MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
Prison labor camp episodes would be more closely associated with Cool Hand Luke (1967), which they're probably all riffing upon. DS9 even did an episode that featured Sisko having to endure a hotbox.
Maybe one of the many lists you're keeping should be a list of the movie homages The Incredible Hulk does -- aside from the first-season episodes that were actually built around movie footage. Let's see, off the top of my head, I know there's a Most Dangerous Game knockoff at some point, and "Prometheus" is pretty clearly a riff on The Andromeda Strain.
Feel free to compile it if you want...I've got enough of that going on myself. 
Overall, though, I'd say that something like that wouldn't be as series-specific...it's pretty common for TV shows of all stripes to knock off popular films.
Overall, though, I'd say that something like that wouldn't be as series-specific...it's pretty common for TV shows of all stripes to knock off popular films.
Yeah, but Kenneth Johnson did it a lot. For instance, The Bionic Woman's "Doomsday is Tomorrow" pretty blatantly ripped off HAL from 2001 and maybe drew on Colossus: The Forbin Project to an extent. And not just films -- Johnson's V was pretty clearly influenced by Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End in its portrayal of the giant alien ships hovering over cities, while mainly being a sci-fi take on the novel It Can't Happen Here.
Similarly, Alec Guinness had to endure a hotbox in Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) . . . . in another prison labor camp story.
Well, "The Slam" was a pretty generic corrupt-prison episode, and Marc Alaimo's warden was way too exaggeratedly crazy. And the portrayal of David's Hulk-out triggers is rather odd. For most of the episode, he's startlingly non-metamorphic; falling down a hill doesn't trigger it (though it's done so in the past), having part of a bridge fall on him doesn't do it (ditto), being in a hotbox for apparently several weeks (judging from McGee's line) doesn't do it, being stabbed rather badly in the leg with a shovel doesn't do it... and yet two seconds of being beaten under a blanket is enough to set it off. Whaaa?
The Hulk's actions are a little confusing too. Did he leave Blake in the road as a deliberate trap for the guards? That kind of strategic thinking doesn't seem like him. And it's weird that he ran off and then came back just in time to knock down the guards, as if he went "Oh, that's right, I forgot to stop the bad guys" and turned around. (Though it's better than last week, where he just ran off midway through the climax while his friend was still in danger.)
Okay, so it's got Charles Napier and Marc Alaimo, but they're both being pretty much what you'd expect of them. Come to think of it... evil, mildly deranged commandant of a facility that relies on prisoner labor... this was sort of training for Alaimo to play Gul Dukat later in life.
The Hulk's actions are a little confusing too. Did he leave Blake in the road as a deliberate trap for the guards? That kind of strategic thinking doesn't seem like him. And it's weird that he ran off and then came back just in time to knock down the guards, as if he went "Oh, that's right, I forgot to stop the bad guys" and turned around. (Though it's better than last week, where he just ran off midway through the climax while his friend was still in danger.)
Okay, so it's got Charles Napier and Marc Alaimo, but they're both being pretty much what you'd expect of them. Come to think of it... evil, mildly deranged commandant of a facility that relies on prisoner labor... this was sort of training for Alaimo to play Gul Dukat later in life.
"The Slam"--
David is in handcuffs--in custody of the Jensen Sheriff's Department, and on his way to a labor camp for several inflated charges.
Sheriff: "There it is. Jensen County Work Camp. You were guilty, you know. Destruction of private
property... "
David: "The fence was already broken down."
Sheriff: "Trespassing."
David: "The property wasn't posted."
Sheriff: "What about the theft? Deputy Wilkes had you red handed there, right?"
David: (sighs) "...an apple. I picked an apple. I was hungry."
Sheriff: "Vagrancy."
David: "Alright, technically, I might be guilty, but I had no representation at my..........trial."
Sheriff: "You're a lot better off than if we'd put you away all nice and legal."
David: "What do you mean by that?"
Sheriff: "I may not look like much now...and I may not be much now, but I can still spot a man on the run. And you're on the run. If we'd done it right--checked your record and fingerprints, well, then who knows what we would dig up? Am I right? Yeah, I'm right. You know, this way, you just do 60 days. It ain't long. You're young. Tough. It'll go quick. "
David is processed and given the inmate number "1124". He meets the camp's warden--Captain Holt, who obsessively talks about the importance of discipline, rigidity of the system & soldiers needing a certain kind leadership--a point made while looking at framed photos of Robert E. Lee and Napoleon Bonaparte. The harsh system is enforced by Rader--his second in command--who demands nothing less than absolute submission. This is challenged by the tough stoicism of inmate John Blake--released from a small "hot box"--but ignoring Rader's demands for recognition.
Blake's bruises are treated by inmate "Doc" Alden, with David helping by breaking up salt in water to speed up recovery from exhaustion--
Doc: "Where did you learn that salt trick?"
David: "Basic first aid for heat exhaustion."
Doc: "Never heard of it. There's a lot of things i never heard of."
David: "I thought...um...Blake called you doc?"
Doc: "Oh no, I give out a lot of aspirins..patch you up the best way I know how, but I ain't no doctor. Can't read the one first aid book I got! Don't much chance for schoolin' when you spend half your life in in the slam. How long you in for?"
David: "60 days."
Doc: "Short timer. Figures. Probably got you on a petty bum rap too, right?"
David: "You could say that."
Doc: "Yeah, that's the way they do it in this county. Prison is good business."
David: "Can't anybody do anything about that?"
Doc: "First off, whose gonna believe a con? And second, its all on paper--nice and legal."
Prisoner transport trucks return, dropping off several chain-gang inmates. Do explains that many of the young men are also in on "bum raps"--and used as forced labor (for Holt & the sheriff's profit) for local companies and farmers--the "good business" Doc referred to.
Two inmates associates of Blake's--Harris & Roth--discuss their planned escape when David innocently walks by; Harris & Roth want to silence David (by any means necessary, but Blake has another plan--take Banner with them....
The next day, Banner, Blake and others are on the chain-gang, clearing a road; one Holt's "customers" gives Rader an envelope full of money as a payment for the free labor. Blake takes notice of that--echoing what Doc told David earlier,, but reminds Banner of his new job--escaping with him; David argues that he cannot risk escaping, but Blake will hear none of that--adding he will be the first to escape and live to talk about it.
As the food truck arrives, a fight breaks out--the signal for Banner, Blake, Harris and Roth to make their escape through the woods, but they do not make it far--Holt and his guards (tipped off) calmly emerge from the brush.Blake grabs Holt, threatening to brake his neck if the guards don't drop their weapons & cuff themselves to each other.
Strangely, Harris & Roth resist assisting Blake, and remain behind as David & Blake (still joined by ankle chains) run off; the duo cross a makeshift plank bridge & crash through, which knocks out Blake. David struggles to free himself, but is confronted by a rattlesnake, which wastes no time, biting Banner...finally triggering a Hulk-out--and the snake sent on a flight to parts unknown. The Hulk carries Blake to the road, and leaves, just as Holt's jeep find the unconscious man. Before Holt can collect Blake, the Hulk--watching from a tree--jumps down, the mere sight of him sending the guards running in panic. The creature pushes the jeep down a hill, and carries Blake to safety. Temporarily settled, the Hulk returns to David-state just as guards and their tracking dogs locate the duo.
Back at the camp, David & Blake are placed in "hot boxes"; Blake successfully gets under Holt's thin, authority-starved skin through mockery--and a promise to escape. With the help of Blake, David manages to endure the cramped, hot conditions as the days pass. Along the way, Holt complains of the camp subject to investigation--thanks to a guard going to the news media with the truth about Jensen County corrections--inspired by fear from encountering the Hulk. With the looming visit from reporters, David suggests the prisoners form & sign a petition listing their grievances, then slip it to the reporters. Blake agrees, and asks Doc to carry out the plan....
The next day, Banner & Blake are released--threatened with the worst if they defy Holt while the reporters inspect the camp. Doc gives David the petition, which he's willing to hand to the reporters...until Jack McGee steps out of one of the police escort vehicles. As a female reporter tries to interview the inmates, she's interrupted by McGee asking about the Hulk; the woman instantly groans her disapproval--
Reporter: "Knock it off, McGee! We're not here to investigate your Hulk theories!"
McGee: "The guard who spoke to my newspaper said--"
Holt: "That guard was fired for drinking on duty, Mr. McGee."
Blake pressures David to hand the petition to McGee. When David flatly refuses, Blake steps in, only to be blackjacked into unconsciousness by the observing Rader, who confiscates the petition. Eventually, the reporters leave the camp, and Blake is tossed back into the "hot box"--ranting.
In Holt's office, the captain offers David a clerk's job and reduced sentence if he becomes an informant. David rejects the offer, instead, stating he will finish serving his sentence. To punish David, Rader "thanks" David for "that help out there"--leading the other inmates to think he's betrayed them. Predictably, the inmates abuse Banner--opening the door for Rader to make another offer. Banner rejects it again, and soon spots Rader paying Harris--the true informant. David tells the now cold & disbelieving Doc the truth. To drive the point home, David spins an escape tale that only he, Doc and Harris knows. If David is caught executing this plan, Doc will know who the real informant is.
That night, as the guards are already positioned at the gate in anticipation of David's escape (with Doc watching this informant-fed preparation), Harris and the other inmates toss a blanket over Banner's face and beat him, with Harris attempting to strangle him--triggering another Hulk-out. The Hulk turns the tables on Harris--his large hand clutching Harris' throat--sending him flying backward. In short order, the Hulk continues his attack, breaks out of the barracks, and wreaks havoc on the compound, setting Blake free.
Blake rallies the inmates to grab makeshift weapon and march toward the guards, with Holt demanding they return to the barracks--or he will give the command to shoot. Before either side can act, the Hulk uses one of the guards to press the guards against the gate, allowing the inmates to take Holt prisoner. Harris is exposed as the informant, with David assumed to have made his escape. Blake calls the state police...
Days later, David hitches a ride, reading a newspaper headline-
--PRISON OFFICIALS INDICTED--
--with a photo of the now free Blake & Doc, just as he passes another county's prison work crew. Commenting on the newspaper story, the driver points out--
Driver: "That's somethin' ain't it? Ain't got nothing like that in this county. Whole world's topsy turvy. Don't know anymore who's the bad guys, and who's the good guys!"
NOTES:
In real life, penal labor camp abuses did not go out of fashion by the time the 1970s rolled around. Moreover, it was not uncommon to read stories about inmates fighting to see the end of the largely unregulated facilities rife with abuse, so it was not a shock to see TV dramas and movies address this problem from time to time. An interesting side note: in such a bleak, repeatedly threatening situation, David--unlike Blake, Doc or anyone else--had the ability to break out anytime he desired, and with the sheriff telling him they did not run his prints/record, there would no "David Banner" trail about a man who really was nothing more than a number. Clearly, he is meant to be of the highest character that he never uses his power for his own benefit.
This is not a cure-related episode.
Notice the effective camera tracking illustrating the hierarchy of the camp (as Holt lays out the order of things)--beginning with the framed photos of Lee, to Holt's hat, badge, to finally focus on David's inmate number tag.
Important continuity about the realities of David's travels--just as we have witnessed him arrested before ("Escape from Los Santos") and forced to pick trash for redeemable bottles ("No Escape"), we see David arrested and sent to a work camp. No easy rides through life. However, he gets a break when the sheriff informs him that a traditional legal process would have run his fingerprints...a that creates a very different episode, as we will see late in this third season's "A Rock and a Hard Place". In that episode, I believe Banner is arrested & fingerprinted--the results could be worse for Banner when a cop says, "Congratulations. We arrested a dead man--doctor David Banner."
Nice "He's gonna transform" fake-outs @ & 27:34 & 28:00
The Hulk is intelligent to create attack strategies by waiting to jump down from a tree.
McGee mentions that the Hulk was seen "weeks ago." On that note. aside from "The Incredible Hulk", "The Waterfront Story" and "Married", "The Slam" could be the most time Banner spent in any one location.
GUEST CAST:
By the time Charles Napier (John Blake) made this first physical appearance on TIH, he was well into his job of replacing the late Ted Cassidy as the Hulk's growls. Napier's fantasy credits begin with his unforgettable performance as the naive, musically gifted Adam from TOS' "The Way to Eden" (NBC, 1969) and continued with--
This episode featured two James Bond villains--
Julius Harris (Doc Alden) was the metal claw-wielding Tee Hee in Roger Moore's debut, Live and Let Die (UA, 1973), and everyone's favorite screen villain Robert Davi (Rader) as drug lord Franz Sanchez from Timothy Dalton's second (and final) turn as Bond, License to Kill (UA, 1989).
Additional Harris credits--
David is in handcuffs--in custody of the Jensen Sheriff's Department, and on his way to a labor camp for several inflated charges.
Sheriff: "There it is. Jensen County Work Camp. You were guilty, you know. Destruction of private
property... "
David: "The fence was already broken down."
Sheriff: "Trespassing."
David: "The property wasn't posted."
Sheriff: "What about the theft? Deputy Wilkes had you red handed there, right?"
David: (sighs) "...an apple. I picked an apple. I was hungry."
Sheriff: "Vagrancy."
David: "Alright, technically, I might be guilty, but I had no representation at my..........trial."
Sheriff: "You're a lot better off than if we'd put you away all nice and legal."
David: "What do you mean by that?"
Sheriff: "I may not look like much now...and I may not be much now, but I can still spot a man on the run. And you're on the run. If we'd done it right--checked your record and fingerprints, well, then who knows what we would dig up? Am I right? Yeah, I'm right. You know, this way, you just do 60 days. It ain't long. You're young. Tough. It'll go quick. "
David is processed and given the inmate number "1124". He meets the camp's warden--Captain Holt, who obsessively talks about the importance of discipline, rigidity of the system & soldiers needing a certain kind leadership--a point made while looking at framed photos of Robert E. Lee and Napoleon Bonaparte. The harsh system is enforced by Rader--his second in command--who demands nothing less than absolute submission. This is challenged by the tough stoicism of inmate John Blake--released from a small "hot box"--but ignoring Rader's demands for recognition.
Blake's bruises are treated by inmate "Doc" Alden, with David helping by breaking up salt in water to speed up recovery from exhaustion--
Doc: "Where did you learn that salt trick?"
David: "Basic first aid for heat exhaustion."
Doc: "Never heard of it. There's a lot of things i never heard of."
David: "I thought...um...Blake called you doc?"
Doc: "Oh no, I give out a lot of aspirins..patch you up the best way I know how, but I ain't no doctor. Can't read the one first aid book I got! Don't much chance for schoolin' when you spend half your life in in the slam. How long you in for?"
David: "60 days."
Doc: "Short timer. Figures. Probably got you on a petty bum rap too, right?"
David: "You could say that."
Doc: "Yeah, that's the way they do it in this county. Prison is good business."
David: "Can't anybody do anything about that?"
Doc: "First off, whose gonna believe a con? And second, its all on paper--nice and legal."
Prisoner transport trucks return, dropping off several chain-gang inmates. Do explains that many of the young men are also in on "bum raps"--and used as forced labor (for Holt & the sheriff's profit) for local companies and farmers--the "good business" Doc referred to.
Two inmates associates of Blake's--Harris & Roth--discuss their planned escape when David innocently walks by; Harris & Roth want to silence David (by any means necessary, but Blake has another plan--take Banner with them....
The next day, Banner, Blake and others are on the chain-gang, clearing a road; one Holt's "customers" gives Rader an envelope full of money as a payment for the free labor. Blake takes notice of that--echoing what Doc told David earlier,, but reminds Banner of his new job--escaping with him; David argues that he cannot risk escaping, but Blake will hear none of that--adding he will be the first to escape and live to talk about it.
As the food truck arrives, a fight breaks out--the signal for Banner, Blake, Harris and Roth to make their escape through the woods, but they do not make it far--Holt and his guards (tipped off) calmly emerge from the brush.Blake grabs Holt, threatening to brake his neck if the guards don't drop their weapons & cuff themselves to each other.
Strangely, Harris & Roth resist assisting Blake, and remain behind as David & Blake (still joined by ankle chains) run off; the duo cross a makeshift plank bridge & crash through, which knocks out Blake. David struggles to free himself, but is confronted by a rattlesnake, which wastes no time, biting Banner...finally triggering a Hulk-out--and the snake sent on a flight to parts unknown. The Hulk carries Blake to the road, and leaves, just as Holt's jeep find the unconscious man. Before Holt can collect Blake, the Hulk--watching from a tree--jumps down, the mere sight of him sending the guards running in panic. The creature pushes the jeep down a hill, and carries Blake to safety. Temporarily settled, the Hulk returns to David-state just as guards and their tracking dogs locate the duo.
Back at the camp, David & Blake are placed in "hot boxes"; Blake successfully gets under Holt's thin, authority-starved skin through mockery--and a promise to escape. With the help of Blake, David manages to endure the cramped, hot conditions as the days pass. Along the way, Holt complains of the camp subject to investigation--thanks to a guard going to the news media with the truth about Jensen County corrections--inspired by fear from encountering the Hulk. With the looming visit from reporters, David suggests the prisoners form & sign a petition listing their grievances, then slip it to the reporters. Blake agrees, and asks Doc to carry out the plan....
The next day, Banner & Blake are released--threatened with the worst if they defy Holt while the reporters inspect the camp. Doc gives David the petition, which he's willing to hand to the reporters...until Jack McGee steps out of one of the police escort vehicles. As a female reporter tries to interview the inmates, she's interrupted by McGee asking about the Hulk; the woman instantly groans her disapproval--
Reporter: "Knock it off, McGee! We're not here to investigate your Hulk theories!"
McGee: "The guard who spoke to my newspaper said--"
Holt: "That guard was fired for drinking on duty, Mr. McGee."
Blake pressures David to hand the petition to McGee. When David flatly refuses, Blake steps in, only to be blackjacked into unconsciousness by the observing Rader, who confiscates the petition. Eventually, the reporters leave the camp, and Blake is tossed back into the "hot box"--ranting.
In Holt's office, the captain offers David a clerk's job and reduced sentence if he becomes an informant. David rejects the offer, instead, stating he will finish serving his sentence. To punish David, Rader "thanks" David for "that help out there"--leading the other inmates to think he's betrayed them. Predictably, the inmates abuse Banner--opening the door for Rader to make another offer. Banner rejects it again, and soon spots Rader paying Harris--the true informant. David tells the now cold & disbelieving Doc the truth. To drive the point home, David spins an escape tale that only he, Doc and Harris knows. If David is caught executing this plan, Doc will know who the real informant is.
That night, as the guards are already positioned at the gate in anticipation of David's escape (with Doc watching this informant-fed preparation), Harris and the other inmates toss a blanket over Banner's face and beat him, with Harris attempting to strangle him--triggering another Hulk-out. The Hulk turns the tables on Harris--his large hand clutching Harris' throat--sending him flying backward. In short order, the Hulk continues his attack, breaks out of the barracks, and wreaks havoc on the compound, setting Blake free.
Blake rallies the inmates to grab makeshift weapon and march toward the guards, with Holt demanding they return to the barracks--or he will give the command to shoot. Before either side can act, the Hulk uses one of the guards to press the guards against the gate, allowing the inmates to take Holt prisoner. Harris is exposed as the informant, with David assumed to have made his escape. Blake calls the state police...
Days later, David hitches a ride, reading a newspaper headline-
--PRISON OFFICIALS INDICTED--
--with a photo of the now free Blake & Doc, just as he passes another county's prison work crew. Commenting on the newspaper story, the driver points out--
Driver: "That's somethin' ain't it? Ain't got nothing like that in this county. Whole world's topsy turvy. Don't know anymore who's the bad guys, and who's the good guys!"
NOTES:
In real life, penal labor camp abuses did not go out of fashion by the time the 1970s rolled around. Moreover, it was not uncommon to read stories about inmates fighting to see the end of the largely unregulated facilities rife with abuse, so it was not a shock to see TV dramas and movies address this problem from time to time. An interesting side note: in such a bleak, repeatedly threatening situation, David--unlike Blake, Doc or anyone else--had the ability to break out anytime he desired, and with the sheriff telling him they did not run his prints/record, there would no "David Banner" trail about a man who really was nothing more than a number. Clearly, he is meant to be of the highest character that he never uses his power for his own benefit.
This is not a cure-related episode.
Notice the effective camera tracking illustrating the hierarchy of the camp (as Holt lays out the order of things)--beginning with the framed photos of Lee, to Holt's hat, badge, to finally focus on David's inmate number tag.
Important continuity about the realities of David's travels--just as we have witnessed him arrested before ("Escape from Los Santos") and forced to pick trash for redeemable bottles ("No Escape"), we see David arrested and sent to a work camp. No easy rides through life. However, he gets a break when the sheriff informs him that a traditional legal process would have run his fingerprints...a that creates a very different episode, as we will see late in this third season's "A Rock and a Hard Place". In that episode, I believe Banner is arrested & fingerprinted--the results could be worse for Banner when a cop says, "Congratulations. We arrested a dead man--doctor David Banner."
Nice "He's gonna transform" fake-outs @ & 27:34 & 28:00
The Hulk is intelligent to create attack strategies by waiting to jump down from a tree.
McGee mentions that the Hulk was seen "weeks ago." On that note. aside from "The Incredible Hulk", "The Waterfront Story" and "Married", "The Slam" could be the most time Banner spent in any one location.
GUEST CAST:
By the time Charles Napier (John Blake) made this first physical appearance on TIH, he was well into his job of replacing the late Ted Cassidy as the Hulk's growls. Napier's fantasy credits begin with his unforgettable performance as the naive, musically gifted Adam from TOS' "The Way to Eden" (NBC, 1969) and continued with--
- Alien Attack (ITC, 1976) - Two episodes of Space:1999 ("Breakaway" & "War Games") were combined to make this "movie".
- The Incredible Hulk (CBS, 1981) - "Triangle"
- Tales of the Gold Monkey (ABC, 1983) - "High Stakes Lady"
- Body Count (Overseas Film Group, 1986)
- Deep Space (TransWorld, 1988)
- The Incredible Hulk Returns (NBC, 1988)
- Alien from the Deep (Dania Film, 1989)
- Future Zone (Winters Hollywood Entertainment Holdings Corporation, 1990)
- Maniac Cop 2 (Medusa Pictures, 1990)
- Frogtown II (York Pictures, Inc. 1992)
- Body Bags (Showtime, 1993)
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (ABC, 1995) - "Target: Jimmy Olsen"
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (syndicated, 1995) - "Little Green Men"
- The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (Cartoon Network, 1996) - "Without a Trace"
- Alien Species (American Interactive Pictures, 1996)
- Steel (Warner Brothers, 1997)
- Superman: The Animated Series (Kids WB, 1997-2000) -"The Prometheon", "Legacy" & "Legacy: Part II" - recurring as General Hardcastle"
- Men in Black: The Series (Kids' WB, 1997-2001) - recurring as Zed
- Roswell (WB, 2000) - "Summer of '47"
- The Legend of Tarzan (ABC, 2001) - "Tarzan and the Poisoned River: Part 2"
- The Mummy: Secrets of the Medjai (Kids WB, 2003) - "Like Father, Like Son"
- Dinocroc (New Concorde Home Entertainment, 2004)
- Justice League Unlimited (Kids WB, 2004) - "Fearful Symmetry" - as General Hardcastle
- The Batman (WB, 2005) - "The Laughing Cats"
- Life Blood (August Heart Entertainment, 2009)
- The Time Tunnel (ABC, 1966-67) - recurring as James Darren's stuntman
- Star Trek (NBC, 1968) - "Day of the Dove"
- The Immortal (ABC, 1970) - "Sylvia"
- The Mephisto Waltz (20th Century Fox, 1971)
- Blacula (AIP, 1972)
- Search (NBC, 1972-73)
- Westworld (MGM, 1973)
- Satan's School for Girls (ABC, 1973)
- Kolchak: The Night Stalker (ABC, 1974) - "The Ripper"
- The Night That Panicked America (ABC, 1975)
- Future Cop (ABC, 1976) - Pilot
- The Bionic Woman (ABC / NBC, 1976-77) - "Angel of Mercy", "Jamie's Shield", "Jamie's Shield: Part 2" & "Brain Wash"
- The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries (ABC, 1978) - "Game Plan"
- Battlestar Galactica (ABC, 1978) - "Fire in Space"
- C.H.O.M.P.S. (AIP, 1979)
- Galactica: 1980 (ABC, 1980) - "Galactica Discovers the Earth: Part 1" (later used as part of the TV "movie" Conquest of the Earth)
- TRON (Buena Vista, 1982)
- The Powers of Matthew Star (NBC, 1982-83) - "Mother" & "Dead Man's Hand"
- V (the series; NBC, 1984) - "The Deception" & "Reflections in Terror"
- Something is Out There (NBC, 1988)
- Captain America (21st Century Film Corporation, 1990)
- Tales from the Crypt (HBO, 1990-92) - 5 episodes
- Vampire in Brooklyn (Paramount, 1995)
- Mars Attacks! (Paramount, 1996)
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Universal, 1997)
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB, 1998) - "Innocence"
- NetForce (ABC, 1999)
- Jason X (New Line Cinema, 2001)
- Daredevil (20th Century Fox, 2003)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC, 2014-15) - "Shadows" & "A Wanted (Inhu)Man"
- Fantastic Four (20th Century Fox, 2015)
- Independence Day: Resurgence (20th Century Fox, 2016)
This episode featured two James Bond villains--
Julius Harris (Doc Alden) was the metal claw-wielding Tee Hee in Roger Moore's debut, Live and Let Die (UA, 1973), and everyone's favorite screen villain Robert Davi (Rader) as drug lord Franz Sanchez from Timothy Dalton's second (and final) turn as Bond, License to Kill (UA, 1989).
Additional Harris credits--
- King Kong (Paramount, 1976)
- The Fat Albert Christmas Special (CBS, 1977)
- Full Moon High (Filmways Pictures, 1981)
- Voyagers! (NBC, 1982) - "The Travels of Marco...and Friends"
- The Enchanted (Ocean Entertainment, 1984)
- Amazing Stories (NBC, 1985) - "Mr. Magic"
- Friday the 13th - The Series (Syndicated, 1989) - "The Butcher"
- Darkman (Renaissance Pictures, 1990)
- Prayer of the Rollerboys (Academy, 1990)
- Grave Secrets: The Legacy of Hilltop Drive (Freyda Rothstein Productions, 1992)
- Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (NEO Motion Pictures, 1993) - co-starring Robert Davi
- The Burning Zone (UPN, 1996) - "The Silent Tower"
- The Powers of Matthew Star (NBC, 1982) - "The Italian Caper"
- Bring 'Em Back Alive (CBS, 1982) - "The Shadow Women of Chung Tai"
- The Goonies (Warner Brothers, 1985)
- Peacemaker (Gibraltar Entertainment, 1990)
- Maniac Cop 2 (Medusa Pictures, 1990)
- Predator 2 (20th Century Fox, 1990)
- Maniac Cop 3: Badge of Silence (NEO Motion Pictures, 1993) - co-starring Julius Harris
- VR.5 (FOX, 1995) - "Simon's Choice"
- Night Trap (Prism Pictures, 1993)
- Cyber Vengeance (Second Alarm Film Partnership, 1997)
- Batman Beyond (Kids WB, 1999) - "Heroes" - as Magma / Dr. Mike Morgan
- The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Peakviewing Transatlantic Productions, 2001)
- Soulkeeper (2001)
- Stargate Atlantis (SciFi Channel, 2004-08) 6 episodes as Commander Acastus Koyla
- Swamp Shark (Active Entertainment, 2011)
- Asteroid vs. Earth (The Asylum, 2014)
- Awaken (7Heaven Productions, 2015)
- Sicilian Vampire (In Your Ear Productions, 2015)
Sort of an attention-grabbing in medias res situation...they spared us seeing the set-up firsthand. And they address that the police didn't try to identify him (which will be a plot point in a later episode, though I'm not sure why David's fingerprints would be on file).
Which I'm adding to the short list of non-David B. aliases, for shits and giggles.
Gul
-26:28.
Definitely on the side of being one of the more ineffectual FHO's...can't have David escaping this early in the episode.
You'd think that giving David a reputation as a fink wouldn't make him very useful spy.
I wasn't under the impression that David actually planned to attempt the escape...he just planned for what Doc actually witnessed, preparation by the guards that was confirmation of who the informant was.
-06:57. And the assorted inmates join the list of Really Clueless Folk. I didn't think it would be much of a thing once John Doe was in play, but they make a point of showing us that those inmates didn't manage to put two and two together in that situation, when Blake asks where David is and nobody mentions that he turned into that green creature.
On that note...while the production number would seem to indicate that this one was produced a bit after the conclusion of "Mystery Man," notice that the Doe angle doesn't come up in McGee's scene.
A situation that definitely strained credibility...far too many cheesily-dubbed excuses for all those guards with rifles not getting off a single shot. And then there's...
Yeah, that made me do a Netflix-assisted double-take..."Wait, didn't he leave?" Since when does the Hulk circle back?
But he doesn't even have Tarzan's command of pronouns. "Hulk Hulk, Betty Betty" doesn't quite work.
Didn't catch that reference, but I doubt it was supposed to be weeks. Days, maybe. But I can see that not triggering a Hulk-Out...it's more a matter of long-term endurance and suffering than a sudden, dramatic stimulus.
Was he? I was wondering about the timing of that, since this episode appears to have been produced in Season 2.
I was definitely planning to shout that one out if you didn't.
Not to mention a major recurring role in a series that we have an entire forum dedicated to. What was that guy's name again...?
Thank you!
Next week: Timmy pays Uncle Martin a visit.
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Yes. Obviously there was no actual escape plan; his yarn relied on him having "friends on the outside," and we all know that's not true. Plus he was injured and couldn't escape anyway.
Maybe they're embarrassed to admit what they did?
It was in both the opening preview and the episode proper. McGee asked about the giant that assisted in the escape "a few weeks back." And the editing implied that David was in the box the whole time from the escape to McGee's arrival. Which was probably not the intent, but that's what's screwed up about it.
Remember, nightmares can trigger a Hulk-out. They can be caused by overwhelming anxiety. Being stuck in a hot box for days would be rather traumatic, and I'm sure his sleep would be fitful at best.
But he needs that added ingredient to experience a Hulk-Out: the plot.
That's exactly the problem. The plot was shoddily constructed, putting him in multiple situations that should've triggered a metamorphosis but didn't, and then setting his final metamorphosis off with ludicrous ease (although that could be more the fault of the editing than the plotting). The plot is not automatically a defense, because the plot is something we're entitled to critique.
Maybe they woke him up from a dream in which he was trying to save Laura from a burning car and the operator asked for 25 cents.
Kind of a mixed bag this week. "Highway to Hell" and "I Need A Lover" are both good (and Pat Benatar would do a really nice version of "I Need A Lover" in the near future). "Enough Is Enough"-- meh. Generic disco. I'd probably be able to tolerate it better if it was just Donna with no Barbra.
"Escape" is a cute novelty number, I guess. "Take The Long Way Home" and "Goodbye, Stranger" are both pretty sweet (especially "Goodbye, Stranger").
David was in the military, so he would have fingerprints on file. Moreover, even in that period, police inquiries could pull up any available information on a person, particularly if you have any government records.
Well, it was another name he had to use...along with "fink".
They're in forced, close contact, so its not as though the others had the luxury of complete isolation from Banner. A spy takes any information (even if its ultimately flimsy) and reports back to his benefactors.
Probably--either way, David's plan did prove his innocence.
The John Doe idea only exists for McGee (this will be explored in an upcoming McGee-centric episode), or the few who know David's problem. The inmates would have no idea, and once Banner Hulks out, who else will believe them? It might not be fair, but the default position is that they are convicts, and thus untrustworthy. Like many who encounter the Hulk, the official story is that some "thing" was roaming around the camp. Even today, if someone said "Look--we saw this guy change into a giant, green creature!" the best they should expect is to be turned into an ass on Twitter & YouTube.
Understandable, since he cannot assume anyone witnessed anything other than the Hulk running around.
He did not leave the camp--if we can assume the Hulk knows who his enemies are, then we can conclude he just circled back to finish his attack.
You know, in every medium, that caveman-talk never worked for me. He was more expressive in the 1966 Marvel Superheroes animated episodes, but most adaptations end up using that "Me Hulk" / "Hulk smash!" script, and its...eh...
That's what I referred to about David having the ability to escape whenever he wanted--but he did not. He was determined to serve his sentence.
That depends on the accuracy of those production numbers, as touched on a couple of weeks ago.
Not the best of Moore, but License to Kill was the high-mark for Dalton.
Hmm...Darmok? Finnegan? Wesley?
A lighter break, to be sure, and a chance for Bixby to show off some of the magic skills he actually learned for The Magician.
Recall what Banner said to Joleen--
David: "My problem. It's gamma radiation poisoning. Extreme emotion--any kind--rage, frustration, fear, anger...I don't know...they somehow seem to provoke a molecular change...a cellular generation that's uncontrollable. An actual reversion to the primal state."
David accepted his imprisonment--he did not try to escape--or Hulk out do so when he had every opportunity to do so. Although Banner's record was not run, he did not want to add to his troubles. That's why he did not want to run off with Blake. The "hot box" was grueling, but not--in his mind--cause for rage, frustration, fear or anger.
Maybe he could have given a speech on "hope" and altered the corrupted minds of Holt and cronies to change in the wink of an eye..things like that seem to work on other series, sooo....
That hasn't been established, has it? We've debated whether his mentions of being an army medic were true or just cover.
If you knew who you were looking for. But other than fingerprints, what would police all over the country in that era have on file that would tell them that the random vagrant they just picked up was a scientist who was supposed to have died in a lab explosion a couple of years back?
It's not a matter of being believed after the fact, it's that they clearly didn't make the connection in the moment, or somebody would have said something about it somewhere among the cheesy expository dubbed dialogue that was so prevalent in the climax. It's part of a pattern we've seen with the other Really Clueless Folk, where even being in physical contact with David when he changes doesn't allow people to put 2 plus 2 together, if they couldn't see him / weren't looking at him when it happened. Out of sight, out of mind. You throw a blanket on a guy, start beating him up, the guy who comes out from under the blanket is a giant, green creature, and everyone is clueless as to where that giant green creature came from, and where David went.
But in other post-"Mystery Man" episodes, it becomes common for McGee to ask people whether they've seen a man fitting John Doe's general description.
Huh...I didn't realize that the episode was an homage to two of Bixby's former roles. Was planning to touch upon this next week, but as a kid watching the episode, I didn't even get the My Favorite Martian connection, as I hadn't seen the show at that point. Makes you wonder why they didn't go all the way and make it "The Courtship of My Favorite Magician"?
On the other hand, think about the profession featured next week: magicians. David Copperfield, Harry Blackstone, and other celebrity magicians were fairly popular around this time. Plenty of people had seen magic shows where a person or animal in a box or under a sheet appeared to transform into a different person or animal. But most spectators of such things don't believe that one actually transformed into the other; they recognize that some clever illusionist just switched one out for the other in a way they don't understand. So people who see David inexplicably replaced by the Hulk might be more likely to believe the same thing happened here -- that the two were somehow swapped out in a mysterious way -- than that one actually transformed into the other. Both seem impossible, but TV and stage magicians appeared to routinely pull off the former impossibility, so I can understand why people might choose to believe that was what happened, instead of believing the even more impossible notion that a person transformed into a monster.
So..."It's magic!" If I had to rationalize it, I'd give them a blanket pass for simply not understanding what the heck was up with the green guy showing up. But falling back on that as part of the formula again and again is just weak writing. There's a bit more plausible deniability when, say, some no-goods toss David into a back room or down some stairs and out comes the creature.
"Blanket pass" -- heh.
Here's a thought: They crept up on David in the dark and threw the blanket over him. So they didn't get a good look at him beforehand. So maybe they assumed afterward that the big green guy had already taken David's place in the bed and they just mistook him for David in the dark.
But it can get just as contrived that they always end up throwing him out of sight. Or that he always clumsily injures himself when trying to race to someone's rescue. Even in first run, even when an era when such formulaic contrivances in action shows were common, this show was criticized for such contrivances. It was better than the run-of-the-mill superhero/adventure shows in many ways, but it was still obligated by its network bosses to conform to a regular formula of two Hulk appearances per episode. And the writers and producers didn't always come up with plausible or fresh ways to meet that obligation.
