid chewed out earlier) arrive at the site; Madrid challenges the owner about his role in the death of Ray's father, but in no surprise, Fielding deflects any threats by reminding Madrid of his file of Madrid's own criminal acts that could be used against him. Although Madrid is forced to use Spalding in the coming conflict with Ray, Madrid turns the tables, occupying the officer's time by ordering him to keep McGee out of the refinery.
On another side of the refinery gates, Ray cuts a way in, asking David to take care of Cassie. Despite Cassie finally telling him she's pregnant, Ray is Hell-bent on carrying out his last act of revenge--bailing on his companions as Westco security guards drive up and apprehend both--slamming the handcuffed David to the ground, and manhandling the injured, pleading Cassie. David's panicking turns into the Hulk, attacks the guards, then races after Ray, while at the guard station, Spalding--determined to kill Ray--grabs his rifle.
Madrid finds Ray preparing to set the dynamite, and holds him at gunpoint. Ray counters with his expectation of death--and taking Madrid with him. The Hulk makes his way through the refinery in time to spot Spalding on a service stairwell taking aim at Ray. The creature sends an oil drum hurtling at the would-be killer, sending the man violently falling down the stairs. The distraction gives Ray the opening to light the fuse; Madrid grabs at the dynamite, but it falls out of reach; the Hulk leaps down to the scene, picks up the dynamite, and with Ray's urging, sends it soaring, exploding harmlessly in the sky.
While all of this is going on, Fielding creeps up, recovering Madrid's gun, but the Hulk tosses the man into an oil runoff, then runs away. Madrid considers much as he aims his pistol at Ray..until Fielding excitedly demands Madrid to kill the young man. Madrid has reached his end, turns the gun on Fielding, and accepts McGee's offer of a tell-all interview, much to Ray's satisfaction.
The aftermath ties up many loose ends, as seen on a news report-watched by a sinking Fielding--
"Earlier today in testimony before the grand jury, Westco Industries security chief Ben Madrid admitted his involvement in numerous crimes for that company. His testimony implicated John Fielding a Westco vice president in political buy-offs, extortion and murder. Mr. Fielding was unavailable for comment. The Westco board of directors--eager to clear the company's name has offered to help Ben Madrid with his defense. Ray Floyd, whose vendetta against Westco led to the grand jury investigation, took time off from the trial proceedings to visit his wife in the hospital. The Floyds are expecting their first child in five months."
As always, David leaves town, walking along another nameless highway.
NOTES:
This is not a cure-related episode.
Similar to "Wildfire," a larger company resorts to crime--or in this case, murder--to drive all competition from a region.
The following should have been mentioned two weeks ago, but "The Confession" was the final episode featuring Ted Cassidy's voice as the Hulk. Cassidy passed away at the tragically young age of 46 on January 16, 1979, and was replaced by noted character actor Charles Napier (Adam from "The Way to Eden" among his many roles). In honor of Cassidy, his unforgettable narration of the main title was used for the remainder of the series. Napier will guest star in TIH episodes "The Slam" & "Triangle"--double duty for the busy actor.
Ironic that Woodward's character said he was in Dallas, since that's where the actor would end up--on the landmark CBS drama Dallas, starting in 1980 for what would be an eight year run as Punk Anderson.
Setting up the antagonist is important, but the Westco gas station restroom sign--
--was pushing it. Westco's on-screen actions & reputation were more than enough to sell all things evil without that added touch. We get it--they're the Bad Oil Company! Unfortunately,, since the 1970s, innumerable TV series have used the Bad Oil Company plot device.
Ray mentions "Sherman and Harris, Attorneys at Law" -- another in-joke reference to TIH writer / producers Jill Sherman & Karen Harris.
I will get into a full season 2 wrap-up in another post.
GUEST CAST:
Morgan Woodward (Ben Madrid) --to Trekkers, he holds a place in the guest star Hall of Fame for Star Trek appearances as the rattled Dr. Simon van Gelder in"Dagger of the Mind" and Captain Ronald Tracey--the well matched, villainous opposite of Kirk in "The Omega Glory".
Other fantasy credits:
- Steve Canyon (NBC, 1958) - "Operation Towline"
- Tarzan (NBC, 1968) - "King of the Dwsari"
- Planet of the Apes (CBS, 1974) - "The Horse Race"
- Logan's Run (CBS, 1977-1978) - "Logan's Run" (pilot movie) "The Judas Goat" & "Carousel" recurring as Morgan
- Project U.F.O. (NBC, 1978) - "Sighting 4009: The French Incident"
- Battle Beyond the Stars (New World Pictures, 1980)
- The X-Files (FOX, 1995) - "Aubrey"
- Millennium (FOX, 1997) - "Force Majeure"
- Wonder Woman (ABC, 1976) - "Fausta, The Nazi Wonder Woman"
- His Wife's Habit aka Women and Bloody Terror (Howco International Pictures, 1970)
- Shazam! (CBS, 1974) - "The Lure of the Lost"
- The Six Million Dollar Man (ABC, 1977) - "The Ghostly Teletype"
- Dead of Night (Dan Curtis Productions, 1977) - "Second Chance" segment
- The Fantastic Journey (NBC, 1977) - "An Act of Love" & "Funhouse"
- My Favorite Martian (CBS, 1963, 1965) - "Raffles No. 2", "Martin of the Movies" & "The O'Hara Caper" - obviously, his first part opposite Bill Bixby
- Tarzan (NBC, 1967) - "Basil of the Bulge", "Mask of Rona", "Algie B. for Brave", & "Tiger, Tiger!" - all as different characters
- Rod Serling's Night Gallery (NBC, 1970) - "The Housekeeper"
- The Munsters Today (Syndicated, 1988 - 1991) series regular - as Grandpa Vladimir Dracula
If the five-digit numbers in that episode list that I found online are the actual production numbers, then this episode (50712) would seem to be a holdover from earlier in Season 2--Evidently, its production would have fallen between "Stop the Presses" and "Alice in Disco Land". Noteworthy piece of supporting evidence: Though McGee features prominently in the story and there's plentiful opportunity (especially with that phone call from David), at no point is the "John Doe" angle referenced, as "Mystery Man" would be several episodes in the future.
The same list would seem to indicate that we're due for a couple of pieces of leftover late-Season 2 business early in Season 3: "Blind Rage" and "The Slam".
The same list would seem to indicate that we're due for a couple of pieces of leftover late-Season 2 business early in Season 3: "Blind Rage" and "The Slam".
In the category of Lists I Didn't Think to Compile: Episodes that begin with David on the road.
And we get a peak inside the Incredible Duffel Bag as David tends to shaving business!
Another List I Didn't Think to Compile: Incidents in which David is knocked out to bypass a plot-inconvenient Hulk-Out.
Doesn't make McGee's journalism cred look very good that he balks at the opportunity to cover a real story.
I never noticed that Bantam is an anagram for Batman.
-27:37, with a really cheesy instance of flames superimposed over one of the stock shots. And why the heck isn't McGee there? He was present for the announcement that they'd found Ray and Cassie's hideout.
Moonshine-brewing good ol' boys and a crooked oil baron in the same episode--a probably unintentional shout-out to TIH's then-emerging CBS Friday night lineup buddies....
-8:54...notably on the early side for SHOs. And if this episode does take place before "Mystery Man," then I'd have to add the Westco security guard who's standing over David with his back turned to the Really Clueless Folk list, on the same grounds as the cabbie in "Terror in Times Square".
But given the similarity of the terrain, I think this otherwise-unconnected Lonely Man sequence might have been filmed for the episode.
Ah...didn't know any of that.
I didn't even see that as having anything to do with Westco specifically. I'd have to be pretty desperate to drink from a gas station restroom sink.
As will I, with my season-end tallies!
That would explain why the bad phone connection kept them from recognizing each other's voices. It would've been nice if they had, if "John Doe" had reached out to McGee with the information and they'd had a real conversation again. But I guess the bad connection was also necessary so McGee would misunderstand and be at the refinery. It's also weird that he totally missed a Hulk appearance and instead just had a hand in wrapping up the Westco/Ben Madrid storyline.
So which episode was the actual last one produced for the season? I know season finales at the time were rarely any different from an ordinary episode, but this one does seem kind of anticlimactic. It's not bad, but nothing special. It's kind of contrived how David keeps getting stuck with the Floyds. Ray is too single-minded in his quest, and Cassie is just there to be vulnerable and needy. Really, the stuff with Madrid, McGee, and Westco is kind of more interesting. Or at least more dominant. It's surprising how much the Hulk is sidelined in a climax that's driven more by Madrid and Fielding.
I can't think of another example of that offhand.
The Hulk is a real story, and he's the only one who recognizes it as such. And he was hot on the trail (more than he knew).
I could certainly have done without the hillbilly stereotypes.
That would seem to be "The Quiet Room," the last with a 507 number (50740). The episodes listed under Season 3 all have 530 numbers (with Season 3 opener "Metamorphosis" being the true first episode of the season at 53001).
I know it's happened at least a couple of other times...including the karate chop to the back of the neck last week.
*******
And now, because nobody demanded it...Season-End Tallies!
***
Hulk-Out Times
Season 1
Average First Hulk-Out (adjusted to include "Of Guilt, Models and Murder"): -28:06
Average Second Hulk-Out: -7:07
Season 2
Average FHO: -30:17 (You can see where multiple plot-driven early Hulk-Outs have an effect on the average.)
Average SHO: -6:54
Overall Average for Seasons 1 and 2:
FHO: -29:34
SHO: -6:58
Overall Earliest FHO: "Of Guilt, Models and Murder," -43:26 (pre-episode HO conveyed in flashback, but otherwise in line with other plot-driven early FHOs)
Overall Latest FHO: "The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas," -22:38
Overall Earliest SHO: "Escape from Los Santos," -10:12
Overall Latest SHO: "Haunted," -3:56
***
What's David Doing in Town?
Cure-related business: 12
Implicitly cure-related business: 1
Paying lip service to cure-related business: 2 (Note that this category may prove to be an artifact of Season 1, as there have been no instances in Season 2)
Just schlepping around: 17
***
Running List of Aliases
David Bailey
David Balin
David Baron
David Barrett
David Barton (x3)
David Baxter
David Beeman
David Benchley
David Benson
David Benton (x2)
David Bernard
David Bishop
David Blaine
David Blake
David Blakeman
David Bradburn
David Braemer
David Brennan
David Brown (x2)
David Burnett
David Butler
Dr. Benton
John Doe
Ted Hammond
Littman
Dr. Patterson
None (x6)
***
People Who Find Out David's the Hulk and Live to Not Tell About It
Julie Griffith and Michael ("Death in the Family")
Thomas Logan ("Rainbow's End")
Mark Hollinger ("A Child in Need")
Li Sung ("Another Path"; died in second appearance)
Michael Roark ("The Disciple")
Dr. Gabrielle White(cloud) ("Kindred Spirits")
***
Really Clueless Folk Who Don't Make the Connection
Cab Driver ("Terror in Times Square")
Denise and Kevin ("747")
Holly Cooper ("Escape from Los Santos")
Westco Security Guard? ("Vendetta Road")
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Next week's pre-episode post will include news events and some musical highlights from the Summer of '79.
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Oh, yeah, it was very commercially successfully-- just very bad. Toot toot! Beep beep!
Interesting. If this all bears out, I wonder why "Vendetta Road" was held over until the end of the season.
...and this time, David managed to keep the same bag--I'm guessing he retrieved it 9off-camera) from Ray and Cassie's dune buggy.
Ahh. Yes, i've wondered how many times that has prevented what would be a guaranteed Hulk-out.
Agreed--but this season has presented McGee not caring about much of any story other than the Hulk. Since "Mystery Man" told us he sees the Hulk as his claim to fame, it makes sense that he would not want anything to do with the Floyd/Westco story.
That's the BS nature of CBS: at the dawn of the 1970s, networks (primarily CBS) initiated the infamous "Rural Purge" of all country-themed sitcoms (no matter how highly rated many were at the time) in favor of targeting a younger and allegedly "sophisticated" demographic (hence the heavy presence of Norman Lear & MTM sitcoms in the wake of the "Purge"). However, by the end of the decade, CBS was the leader in programming two of the biggest southern-themed series of that period of TV with Dallas, The Dukes of Hazzard (and eventually its spinoff Enos) and by 1980, greenlitt Flo--the spinoff of Alice.
Agreed.
Cassidy's mood-setting contribution to TIH is rarely as considered as much as the principal cast or the showrunners.
Still, I've never visited a gas station bathroom posting such a "drink and you end up in hole" type of sign. I think it was just to add to the uncaring, corrupt picture painted of Westco.
The accuracy of the production numbers is also supported by the couple of Season 1 holdovers that we got early in Season 2, which had the distinctive Season 1 opening credits.
The most interesting aspects of the production list are (a) it would seem that the series was shot as four seasons, not five (not counting the pilots as a separate season); and (b) the last episodes of the series production-wise were the two parts of "The First", which aired in Season 4. Of course, looking at the airdate seasons, seasons 4 and 5 are each short, and really would make about a single season's worth of material. I think they're sold as a single season on DVD, as well.
Here's the list:
The most interesting aspects of the production list are (a) it would seem that the series was shot as four seasons, not five (not counting the pilots as a separate season); and (b) the last episodes of the series production-wise were the two parts of "The First", which aired in Season 4. Of course, looking at the airdate seasons, seasons 4 and 5 are each short, and really would make about a single season's worth of material. I think they're sold as a single season on DVD, as well.
Here's the list:
Wow, those are staggeringly out of order. I wonder why they rearranged them so much. With something like Star Trek: TOS, episodes were rearranged for various reasons, but often it was due to post-production delays, with episodes involving particularly elaborate optical effects (i.e. visual effects created in post-production like miniatures, mattes, animation, transporter beams, etc.) being delayed more than others. But this show doesn't have much in the way of opticals aside from close-ups on David's face during metamorphoses, which are usually stock footage anyway by this point. Most of its effects are practical -- makeup or physical effects done during shooting. So I can't see a production reason why so many episodes would be delayed so enormously. It must've been done for some other reason.
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Land of the Giants: "Manhunt": This feels like an early episode, since the giants barely speak, and since there seems to be more of a crew/passenger divide among the characters than there generally is, as if they haven't gotten to know each other very well yet. Anyway, it's sort of a typical episode with a fairly simple situation that the "Little People" have to spend a lot of time resolving due to their limitations in this environment. I wish it had been a little clearer whether it was okay to root for the escaped convict or not. Sure, he helped the crew in payback for them helping him, but how serious was his crime? The fact that they didn't establish him as a political prisoner fleeing from the totalitarian regime, and thus worthy of sympathy, further suggests that this is an early episode.
The Time Tunnel: "Revenge of the Gods": I found this to be the weakest one yet. It's an anemic retelling of the Trojan War with only a few characters, with John Doucette's "Ulysses" as the commander instead of Menelaus or Agamemnon -- and not only do they leave out most of the characters, they add a new one, Joseph Ruskin's traitorous Sardis, who defects to Troy and gets to utter Laocoön's famous "I fear Greeks even when they bear gifts" line. Now, given how deep the Trojan War was in the mists of time, I could buy the reality being unlike the myths, but Tony and Doug's memory of the myths is presented as being absolutely accurate foreknowledge of history, enough to convince Ulysses (who's far more gullible and less wily than the "real" one) that they're gods -- even though they mistakenly use the Roman names for all the gods instead of the Greek ones.
And how bizarre is Tony and Doug's behavior? They just blithely tell people what the future holds without any concern for the effects on the timeline, and they're perfectly okay with using future knowledge to trick people into thinking they're gods. (Although I guess they're just taking Winston Zeddemore's advice there.) Plus they're fine with taking sides and helping the Greeks win. They're really incredibly careless with history -- although maybe they've figured out by now that you can't rewrite history (not one line!) so it doesn't matter what they do.
The sequence with Sgt. Jiggs being sent back in time is particularly bizarre. First off, talk about historical recklessness -- sending a machine gun and grenades to the Trojan War? Egads. And sending Jiggs and successfully bringing him back sets an unfortunate precedent -- it makes it harder to justify their inability to bring Doug and Tony back. And the bit where they had trouble bringing Jiggs back and he came out really old was bizarre. The Time Tunnel extends to infinity? What? So it's not just in an underground complex, it's a portal to another dimension where it stretches infinitely? How did it get that long? Who built it? (Or maybe the physical tunnel is finite and connects to an infinite time vortex that they treat as a continuation of it.) And are we supposed to think that Jiggs came back far into the tunnel sometime in the past and spent decades walking toward the exit? How did he not starve to death? And how come only his mustache grew and not his beard or hair? Weird stuff.
The Trojan Horse/sack of Troy footage was from Robert Wise's Helen of Troy. I'm not sure if the rest of the battle footage was as well.
Planet of the Apes: "The Surgeon": It's Ape Hospital, guest starring Dr. Rudy Wells and Dr. Roger Korby! Actually a pretty decent episode, still continuing the theme of apes relearning superior human knowledge, but this time the apes actually get to be fairly intelligent and science-minded in their own right, just not as far along. It's hard to reconcile the relative advancement here with the profound primitivism of the apes in the past few episodes. But I suppose we could assume that Central City hoards its knowledge and keeps the provinces in ignorance.
Jacqueline Scott (returning after playing the farmer's wife in "The Good Seeds," and best known as Richard Kimble's sister in The Fugitive) does a good job as Galen's ex-fiancee, and Kira is a pretty well-written character. I enjoy her exchanges with Galen. Galen gets a terrific line -- "I had a horrible accident. I collided with the truth."
At this point, we're halfway through the series. It would be nice if it could keep up this level of quality, but I'm pretty sure it won't.
You missed an Ahhhhh in there.Oh, yeah, it was very commercially successfully-- just very bad. Toot toot! Beep beep!
Land of the Giants: "Manhunt"--
Dan Erikson shows his leadership skills (and knowledge of the potential of the Spindrift) in this episode. The risk of losing the Earthling's only means of escape was felt throughout the episode.
This is one of the few times the Spindrift miniature will be clearly seen. There were two miniatures--one with internal lighting, and one without--the latter for the kind of rough handling seen in this episode, "Shell Game" and in parts of "The Crash". Originally, Allen was going to recycle the Jupiter 2 miniature to serve as the LOTG ship, but thankfully, some level headed intervention by its designers, LOTG art directors Jack Martin Smith & Rodger Maus.
Dan Erikson shows his leadership skills (and knowledge of the potential of the Spindrift) in this episode. The risk of losing the Earthling's only means of escape was felt throughout the episode.
This is one of the few times the Spindrift miniature will be clearly seen. There were two miniatures--one with internal lighting, and one without--the latter for the kind of rough handling seen in this episode, "Shell Game" and in parts of "The Crash". Originally, Allen was going to recycle the Jupiter 2 miniature to serve as the LOTG ship, but thankfully, some level headed intervention by its designers, LOTG art directors Jack Martin Smith & Rodger Maus.
Fantastic. That means I'm starting to forget it. Maybe if I listen to "On The Radio" a few more times I'll finally be free.
Tonight, on the Season 3 premiere of The Incredible Hulk:
"Metamorphosis"
Originally aired September 21, 1979
Events in the news during the summer hiatus:
Some musical highlights from the Summer of '79 (and yeah, there were choices to be made, some good stuff didn't make it):
"One Way or Another," Blondie
(#24 US; #298 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)
"Good Times," Chic
(#1 US; #28 AC; #3 Dance; #1 R&B; #5 UK; #224 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)
"My Sharona," The Knack
(#1 US; #6 UK; #1 on Billboard's Year-End Chart for 1979; At #1 for the fifth of six weeks when tonight's episode aired)
"Let's Go," The Cars
(#14 US; #51 UK)
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," Michael Jackson
(#1 US; #2 Dance; #1 R&B; #3 UK)
*
"Metamorphosis"
Originally aired September 21, 1979
Events in the news during the summer hiatus:
Some musical highlights from the Summer of '79 (and yeah, there were choices to be made, some good stuff didn't make it):
"One Way or Another," Blondie
(#24 US; #298 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)
"Good Times," Chic
(#1 US; #28 AC; #3 Dance; #1 R&B; #5 UK; #224 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time)
"My Sharona," The Knack
(#1 US; #6 UK; #1 on Billboard's Year-End Chart for 1979; At #1 for the fifth of six weeks when tonight's episode aired)
"Let's Go," The Cars
(#14 US; #51 UK)
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," Michael Jackson
(#1 US; #2 Dance; #1 R&B; #3 UK)
Be patient, it's coming....Maybe if I listen to "On The Radio" a few more times I'll finally be free.
*
Be patient, it's coming....
This is another mostly painful batch for me, although The Knack gives evidence that change is ahead (despite being a one-album wonder). And "Let's Go" is pretty good for The Cars-- that's another one that reminds me of my "Ring My Bell" girl.
