MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night

The Old Mixer · Dec 23, 2016

Christmas Eve, on The Incredible Hulk:

"It's a Wonderful Hulk"
Should have aired December 24, 1982

When David "Bailey" contemplates suicide, a strange sorcerer shows him what the world would be like if he'd never become the creature. Special guest: Peter Hooten.

(Wait, that's not right....)

"The Snare"
Originally aired December 7, 1979

After being invited to a remote island, David becomes the quarry of a psychotic hunter.

Events in the news the week the episode aired:

December 3

The Who concert disaster: eleven fans are killed during a crowd crush for unreserved seats before The Who rock concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati.

The United States dollar exchange rate with the Deutsche Mark falls to 1.7079 DM, the all-time low so far; this record is not broken until November 5, 1987.

December 4 – The Hastie fire in Kingston upon Hull, England, leads to the deaths of 3 boys and begins the hunt for Bruce George Peter Lee, the UK's most prolific killer.
December 5 – Jack Lynch resigns as Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland; he is succeeded by Charles Haughey.
December 6 – The world premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

"Thank you, Mr. Scott."

New on the U.S. charts that week:

"The Second Time Around," Shalamar
(#8 US; #47 AC; #1 Dance; #1 R&B; #45 UK)

"The Long Run," Eagles
(#8 US; #34 AC; #66 UK)

"With You I'm Born Again," Billy Preston & Syreeta
(#4 US; #2 AC; #86 R&B; #2 UK)

(If you guys would like to post early under the circumstances, I'm game.)

Christopher · Dec 23, 2016

Oh, man, the Who concert disaster. One of the biggest tragedies to hit the Cincinnati area while I was growing up here, along with the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire, another incident involving inadequate safety procedures for crowded entertainment venues. They even did a WKRP in Cincinnati episode about it just a couple of months later, in an effort to call attention to the dangers of festival seating.

RJDiogenes · Dec 23, 2016

The Old Building & Loan said:
Christmas Eve, on The Incredible Hulk:

"It's a Wonderful Hulk"
Should have aired December 24, 1982

(Wait, that's not right....)

Ripping off It's A Wonderful Life would have been more appropriate than ripping off "The Most Dangerous Game." :rommie:

The Who concert disaster: eleven fans are killed during a crowd crush for unreserved seats before The Who rock concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati.

Boy, that was awful.

December 6 – The world premiere of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is held at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

This makes me wonder when I actually saw it. I know I saw it in Connecticut with my best friend, but if it premiered that close to Christmas, I may not have actually seen it until January 1980.

New on the U.S. charts that week:

"The Second Time Around," Shalamar

I don't remember that one at all.

"The Long Run," Eagles

The Eagles are basically over at this point.

"With You I'm Born Again," Billy Preston & Syreeta

More late 70s elevator music. Slow week. :rommie:

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 23, 2016

The Old Building & Loan said:
Events in the news the week the episode aired:

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"Thank you, Mr. Scott."

Also known as Getting off on the Wrong Foot--Big Time: The Motion Picture. Thankfully, the Star Trek movies would live to see superior days.

New on the U.S. charts that week:

"The Second Time Around," Shalamar

Shalamar. If only a memory wipe for certain careers existed...and while we're at it, ST: TMP....

"The Long Run," Eagles

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(#8 US; #34 AC; #66 UK)

The title song of the Eagles' last studio album. Unlike so many acts, the group went out on a high note, both critically & commercially. Rare achievement. Aside from the many memorable tracks on The Long Run, it is also known for the album version of "In the City," the Walsh/DeVorzon composition originally created/recorded as the end credits music for Walter Hill's storied 1979 gang drama, The Warriors.

Film version--

Album version--

"With You I'm Born Again," Billy Preston & Syreeta
(#4 US; #2 AC; #86 R&B; #2 UK)

The low years of Preston's troubled life. Gone were the days of working with The Beatles, and his early 70s hits such as Outa-Space, Will it Go Round in Circles and Nothing from Nothing. At this point, the Syreeta duet was a spiraling fall from his glory years.

Christopher · Dec 23, 2016

The Old Building & Loan said:
(If you guys would like to post early under the circumstances, I'm game.)

Oh, all right...

“The Snare”: TIH does The Most Dangerous Game, like many TV shows before it. Still, as tireworn and imitative premises go, this version is pretty well executed, and having the hunter luck into the opportunity to hunt the Hulk adds a twist, even if not much is done with it. Bradford Dillman actually pulls off the suave-but-crazed hunter character with more nuance than Leslie Banks did as Count Zaroff in the original, though that’s not saying much.

But this is an unusually action-driven and dialogue-light episode of the show, an opportunity for Frank Orsatti to get a workout both as director and Bixby’s stunt double. Both he and Dillman’s double Charlie Picerni are easily recognizable in some shots.

If ever there were a story where you’d think David would welcome the metamorphosis, this is the one. They’re alone on the island, so there’s no one else who could get hurt, and Sutton is a monster whom David would be entitled to use any means necessary to stop. But it’s interesting how Sutton’s eager desire to bring out the monster gives David a reason to refuse to give him the satisfaction. And it’s nice that the Hulk shows compassion and tries to save him in spite of everything. Although we’d earlier seen the Hulk save a couple of baby birds, so they were really playing up his essential innocence here.

This might count as the second time in a row that both the Hulk-outs are witnessed, although the first case is iffy, since the actual change happened out of Sutton’s direct view and he deduced what had occurred -- making him smarter than most of the bystanders in this show.

Another solid Harnell score, with Sutton getting his own bad-guy theme that plays effectively off the various David/Hulk themes -- especially in the closing shot, where the Lonely Man theme on piano modulates into one last ominous statement of Sutton’s theme before the fadeout. David may have survived, it says, but the impact of Sutton’s evil lingers. (At least until next week, when it’s completely forgotten.)

The Old Mixer · Dec 24, 2016

Christopher said:
TIH does The Most Dangerous Game, like many TV shows before it. Still, as tireworn and imitative premises go, this version is pretty well executed

Yeah, but I much prefer episodes that put David in an interesting situation, or have some sort of interesting hook, to the default formula of having David wandering into somebody else's story. And David gets an honest-to-gosh adversary in this one...somebody who really challenges him. It's also fairly unusual for David to only interact with one other character for an entire episode.

But as for his purpose for being in the episode...David "Bennet" (oh, so close) is technically Just Schlepping Around.

and having the hunter luck into the opportunity to hunt the Hulk adds a twist, even if not much is done with it.

I always got the impression that his newfound obsession with the Hulk was making him a bit careless, culminating in his death by his own hand.

This might count as the second time in a row that both the Hulk-outs are witnessed

-28:37 and -05:13. For the latter, I counted the moment when we heard a slight growl before the usual audio cue.

although the first case is iffy, since the actual change happened out of Sutton’s direct view and he deduced what had occurred -- making him smarter than most of the bystanders in this show.

Indeed! As I progress further into the series, I think I'm going to drop the Really Clueless Folk list, as the distinction has become meaningless. Pretty much nobody makes the connection no matter how obvious it is.

It was also an unusual touch to dramatically go to a commercial break immediately following a transformation.

And while we had good story reasons for an ineffectual FHO, given that the creature was within striking distance of his foe, you think he'd have "gone for the kill," figuratively speaking, instead of just running off.

Another recurring bit of business that I'm noticing as the series goes on is how the show-makers seemed to think that they needed to throw in random sources of additional pain, as if getting beat up and thrown around or otherwise being in great stress or danger wasn't enough to trigger a change...the scorpion here, broken glass in a closet, being thrown into a patch of cactus plants...it can get a bit Three Stooges.

It was clever of David to suspect a parting trap from beyond the grave. And so we get Lonely Man on a Boat. I have to wonder how he gets off the island. You'd think the pilot was an accomplice, and a rowboat on the open sea doesn't seem like a great idea.

Christopher · Dec 24, 2016

The Old Building & Loan said:
Another recurring bit of business that I'm noticing as the series goes on is how the show-makers seemed to think that they needed to throw in random sources of additional pain, as if getting beat up and thrown around or otherwise being in great stress or danger wasn't enough to trigger a change...the scorpion here, broken glass in a closet, being thrown into a patch of cactus plants...it can get a bit Three Stooges.

Yeah, the overdependence on pain as the trigger becomes really evident on a binge rewatch. And yet when it comes up in dialogue, as in "Prometheus," David still says it's triggered by anger, or "sometimes" pain. So their insistence on always throwing in some gratuitous source of pain or injury was odd.

On the other hand, though, Bixby's performance for David has become very quiet and subdued as a rule; you can see that, for the most part, he's learned not to let himself be easily provoked. (Maybe Li Sung's meditation lessons did some good after all.) So maybe they felt that anger or desperation alone wasn't enough to overcome his self-control. Still, there were too many cases where the extra pain trigger seemed redundant, like a habit they couldn't break.

I have to wonder how he gets off the island. You'd think the pilot was an accomplice, and a rowboat on the open sea doesn't seem like a great idea.

I believe Sutton said earlier that they were a short flight from the mainland, maybe a couple of hours by boat.

The Old Mixer · Dec 24, 2016

I wouldn't want to try to cross Long Island Sound or Lake Michigan in a freaking rowboat.

Christopher · Dec 24, 2016

The Old Building & Loan said:
I wouldn't want to try to cross Long Island Sound or Lake Michigan in a freaking rowboat.

Lots of people have covered wider expanses of ocean in comparably small craft, like the ancient Polynesians. Besides, if the rowboat capsized, presumably David would Hulk out and power-swim to shore.

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 24, 2016

"The Snare"--

A private jet from Sutton Industries jet makes an unscheduled landing at an airport. Its passenger--Michael Sutton--enters the waiting area and immediately takes notice of David Bennet (on his way to Miami) playing a newspaper chess game. Noting that David is making incorrect moves, Sutton warms up to David by breaking out his own chessboard, and playing against Banner. Sutton, a former stock broker, has been so successful, he quit and bought himself island property, as he prefers solitude. David wins the game, which seems to irritate the confident Sutton. Still, the man is impressed with David, and invites him to spend a little time on his island. David reluctantly agrees.

After landing on the island (which, as Sutton explains, used to be a presidential retreat in the 1930s), the host begins to reveal a few questionable details about himself--specifically his being a hunter who imported animals all to be the quarry of his own hunting grounds.

The two settle in at Sutton's eye-opening retreat, with David taking notice of the animal trophies filling the room, floor to ceiling--and Sutton studying David. That evening, David's senses continue to find a new edge, as he learns he's eating rattlesnake, and wonders why Sutton took his picture. All of that is rather meaningless when he succumbs to drugged wine....

Morning--David finds himself in a grave with a tape recorder looped around his neck--

Sutton recording: "Good morning, David. You're still on the island, quite a distance from the house. As you can guess from your hangover, I drugged you last night. But I hope you're well rested. You'll be needing every bit of energy you have..."

In the grave, David finds a crude headstone marked "David Bennet" while Sutton prepares his weapons for the hunt--

Sutton recording: "..now in your grave, you'll find a bag, with food and flint. As to the rules, David, there are none. You see, I became bored with hunting animals. That's why I prefer to hunt men. You have an intellect--that's what makes you a challenge. Oh, and David...if it helps, think of chess...like in chess, think twice in everything you do, because unlike chess, when this game's over, the board can't be set up again."

David overcomes several dangerous obstacles and traps, but finally falls into one of Sutton's pits. David struggles to escape (while Sutton watches with binoculars) but falls in pain from the sting of a scorpion, causing a Hulk-out. Sutton is stunned by the sight of the Hulk--and the idea of a man transforming into the giant creature. Without hesitation, he pursues the Hulk, but when caught off guard, the Hulk unearths the root of a tree, causing the tree to fall on Sutton. The Hulk eventually rests some distance away, transforming back to Banner. As Banner, he watches Sutton doing something to a boat at one of the island's numerous docks, then races back to the house, only to hit a trip wire, activating metal shutters to seal off every window. Once again, the Sutton's voice taunts David--

Sutton recording: "Very good! Considering that you're part animal, you've come far! You have my admiration. As you see, it won't be quite as easy to get out, as it was to get in. But you might like to know that so far, you've behaved just like any other animal: you headed straight for food. Now, there a few things you should know about this room--for instance, hidden among the items you need to survive is a key to the window at the right of the giraffe. Needless to say, there are several traps you will have to avoid in order to get that key. But everything you need is somewhere in this room: clothing, food...and weapons. And one last thing--here, as in competition chess--you'll have a limited amount of time to make your moves. At the end of five minutes, I shall enter for a most literal end game. So consider this a perfect chance to see how well you work under pressure. Good luck...and begin!"

David finds a hidden key (and a tape recorder), sets off yet another would-be deadly trap at one of the windows, and makes his escape--right as Sutton loads his weapon for the desired kill. Sutton is too late, but is both elated and angered by the chance of a lifetime running into the woods--

Sutton: "I saw that beast you turn into, David! Unbelievable!! What was it? How do you do it?? It was magnificent, David! Magnificent!! Make it come back. YOU HEAR ME, DAVID--MAKE IT COME BACK!! Make it...make it come back...and fight."

David continues his race across the massive property. Sutton methodically preps (what can be assumed to be) his finest crossbow (white arrows for the hunt, poison-tipped arrows for the kill), while his mind jumps back to every moment since meeting David--comparing him to animals he's hunted in the past...

Hours drag on. David stays one step ahead of Sutton, but along the way. uses his own study of Sutton's inflated ego to rattle the man--

David recording: "You have no right to call yourself a hunter, Sutton. A real hunter plays a fair game. You're a coward. You're afraid of a fair game. You only care about winning. That's all you want out of life--isn't it, Sutton? To win? Can't you hear me, Sutton?"

Sutton: "Much better, David!!"

Sutton's tracking ability slips--failing to notice Banner hiding in the waters only a few feet in front of him. David's survivalist spirit only fuels Sutton--

Sutton: "David? Why does it happen to you, David? Are you like an animal? I know what makes an animal attack...you get past his fear zone, so he won't run away...and then you enter his attack zone, so he'll stay and fight! What does it take to push you, David?? Is it fear? Pain? What??"

David lures Sutton into one of his own snares, hanging the hunter by his ankle, but he quickly cuts himself down before David can move in for the end game.

Eventually, Sutton corners David near a cliff's edge--

Sutton: "David!"
David: "Alright, the game's gone on long enough--its over!"
Sutton: "Oh, nooo! No--no!! Not quite yet! You haven't turned into that beast! That's what I'm after now!! I saw it happen in the pit, David! Please...let me kill it! Make it happen again? No?"

Interesting how David nods a "No" instead of saying it--as if putting it into words confirms the secret.

Sutton: "Then I'll make it happen. I'll find it! Your...animal. I don't think its fear that makes it happen...then how about...pain?"

Sutton begins to whip David, and Banner takes more punishment than one would imagine, but in the conflict, both fall--Sutton's leg punctured by one of his poisoned arrows. David reaches his breaking point, Hulks out in front of the hunter--

Sutton: "Fantastic..."

...for a moment, the Hulk prepares to crush Sutton with a boulder, but tosses it away when he notices the poisoned man no longer posing a threat. Sutton loses his footing, and falls to his death.

Though angry, the Hulk recovers Sutton's corpse, and as Banner, buries the man in the grave intended for him, even going so far as to use the same makeshift grave marker...

At one of the docks, David carefully inspects the boat; finding one more tape recorder, he places it on the dock, then rows away--after pressing "play" to hear a posthumous, would-be victory message from the hunter--

Sutton recording: "Check and mate...heh heh ha. You've won. Unfortunately, I can't congratulate you in person. My defeat--no doubt--was total, but rest assured, there are no ill feelings....no...I wish you always good hunting."

The tape recorder explodes, obliterating the dock, as David rows to freedom.

NOTES:

This is not a cure-related episode.

Jack McGee does not appear in this episode.

David faced many threats is his time as a fugitive, but none came so close to ending his life. Several of Sutton's traps would have inflicted injury beyond the Hulk's recuperative powers, which is why David Banner's intellect and cunning truly won the day--and his survival (more than the Hulk) against a master strategist.

I will not waste too much time to comparing this to the Connell story, as it usually leads to tired, and often misapplied notions about alleged similarities, so I will conclude that this episode took on a life of its own, above all other reasons because the Banner character is a natural force for good, and does not hold questionable views on life as the original story's "hero" (Rainsford), so there's no moral ambiguity in place to justify actions this hero never explores.

Recycled music: during the bird scene, the music written for David & Laura Banner's romantic history (from the pilot) is adapted for this episode.

A unique Lonely Man departure concludes this episode, and will not be used/seen again.

GUEST CAST:

Bradford Dillman (Michael Sutton) troubled two of DC & Marvel's TV heroes of the 70's--here and in the Wonder Woman episode, "Wonder Woman Meets Baroness Von Gunther" (ABC, 1976).

Other fantasy roles--

Kraft Mystery Theatre (NBC, 1963) - "Catch Fear by the Throat"
Monstrosity (Emerson Film Enterprises, 1963) - aka The Atomic Brain
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (NBC, 1963 / '64) - "To Catch a Butterfly" & "Isabel"
Fear No Evil (NBC, 1969) - the failed pilot focusing on a paranormal investigator.
The Mephisto Waltz (Fox, 1971)
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (Fox, 1971) - as Dr. Lewis Dixon
Brother John (Columbia, 1971)
The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (Gold Key Enterprises, 1971)
Revenge! (ABC, 1971)
Rod Serling's Night Gallery (NBC, 1971) - "Pickman's Model" as Richard Upton Pickman
The Eyes of Charles Sand (ABC, 1972)
The Sixth Sense (ABC, 1972) - "Face of Ice"
Moon of the Wolf (ABC, 1972)
The ABC Afternoon Playbreak (ABC, 1974) - "Last Bride of Salem"
A Black Ribbon for Deborah (Paola Film, 1974)
Chosen Survivors (Columbia, 1974)
The Disappearance of Flight 412 (ABC, 1974)
Bug (Paramount, 1975)
The Wide World of Mystery (ABC, 1975) - "Demon, Demon" & "Please Call it Murder"
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home (Universal TV, 1978)
Piranha (New World Pictures, 1978)
Treasure of the Amazon (Star World Productions, 1985)
Lords of the Deep (Concorde, 1989)

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 24, 2016

The Old Building & Loan said:
I always got the impression that his newfound obsession with the Hulk was making him a bit careless, culminating in his death by his own hand.

That was the case--once he witnessed the transformation, his interest skrocketed from not just hunting an intelligent man--but a "man-beast" with no equal (as far as he knew) in earth history. His dialogue is increasingly fevered--angry and begging to kill the Hulk, thus his fatal leg wound.

Another recurring bit of business that I'm noticing as the series goes on is how the show-makers seemed to think that they needed to throw in random sources of additional pain, as if getting beat up and thrown around or otherwise being in great stress or danger wasn't enough to trigger a change...the scorpion here, broken glass in a closet, being thrown into a patch of cactus plants...it can get a bit Three Stooges.

It is necessary to point that out because in series history, he's suffered other, occasionally violent accidents, but did not transform. Since the series hard-established that his triggers come from any number of sources (sadness, loss, failure, injury, threat of murder, animals, etc.), the PTB could not allow the latecomers to think his triggers were all centered on one type of action or event. The fall into the pit would not turn him, but a scorpion sting to the neck was another matter.

It was clever of David to suspect a parting trap from beyond the grave.

Living up to Sutton's initial assessment of Banner's intellect.

The Old Mixer · Dec 24, 2016

TREK_GOD_1 said:
It is necessary to point that out because in series history, he's suffered other, occasionally violent accidents, but did not transform.

But he's also been known to transform from much more minor physical injury...in one case, rolling down a hill into a tree...and from high stress/anxiety alone, like the payphone and cab incidents. My memory of those makes the random additional sources of injury seem all the more gratuitous.

The Old Mixer · Dec 24, 2016

Some Yuletide offerings from the period of the show:

"Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy," David Bowie & Bing Crosby

"Christmas Time," Ray Charles

"Wonderful Christmastime," Paul McCartney

"Twelve Days of Christmas," John Denver & The Muppets

"Christmas Wrapping," The Waitresses

TREK_GOD_1 · Dec 24, 2016

The Wings Christmas song was inescapable that year; you could switch to any station, and it was there. Of course, McCartney being the one of--if not the biggest selling music artist of the decade--had much to do with the nonstop airplay.

The Old Mixer · Dec 24, 2016

It gets a lot of airplay these days, too...it's definitely become a classic. Exhibit A, something that somebody posted in GTD:

The Crosby/Bowie combo is especially poignant with Bowie having passed away early this year.

Greg Cox · Dec 24, 2016

Wait. They're preempting Svengoolie to run a Yule Log (!!!) for a couple of hours?

The Old Mixer · Dec 24, 2016

Maybe it's a local affiliate thing? Svengoolie is on the website's schedule.

Greg Cox · Dec 25, 2016

The Old Building & Loan said:
Maybe it's a local affiliate thing? Svengoolie is on the website's schedule.

Interesting. What movie are they supposed to be showing?

The Old Mixer · Dec 25, 2016

The Cat and the Canary, whatever that is.

Greg Cox · Dec 25, 2016

The Old Building & Loan said:
The Cat and the Canary, whatever that is.

Classic old haunted-house comedy that's been remade many times. I'm guessing that they're not showing the original silent version, so probably the 1939 version with Bob Hope. It was actually a big hit back in the 1930s and inspired a follow-up THE GHOST BREAKERS. (I've seen it before so I don't feel too bad about it being preempted by a damn log.)

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