MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night

[The Old Mixer]

^Yeah, tempted to hit Like just so I can Unlike it....

Oh, speaking of '70s fads, I couldn't help but laugh when Li Sung said that he'd gone traveling to "find the real America." I wonder if he ran into Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen on his travels? Or maybe Reb Brown's Captain America?

And next week...the ultimate '70s fad drops like the proverbial other shoe....

 

[Christopher]

By the way, I wonder how the representative images are chosen for IMDb's individual episode pages. The photo on IMDb's page for "Another Path" is of... the truck driver. Huh? I can only assume there's some kind of automated algorithm picking moments at random. Netflix's "title screens" for their streaming episodes often have the same issue.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Seems pretty random...sometimes it's just a generic DVD cover.

Also, while David's in-story motivation wasn't to "find the real America," such a fad may have informed the choice to give this show a Fugitive premise.

 

[Christopher]

Also, while David's in-story motivation wasn't to "find the real America," such a fad may have informed the choice to give this show a Fugitive premise.

Kenneth Johnson has always claimed that he was inspired by Les Miserables on that count. There was probably some network pressure to go the Fugitive route, but I think that's just because The Fugitive had been a big success and networks wanted to copy it a lot. They'd already been doing Fugitive knockoffs for years by that point, so I doubt the "finding America" fad was much of a factor.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Now I get the whole schtick about the supernaturally perceptive blind martial arts master, but how the hell did he know to grab David's duffel before the Hulk carried him out?

I assume his heightened senses (hearing) knew David set a bag down, so as he sensed David's transformation and break out, he concluded that David would need his possessions.

And another case of using Caroline as a primary background reference rather than Laura or Elaina.

Yep--she's now the most significant relationship--and one tied to a possible cure, but he has not forgotten Elaina, as we will see in this season's 2-part "Mystery Man."

So it wasn't just me....

What's interesting is back in 1978, I cannot remember a single Hulk fan saying that neck pinch was borrowed from Star Trek--which was eye-deep in cultural recognition at that time. Perhaps the fact martial arts was involved convinced viewers to focus on anything that might seem to come from that world, instead of thinking of Vulcans.

The creature's reaction to being hit by the spoon got a good laugh out of me...but was it ever more obvious that Ferrigno's Hulk was nothing more than a big, harmless teddy bear? Not only does he only act amused at the ineffective attack, but he actually goes through the trouble of climbing out the window to the fire escape so as not to damage her wall, quite contrary to his usual MO!

Hey--the Hulk is a conscientious monster.

Maybe the show got a little too kid-friendly...it might have been more suspenseful to make the creature seem a little bit scary and dangerous.

I would not say it was too kid friendly, with episodes such as "Deathmask," "The Snare" and "Dark Side" in the series' future--no matter how a kid might view the Hulk, they had to experience the rest of those episodes, with very grim and/or uncomfortable subject matter.

Maybe I should have kept a tally of episodes in which McGee is only name-dropped....

Why not? He's almost as likely to be mentioned as David adopts fake names.

And Li Sung is added to that list...you know the one.

I wonder if we'll ever catch another mention of David's interest in jazz...?

Good question. I'm not sure if that will be mentioned again--unless its during Li Sung's return in "The Disciple."

 

[The Old Mixer]

Kenneth Johnson has always claimed that he was inspired by Les Miserables on that count.

Well yeah, that sounds good because it's a literary reference...but the execution was very much "protagonist on the road in America". I don't think that was a coincidence. The show's development doesn't have to be limited to a single soundbite-friendly one. Are things ever really that simple?

Also, on that subject, add the Saturday morning live-action Shazam! to "finding the real America" shows...or at least, they were finding the real Southern California....

 

[Christopher]

What's interesting is back in 1978, I cannot remember a single Hulk fan saying that neck pinch was borrowed from Star Trek--which was eye-deep in cultural recognition at that time. Perhaps the fact martial arts was involved convinced viewers to focus on anything that might seem to come from that world, instead of thinking of Vulcans.

It was probably a carotid-artery block, which is a real thing. When Picard used one on one of the terrorists in TNG: "Starship Mine," a lot of viewers thought it was a Vulcan neck pinch, but carotid blocks have been around a lot longer than the Famous Spock Nerve Pinch.

Well yeah, that sounds good because it's a literary reference...but the execution was very much "protagonist on the road in America". I don't think that was a coincidence. The show's development doesn't have to be limited to a single soundbite-friendly one. Are things ever really that simple?

But there's a difference between the "man on the run" format -- which is The Fugitive -- and the "searching for America" format -- which is basically Route 66. They're both peripatetic, pseudo-anthology formats, but with a difference in motivation. Something like "Hard-Traveling Heroes" or Reb Brown Cap is more in the Route 66 mold, while The Incredible Hulk is very, very much in the Fugitive mold.

Also, on that subject, add the Saturday morning live-action Shazam! to "finding the real America" shows...or at least, they were finding the real Southern California....

Oh yeah, that one too. Or rather, "travel[ing] the highways and byways of the land on a never-ending mission to right wrongs, to develop understanding, and to seek justice for all."

I read that in the later seasons of Hulk, the network wanted to pair David off with a regular Rick Jones-type character and travel with him in an RV, so that they could save money by having at least one standing set. (Presumably he needed someone to talk to in the RV so they could set more scenes within it.) When I learned that, I was reminded of Shazam!

 

[The Old Mixer]

^Huh, never heard that, but sounds interesting. As a fan of the comics at the time, I would have been in favor of it.

But there's a difference between the "man on the run" format -- which is The Fugitive -- and the "searching for America" format -- which is basically Route 66. They're both peripatetic, pseudo-anthology formats, but with a difference in motivation. Something like "Hard-Traveling Heroes" or Reb Brown Cap is more in the Route 66 mold, while The Incredible Hulk is very, very much in the Fugitive mold.

I acknowledged that "finding the real America" wasn't David's in-story motivation, but that doesn't mean that the trend didn't influence the execution of the series. Likewise, the more I think of it, the more I find Johnson's claim to be dubious. The Fugitive was a very popular show that broke a viewership record for its finale, and was only a decade in the past when TIH was being developed. Johnson is effectively claiming to have independently hit upon "The Fugitive Premise" via inspiration from the same source material. As he was a professional in the industry, I find it highly unlikely that he developed TIH completely oblivious to the fact that Les Miserables adapted into a TV series format was already a proven success.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

plus there was the odd '70s obsession with using slow motion in action scenes.

It was not limited to the 70s; 1990s series like Walker, Texas Ranger used it often, and that was not an isolated case.

 

[Silvercrest]

I am reminded of a villain taunt in a Gruenwald-era Cap / Thor teamup: "Don't look now, but your partner's ear-wings are bigger than yours!"

 

[Shaka Zulu]

From the way you describe it, 'm guessing you're watching the syndicated versions, which were badly edited, with scenes replaced with stock footage or music from other Universal productions (and not with the approval of Serling, or producer Jack Laird), or cut to the point of strong episodes rendered incomprehensible. The series has suffered from this mistreatment siAnce first syndicated in the early 1970s. The only way to watch it is on DVD (or Hulu, if they're carrying it), as most packages for commercial TV were junked beyond repair.

Rod Serling's Night Gallery was (for the most part) well budgeted, and enjoyed so many innovative story and cinematography benefits that put much of its contemporaries to shame. In my view, its the last, great anthology ever produced for TV.

In my home city (Los Angeles), I had almost every major horror/general schlock host, from Seymour (Fright Night & Monster Rally), to Commander USA's Groovie Movies, to Movie Macabre with Elvira. Once cable expanded, Creature Features--the John Stanley hosted version, not to be confused with the local, KTTV (now Fox) host-free program of the same name.

Combined, those programs provided a rich fantasy film education about work from every corner of the world. Loved it.

I wonder why Universal doesn't issue the remastered editions in syndication, instead of the chopped up ones, like CBSTD does with Star Trek: TOS?

In the early 70s, in Boston, we had The Ghoul, a guy named Ron Sweed. He was actually from Cleveland, but our Channel 56 was owned by the same people as his station in those days. As far as I know, he's still making personal appearances as The Ghoul, but I don't think he has a show.


You may be right. I did watch a lot of them first run, but that was a long time ago and I'm more familiar with the syndicated versions.

Count Gore De Vol was the resident ghoul--erm--vampire in D.C. Lots of political humor as you might expect. Then too, William F. Buckley did play the harpsichord on Conan's show.

Count Gore De Vol was the resident ghoul--erm--vampire in D.C. Lots of political humor as you might expect. Then too, William F. Buckley did play the harpsichord on Conan's show.

We never had people like that on local TV here in Toronto, save for a late night show that aired on CityTV from 1988 to about 1993, I believe (and he wasn't a horror host, nor did he show only horror and SF movies.) Buffalo, New York did have a show whose name escapes me now that aired up until fairly recently.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ You just reminded me that we had a late-night show on Channel 38 in the early 80s hosted by Charles Laquidara, who was the morning DJ on WBCN for years. BCN was the hip FM station just when FM was transitioning to mainstream, and Laquidara was quite a local celebrity. His late-night show was a mix of horror/SF and short films and music videos (weirdly, they showed the censored version of Golden Earring's "Twilight Zone," but the uncut version of Carrie). Laquidara was one of the most easy-going guys ever. You could just call into the station during his show and he'd talk to you like an old buddy, occasionally putting you on hold in the middle of a sentence to introduce a song.

 

[mos6507]

It was not limited to the 70s; 1990s series like Walker, Texas Ranger used it often, and that was not an isolated case.

Re: Slow-mo--Considering that Kenneth Johnson got his start in Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman, it's no surprise that The Hulk shares some stylistic similarities.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

"Alice in Discoland"--

If someone only read the episode title in a 1978 TV Guide, one might be quick to think the episode was cashing in on the then-long lived discotheque fad in the United States, but thankfully, this was only a backdrop in a story that--in part--builds on David Banner's backstory. More on that in moment.

This week, David is working at Pandemonium Disco, where would-be badasses and drunks mix with the gyrating crowd; David noted that some of the drinking patrons don;t look old enough to drive, suggesting juvenile substance abuse is not an issue with the club.

David recognizes a teenage girl dancing, and off-balance due to her drinking. She is his now 16 year old God-daughter Alice Morrow. His mind flashes back to the funeral of her father--his brotherly friend, Ted Morrow, and how his widow Rosalyn--trying to escape the depression of it all--was moving to Canada. Young Alice is heartbroken, but David calms her with a line from Through the Looking Glass:

David "I wasn't real, I shouldn't be able to cry."
Alice: "That's what Alice said to Tweedledum and Tweedledee."

David calls Rosalyn, but the maid tells him the troubling news that Alice has been running away since she was 14. Her mother is in Europe, and out of reach.

At the disco, David carefully tries to drop hints of a drunk Alice's past by referencing the Alice stories, (a book she received before her father's death) but gets an earful about her wayward lifestyle & resentment of her "perfect" mother. She does not recognize him (it has been several years, and like the rest of the world, assumed David Banner has been dead for over a year). Their conversation is interrupted by Alice's jealous dance partner / boyfriend Louie, who hustles her away.

The next day, David speaks to Joan Roberts, who runs the Alcohol Abuse Program; Joan informs David that an alcoholic to treatment, and if she's underage, he should call the police, or expose the disco's serving minors by notifying the Alcohol Control Board (anonymously). David hesitates with that last suggestion, but sometime later, Art Philbin from the Alcohol Control Board arrives..but takes bribes (to look the other way about serving minors) from agitated disco owner Ernie, who whines about his dwindling financial status and the threat of facing a grand jury. Philbin thinks an employee is responsible for the tip--which has an effect on the disco, with underage patrons leaving when they are refused alcohol.

Alice, dealing with a hangover, rebuffs Louie, who is excited about the forthcoming disco competition worth a $500.00 first prize. Tired of her drunkenness, he dances with another girl. In a very uncomfortable moment, Alice tries to flirt with David in order to get a drink, but he brushes that aside; causing Alice to wander off hallucinating & babbling "Daddy will tell me what to do."

Al the bouncer prevents David from following her, but later is shocked to see a group fearfully watching Alice standing on a billboard platform mounted atop an boarded up building. She hallucinates her dead father standing on the ground below, with his arms extended, as if to catch her. A panicked David breaks into the boarded structure, but his leg crashes though weakened steps, triggering a Hulk out. The Hulk--witnessed by Alice's disco buddies--rescues the hallucinating girl (wanting to fall), then runs off.

The next day, David and Alice talk, about her life and symptoms. While he takes her to see Joan Roberts, Jack McGee meets Louie (whoby the way--does not believe in the Hulk), but hearing about the $10,000 reward offer, runs off to find Alice--the person McGee seeks.

At an meeting chaired by Joan Roberts, Alice is resistant to admitting her alcoholism, or the reason why she drinks; but slowly opens up. As David, Alice and Joan speak in the hall, Art Philbin watches, calling Ernie with the belief that one of the trio is the source of their troubles.

David beats a path off the streets when he spots the approaching McGee walking with Louie. Alice is no longer enchanted with lowball disco contests, drinking, or the promise of The National Register's reward. Incensed, Louie accuses David of interfering to Ernie, and this Boyfriend of the Century offers a bottle of liquor to Alice, while questioned by McGee, who thinks the Hulk tried to throw her off the roof.

After Louie and McGee leave, Alice tells David she needs to stay away from the disco environment, but David sees that as an excuse:

Alice:"I'm an alcoholic."
David: "That isn't a weakness, its a disease. And running from it doesn't make it go away. If you run form the disco because you don't want face booze, you may be missing out on the thing that's most important in your life--dancing."
Alice: "I'm just trying to stay away from things that make me drink."
David: "The disco is just a place--and the problem is here, in any room you are in, until you face it."
Alice: "David, you don't understand.This is something in me I have to control by myself!"
David:"I do understand, and you're right."

David leaves her--with the liquor bottle for the reasons she just explained.

That evening at the disco, Alice shows up and dances with Louie...to the disco-ized version of The Lonely Man Theme. David is lured downstairs by Ernie, and is handcuffed to a chair--accused of being a "fink," along with Alice and grand jury witness Joan Roberts. David admits that Alice was seeking help for her drinking problem, but Ernie and Al leave him cuffed below, threatening to take Alice "for a ride" to get the information they want. David struggles to escape...

Ernie & Al attempt to take Alice from the club, when the Hulk busts through the basement door; wrecks the club--Al and Ernie along with it. McGee is outside, moments from entering the club, when the Hulk runs by, gives a growl of negative recognition, and vanishes right out of McGee's frustrated hands.

Sometime later, David (bag on shoulder) and Alice talk; her life is on a positive path, as she will attempt to teach dancing. She's also set to testify in front of the grand jury about Ernie & Philbin's activities. Talking to David, she tells him to read a passage from her Alice book:

"...and the unicorn said to Alice, 'now that we have seen each other, if you believe in me, I'll believe in you."

Sentimental Alice gives the book to David to keep, as they soon part ways. Sad thing is, David obviously loses that book during his travels.

NOTES:

Another message episode, and certainly timely, as it was not uncommon for establishments to contribute to teenage alcoholism, along with being surrounded by enabling, self interested friends. The episode did not end with Alice completely "fixed," but at least it did not go the route of other series dealing with the subject, where the addicted person usually ended up dead.

At the funeral, Alice is a child, so this occurs at a time when David should be married to Laura. The pilot's flashback sort of suggests David and Laura were married for some time, so for continuity's sake, it would have been a nice moment to have Laura in this scene.

A non-cure plot episode.

In what would become a building theme (on many levels) in the series, McGee admits he's had nightmares about the Hulk. At this point, he does not specify what about the Hulk gave him nightmares; he's faced the creature a few times, and never resisted pursuing him. His dreams cannot be about the his role in the death of Elaina Marks (which brought the Hulk out in the incident), since he had no idea he spilled the explosive chemicals. Is it career / life value nightmares--the kind he will reveal later this season?

Alice does not learn David & Hulk are one and the same.

After this episode reveals the fate of Ted Morrow, you're left thinking poor David--he's lost many in his life: his mother, best friend, wife, colleague/would-be love interest and 2nd wife.

GUEST STARS:

Donna Wilkes (Alice Morrow) spent her 1978 in notable Universal fantasy productions: this Hulk episode, and earlier that year, she was the hopelessly traumatized, hopelessly lip-quivering Jackie Peters in Jaws 2, at the time the most successful sequel of all time, a distinction held until the release of The Empire Strikes Back in 1980. Wilkes' next fantasy roles marked a return to acting after a decades-long absence: My Stepbrother's a Vampire (2013) and 90210 Shark Attack (2014).

Brion--credited here as "Brian" James (Al) was one of Hollywood's most active bad and/or tough guy character actors for decades; the same year (1978) he brutalized Bill Bixby, he also troubled Mark Hamill in the custom car thief ring dramedy, Corvette Summer (MGM, 1978), and managed to run into the long-in-the-tooth super group KISS in their embarrassing TV movie, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park. Other fantasy productions include Galactica: 1980 ("Galatica Discovers Earth, part 1"), appearing as Leon Kowalski in Blade Runner (The Ladd Company, 1982), Enemy Mine (20th Century Fox, 1985), and provided voice work on Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1993).

Marc Alaimo (Ernie) guest starred on two additional Hulk episodes, "The Slam" and "Nine Hours." Other fantasy roles include 1977 episodes of The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Six Million Dollar Man (the "Sharks" 2-parter), and The Bionic Woman ("African Connection"). Like several TIH guest stars, he dropped in on another CBS superhero--Wonder Woman in the 2-part "Phantom of the Roller Coaster" from 1979.

What's with this episode's guests running into sharks and phantoms?

Continuing, Alaimo's also appeared on The Greatest American Hero, and The Last Starfighter among a ton of parts not listed here. Obviously, he's best known for his run as Gul Dukat on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Mo Malone (Rosalyn Morrow) made her acting debut portraying Marina Oswald in the 1977 TV movie, The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald. After her Hulk appearance, her fantasy roles were limited to the alien recruitment TV movie, Mysterious Two (1982), and "Night Fever," (no, not based on the Bee Gees song) an episode of the 1985 Alfred Hitchcock Presents reboot.

Jason Kincaid (Louie Sharp) had a few fantasy roles scattered across a couple of decades. Starting with the Krofft Saturday morning series Far Out Space Nuts (1975), the Jack Webb / Harold Jack Bloom series Project U.F.O.(1978), and "Future Boy - October 6, 1957" episode of Quantum Leap (1991).

 

[The Old Mixer]

The Incredible Hulk
"Alice in Disco Land"
Originally aired November 3, 1978

If someone only read the episode title in a 1978 TV Guide, one might be quick to think the episode was cashing in on the then-long lived discotheque fad in the United States, but thankfully, this was only a backdrop in a story that--in part--builds on David Banner's backstory.

But that didn't stop them from giving us this piece of cheese:

David: "If you run from the disco because you don't want face booze, you may be missing out on the thing that's most important in your life--dancing."

This week, David is working at Pandemonium Disco

...with no specified surname yet again.

A non-cure plot episode.

And "Just schlepping around" pulls ahead further.

David recognizes a teenage girl dancing, and off-balance due to her drinking. She is his now 16 year old God-daughter Alice Morrow.

I find it odd that David recognizes Alice if he hasn't seen her since she was so young that she was played by a different actress...and yet she doesn't recognize him, even though he's got the same name, is quoting Lewis Carroll, and is being played by the same actor.

Their conversation is interrupted by Alice's jealous dance partner / boyfriend Louie, who hustles her away.

I see what you did there.

The next day, David speaks to Joan Roberts, who runs the Alcohol Abuse Program

I couldn't find any hard information about the actress, who has a fairly short list of credits on IMDb...but I couldn't believe that they tried to pass her off as 26-looking-like-35. I'd say she might have been able to pass for 35-looking-like-somewhere-in-her-40s.

causing Alice to wander off hallucinating & babbling "Daddy will tell me what to do."

Al the bouncer prevents David from following her, but later is shocked to see a group fearfully watching Alice standing on a billboard platform mounted atop an boarded up building. She hallucinates her dead father standing on the ground below, with his arms extended, as if to catch her.

Alice having hallucinations babbling about, among other things, the White Rabbit...couldn't help but make me think of:

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A panicked David breaks into the boarded structure, but his leg crashes though weakened steps, triggering a Hulk out.

At -26:37, very much back on schedule...13 seconds earlier than last season's average.

Alice is no longer enchanted with lowball disco contests, drinking, or the promise of The National Register's reward.

I thought that she got fully on the wagon way too quickly and easily...for example:

Alice: "David, you don't understand.This is something in me I have to control by myself!"

Sounds like she's reading it off a pamphlet. But that's episodic television, I guess...or after-school specials.

David is lured downstairs by Ernie

Actually, Ernie was lured downstairs by David, and Ernie took advantage of the opportunity. The bad guys were unusually laid-back in this one.

David struggles to escape...

...something or other happens at -8:50, and...

the Hulk busts through the basement door; wrecks the club--Al and Ernie along with it.

It looks like they were trying to reign in the Hulk's fright wig, and got him looking a little too neat.

McGee is outside, moments from entering the club, when the Hulk runs by, gives a growl of negative recognition, and vanishes right out of McGee's frustrated hands.

Wasn't it nice of the Hulk to say hi to Jack on the street? Like you, I'm assuming that the guy he roared at was supposed to be Jack, though the actors were very obviously and sloppily shot separately.

as they soon part ways.

And once again the Lonely Man scene has David dressed for different weather...from shirt sleeves to turtleneck and peacoat. In fact, the LM scene looked so familiar that I digged into past episodes. Seems it was a reuse of the one from "Earthquakes Happen".

and managed to run into the long-in-the-tooth super group KISS in their embarrassing TV movie, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park.

They weren't dead yet...most of their early top 20 singles fell between 1975 and 1977, with another on the way in '79. Also, the term "supergroup" is used to refer to bands consisting of already-successful artists (e.g., Cream; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; The Traveling Wilburys).

 

[Christopher]

This seems to be the season of Very Special Episodes. Not unique for the period; Quincy, M.E. was doing much the same thing around this time. Still, "Alice in Disco Land" is a pretty by-the-numbers teen-alcoholism story. I suppose it was worthwhile to call attention to a problem that wasn't well-understood in the era, but it's not the most entertaining story in retrospect. Donna Wilkes is pretty but whiny and dull as Alice. It's never explained why she fails to recognize David, since it can't be more than ten years since she knew him. Also, what did David plan to tell his old friend Mrs. Morrow if he'd reached her? What if she'd recognized his voice? And why was he allowed to be a spectator at that AA meeting? I thought those were for addicts only. If David were an alcoholic, I think we'd know about it. (He'd probably be an angry drunk...)

The Hulk-outs are getting kind of lazy -- in both cases, they contrived an excuse for David to be hurt physically, even though he had more than enough incentive to be emotionally upset. The weirdest part was the music, though. The "disco" tunes (which I'm not even sure were disco) seemed to be recycled from the bar scene in "Married," mostly. I had to wonder, did the original episode actually use these instrumental cues, or are they fill-ins for actual songs that the syndication and video releases didn't have the license for? Then again, I suppose using actual pop songs as in-show music wasn't as common a practice then as it became in the MTV era.

Cool to see Marc Alaimo doing his usual smarmy turn, but he didn't get to do much, since the danger plot was kind of a sidebar for much of the episode. The actor playing Louie reminded me a bit of a young Mark Hamill.

In what would become a building theme (on many levels) in the series, McGee admits he's had nightmares about the Hulk. At this point, he does not specify what about the Hulk gave him nightmares; he's faced the creature a few times, and never resisted pursuing him.

You can pursue something as part of your job and still have nightmares about it. Work-related nightmares are pretty common, I'd think. I'm more curious to know who it was that McGee talked to. Or was he just saying that to try to coax a witness into talking to him?

Brion--credited here as "Brian" James (Al) was one of Hollywood's most active bad and/or tough guy character actors for decades; the same year (1978) he brutalized Bill Bixby, he also troubled Mark Hamill in the custom car thief ring dramedy, Corvette Summer (MGM, 1978), and managed to run into the long-in-the-tooth super group KISS in their embarrassing TV movie, KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park. Other fantasy productions include Galactica: 1980 ("Galatica Discovers Earth, part 1"), appearing as Leon Kowalski in Blade Runner (The Ladd Company, 1982), Enemy Mine (20th Century Fox, 1985), and provided voice work on Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1993).

And he was the voice of the Parasite on Superman: TAS. So the Hulk fought a DC supervillain!

I couldn't find any hard information about the actress, who has a fairly short list of credits on IMDb...but I couldn't believe that they tried to pass her off as 26-looking-like-35. I'd say she might have been able to pass for 35-looking-like-somewhere-in-her-40s.

Yeah, that was the corniest part. "Don't drink, kids! It'll make you look old!"

 

[The Old Mixer]

I had to wonder, did the original episode actually use these instrumental cues, or are they fill-ins for actual songs that the syndication and video releases didn't have the license for?

I'm going on very hazy memory, but I'm pretty sure that the disco-ized Lonely Man theme goes back to the original broadcasts.

 

[Christopher]

Again, though, was that even disco? Maybe with some of the background rhythms, but the main melodic line was much more slow and understated than what I remember from my misspent youth when I actually listened to the Bee Gees and Donna Summer.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Close enough for TV source music. And as I pointed out with "Married", the other "disco" piece they used in both episodes was borrowing liberally from "That's the Way (I Like It)".

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, there were a couple that sounded more disco-ish and others that sounded less so. I just don't think Joe Harnell was really cut out for capturing the sound of disco. His background was more in jazz, bossa nova, and the pop styles of the '40s through the early '60s. He was good at the old-fashioned stuff -- his jazz "Lonely Man" at the end of "Another Path" last week was gorgeous -- but he was out of his element here.

(Hey, I didn't know he was the father of animation voice artist Jess Harnell, aka Wakko from Animaniacs. I guess I should've suspected; it's not that common a name.)