In the 26 episodes aired before this, David's medical knowledge had been expanded far beyond anything suggested by his position and/or research in the pilot, but aside from the general description in the main title narration, we do not hear many specifics on his medical background.
Don't all med students start out getting the same general training before they specialize, though? And David has told enough people that he was a medic in the military that it may actually be true.
But McGee would not ask to see those photos. At the time he visited the hospital, McGee believes "John Doe" was involved only as some kind of witness--no suspicion or red flags. Even after the doctor produces a Hulk clipping from the duffel bag, he's still under the impression (later in the episode) that at best, "John Doe" might be someone seeking to find the Hulk because the creature hurt someone in his life. But back to the hospital period, McGee would not necessarily need to see the man's face; it was more important to have his memory restored, which is where Jack believed all answers rest.
But McGee said that even if the Hulk thing didn't pan out, the story of the amnesia patient would be a good one for the
Register. Naturally he'd want to research that story, to get "John"'s permission to look at his hospital file and collect photos for the story. Certainly after this, once McGee finds out that "John" becomes the Hulk, he'd absolutely want to go back to that hospital and get a look at the man's medical files, and if those files included a photo, he could find out who "John" was. That's what I'm saying. There should be documentation of his face, and that should allow McGee to find the truth, if not immediately, then later.
I also wish the show had remembered that there was actually a police warrant out on the Hulk -- indeed, more than one. If the
National Register reported that the man who becomes the Hulk had been a patient in that hospital, then that should've prompted an official investigation. Although I suppose it's possible that the authorities had concluded after a while that the Hulk was a hoax, given the
Register's reputation, and withdrawn their warrants to save face. Still, given how many people around the country have encountered the Hulk, it's a bit hard to believe that he's still considered an urban myth.
By the time this episode aired (March 2, 1979), The Incredible Hulk was already a popular cultural fixture, praised for being that rare mix of the fantastic, while playing it mostly for drama. Needless to say, it was viewed as the antidote to nearly twenty five years of TV superheroes largely being "kid stuff" or embarrassing to the genre (YMMV).
On the other hand, there were still plenty of viewers and critics who dismissed it as schlock out of hand because of its fantasy subject matter and its formulaic storytelling. It's hard for people today to realize how disreputable science fiction and comic-book superheroes were in the popular culture of that era. I remember being quite offended when a newspaper TV critic, reporting on Joe Harnell's 1982 Emmy nomination for the show, snidely asked, "Who listens to the music on
The Incredible Hulk?" I felt that dismissive attitude, the assumption that the show was just mindless action with nothing worthy of nomination, was an insult to the show's producers and viewers and particularly to Harnell. I think I even wrote the critic an angry letter about it, though I don't think it was published.
And I'm wondering who that "Lesbian Senator?" mentioned on the
Us cover was supposed to be...
There ya go!
To each his own.
