MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night

[RJDiogenes]

"The Winner Takes It All," ABBA

Yes, I do love ABBA, but they're another band who is past their prime at this point.

"Tell It Like It Is," Heart

I love Heart, too, but this is not a good cover.

"Passion," Rod Stewart

Rod Stewart was pretty good. Back in the 70s. Early-to-mid 70s.

"I'm Alright (Theme from "Caddyshack")," Kenny Loggins

It's Kenny Loggins. It's fun. This one is better than "Footloose."

"He's So Shy," Pointer Sisters

Not the greatest song ever, but nice and sweet.

 

[HGN2001]

This version of Kenny Loggins "I'm Alright" theme from CADDYSAHCK will probably sound more familiar to movie watchers:

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[JD]

This week, on The Incredible Hulk:

"Free Fall"
Originally aired November 21, 1980

Wow...even copying and pasting that episode premise makes me nod off a little....
Preview Link to Cure Insomnia

Are the previews you're posting the actual ones that aired on TV or fan made?

 

[The Old Mixer]

They appear to be the previews that were aired before the episodes (which were part of the episodes in Netflix, and may be in syndication as well). I don't know if they match the "next episode" previews from the original airings.

In some of the YouTube videos, you can see a bit of the opening title sequence before the video cuts off.

 

[JD]

They don't show those on Me, so I didn't know about them.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Makes sense...it'd be the first thing they'd cut for time in syndication.

 

[Christopher]

I dunno, I seem to recall MeTV actually showing the opening previews for Wonder Woman, while the DVDs don't have them. So I guess it depends on the show, for some reason.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

The Incredible Hulk--
"Free Fall"

David Blake--working for a skydiving crew--Lynch's Freefall Freaks--publicizes the crew in a local newspaper--a town where hometown legacy candidate Jack Stewart (son of the resident senator) runs for election. Later, as Hank Lynch skydives over his hometown, he's troubled by flashbacks of another dive with Stewart, one with a darker outcome.

Later, Stewart runs into Hank, but there's clear tension between the two men--something dating back to that old skydive..

At the elder Stewart's mansion, he and his associate stress how they must do anything to win, to protect a possible opponent from investigating certain "projects" that might lead to a negative legal outcome. The younger Stewart--contrary to his father's wishes--seeks to settle matters with Lynch before the election, attempting to prevent the latter from discussing this shared past.

At Lynch's camp, David jokes his way out of the crew's call for Banner to try skydiving. Two of Lynch's old time "enemies" from the sheriff's department harass the crew by confiscating their certification papers, until David talks the men (through red-taped double talk) into returning the forms. In town, the newspaper editor claims to have overcharged David for the ad, and gives him a refund--noticed by the "enemy" officers... As David's car fails to start, Jack Stewart gives David a lift to Lynch's camp, reminiscing about his old skydiving days with Hank. The seemingly innocent ride only raises the hairs of suspicion on an observing Hank...

Lynch crew's jump over the town carnival, including David! Falling 32 feet per second, David bravely glides through the air, releases his chute, landing safely. Later, Hank is confronted by Stewart Sr--who offers a payoff to leave town, but is brushed off--inspiring the officers to take matters into their own hands. At the camp, Lynch is blackjacked into unconsciousness, locked in the wreck of a plane, then proceed to set Lynch's plane on fire. David (inside the camper) races to extinguish the fire, but is too late to prevent it from igniting canisters of flammable chemicals; the explosion triggers a Hulk-out, and the creature quickly rescues the dazed Hank.

As the Lynch crew lick their wounds, the younger Stewart angrily threatens his father with quitting--and revealing this old skydiving secret if his father continues to harass Hank. Not satisfied with the conversation, Stewart drives to the Lynch camp, and after a minor exchange of blows, Stewart tells David of his participation in a volunteer skydiving mission to rescue trapped scouts trapped in a forest fire, only for Stewart to freeze before jumping, distracting the pilot long enough for the flight crew to crash. Lynch supports this story, but does not hold it against Stewart Hank also reveals how the elder Stewart paid him $10,000 to remain silent and leave town--the news moving Stewart to deal with hi father one and for all..

...unfortunately, dear 'ol daddy and his police stooges plan a more permanent exit for Hank's crew....

At a campaign rally, Daddy Stewart talks up his son--turning the scout story into a glory story. Junior Stewart leaves to ask Hank if he can replace the injured Jean in a jump--information that reaches his father, sending him into a panic, and for good reason, since his police stooges have planted explosives in the plane's engine. As the plane rocks from the charge, David--sans a chute--tumbles out, but is rescued with a spare chute by Jack, until the cop's rifle shots rip David's straps, sending him crashing into a building...and triggering another Hulk-out. The creature attacks the corrupt officers, then sprints away just as Daddy Stewart arrives--his apology falling on deaf ears.

Some time later, Jack pays for all of the damage to Hank's equipment, and drops out of the race, refusing to run in the shadow of his father's corruption. Jack gives Banner a ride to the bus station.

NOTES:

This is not a cure related episode.

Jack McGee does not appear in this episode.

Corrupt politicians, corruption in politics, or just the idea of shady business around anyone near politics was the go-to story of 1970's TV (especially in the wake of Watergate), and TIH was not immune to the sub-genre, seen as early as "The Waterfront Story" from season one. Its not exactly an "out there" thought for someone to run across anger-at-politicians plots in life, but this series did not really need that for Banner. It was a change of tone and pace after the major season opener that was "Prometheus" so that could have been the intent--to let the audience know the near-comic book tone was not going to be a regular thing for the series.

Next week goes dark for Banner--going where few superhero adaptations dared to at the time, and certainly in current productions.

Side note: I was never a fan of the modified title theme. Sounds like something better suited to a private eye series.

GUEST CAST:

TV fantasy Bronze Medalist Jared Martin (Jack Stewart) was a familiar face to dedicated followers of that genre, appearing in everything from the high-profile to less than inspired fantasy movies & series--

• Rod Serling's Night Gallery (NBC, 1971) - "Tell David"
• Westworld (MGM, 1973)
• The Fantastic Journey (NBC, 1977) - series regular as Varian
• Logan's Run (CBS, 1977) - "Fear Factor"
• The Six Million Dollar Man (ABC, 1978) - "The Lost Island"
• Project U.F.O. (NBC, 1978) - "Sighting 4017: The Devilish Davidson Lights Incident"
• Wonder Woman (CBS, 1979) - "Phantom of the Roller Coaster" (2 parts)
• Tales of the Gold Monkey (ABC, 1982) - "Trunk from the Past"
• The Sea Serpent (Constan Films, 1984)
• Aenigma (A.M. Trading International, 1987)
• War of the Worlds (Syndicated, 1990) - series regular as Harrison Blackwood

Sam Groom (Hank Lynch)--

• The Time Tunnel (ABC, 1966-67) - recurring as Jerry the technician
• Beyond the Bermuda Triangle (ABC, 1975)
• The Space-Watch Murders (Paramount Television, 1975)
• Time Travelers (ABC, 1976) - the Irwin Allen produced, would-be reimagining of The Time Tunnel
• The Bionic Woman (ABC, 1977) - "Beyond the Call"
• Salvage 1 (ABC, 1979) - "Shelter Five"
• Deadly Eyes (Golden Harvest, 1982)
• Otherworld (CBS, 1985) - series regular as Hal Sterling

Sandy Ward (Sen. Mark Stewart)--

• The Velvet Vampire (New World Pictures, 1971)
• Rod Serling's Night Gallery (NBC, 1972) - "Little Girl Lost"
• The Six Million Dollar Man (ABC, 1975) - "The Price of Liberty"
• Future Cop (ABC, 1976) - "Pilot"
• The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries (ABC, 1977) - "The Mystery of Witches' Hollow"
• The Bionic Woman (ABC, 1977) - "Beyond the Call"
• Good Against Evil (ABC, 1977) - Failed pilot
• The Greatest American Hero (ABC, 1981) - "Fire Man"
• The Phoenix (ABC, 1982) - "In Search of Mira" - (starring Judson Scott)
• Airplane II: The Sequel (Paramount, 1982)
• Tales of the Gold Monkey (ABC, 1983) - "Naka Jima Kill"
• Cujo (Warner Brothers, 1983)
• Amazing Stories (NBC, 1985) - "Ghost Train"
• Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (ABC, 1986) - "Brutal Youth"

Kelly Harmon (Jean)--

• Battlestar Galactica (ABC, 1979) - "Greetings from Earth"

TRIVIA:
Sam Groom & Sandy Ward not only guest starred in the same episode of The Bionic Woman, but appeared in Kennedy-themed (or related) TV productions: Groom as JFK in Blood Feud (1983), and Ward as Chief Curry in Ruby and Oswald (1978) and as Thomas Jefferson Taylor in LBJ: The Early Years (1987).

 

[Christopher]

Hulk: “Free Fall”: The first proper season 4 episode opens with a new title theme arrangement, but otherwise it’s a pretty routine plot built around stock skydiving footage and a rather dull story about a corrupt politician and his not-corrupt son. The tension between the lead skydiver and Jack Stewart is resolved too easily, with Jack’s telling the story of his past actions to David somehow being enough to earn forgiveness from the guy who slugged him just a minute before.

The music budget seems to be reduced this season, since the score consists mainly of stock music from earlier seasons and two main cues that are used more than once: The skydivers’ theme which is used under the titles and the first exhibition dive, and the quietly ominous string melody that’s used multiple times in the episode, generally under the corrupt cops’ scenes. I remember that particular cue well; not only would it be used repeatedly in this season, but I remember being surprised to hear its first four bars show up randomly in an episode of a different Universal show with a different composer -- I think it was a Quincy, M.E. episode. It used to be quite common for a single show to reuse a lot of its own stock music, but one show using a cue written for a different show was uncommon in prime time, so it stood out to me (though it happened a lot in Filmation and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, and there were some syndicated shows in the ‘90s that shared some stock music among them, Farscape being one of them, IIRC).

 

[The Old Mixer]

Yes, after the tease of "Prometheus," David is disappointingly back to randomly wandering into others' situations. When I watched this one in December, I found it not terribly familiar, and I found that I didn't terribly give a crap. It's amazing that at this point in the show, they still had sports and recreational activities to base episodes around. One has to wonder why they didn't get around to doing a roller derby episode...or maybe they did and I've forgotten it already...?

David Blake

His second time using that one.

Two of Lynch's old time "enemies" from the sheriff's department harass the crew by confiscating their certification papers, until David talks the men (through red-taped double talk) into returning the forms.

I'm spotty on the specifics now, but I noted that David was acting like a bit too much of a know-it-all in this one...just begging to get himself beaten up and thrown somewhere out of sight.

the explosion triggers a Hulk-out

-19:47. Well, this episode has something to offer--a new latest FHO, beating the previous title-holder by roughly 11 seconds! What's more, it looks like it will maintain its status for the rest of the series!

As the Lynch crew lick their wounds

Would this be the source of my note about David's Undercover Doctor status coming into play? Or was he generally serving as a medic in this one?

As the plane rocks from the charge, David--sans a chute--tumbles out, but is rescued with a spare chute by Jack

Yes, falling to his potential death isn't enough to trigger a Hulk-Out...not without some extra stimulus, like somebody throwing down a box of broken glass or a cactus plant....

until the cop's rifle shots rip David's straps, sending him crashing into a building...and triggering another Hulk-out.

-04:32.

Jack gives Banner a ride to the bus station.

Or at least to a generic Lonely Man sequence in which his pants don't match.

This is not a cure related episode.

The very definition of Just Schlepping Around.

and a rather dull story about a corrupt politician and his not-corrupt son.

This is the part where I start awake and blurt out, "So it's not just me!"

Next up is a much more interesting installment, though too small-scale to realize the potential of its premise...but that's a discussion for next week.

 

[Christopher]

Yes, falling to his potential death isn't enough to trigger a Hulk-Out...

Which is ironic, considering what his future has in store...

 

[The Old Mixer]

I thought we didn't count that!

 

[David Bixby]

Are you referring to the Death scene when he falls whilst already in hulk form?

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I thought we didn't count that!

We should not. Its as removed from the spirit of the original series as Rescue from Gilligan's Island was from the sitcom which "inspired" it..

 

[Christopher]

Land of the Giants: "The Unsuspected": This was a pretty good one. I'm generally not fond of episodes that generate artificial conflict among the leads by putting them under the influence of drugs or magic spells or whatever, but it was the only way to get a story like this to work, with Steve coming under the influence of a paranoia-inducing toadstool dust and turning on his friends, while Inspector Kobick (long time no see, though this episode originally aired earlier in the season) listens in on a captured radio and exploits the situation. It's interesting to see the Little People being bewildered by a phenomenon that the giants understand well as a normal part of their world, and it's cool that Dan gets to be the smart one who pieces it all together (although it's after they show him making the standard incredibly dumb TV-character move of tasting an unknown drug with the tip of his tongue). And having Steve plotting against his unsuspecting friends makes for a pretty tense story -- although the first act would've been even more effective if the episode description hadn't give away the twist in advance. (And now so have I, to anyone who hasn't watched the episode yet.)

There are a couple of oddities, though. The thread (and threat) of the SID being able to monitor the crew with a captured radio is left unresolved. Steve has a bizarrely bottomless supply of homemade straps and gags for tying people up with. And it's awkwardly clear that the script had to be tweaked to work around Heather Young's limited availability for whatever reason, since Betty is meant to be one of Steve's captives but happens to be tied up somewhere else the whole time -- although they do turn it to their advantage, using it to create the concern that Steve might have killed her while under the spores' influence.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Yes, after the tease of "Prometheus," David is disappointingly back to randomly wandering into others' situations. When I watched this one in December, I found it not terribly familiar, and I found that I didn't terribly give a crap. It's amazing that at this point in the show, they still had sports and recreational activities to base episodes around. One has to wonder why they didn't get around to doing a roller derby episode...or maybe they did and I've forgotten it already...?

Of the superhero prime-timers, only Wonder Woman low-rented crap like that, and in this episode, skydiving was not the "look how cool and great this sport is, kids!" like aforementioned W.W. and other series, such CHIPS.

I'm spotty on the specifics now, but I noted that David was acting like a bit too much of a know-it-all in this one

If you're referring to his stonewalling the cops with the certificate matters, then I would say David's an intelligent, quick study, but I'm assuming he's also worked with Hank's crew for some time, so he would naturally be up on the details..

...just begging to get himself beaten up and thrown somewhere out of sight.

For some reason, that made me laugh.

Would this be the source of my note about David's Undercover Doctor status coming into play? Or was he generally serving as a medic in this one?

He was a jack of all trades leaning toward an assistant manager type role. I would not count suggesting getting an x-ray, or making an ice pack examples of Undercover Doctor at play. Anyone would do the same in each situation.

Next up is a much more interesting installment, though too small-scale to realize the potential of its premise...but that's a discussion for next week.

I will get into why it worked in the single episode format next week...

 

[HGN2001]

Heather Young's limited availability for whatever reason

Heather Young was pregnant for a good chunk of Season Two, so they often left her back at the ship, or wrote her out for one made-up reason or another.

 

[Christopher]

Heather Young was pregnant for a good chunk of Season Two, so they often left her back at the ship, or wrote her out for one made-up reason or another.

Oh, that explains it. I should've thought of that, since it's a pretty standard reason for actress unavailability.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Land of the Giants: "The Unsuspected": This was a pretty good one. I'm generally not fond of episodes that generate artificial conflict among the leads by putting them under the influence of drugs or magic spells or whatever

In the case of Mark, he did not need much motivation, since he's always held a boiling, slightly under-the-surface resentment of Steve all series long. Still, the series was good in not making all characters one, big happy family after a few episodes in season one. Tension naturally existed between several of the Spindrift group from time to time with the exception of Steve & Dan.

And it's awkwardly clear that the script had to be tweaked to work around Heather Young's limited availability for whatever reason,

HGN2011 beat me to it, but yes, Young was pregnant with her first child during the production of this and other episodes from this period, but would eventually return to her pre-pregnancy weight--especially noticeable as she wears her flight uniform again in "Wild Journey"--one of the last episodes of the series.

 

[Christopher]

Kolchak: “Chopper”: This is noteworthy in that it’s the first collaboration of Back to the Future writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, who wrote the story for the episode but not the teleplay. And it has its fun elements -- I particularly love the way Kolchak cons Larry Linville’s uncooperative police captain into giving him information by spinning a nonsense story that the smug captain is unable to resist correcting. But the effect of the headless motorcyclist is painfully unconvincing and comical -- it’s obviously just a guy wearing fake shoulders around his head. Now, obviously at the time they couldn’t do it as easily as it could be done today, by digitally erasing the rider’s head, but still, they could’ve minimized the problems with the unconvincing effect by not letting us get such a good, long look at it, using more darkness and quick cuts and closeups.

There’s a pretty blatant continuity error in Kolchak’s narration at the beginning -- the instigating incident and the first murder are both in April, but in between, the headless rider’s theft of the motorcycle is given a late February date.