The Incredible Hulk
"Broken Image"--
In a seedy hotel, gray-haired mob figure Mike Cassidy (a dead ringer for David Banner) rudely orders a hooker out of bed & the room. Cassidy grabs his bags and escapes via the fire escape, barely escaping two armed men searching for the criminal.
At another, similarly run down hotel (the
Bothwell), David (as David
Bowman) sweeps the hallways when he is mistaken for Cassidy by Teddy--the mobster's henchman. Teddy insists Cassidy has taken an assumed identity in order to avoid the killers searching for him, but is met with denial from Banner. Later, Teddy takes Cassidy to observe Banner..the mobster's wheels turn..
Teddy calls Lorraine--Cassidy's long-suffering girlfriend--to the hotel where Banner works, using the barely believable story that the mobster has changed his ill-tempered ways where she's concerned. Unbeknownst to Teddy, Lorraine seems to be romantically involved with Steve--leader of the men looking for Cassidy. Steve uses the call as his way of knowing if Cassidy has turned on him--and where he's hidden $100,000 dollars. Either way, he plans to kill the fugitive mobster. Elsewhere, Cassidy dyes his hair and shaves his moustache--now looking identical to David...
Arriving at David's room, Lorraine passionately kisses Banner, thinking the dark-haired man is Cassidy--reminding her of the man he used to be--
Lorraine: "I like what you've done."
David: "Thank you!"
Lorraine: "You look just like when we first met."
David: "I--uh...think that this is a mistake."
Lorraine: "That's the story of my life. Listen...I...I've thought about it all the way over here, and I want u to just take the money and we can just runaway--we can go anywhere...South America..anywhere..I don't care, as long as we're together!"
David: "I...I'm afraid you have the wrong person."
Lorraine: "That's what everyone's told me. But I know how I feel...and besides, who else would put up with your temper? Listen, Steve thinks that I'm--I'm still with him, but, uh...I really hate him, and when he touches me, I-- "
David: "Look, if you could tell me what this is all about--"
Lorraine: "Well, I've just been marking time until you called me...I knew you would...and underneath this tough shield that you wear, beats a very human heart. We can still run away, there's plenty of time, Mike...we can start all over!"
David: "My name's not Mike!"
Lorraine: "What're you talking about?"
David: "I just think you have me confused with somebody else!"
Lorraine: "Mike! I came over here because you asked me to! Mike, I love you!"
David:
"I'm sorry."
Lorraine: "Why?!? Why the phone call?!?"
David: "What phone call?"
Lorraine: "From Teddy!"
David: "Who's Teddy?"
Lorraine: "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, MIKE?!?"
David: "Look--I don't know who Mike is, I don't know who Teddy is. I'm terribly flattered because you're a very attractive lady, but a mistake has been made!"
Lorraine: "You're right! You are so right! I TRUSTED you! That's my mistake! When you called, I thought that you had changed, but you haven't changed at all! You're still pushing me away--you're still the same...damn..."
Hurt, Lorraine bolts from David's room, leaving Banner in a state of confusion. The dejected woman returns to Steve and his men, and with lead on the location of the money, Steve prepares make his move...
The following day as David returns from shopping, Lorraine watches him from her car. He is also spotted by ., passing policemen thinking he is Cassidy and immediately chase David. Banner sneaks out of a back alley door, running into Lorraine. Driving away with her, David is grateful, but still denies he's Mike Cassidy--a fact falling on disbelieving ears when she pulls into Mel's Garage, and dumps him into the hands of Steven and his thugs,
It dawns on her that David is not Mike Cassidy, but her protests are rebuffed by Steve, who has his henchmen lock her in Steve's car after beating Banner enough to trigger a Hulk-out. On schedule, the enraged Hulk dispatches one henchman, and blocks the escape of Steve's car (with a toll booth). The criminal. The criminals abandon Lorraine and the car, running in absolute fear of the creature.
Hours later, Mike Cassidy informs Teddy that he's going to give half of the money to Steve (clearly to buy off the threat of death)--
Teddy: "Yeah, but half the money...who made up that law?"
Cassidy: "I thought it was a good idea. That way, they won't come looking for me after they've murdered me."
Teddy: "H-how you gonna do it, Mikey?"
Cassidy: "You're gonna plant it on Bowman."
Back at Mel's Garage, Jack McGee (already in town for other reasons) questions the toll booth employee, but the streetwise man claims he did not see anything....
The sarcastic, cold blooded Cassidy kicks the set-up in motion with a call to Lorraine--
Cassidy: "I want you give Steve a message for me."
Lorraine: "Where are you?"
Cassidy: "Are you kidding...I'm not gonna let you set me up."
Lorraine: "Mike, I came to see you, and there was this other man there...Mike who is he? God, I'm so confused!"
Cassidy: "Tell Steve I wanna see him."
Lorraine: "No! Mike, you've gotta get away--he doesn't want to talk to you anymore, he's going to try to kill you!"
Cassidy: "You're worried. How flattering."
Lorraine: "I'm an idiot. I admit it. I still love you, Mike. That's why I'd rather risk not seeing you again, than having you dead!"
Cassidy: "Watch your temper, Lorraine. You know how much trouble it gets you in."
Lorraine: "Why won't you listen to me?!?"
Cassidy: "Because honey, you bore me. You always have. I only keep you around for one reason,
and frankly, that's lost all of its charm,
so you just tell Steve I'll meet him at seven o'clock, tomorrow morning at the construction site. I'll have half the money with me. You got it?........Lorraine? Are you going to tell Steve for me?"
Lorraine:
"You bet I will!!"
The heartbroken Lorraine catches her image in a mirror, then hurls the phone at it...just as Steve returns...
At the
Bothwell, David cannot pack his bags fast enough; down the hall, a woman who ran into the Hulk earlier speaks to McGee about the creature, and tells the reporter to talk to the "new guy" empless, since he believes he sees everything. That "new guy" is none other than David Banner
David opens his door, preparing to leave and runs right into Jack McGee--
McGee: "Oh, my God....Banner....you're alive!"
The shocked men stare at each other for what seems to be an eternity--
McGee: "Doctor Banner, I'm Jack McGee!!"
David: "So!"
McGee: "I can't believe you're still alive!!"
David: "Which is more than I can say for you if you don't take your hand off my door!!"
McGee: "Banner!!"
David: "No--the name is Cassidy! Mike Cassidy and I don't think we have anything further to talk about--alright?!"
As this conflict boils, Teddy skulks around the hall, eavesdropping
McGee: "I think I understand why you're hiding out here--it has something to do with the Hulk, doesn't it??"
David: "I TOLD you--I don't know anything about this Banner character--now I was on my way outta here and you're BOTHERING ME!!"
Banner violently slams McGee against the wall--
McGee: "I just want to talk to you for a couple of minutes!
David: "I TOLD YOU--YOU'RE BOTHERING ME!!!"
Teddy creeps in, picks up on Banner's ploy, and sells the idea that "Cassidy" is some sort of criminal--not Banner. Shaken & unsure, McGee takes the warning, leaving Teddy to work his end of Cassidy's plot against Banner by telling him Cassidy is sorry for the trouble their shared features caused, and is willing to pay for David's way out of town.Teddy offers Banner the chance for Mike to take care of McGee, but the tense Banner simply wants to leave, which will be possible..after he meets Cassidy face to face.
When the two meet, Banner is astonished at the resemblance...Cassidy stares, but maintains his icy demeanor--
Cassidy: "Strange, huh? I mean you read about this kind of thing, you know...Ripley's Believe it or Not."
David cautiously accepts Cassidy's offer for transportation out of the city. Meanwhile, Lorraine is conflicted over her relationship with Cassidy--her mind drifting to earlier times, and a recurring theme of verbal abuse--
Lorraine: "Mike, talk to me. You get up from bed, you make me feel cheap."
Cassidy: "Everytime I write you a check, I am reminded that you are anything but cheap."
Lorraine: "I never ask you for anything......please don't act like this."
Cassidy: "Like what?"
Lorraine:
"Like you don't care. I know you better than anyone."
Cassidy: "That's right. I keep forgetting that you know the real me--"
Lorraine:
"--I do--"
Cassidy: "--only you understand me...only you have the insight that can see beyond the tough guy exterior."
Lorraine:
"Please don't be mean."
Cassidy: "Don't be mean. Why don't you stop wasting your limited intelligence trying to figure me out, and go take a good look at yourself. You're with me because I am mean. Because I don't care."
Lorraine: "No--that's not true--"
Cassidy: "It is true. And I'm not going to change. You don't want me to. You're a born victim."
Crying, Lorraine embraces Cassidy, but the man ignores her, returning is gaze to s newspaper. Lorraine sees this, but resigns herself to her place in his life.
Cassidy: "Good night."
Lorraine's thoughts focus on David--the image of Cassidy--and how Banner is the man she wanted Cassidy to be...but will not by choice. Reaching a conclusion, if not a life choice, she leaves her apartment.
At the construction site, Cassidy & Teddy give Banner $200, drop him off and pull away...only to conceal themselves behind a construction vehicle so they can observe the "death" of Mike Cassidy. As arranged, Steve and his henchmen emerge from the construction site trailer, subdue David, collect the money (planted on Banner), place him in a grave-sized foundation hole and pour cement over his body. The threat of imminent death triggers a Hulk-out--much to the shock of the observing Cassidy & Teddy. The Hulk rises from the cement, rips a bolted girder from the rest of the building frame and sends it flying into Steve's speeding car...just as Lorraine arrives with the police. As he is placed under arrest, Steve is perplexed by the sight of the handcuffed Cassidy--very much alive.
At the police station, as Cassidy is being interrogated, McGee flips through a file on the criminal, and is still unsure of the entire affair--
McGee:
"Oh, I don't know...the man that I saw seemed different, somehow...he was...younger."
Police Sergeant: "He (referring to Mike Cassidy)
dyed his hair. And he probably used tape here and here to pull back the skin. Makes a big difference."
McGee: "Well, then are you sure you got the right guy?"
Police Sergeant: "Mister McGee, Mike Cassidy has been thoroughly checked out--fingerprints, everything. The lieutenant has been personally looking for him for too long to make any mistakes."
McGee: "Can I interview him?"
Police Sergeant: "
Get in line. Right now, he's giving us the lowdown on his cronies. Police departments in fourteen cities have their own beefs with him, and he'll probably serve fifteen years If he behaves himself."
McGee: "I don't know. Somehow, something about the whole thing just doesn't seem right."
Police Sergeant: "Mister McGee--the man you're looking for--this Dr. Banner is dead, right? Burned to death? You reporters are supposed to deal in facts. Well, while the doctor was being buried, Cassidy was doing time in San Quentin, it's all there in black and white. If I were you, I'd rather be fooled by an old con, than to start believing in ghosts."
Even with hard evidence sitting in front of his eyes, McGee remains stymied and disturbed. He is approached by a satisfied Lorraine--
Lorraine: "Hard to believe, isn't it?"
McGee: "I could have sworn they made a mistake."
Lorraine: "We all do, mister. Not this time. They've got the right man. Trust me."
Inside the interrogation room, Mike Cassidy is just as frustrated, failing to convince anyone about the existence of David Bowman--his mirror image.
Cassidy: "I swear to you, there's guy who looks just like me, now maybe he did it."
Officer: "Let me guess...your twin brother, right? Come on Cassidy. You can do better than that!"
Cassidy slaps the interrogation table, more frustrated than ever.
Somewhere else, David moves on.
NOTES:
This is not a cure-related episode.
David Bowman. All the episode needed was a character named Frank Poole and HAL...
Ah, the power of the teaser--I remember the preview for this episode, and true to the editor's skill. it seemed McGee finally caught Banner with no way out for the hero. On that note, though McGee is left fooled and/or confused by episode's end, this is the first time McGee has faced and addressed the real David Banner (IOW, not a near-miss, or as the bandaged "John Doe") since the night of the Culver Institute's Southwest Laboratory explosion in the pilot.
Banner slamming McGee against the wall was one of the biggest, crowd pleasing moments in Hulk history, as it was clear Banner's reaction was not just part of his ruse as Cassidy, but near-overwhelming feelings of persecution over three, trying years as a fugitive. All because of McGee.
It says much that David asks Cassidy to continue being "Cassidy" in the event McGee comes snooping around again. Knowing Cassidy is a criminal, David must (at least) assume that Cassidy might seriously hurt any reporter getting too close to his business--no matter how much McGee did not know.
The big takeaway from this episode is point made some months ago: McGee's confusion & suspicion is one thing, but all McGee really knows is that Mike Cassidy is a dead ringer for Banner, and when confronting Banner, Cassidy's henchmen
stepped in to sell David as Cassidy. That, and the official record of Banner's fate
does not leave much room to believe the real David Banner just so happened to live near his lookalike, get hustled into a fall guy scheme and is either sitting in custody, or slipped away. We the audience knows this to be true,
but McGee does not have this information.
Moreover, for McGee to entertain a "Banner is alive" theory at this point would be divorced from
hard evidence--fact--allegedly an "investigative reporter's" most important tool. All evidence works against believing Banner is alive. Point by point, Cassidy's men sell David to McGee
as Cassidy--a man law enforcement conclusively identify through prints and other filed information. No other evidence--specifically tied to one David Banner--were found. To McGee, there can be no David, which means if he still holds on to the idea that he saw a dead man, he would just lend credence to the idea that his desperate obsession with Hulk has made him unstable--a plot that will be explored soon enough in the next episode,
"Proof Positive."
The plot device of the "evil twin" / "evil impostor" / "evil clone" was not new to 1980 audiences, so as always, the success of the story falls to the strength of the actor portraying two sides of the same coin (at least in a visual sense). Bill Bixby was such a success, hitting this out of the park as the surly, calculating Mike Cassidy, a rare break in a career of (largely) playing good guys. His belittling treatment of women as ignorant, "pay for play" bedmates along with his ease of setting up an innocent man for death was the believable polar opposite of David Banner, with Bixby never bleeding the traits of one character over to another.
Lorraine was a woman living exactly as Cassidy described her--a victim. Women staying in abusive relationships--or getting away, yet still professing love for the abuser is not uncommon in real life, but it was gratifying to see her finally accept that there's no true love with Mike, overcome her damaged self esteem to judge Cassidy for what he was (as opposed to Banner) and bring him (and Steve) down.
GUEST CAST:
Karen Carlson (
Lorraine) --
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (NBC, 1967) - "The THRUSH Roulette Affair"
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (NBC, 1979) - "Planet of the Slave Girls" -- co-starring Buster Crabbe, Jack Palance, Roddy McDowall and Robert (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) Dowdell
- Teen Vamp (Jim McCollough Productions, 1988)
- The Man Next Door (Jim McCollough Productions, 1997)
John Reilly (
Steve) --
- The Bionic Woman (NBC, 1977 / '78) - "Escape to Love" & "Long Live the King"
- Wonder Woman (CBS, 1978) - "Skateboard Wiz"
- The Powers of Matthew Star (NBC, 1982) - "Experiments"
- Tales of the Gold Monkey (ABC, 1983) - "Boragora or Bust"
- Wishman (Viacom Enterprises, 1983)
- Whiz Kids (CBS, 1984) - "Father's Day"
- Iron Man (Fox Kids, 1994-96) - recurring as Hawkeye / Clint Barton
- Mortal Kombat: Conquest (Syndicated, 1998)
- Fallout (Royal Oaks Entertainment, 1999)
Jed Mills (
Teddy) --
- Galactica 1980 (ABC, 1980) - "The Night the Cylons Landed: Part 1"
- New Years' Evil (Golan-Globus Productions, 1980)
- The Incredible Hulk (CBS, 1981) - "Bring Me the Head of the Hulk"
- Conquest of the Earth (Universal, 1980) - (edited episodes from Galactica 1980)
- Kiss Daddy Goodbye (Pendragon Film, 1981)
- Whiz Kids (CBS, 1983) - "A Chip off the Old Block"
- The Creature Wasn't Nice AKA Naked Space (Creature Features, 1983)
- Amazing Stories (NBC, 1986) - "No Day at the Beach" & "Life on Death Row"
- Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990) - "Episode 1.4" & "Episode 1.5"
- Quantum Leap (NBC, 1991) - "Unchained - November 2, 1956"
Al White (
Police Sargent)--
- Wonder Woman (CBS, 1978) - "Stolen Faces"
- A Fire in the Sky (NBC, 1978)
- Airplane! (Paramount, 1980)
- The Munsters' Revenge (NBC, 1981)
- The Greatest American Hero (ABC, 1981) - "Reseda Rose" & "Operation Spoilsport"
- Airplane II: The Sequel (Paramount, 1982)
- Back to the Future Part II (Universal, 1989)
- Tales from the Crypt (HBO, 1990) - "For Cryin' Out Loud"
- Howling VI: The Freaks (Lionsgate, 1991)
- Leprechaun 2 (Trimark, 1994)
- Carnies (T.R. Productions, 2010)
(Well, that was my impression...looking back, you didn't actually say that you hated it...guess we'll find out....)
