The 4th season finale of The Incredible Hulk:
"Patterns"--
NEW YORK--the Montejano Building--home of Brandes Designs, the struggling, but honest clothing business of Sam Brandes. Solly--his longtime partner--has been training new employee David
Barsky on the knitting machine, noting that with his good hands, he should have gone to med school...
David walks in on Sam in the middle of a heated argument with Marvin (the fabric supplier) about 6 months of back money owed, along with threats of legal action. Liz (Sam's daughter) tries to be the resident level head / peacemaker, but its David who ends the argument by informing Marvin of an upcoming show at the Fashion Center, where Liz will present her designs, all but guaranteeing buyers from various national retailers will place orders for her clothes, thus bringing in enough money to pay Marvin's loan. Marvin buys the story. Later, Liz lets off a little steam talking about the $15,000 price tag to produce her fashion show, along with her father's good nature (i.e. spending money they did not have to send her to school, etc.) and lack of a business head.
Soon, two loan sharks (Allan & Sonny) sporting the most unfriendly of smiles visit at Sam's request for money needed to finance his daughter's show; Allan and his borderline threatening son are quick to remind Sam how irresponsible he is with money, but Sam manages to convince the sharks that the success of the show is a guarantee--now that he has a smart "go getter" for a partner in David. With the sharks buying into Sam's promise (actually placing the weight of it all around David's neck), the interest-weighty loan is approved, with David now seen as the man in charge, and the first payment due in one week, or else...
If Sam's problems were not bad enough, one of his chief vendors suspends a nine-year old contract which was the financial life raft of his business. As a result, Same reluctantly fires most of his workers, promising (as usual) bigger things after Liz's show. To insure Liz actually makes the show date, David & Solly agree to stay on as unpaid workers. Sounds good...until Sonny makes threatening phone calls about the loan's impending first payment date. As fate would have it, that date arrives, with Allan & Sonny paying a visit to the Brandes factory. The criminals zero in on "partner" David, but the moment Banner fails to produce the money, the men torture Banner by forcing his arm into a steam press, triggering a Hulk-out. Although the men are tossed across the room, they scramble from the room, leaving the creature to cause general destruction, until he races away.
The next morning, David, Sam, Solly and Liz inspect the damage, with Sam--as always--promising his daughter that the show will go on. Irritated, David and Liz demand and get answers from Sam, but in a surprising turn, Liz blames herself for Sam always trying to support her no matter the cost. To end his tireless devotion (and consequences) to her, Liz plans to leave the business after the show's earnings pay off Allan's loan.
Allan is considering another plan--arson. Speaking to Sonny and an arsonist, they scheme to destroy Sam's factory in order to force him to collect the insurance, then pay the loan. Sonny is more interested in teaching "lessons" / protecting their reputation than giving Sam any chances, a belief taught to him by dear 'ol dad. Remembering his great parenting skills, Allan buries any notion of going easy on Sam, authorizing the arsonist to torch Sam's business if he does not have payment during the fashion show.
That evening, the Fashion Center show appears to be a success--if not for a missing suit left at the factory. Liz leaves to retrieve it--only to run into the arsonist already in the process of setting up the factory fire; the man locks her in a storage cage, telling her she has nothing to worry about...until he gets the go-ahead from Allan.
At the show, Allan and Sonny approach Sam in the dressing room--making their final demand for the money, or else his factory goes bye-bye. Horrified that Liz has walked into danger, Sam tries to break free to rescue her, but the criminals attack the father & Banner, with Allan going the extra mile in slamming David into stage lights, walls, or anything else nearby, until David falls to the floor under a torn curtain...and transforms. As Sonny kicks the collapsed Sam, the Hulk rises, sending the models--and criminals running in all directions; the Hulk subdues Allan & son by tearing apart the model runway beneath their feet, then races back to the factory, where he stops the arsonist, frees Liz, and vanishes into the night.
Days later, Liz is in happier spirits, with the fashion show leading to a new client, and magazine coverage of her line. Sam has learned to back off from "helping" her in his usual way, allowing her to succeed (or fail) on her own terms. David appreciates Sam thinking he belongs to the Brandes family, but hits the road for the usual reason.
NOTES:
This is not a cure-related episode.
Jack McGee does not appear in this episode.
Since some episodes were aired out of order, I will not jump to any lazy-minded conclusions and assume the fourth season ended on some sort of imagined, progressively "low" point. Judging the entire season,
The Incredible Hulk continued to build on the premise of Banner seeking a cure (obviously), but took that to several dramatic, series-defining levels with the
"Prometheus" two-parter, revealing the audience's hero (the textbook "good guy") had a sickening
"Dark Side", while
"Interview with the Hulk" allowed Banner to release all that he's carried for three years. Add
"The First" two-parter--the most comic-like story of Johnson's Hulk series, and I see a rare achievement for any superhero adaptation: a number of the aforementioned series defining episodes so late into a series' run. I challenge anyone to find many superhero adaptations (running as long) maintaining that kind of quality.
GUEST CAST:
Eddie Barth's (
Sam Brandes) could not have launched his pro acting career in a better way, with a debut on
The Twilight Zone in the episode
"The New Exhibit" (CBS, 1963). Moving on--
- The Invaders (ABC, 1967) - "The Believers"
- The Bionic Woman (NBC, 1977) - "Once a Thief"
- The Amityville Horror (AIP, 1979)
- Whiz Kids (CBS, 1984) - "Watch Out!"
- Challenge of the GoBots (Syndicated, 1984)
- James Bond Jr. (Syndicated, 1991-92)
- Superman: The Animated Series (Kids' WB, 1997) - "Target" & "The Late Mr. Kent" (as Detective Kurt Bowman)
- Men in Black: The Series (Kids' WB, 1997-2001) - voice of Frank the Pug
- Osmosis Jones (Warner Bros., 2001)
Laurie Heineman (
Liz Brandes) --
"Patterns" was her only true fantasy credit.
Joshua Shelly (
Solly) --
- Suspense (CBS, 1949) - "Dead Ernest"
- Kolchak: The Night Stalker (ABC, 1974) - "Firefall"
- The Twilight Zone (CBS, 1986) - "Personal Demons"
Paul Marin (
Malamud) --
- The Phoenix (ABC, 1981) - "Pilot" - with Judson Scott
- Max Headroom (ABC, 1987) - "Academy"
- Nowhere Man (UPN, 1996) - "Forever Jung"
Yep, and my sister had an autographed picture from backstage at one of his shows for years and years to prove it (not sure offhand if she still does)! This was the beginning of a recording career that didn't see much else in the way of crossover success, but did produce four #1's on the Country charts later in the '80s. And while we had a selection of vintage Elvis 45's in the house when I was a kid, I'm afraid to say that the Schneider cover was my first exposure to this particular song...! I might have considered this an oddity not worthy of inclusion, but Schneider was one of the Hulk's CBS Friday night lineup buddies for years, so there's a tenuous show connection.
)
Dude! You left out Robert O'Reilly as Sonny...fricking Gowron from TNG and DS9, among other roles in the franchise...including Gowron lookalike Captain Kavok in the TNG Interactive VCR Boardgame.
