I wonder what would have happened if they had greenlighted the "Black Widow and Daredevil" proposal by the ex-wife of David Bowie...
About That One Time David Bowie’s Wife Almost Made a Black Widow/Daredevil TV Show
MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
About That One Time David Bowie’s Wife Almost Made a Black Widow/Daredevil TV Show
This is nice. A pleasant bounce back after "Tusk," as I recall.
I forgot about this and it's really nice. Dan Fogelberg kind of always gets overlooked, but he wrote some really good stuff.
Well, their best days were behind them.
Man, what a song and what an album. Classic stuff.
Never watched it. The TV adaptations never interested me much. They were never the same characters that I was reading.
Well, that's a plus.
Same album, but they had the multiple singer/songwriter thing going on, so it was the difference between a Lindsey Buckingham song and a Stevie Nicks song.
That's true. My brain seems to classify "Sara" along with later stuff like "Hold Me" and "Gypsy," when they had a bit of a renaissance.
That was the next album, Mirage, from 1982.
I knew that, but my brain has its own way of sorting things.
The Incredible Hulk
"Babalao"--
New Orleans--during the period of Mardi Gras, a frightened woman visits the home of former inmate Tony--now Antoine Moray, the local Babalao (Priest of Ifá). The woman begs for help in escaping encounters with her employer--a politician named Dufarge (implied to be a sexual bondage situation). Mixed in Moray's "help" are reminders that only he possesses the power to help her, using such objects as the Gris-gris and concocting a mojo in connection with spirits that will free her at the right time. Topping off his hokum, Moray dramatically guarantees that he is the only one who can protect her from the spirit of death (the Devil, he alleges). As this is going on, Luke--Moray's henchman--returns, grinning as he overhears Moray conning yet another hapless local.
...of course, the woman leaves $50 in exchange for the Babalao's help...
Moray (and fellow former inmate) Luke see the woman's plight as the opportunity of a lifetime, as a few select photos of Dufarge with the woman promises a sizable payday. All is not well in scam-land, as one of their once loyal suckers--Selene--has taken her grandson to see Dr. Renee DuBois...and her new assistant, David. Moray plans to turn up the heat on DuBois (and his hooked followers) as he fears her medical reality will end his profitable, hand-waving fakery.
At Dr. DuBois' clinic, she tends to the grandson in question--Louie--playing into his beliefs by pretending to ward off an "evil spirit" while he receives a injection to treat rabies (from the bite from a rat). Dr. DuBois uses Selene's superstition--stating the ceremony is only temporary--as a means to get her to bring Louie back for another session. Dr. David Banner is clearly not a fan of her practices...
DuBois: "Alright David, I saw the look that you gave me in there, now you're new around here, and the way i practice medicine might seem a little unusual--"
David: "Medicine? You told Louie voodoo was curing his rabies."
DuBois: "Because they believe in that around here--for blacks and whites alike. Voodoo is a way of life. I use it to attract business...like a pediatrician puts on a clown suit to make the kids feel more comfortable--I'm doing the same thing, David--only its a different costume."
David: "But don't you think by comforting them with myth and superstition you're keeping them from the truth?"
DuBois: "Look, I grew up around here...I've lived in this neighborhood all my life..I've seen people die from a simple voodoo hex--"
David: "Wouldn't you call that um...psychosomatic?"
DuBois: "As a doctor, yes, but tell that to them, and we'll never see another patient. don't you understand, David? Their belief is that strong. Now, I may do some things that seem dishonest, but I've got to win their belief no matter what it takes, or they'll go elsewhere for treatment, and then more will die, like Louie's brother Paul--under the hands of the Babalao."
David: "The Babalao?"
DuBois: "The Babalao is a voodoo priest...with legendary powers. Now, when Paul died of a rat bite, the Babalao told Selene that her grandson was cursed with an evil Loa--"
David: "Loa??"
DuBois: "Spirits--either good or bad. Selene believes that we put Loa in that syringe, not vaccine. What difference does it make if it saves Louie's life? Now they will believe in me, David. Not the Babalao..and then I'll teach them the truth. You understand?"
David: "Yes, I think I do. I'll help as much as I can."
Luke catches Selena and Louie leaving the clinic, and spins a tale of how the Babalao is not too pleased with their seeing a doctor. Selena & Louie are rattled by the lie, but Selena chides him about his role in the death of her other grandson, Paul. Luke is backed off when David shows up with another "mojo" intended for the next treatment session.
At the Babalao's home, Luke suggests they kill Dr. DuBois, but the magic man is not interested in a murder rap...which he quickly points out would be Luke's alone. Instead, Moray will use his "powers" to cause enough trouble to end the threat posed by Renee...and her nurse.
David and Renee return from shopping, noticing several residents hiding away from them as the duo pass by; Renee explains that they are reacting to fears of her challenge to the Babalao, but--as seen earlier--uses her own common magic tricks to attract/comfort potential patients. David wonders why the law cannot be brought against the Babalao, but voodoo is also protected by the Constitution, so anyone is free to practice the religion no matter dubious the practitioner. Soon, DuBois debunks Moray and Luke's scare tactics once preventing the locals from visiting her (including Selena and Louie).
During the continuing Mardi Gras celebrations, David & Renee take in the sights--but as David leaves her side for refreshments, Luke (in a pirate costume) kidnaps the doctor, while a man in a gorilla costume kicks David under a parade float's wheels--triggering a Hulk out. The creature bursts through the float, spots the man in the gorilla costume fearfully climbing a light pole, and pushes it over & through a restaurant window before running off.
After David returns, he discovers Renee's clinic ransacked, gets no help from the police, or the frightened Selene. Elsewhere, McGee arrives, but is disappointed when a local calls out a green "John" far different than one he was expecting...
David moves from one closed door to another--everyone buying into the threats from the Babalao, until he corners Louie, begging for help in finding Renee. Returning to Selene's, David makes one final appeal--
David: "Your grandson's life was in her hands. She saved him. Now Renee's life is in your hands. What will you do for her?"
Speaking of Renee, the doctor is bound to a table at Moray's home, with the charlatan preparing to inject her with a paralyzing drug; He predicts she will be drummed out of business once the locals see her seemingly "cursed" condition. That evening, several residents (including Selena) are in attendance at Moray's ceremonial room, chanting for their Babalao's appearance; thanks to Luke's rigged pyrotechnics and other effects, the Babalao magically appears in front of the captive attendees, instantly exposing the inert body of Dr. DuBois. With that action, the Babalao dramatically begins what is intended to be a ceremony to save DuBois from the Papa LaBas by midnight.
Outside, David and Louie hide in the brush, with David promising to combat the Babalao with reason instead of superstition; inside, the Babalao's scheme for DuBois to "magically" shake off the effects of the drug are not working as scheduled, so he enlists Selene to draw blood from Renee to move things along. As Selene is pressured, David enters the room, openly challenging the Babalao--
David: "Don't listen to him! He has no power over those that defy him!!
Babalao: "Luke--"
David: "Oh--is he your power?!? The great Babalao who commands the spirits needs a guard?? (To the onlookers) You all believe in the power of the Babalao...alright! (Back to Moray) I defy you! Show us your strength--NOW! Right here! Summon the spirits and cast a spell upon me now!"
Moray jerks his arm at a beam, rigged to sparkle...
David: "I'm unharmed."
Babalao: "The power of the Loa cast evil on you, non-believer!
David: "Is that your power? Fireworks? Is that the curse of the spirits, because if it is, WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR!! BECAUSE HE BOUGHT HIS POWER AS YOU CAN BUY HIS POWER IN A MAGIC STORE!!"
The onlookers are agitated...
David: "If he has no faith in himself, why should we have faith in him??"
Luke and another henchman toss a black sheet over David, hustling him to the lobby; Moray--desperate to rebuild his influence, demands Selene stab DuBois to death, to rid them of her "evil," or else he will kill Louie. In the lobby, the restrained David can take no more, and rapidly Hulks out, tossing the henchman through the room, Luke through a window. Avoiding being run through by Moray, the creature sends the fraud crashing into a wall, knocking him out. The Hulk rescues Renee, and as a final act of destruction, kicks Moray's altar through the house's brick foundation.
Days later, the recovered DuBois packs up the voodoo paraphernalia in her office, informing Selene & Louie that Moray and his cronies were arrested for blackmail and fraud. Selene and Louie simply accept Renee for her medical skill sans any voodoo titles or theatrics. As usual, David says his goodbyes, and hits the road.
NOTES:
This is not a cure-related episode.
The story made a point of Dr. DuBois remaking that both black and white residents believe in voodoo (in the wake of her treating Selena and her grandson), which was clearly the episode not wanting to have its guest star come off like a white doctor/heroine "talking down" to minority patients by "string-pulling" their own beliefs.
Breaking/exposing false religions/cults scam artists is curiously one of the most used plot devices in TV history--so much that it is practically a legitimate sub-genre, yet it has not been studied as much as others. As an example, there's been more print & digital pages dedicated to Captain Kirk using logic and a speech to destroy powerful computers than this plot device that in one way or another, has lived through every decade of televised entertainment.
For the second time in his career, Bill Bixby finds himself performing in an episode where the dark arts are practiced. Before butting heads with the Babalao, he worked as a translator for Vincent Price in the Night Gallery episode "Return of the Sorcerer"--
GUEST CAST:
Louise Sorel's (Dr. Renee DuBois) fantasy credits, started in the Final Frontier--
"Babalao"--
New Orleans--during the period of Mardi Gras, a frightened woman visits the home of former inmate Tony--now Antoine Moray, the local Babalao (Priest of Ifá). The woman begs for help in escaping encounters with her employer--a politician named Dufarge (implied to be a sexual bondage situation). Mixed in Moray's "help" are reminders that only he possesses the power to help her, using such objects as the Gris-gris and concocting a mojo in connection with spirits that will free her at the right time. Topping off his hokum, Moray dramatically guarantees that he is the only one who can protect her from the spirit of death (the Devil, he alleges). As this is going on, Luke--Moray's henchman--returns, grinning as he overhears Moray conning yet another hapless local.
...of course, the woman leaves $50 in exchange for the Babalao's help...
Moray (and fellow former inmate) Luke see the woman's plight as the opportunity of a lifetime, as a few select photos of Dufarge with the woman promises a sizable payday. All is not well in scam-land, as one of their once loyal suckers--Selene--has taken her grandson to see Dr. Renee DuBois...and her new assistant, David. Moray plans to turn up the heat on DuBois (and his hooked followers) as he fears her medical reality will end his profitable, hand-waving fakery.
At Dr. DuBois' clinic, she tends to the grandson in question--Louie--playing into his beliefs by pretending to ward off an "evil spirit" while he receives a injection to treat rabies (from the bite from a rat). Dr. DuBois uses Selene's superstition--stating the ceremony is only temporary--as a means to get her to bring Louie back for another session. Dr. David Banner is clearly not a fan of her practices...
DuBois: "Alright David, I saw the look that you gave me in there, now you're new around here, and the way i practice medicine might seem a little unusual--"
David: "Medicine? You told Louie voodoo was curing his rabies."
DuBois: "Because they believe in that around here--for blacks and whites alike. Voodoo is a way of life. I use it to attract business...like a pediatrician puts on a clown suit to make the kids feel more comfortable--I'm doing the same thing, David--only its a different costume."
David: "But don't you think by comforting them with myth and superstition you're keeping them from the truth?"
DuBois: "Look, I grew up around here...I've lived in this neighborhood all my life..I've seen people die from a simple voodoo hex--"
David: "Wouldn't you call that um...psychosomatic?"
DuBois: "As a doctor, yes, but tell that to them, and we'll never see another patient. don't you understand, David? Their belief is that strong. Now, I may do some things that seem dishonest, but I've got to win their belief no matter what it takes, or they'll go elsewhere for treatment, and then more will die, like Louie's brother Paul--under the hands of the Babalao."
David: "The Babalao?"
DuBois: "The Babalao is a voodoo priest...with legendary powers. Now, when Paul died of a rat bite, the Babalao told Selene that her grandson was cursed with an evil Loa--"
David: "Loa??"
DuBois: "Spirits--either good or bad. Selene believes that we put Loa in that syringe, not vaccine. What difference does it make if it saves Louie's life? Now they will believe in me, David. Not the Babalao..and then I'll teach them the truth. You understand?"
David: "Yes, I think I do. I'll help as much as I can."
Luke catches Selena and Louie leaving the clinic, and spins a tale of how the Babalao is not too pleased with their seeing a doctor. Selena & Louie are rattled by the lie, but Selena chides him about his role in the death of her other grandson, Paul. Luke is backed off when David shows up with another "mojo" intended for the next treatment session.
At the Babalao's home, Luke suggests they kill Dr. DuBois, but the magic man is not interested in a murder rap...which he quickly points out would be Luke's alone. Instead, Moray will use his "powers" to cause enough trouble to end the threat posed by Renee...and her nurse.
David and Renee return from shopping, noticing several residents hiding away from them as the duo pass by; Renee explains that they are reacting to fears of her challenge to the Babalao, but--as seen earlier--uses her own common magic tricks to attract/comfort potential patients. David wonders why the law cannot be brought against the Babalao, but voodoo is also protected by the Constitution, so anyone is free to practice the religion no matter dubious the practitioner. Soon, DuBois debunks Moray and Luke's scare tactics once preventing the locals from visiting her (including Selena and Louie).
During the continuing Mardi Gras celebrations, David & Renee take in the sights--but as David leaves her side for refreshments, Luke (in a pirate costume) kidnaps the doctor, while a man in a gorilla costume kicks David under a parade float's wheels--triggering a Hulk out. The creature bursts through the float, spots the man in the gorilla costume fearfully climbing a light pole, and pushes it over & through a restaurant window before running off.
After David returns, he discovers Renee's clinic ransacked, gets no help from the police, or the frightened Selene. Elsewhere, McGee arrives, but is disappointed when a local calls out a green "John" far different than one he was expecting...
David moves from one closed door to another--everyone buying into the threats from the Babalao, until he corners Louie, begging for help in finding Renee. Returning to Selene's, David makes one final appeal--
David: "Your grandson's life was in her hands. She saved him. Now Renee's life is in your hands. What will you do for her?"
Speaking of Renee, the doctor is bound to a table at Moray's home, with the charlatan preparing to inject her with a paralyzing drug; He predicts she will be drummed out of business once the locals see her seemingly "cursed" condition. That evening, several residents (including Selena) are in attendance at Moray's ceremonial room, chanting for their Babalao's appearance; thanks to Luke's rigged pyrotechnics and other effects, the Babalao magically appears in front of the captive attendees, instantly exposing the inert body of Dr. DuBois. With that action, the Babalao dramatically begins what is intended to be a ceremony to save DuBois from the Papa LaBas by midnight.
Outside, David and Louie hide in the brush, with David promising to combat the Babalao with reason instead of superstition; inside, the Babalao's scheme for DuBois to "magically" shake off the effects of the drug are not working as scheduled, so he enlists Selene to draw blood from Renee to move things along. As Selene is pressured, David enters the room, openly challenging the Babalao--
David: "Don't listen to him! He has no power over those that defy him!!
Babalao: "Luke--"
David: "Oh--is he your power?!? The great Babalao who commands the spirits needs a guard?? (To the onlookers) You all believe in the power of the Babalao...alright! (Back to Moray) I defy you! Show us your strength--NOW! Right here! Summon the spirits and cast a spell upon me now!"
Moray jerks his arm at a beam, rigged to sparkle...
David: "I'm unharmed."
Babalao: "The power of the Loa cast evil on you, non-believer!
David: "Is that your power? Fireworks? Is that the curse of the spirits, because if it is, WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR!! BECAUSE HE BOUGHT HIS POWER AS YOU CAN BUY HIS POWER IN A MAGIC STORE!!"
The onlookers are agitated...
David: "If he has no faith in himself, why should we have faith in him??"
Luke and another henchman toss a black sheet over David, hustling him to the lobby; Moray--desperate to rebuild his influence, demands Selene stab DuBois to death, to rid them of her "evil," or else he will kill Louie. In the lobby, the restrained David can take no more, and rapidly Hulks out, tossing the henchman through the room, Luke through a window. Avoiding being run through by Moray, the creature sends the fraud crashing into a wall, knocking him out. The Hulk rescues Renee, and as a final act of destruction, kicks Moray's altar through the house's brick foundation.
Days later, the recovered DuBois packs up the voodoo paraphernalia in her office, informing Selene & Louie that Moray and his cronies were arrested for blackmail and fraud. Selene and Louie simply accept Renee for her medical skill sans any voodoo titles or theatrics. As usual, David says his goodbyes, and hits the road.
NOTES:
This is not a cure-related episode.
The story made a point of Dr. DuBois remaking that both black and white residents believe in voodoo (in the wake of her treating Selena and her grandson), which was clearly the episode not wanting to have its guest star come off like a white doctor/heroine "talking down" to minority patients by "string-pulling" their own beliefs.
Breaking/exposing false religions/cults scam artists is curiously one of the most used plot devices in TV history--so much that it is practically a legitimate sub-genre, yet it has not been studied as much as others. As an example, there's been more print & digital pages dedicated to Captain Kirk using logic and a speech to destroy powerful computers than this plot device that in one way or another, has lived through every decade of televised entertainment.
For the second time in his career, Bill Bixby finds himself performing in an episode where the dark arts are practiced. Before butting heads with the Babalao, he worked as a translator for Vincent Price in the Night Gallery episode "Return of the Sorcerer"--
GUEST CAST:
Louise Sorel's (Dr. Renee DuBois) fantasy credits, started in the Final Frontier--
- Star Trek (NBC, 1969) - "Requiem for Methuselah" - as Rayna Kapec
- Rod Serling's Night Gallery (NBC, 1970/'71) - "The Dead Man" (the 1st regular series episode) & "Pickman's Model" opposite Bradford ("The Snare") Dillman
- Search (NBC, 1972) - "Live Men Tell Tales"
- Circle of Fear (NBC, 1973) - "The Ghost of Potter's Field"
- The Wide World of Mystery (ABC, 1973) - "Nightmare Step"
- The Mark of Zorro (ABC, 1974)
- Cliffhangers (NBC, 1979) - "The Curse of Dracula" (developed by Kenneth Johnson)
- Mazes and Monsters (CBS, 1982)
- The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (20th Century Fox, 1984)
- The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1985) - "Night of the Meek"
- Timecop (ABC, 1997) - "Public Enemy"
- Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (FOX, 1998) - "Blind Man's Dog"
- The Lost Saucer (ABC, 1975-76) - series regular as Jerry
- Target (Syndicated, 1958) - "Five Hours to Live"
- Tarzan's Fight for Life (MGM, 1958)
- How to Make a Monster (AIP, 1958) with Gary (Land of the Giants) Conway
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (NBC, 1964) - "Bed of Roses"
- Shadow on the Land AKA It Can't Happen Here (Screen Gems, 1968). NOTE: Kenneth Johnson adapted the Sinclair Lewis novel as a screenplay (as Storm Warnings) in 1982. He pitched the concept to NBC, but after reworking the plot the network considered "too cerebral" (where have we heard that before?), the sociopolitical theme and somewhat inflammatory character elements were altered, ultimately becoming the alien antagonists of Johnson's landmark miniseries, V (NBC, 1983).
- Kolchak: The Night Stalker (ABC, 1974) - "The Zombie"
- The Invisible Man (NBC, 1975) - "Go Directly to Jail"
- The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (ABC, 1977) - "The Disappearing Floor"
- Man from Atlantis (NBC, 1978) - "Scavenger Hunt"
- Cliffhangers (NBC, 1979) - "The Girl Who Saved the World" (developed by Kenneth Johnson)
- Galactica 1980 (ABC, 1980) - "The Super Scouts: Part Two"
- The Incredible Hulk (CBS, 1980) - "Free Fall"
- Voyagers! (NBC, 1983) - "All Fall Down"
- V (NBC, 1983) - Part One & Two
- J.O.E. and the Colonel (Universal Television, 1985)
- Shadow Chasers (ABC, 1985) - "The Middle of Somewhere"
- Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI (Paramount, 1986)
- Aliens Gone Wild (Click Productions, 2007)
- Midnight Movie (Bigfoot Entertainment, 2008)
- Dinocroc vs. Supergator (New Horizons Pictures, 2010)
- Camel Spiders (Concorde / New Horizons, 2011)
- Captain America: The First Avenger (Paramount, 2011) - as Dodgers Announcer
- Piranhaconda (New Horizons, 2012)
- Lizard Man (2012)
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Just finished the series, odd to be back in '79 again....
(Alas, this is the last time I'll be able to go back and double-check the week's episode....)
(Also, checking the episode, just noticed that the little man on the wedding cake float appears to be the same actor who guest-starred in "Half Nelson.")
Next week: A TOS guest actor you'd be hard-pressed not to recognize....
A more distinct time and place than usual.
I didn't get that impression at all...sounded more like sexual harassment.
(Alas, this is the last time I'll be able to go back and double-check the week's episode....)
I gather that you didn't catch an alias either.
Seems like the real problem here is the rat infestation.
-24:19. At least in this case, the man in a gorilla costume is supposed to be a man in a gorilla costume.
You have to wonder how, in a crowd like that, the gorilla-man could tell that the Hulk was after him specifically. Most of the crowd acted more amused by the appearance of the Hulk.
(Also, checking the episode, just noticed that the little man on the wedding cake float appears to be the same actor who guest-starred in "Half Nelson.")
I was laughing during this sequence when I recognized scenes from that blooper reel....
-05:34. I don't remember if I mentioned this recently upthread, or only made a note to mention it while watching a future episode...but I'm discontinuing the Really Clueless Folk list, as I found that the "out of sight, out of mind" factor becomes so heavily relied upon as to make the distinction meaningless. Some situations are worth commenting on more than others, but it's hard to make a definitive list when people are so routinely clueless about David's transformations. It's just a given in the series formula, like the effectiveness of Clark Kent's glasses.
Just schlepping around, but someplace where his medical skills come in handy.
See? He would have been right at home teaming up with Peter Hooten.
Never would have recognized her if I hadn't read it on IMDb.
Jeepers, Miss Lane...!
Next week: A TOS guest actor you'd be hard-pressed not to recognize....
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Oh, if we're doing this already...
“Babalao”: Ugh. After two of the show’s most memorable and effective episodes, we get one of its very worst. Not only is there the smug, racist White Man’s Burden condescension, the dismissal of sincerely held non-European religious beliefs as the superstition of fools, but it features a cartoonish title villain and a painfully stilted “As you know, Bob” opening conversation between the villains to give the audience exposition in the clumsiest, most heavy-handed way possible.
The only merits are in the Mardi Gras sequences. The Hulk in Mardi Gras is a great idea, and McGee’s brief role investigating the aftermath is mildly entertaining. Plus there’s some nice Dixieland music to listen to, both the traditional “When the Saints Go Marching In” and a Dixieland version of the Western-parade motif Harnell used earlier in the rodeo episode, “Jake.”
Not necessarily. Remember how I said last week that I found Land of the Giants on a site called Yahoo! View that carries a portion of Hulu's catalog for free? Well, it turns out they have The Incredible Hulk as well, though only seasons 1-3, and with commercials. At least, they have it at the moment, and I can't find any indication that it's leaving tomorrow, though I guess we'll find out then.
“Babalao”: Ugh. After two of the show’s most memorable and effective episodes, we get one of its very worst. Not only is there the smug, racist White Man’s Burden condescension, the dismissal of sincerely held non-European religious beliefs as the superstition of fools, but it features a cartoonish title villain and a painfully stilted “As you know, Bob” opening conversation between the villains to give the audience exposition in the clumsiest, most heavy-handed way possible.
The only merits are in the Mardi Gras sequences. The Hulk in Mardi Gras is a great idea, and McGee’s brief role investigating the aftermath is mildly entertaining. Plus there’s some nice Dixieland music to listen to, both the traditional “When the Saints Go Marching In” and a Dixieland version of the Western-parade motif Harnell used earlier in the rodeo episode, “Jake.”
Not necessarily. Remember how I said last week that I found Land of the Giants on a site called Yahoo! View that carries a portion of Hulu's catalog for free? Well, it turns out they have The Incredible Hulk as well, though only seasons 1-3, and with commercials. At least, they have it at the moment, and I can't find any indication that it's leaving tomorrow, though I guess we'll find out then.
Ah, bookmarked, thanks!
Been wanting to ask, as I was just working my way through what passes for Season 5, if anyone could clarify the airing history of the show at that point. My first-hand memory is pretty much blank on the matter, though I distinctly recall seeing at least one of the final two episodes in first run.
From the airdates, it appears that the show was airing as usual in its traditional timeslot for the fall season, albeit for a shorter than usual run of episodes. Then we get the last two episodes in May and on Wednesday. Wiki tells me that the show didn't have a regular slot on Wednesday that season on which reruns may have been aired between new episodes. And given how late in the Spring season those last two episodes aired, it seems likely that they aired after whatever normally occupied the slot was done for the season. (I'm guessing it's that short-lived Herbie, the Love Bug series in the 8:00 slot, for which, Wiki tells me, Bill Bixby directed a couple of the five episodes.)
So was the show effectively cancelled mid-season, with the last two episodes being aired in isolation at the end of the Spring? (If so, it's a wonder that I knew to catch them.) Were any reruns shown that season or the summer that followed, or did the show effectively disappear from the lineup?
Been wanting to ask, as I was just working my way through what passes for Season 5, if anyone could clarify the airing history of the show at that point. My first-hand memory is pretty much blank on the matter, though I distinctly recall seeing at least one of the final two episodes in first run.
From the airdates, it appears that the show was airing as usual in its traditional timeslot for the fall season, albeit for a shorter than usual run of episodes. Then we get the last two episodes in May and on Wednesday. Wiki tells me that the show didn't have a regular slot on Wednesday that season on which reruns may have been aired between new episodes. And given how late in the Spring season those last two episodes aired, it seems likely that they aired after whatever normally occupied the slot was done for the season. (I'm guessing it's that short-lived Herbie, the Love Bug series in the 8:00 slot, for which, Wiki tells me, Bill Bixby directed a couple of the five episodes.)
So was the show effectively cancelled mid-season, with the last two episodes being aired in isolation at the end of the Spring? (If so, it's a wonder that I knew to catch them.) Were any reruns shown that season or the summer that followed, or did the show effectively disappear from the lineup?
^I'm afraid I can't help you with any of that. I don't remember what I saw in first-run and what I didn't see until reruns. There was actually a period sometime in the early '80s where my father mostly forbade me from watching TV under the mistaken impression that it was the reason I wasn't doing my homework, although I don't remember just when it was and whether it overlapped with TIH. It may or may not have, since I'm pretty sure one of the things I missed in first run was the Coy and Vance era on The Dukes of Hazzard, which was 1982-3, just after TIH ended. But the ban may have begun before then.
Then again, I distinctly remember watching He-Man in first run, so either the ban was over by '83 or it only applied to prime time (or maybe I just disobeyed it when my father wasn't home to enforce it).
EDIT: Okay, I was wrong about my TV ban overlapping Hulk's run; I checked the '81-'82 schedule on Wikipedia, and it included some things I know I did see, like the first season of The Greatest American Hero and the one-season sitcom Best of the West. And there are some things in fall '82 that I know I saw, like Tales from the Gold Monkey. As best I can determine, it was probably mostly around '83-'84, and was not a comprehensive ban, more an X hours a week sort of thing, since there are some ephemera in that period that I'm sure I saw.
Still, I don't remember whether I saw the last couple of Hulk episodes in first run or not. Honestly, when I watched "Danny" recently, I had no recollection of ever having seen it, even though I was a loyal viewer of TIH in syndicated reruns and remember seeing most other episodes multiple times. I definitely remember seeing "A Minor Problem," the series finale, in syndication, but I don't remember if I saw its debut.
Then again, I distinctly remember watching He-Man in first run, so either the ban was over by '83 or it only applied to prime time (or maybe I just disobeyed it when my father wasn't home to enforce it).
EDIT: Okay, I was wrong about my TV ban overlapping Hulk's run; I checked the '81-'82 schedule on Wikipedia, and it included some things I know I did see, like the first season of The Greatest American Hero and the one-season sitcom Best of the West. And there are some things in fall '82 that I know I saw, like Tales from the Gold Monkey. As best I can determine, it was probably mostly around '83-'84, and was not a comprehensive ban, more an X hours a week sort of thing, since there are some ephemera in that period that I'm sure I saw.
Still, I don't remember whether I saw the last couple of Hulk episodes in first run or not. Honestly, when I watched "Danny" recently, I had no recollection of ever having seen it, even though I was a loyal viewer of TIH in syndicated reruns and remember seeing most other episodes multiple times. I definitely remember seeing "A Minor Problem," the series finale, in syndication, but I don't remember if I saw its debut.
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Whatever the case, it seems from that production list that the only reason we got a "Season 5" was because they had so many leftover episodes from Season 4 production. Season 5 was effectively the show's afterlife.
Yeah... I was tempted to go in production order and have "The First" come last (heh-heh), but I was too lazy to diverge from Netflix's streaming order. In retrospect, I should've done it that way. Those routine episodes would've worked better sprinkled amidst the more interesting ones than all clumped together at the end.
...now, for only one more episode--"Captive Night" from 12/21/79.
The tone of her voice--the urgency read like it long passed harassment.
This is an alias-free episode.
False beliefs/scams can be as destructive as a rat bite, when reason is not leading you in critical situations.
He reacted when the growling creature focused on him.
Exactly--if we can accept Kent successfully selling himself as a separate person from Superman to those who know both personally, we can accept the clueless witnesses to Banner's transformations.
I don't consider that "schlepping," as its the kind of job he would hold on to if he was transformation free for some time. Its right up his alley and not just the random occupation for survival.
Still not sold on that one!
Yep.
If I ever rewatch the entire series again someday, it would be worthwhile to try it in that order. I found further support for the veracity of that list at the beginning of Season 4. The list has both parts of "Prometheus" at the end of Season 3 production, and those episodes do use the Season 3 opening theme, whereas the next episode of Season 4 starts using a new version of the theme.
(Bixby's hair continuity in "Prometheus," OTOH, doesn't match either season, but that's probably a subject for when we get to those episodes....)
That's the facetiously named category that it best fits. There's no cure-related activity, lip service to cure-related activity, or implication of cure-related activity (there doesn't seem to be anything going on in that general practitioner's office in the way of a potential cure). He's more in his wheelhouse in a job like that, but he's effectively serving as an overqualified nurse. Undercover Doctor status is in full play.
I think I am going to merge the categories of "Paying Lip Service to Cure-Related Business" and "Implicitly Cure-Related Business" into one either/or category to keep things simple, though. I found myself leaning toward one or the other a lot as the series went on and we often saw David working with notebooks, serums, etc., even when they didn't factor strongly into the plot, such that the line between the two categories often got blurry. Combining the two will also make their number more competitive in the long run.
Land of the Giants: "Deadly Lodestone": I hate how badly out of order these episodes were shown. This is the debut of Kevin Hagen's Inspector Kobick, the show's recurring nemesis, but the Spindrift gang are already familiar with him. Although at least we get some continuity with the return of Paul Fix's friendly doctor.
Anyway, order problems aside, adding a nemesis and giving him a way to track the crew made for an effectively tense episode, and an opportunity for the characters to engage in problem-solving that wasn't just about how to climb things or handle giant objects or get out of boxes. Some nice cat-and-mouse intrigue.
The Time Tunnel: "Kill Two by Two": I didn't look up the episode on IMDb before watching, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Mako in this one. It took me a few seconds to recognize him at such a young age, though (and young Mako looked surprisingly like Grimm's Reggie Lee, though it's largely the haircut). It's interesting -- I'm used to thinking of him as a rather slow and deliberate speaker, but he was nothing like that here.
Story-wise, I was expecting something stereotyped and ethnically insensitive, but it wasn't bad, considering. The Japanese characters were pretty nuanced and human. Philip Ahn was effective as Dr. Nakamura, though unfortunately the surprise that he was the lieutenant's father was spoiled by Ann referring to the lieutenant as Nakamura before she should've known his name. Meanwhile, Kam Tong was oddly cast as the elderly sergeant -- not only was he clearly not that old, but he obviously didn't know Japanese and his accent was terrible, even on the single word "Hai" which he kept repeating ad nauseam.
This is a pretty unusual TT episode, dealing only peripherally with a historical event as a backdrop for a character-driven drama. It's a nice approach. Though it looks like next week they're going for a different kind of unusual -- although on second thought, it is pretty usual for Irwin Allen shows to eventually get desperate for ideas and throw in weird sci-fi gimmicks and alien invasions that have nothing to do with their core premises.
Anyway, order problems aside, adding a nemesis and giving him a way to track the crew made for an effectively tense episode, and an opportunity for the characters to engage in problem-solving that wasn't just about how to climb things or handle giant objects or get out of boxes. Some nice cat-and-mouse intrigue.
The Time Tunnel: "Kill Two by Two": I didn't look up the episode on IMDb before watching, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Mako in this one. It took me a few seconds to recognize him at such a young age, though (and young Mako looked surprisingly like Grimm's Reggie Lee, though it's largely the haircut). It's interesting -- I'm used to thinking of him as a rather slow and deliberate speaker, but he was nothing like that here.
Story-wise, I was expecting something stereotyped and ethnically insensitive, but it wasn't bad, considering. The Japanese characters were pretty nuanced and human. Philip Ahn was effective as Dr. Nakamura, though unfortunately the surprise that he was the lieutenant's father was spoiled by Ann referring to the lieutenant as Nakamura before she should've known his name. Meanwhile, Kam Tong was oddly cast as the elderly sergeant -- not only was he clearly not that old, but he obviously didn't know Japanese and his accent was terrible, even on the single word "Hai" which he kept repeating ad nauseam.
This is a pretty unusual TT episode, dealing only peripherally with a historical event as a backdrop for a character-driven drama. It's a nice approach. Though it looks like next week they're going for a different kind of unusual -- although on second thought, it is pretty usual for Irwin Allen shows to eventually get desperate for ideas and throw in weird sci-fi gimmicks and alien invasions that have nothing to do with their core premises.
This week, on The Incredible Hulk:
"Captive Night"
Originally aired December 21, 1979
Events in the news the week the episode aired, as well as the week after:
New on the U.S. charts the week of the episode:
"99," Toto
(#26 US; #19 AC)
"Heartbreaker," Pat Benatar
(#23 US)
"Fool in the Rain," Led Zeppelin
(#21 US)
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love," Queen
(#1 US the weeks of Feb. 23 through Mar. 15, 1980; #17 AC; #2 UK)
And since this will be our last Hulk episode of the 1970s...
More end-of-decade business to come in the historical posts for the first couple of episodes aired in that brave new decade.
"Captive Night"
Originally aired December 21, 1979
Events in the news the week the episode aired, as well as the week after:
New on the U.S. charts the week of the episode:
"99," Toto
(#26 US; #19 AC)
"Heartbreaker," Pat Benatar
(#23 US)
"Fool in the Rain," Led Zeppelin
(#21 US)
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love," Queen
(#1 US the weeks of Feb. 23 through Mar. 15, 1980; #17 AC; #2 UK)
And since this will be our last Hulk episode of the 1970s...
More end-of-decade business to come in the historical posts for the first couple of episodes aired in that brave new decade.
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I have no recollection of this at all. But I think there was only one Toto song I ever liked.
Ah, Pat Benatar.
I was never a huge fan of Led Zeppelin (perhaps unfairly), but I have a strong nostalgic fondness for this song. It's interesting to think that it could never be written today.
Ah, Freddie Mercury.
"Africa"?
(Heh. The line "I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become" always reminded me of Banner....)
What makes you say that?
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Everybody has a cell phone now.
