You know, in the comics Bruce Banner contemplated suicide, but it seems right after he pulled the trigger he hulked and it didn't work.
I'm sure the tv's Bruce Banner will not have this problem.
MeTV's SuperSci-Fi Saturday Night
- Thread starter JD
- Start date
You know, in the comics Bruce Banner contemplated suicide, but it seems right after he pulled the trigger he hulked and it didn't work.
I'm sure the tv's Bruce Banner will not have this problem.
"Fast Lane"...I can make short work of this one. Back in December 2016 when I was binging the series before Netflix took it down, I only half-watched this one...twice. I was so uninterested the first time that I did other things while letting the episode play on in the background. Afterward, though I wanted to keep my forward momentum going in getting through the series, I decided that I really should have been paying more attention to that episode and put it on again...and wound up doing the exact same thing.
_______December's Mixer said:
Another random, unnecessary additional trigger...
-24:26.
-05:39.
Apparently I'd initially tallied this as "just schlepping around," but questioned if the lab job angle might count as "paying lip service." I've adjusted my tally to the latter.
Good sense on his part.
Isn't that Fant4stic?
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Hulk: “Fast Lane”: Back to routine standalone episodes, and this is about as routine as it gets. An unremarkable tale of David getting coincidentally caught up in the chase for stolen money, it’s all rather unfocused. It’s odd that they devote so much of the first act to the washed-up ex-racer and his longing to get back into racing, having his desire for the money catalyze the plot, and then just have him and his buddy drop out of the chase to give way to the mobster as the bad guy. All told, this was an episode that barely held my attention; I basically had it on while I was exercising and giving my shelves a long-overdue dusting. (Sounds like Mixer had a similar experience.)
Honestly, the most entertaining bit was the blooper: In the climax, when the money was flying around the Hulk, there were a couple of moments where you could see the arm of the stagehand tossing the money from off-camera. Oops! Granted, on old TVs, the edges of the image would be cut off a bit by the picture tube frame, but I think the hand came far enough into the image that it would've still been visible.
This is the second time this season that we’ve had a female guest who would go on to voice an important Hulk character in animation (the first being Philece Sampler in “Dark Side”). Victoria Carroll (Nancy) would make an appearance as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk in the 1982-3 animated Hulk series. This is also Carroll’s second role on this show; she was the reckless driver who caused David’s amnesia in “Mystery Man.” So basically David should just avoid getting into cars with this woman.
Honestly, the most entertaining bit was the blooper: In the climax, when the money was flying around the Hulk, there were a couple of moments where you could see the arm of the stagehand tossing the money from off-camera. Oops! Granted, on old TVs, the edges of the image would be cut off a bit by the picture tube frame, but I think the hand came far enough into the image that it would've still been visible.
This is the second time this season that we’ve had a female guest who would go on to voice an important Hulk character in animation (the first being Philece Sampler in “Dark Side”). Victoria Carroll (Nancy) would make an appearance as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk in the 1982-3 animated Hulk series. This is also Carroll’s second role on this show; she was the reckless driver who caused David’s amnesia in “Mystery Man.” So basically David should just avoid getting into cars with this woman.
I remember the "glory days of my race car-driving career" flashbacks...but was paying so little attention that I hadn't realized there was no payoff. Which is all the more of a crime, because that cheesy bit of business happening right up front was probably a good part of what put me off about the episode. Let's just throw in random crap about our one-shot characters to fill time!
I think he's only there to hire a car to get to the Lab. job interview in NY.
Shakespeare's Plan 12 From Outer Space?
Sounds more like the work of Sir Francis Bacon to me!
Sounds more like the work of Sir Francis Bacon to me!
They are about to repeat, anyway.
The Knightly Murders didn't do as much with Conried as I seem to remember--I can just hear his voice about daring do in the days of yore... http://akolchakaday.blogspot.com/2012/01/episode-18-knightly-murders.html
A thought just popped into my head as to the only person I can think of that could play Kolchak right:
Bob Odenkirk!
So, in other words, ho-hum. Thankfully, this is more the oddity of the season, instead of the rule.
That's Batman's third season for me. Even as a refresher, the entire season is so horrible that I end up back to my regular schedule.
Even McGee has to take a break from his P.T. Barnum / 9th Wonder of the World hunt.
For that, may you be tied to a chair, forced to watch--
--in a loop until you and sanity take a vacation away from each other!
^ That would probably be the kinder fate...at least it has kitsch value.
I take it you have not watched Legends of the Superheroes recently? 10 minutes into that, and you'll beg to see Banner in car chases and the Hulk tossing engine blocks.
Land of the Giants: "The Clones": Another episode about the supposedly technologically backward giants having superscience beyond Earth's, in this case an instant-cloning process that not only duplicates fully adult people with all their memories and physical scars, but even their clothes. But the clones are defective and eventually turn violent before finally "deteriorating," i.e. fading out with the same visual effect and the same music sting used for Time Tunnel travelers' disappearances. William Schallert plays the clone-making scientist, who seems benevolent and kindly but whose supposedly idealistic plan to clone the best and brightest of his civilization carries an implicit undercurrent of eugenics -- which is underlined by how he and his assistant find it necessary to point out repeatedly that Dan is black, and by their willingness to choose him as the subject for their in-depth and potentially fatal examination rather than one of the others, suggesting they see him as more disposable. Although the episode does have a couple of unfortunate moments in its handling of Dan's race, like having the clone Dan point out that the brown splotches of a deteriorating clone might not be visible on his skin, and having him voluntarily put his hands in quite literal chains when he senses himself losing it. For all that it's a noble gesture on his part, it's a disturbing image.
Still, the best part of the episode is the drama of the rescued Dan's realization that he's the clone. It's marvelously played by Don Marshall, and it lets Dan come off as really heroic, since even his duplicates share his inherent nobility. Although it falls apart logically, because Steve and Mark's questions to test his memory are all about stuff from back on Earth, memories that the clone would have anyway, instead of the one question that would easily differentiate the original from the clone: Does he remember being held in the brown cage or the white cage?
A couple of nice technical bits: There's a cool split-screen shot where the originals and clones are in the same shot, the originals run out of frame to escape their cage, and then the duplicates follow them across where the split-screen line had been a moment before. And then there's a lengthy sequence where both sets of little people are being dragged along by the lab's suction system, and the doubles do an almost entirely successful job of keeping their faces away from the camera despite all the flailing and spinning everyone's doing. That had to be carefully choreographed. On the downside, there's a bluescreen shot of Schallert looking down at the caged captives where the cage is way too big relative to his head.
Also, not only is Betty missing from the episode, but she's never even mentioned, her absence never explained. The episode pretty much assumes she doesn't exist.
Still, the best part of the episode is the drama of the rescued Dan's realization that he's the clone. It's marvelously played by Don Marshall, and it lets Dan come off as really heroic, since even his duplicates share his inherent nobility. Although it falls apart logically, because Steve and Mark's questions to test his memory are all about stuff from back on Earth, memories that the clone would have anyway, instead of the one question that would easily differentiate the original from the clone: Does he remember being held in the brown cage or the white cage?
A couple of nice technical bits: There's a cool split-screen shot where the originals and clones are in the same shot, the originals run out of frame to escape their cage, and then the duplicates follow them across where the split-screen line had been a moment before. And then there's a lengthy sequence where both sets of little people are being dragged along by the lab's suction system, and the doubles do an almost entirely successful job of keeping their faces away from the camera despite all the flailing and spinning everyone's doing. That had to be carefully choreographed. On the downside, there's a bluescreen shot of Schallert looking down at the caged captives where the cage is way too big relative to his head.
Also, not only is Betty missing from the episode, but she's never even mentioned, her absence never explained. The episode pretty much assumes she doesn't exist.
You'll also be begging to see the Fantastic Four movie again, just to restore your faith in superheroes.
No, it isn't better than reality TV (and that's really saying something.) CHIP's was shit (not THE shit), and was deserving of the derision it got from critics, Mad Magazine (which called it 'CHIMP's') and SCTV (which did a skit about an ad for a show where Abe Vigoda's Fish was partnered with Erik Estrada's Ponch in a show called 'Fish & CHIP's') I hate reality TV, but CHIPS's was just crap, like a lot of things on early '80's TV that I used to watch as a kid but hate now. No cheesey comedic or dramatic shit on TV is better than a reality TV show, but at least the 'reality' TV is honest about what it is.
This week, on The Incredible Hulk:
"Goodbye Eddie Cain"
Originally aired January 23, 1981
Events in the news that week:
And new on the charts:
"Crying," Don McLean
(#5 US; #2 AC; #6 Country; #1 UK; Originally a hit for co-writer Roy Orbison in 1961)
"The Best of Times," Styx
(#3 US; #26 AC; #16 Rock; #42 UK)
"Kiss on My List," Daryl Hall & John Oates
(#1 US the weeks of Apr. 11 through 25; #16 AC; #54 Rock; #33 UK)
_______
"Goodbye Eddie Cain"
Originally aired January 23, 1981
MeTV said:
Events in the news that week:
And new on the charts:
"Crying," Don McLean
(#5 US; #2 AC; #6 Country; #1 UK; Originally a hit for co-writer Roy Orbison in 1961)
"The Best of Times," Styx
(#3 US; #26 AC; #16 Rock; #42 UK)
"Kiss on My List," Daryl Hall & John Oates
(#1 US the weeks of Apr. 11 through 25; #16 AC; #54 Rock; #33 UK)
_______
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An adequate cover, but a bit odd that the guy who gave us "American Pie" and "Vincent" would come to that.
Not Styx's best, but a very good song. Very interesting lyrics in retrospect. If those were the worst of times, what do we have now?
Hall & Oates were decent in the 70s-- I never cared for their 1980s revamping and nostalgia has not changed my mind.
By the way, just about an hour ago this writing (i.e. 4 PM EST Friday), the El Rey cable network began a marathon of the entire Incredible Hulk series. From now until 5 AM Tuesday, it's all Hulk. They'll get to "Goodbye Eddie Cain" at 6 AM Monday, about a day and a half after MeTV shows it, although they're showing it a few episodes early for some reason.
I guess @TREK_GOD_1 is too busy in another thread to kick us off this week, so...
"Goodbye Eddie Cain," directed by Jack Colvin
Alias: David Benedict
David's notebooks put this one in the "Paying lip service to cure-related activities" category.
FHO: -24:37
SHO: -04:43
This is another "meh" one for me. The detective noir narration gives it some character, but the story is nothing special. The situation with Eddie and his old flame seems a bit like the FBI agent and his old flame in "A Rock and a Hard Place"; and David working on an estate where he has to deal with a spoiled, flirtatious young heiress is also something we've seen recently.
David is on Undercover Doctor duty when treating Eddie's wound.
December's Mixer noticed the unconnected LM of David walking through a suburban neighborhood and wondered if we'd seen it before. Almost-June's Mixer really doesn't give a crap anymore.
Next week: The Incredible Lou!
"Goodbye Eddie Cain," directed by Jack Colvin
Alias: David Benedict
David's notebooks put this one in the "Paying lip service to cure-related activities" category.
FHO: -24:37
SHO: -04:43
This is another "meh" one for me. The detective noir narration gives it some character, but the story is nothing special. The situation with Eddie and his old flame seems a bit like the FBI agent and his old flame in "A Rock and a Hard Place"; and David working on an estate where he has to deal with a spoiled, flirtatious young heiress is also something we've seen recently.
David is on Undercover Doctor duty when treating Eddie's wound.
December's Mixer noticed the unconnected LM of David walking through a suburban neighborhood and wondered if we'd seen it before. Almost-June's Mixer really doesn't give a crap anymore.
Next week: The Incredible Lou!
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Hulk: “Goodbye Eddie Cain”: This one’s a holdover from season 3, complete with the old theme arrangement. It’s also Jack Colvin’s directorial debut, the first of his two times behind the camera. It’s a fun idea, doing a classic hardboiled detective pastiche, and it’s a nice change of pace to see the story told from a perspective other than David’s -- not unlike the McGee-centric “Proof Positive” in a way, although with David a more active presence in the story. Also, it’s always fun when Joe Harnell gets to cut loose and do a straight-up jazz score. The music is the best part of the episode.
Still, there were some choices I wasn’t crazy about, though I’m not sure how much of that was on Colvin as the director and how much was on the editor and producers. The story breaks POV a couple of times to focus on David when Eddie wasn’t a witness, particularly in the Hulk-outs. Since Eddie was unaware of the metamorphosis, it would’ve been preferable to skip the transformation scenes altogether and just have the Hulk suddenly show up. But I guess the CBS and/or Universal suits insisted that the formula had to be maintained at all costs. Also, the jerky slow motion in the climactic action was a bizarre and annoying choice.
It’s pretty unusual for a Hulk fight sequence to span a commercial break, as this one does, with the Hulk running off and then coming back to save Eddie post-cliffhanger. Generally when a Hulk-out spans two acts, the latter part is a comic-relief or sensitive moment before he changes back.
Just not on MeTV. This was their last startling metamorphosis for the foreseeable future. However, "King of the Beach" will be on El Rey at noon Eastern on Monday the 29th.
Still, there were some choices I wasn’t crazy about, though I’m not sure how much of that was on Colvin as the director and how much was on the editor and producers. The story breaks POV a couple of times to focus on David when Eddie wasn’t a witness, particularly in the Hulk-outs. Since Eddie was unaware of the metamorphosis, it would’ve been preferable to skip the transformation scenes altogether and just have the Hulk suddenly show up. But I guess the CBS and/or Universal suits insisted that the formula had to be maintained at all costs. Also, the jerky slow motion in the climactic action was a bizarre and annoying choice.
It’s pretty unusual for a Hulk fight sequence to span a commercial break, as this one does, with the Hulk running off and then coming back to save Eddie post-cliffhanger. Generally when a Hulk-out spans two acts, the latter part is a comic-relief or sensitive moment before he changes back.
Just not on MeTV. This was their last startling metamorphosis for the foreseeable future. However, "King of the Beach" will be on El Rey at noon Eastern on Monday the 29th.
Ah, hadn't noticed that! And looking at the production list, no wonder they held it back...it literally falls right in-between the two episodes that I cited resemblances to!
And I was just about to edit that in!
And on H&I in a few months, I imagine.
The Incredible Hulk
"Goodbye, Eddie Cain"
LOS ANGELES--
At a police station, investigator Eddie Cain is grilled by detectives about several photos--one of a dead man named Jack Lewis found in Cain's office, killed with Cain's gun. His mind trails back to recent events...
Eddie Cain: "It was late August in Los Angeles, and hotter than the price of gold. For two long weeks, the super Santa Ana wind had been blowing in from the desert, and the City of Angels was beginning to curl up and shrivel, like cheap bacon on a hot grill. At night, the desert wind went away, but the heat hung around forever, trapped down on the streets and sidewalks and alleys, not to mention inside a guy's skull People can get strange when its been hot for so long. People can even get crazy.."
Cain's mind flashes back to David Banner being beaten...the Hulk raging...
Eddie Cain: "...take my word on it, troops. Eddie Cain, Investigator wouldn't kid you."
Cain thinks the murder of Jack Lewis (a semi-acquaintance) was a frame-up; offering to tell his side of the story, Cain thinks back a couple of weeks, sour over an unfulfilling run of cases, when an old friend--Norma Crespi--called to meet Cain. Crespi--now engaged to Howard Lang (a candidate for governor) makes his way to the Lang estate, meeting surly Jack Lewis, Crespi's lascivious daughter Vicki, and the man she desires, gardener David Benedict. Vicki demands David swim with her, instead of being locked away, working on some personal matter, but David begs off. Cain reunites with Norma, the woman frustrated that she's being blackmailed, the threat to expose Norma's past (sexual & criminal) relationship with longtime mob figure, Dante "Danny" Romero. Cain takes notice of the typed blackmail note--the typewriter drops a certain key...
As Cain runs background checks on the residents at the property, with two failing to be cleared: angry Jack Lewis, and David, the latter believed to hiding something, since he has next to no traceable background. Adding to David's "shady" nature is the man speeding away to a sleazy part of town, specifically, The Devil's Advocate club, known for being a play land for the sex and drugs set. The plot thickens when Cain sees Lewis--in the would-be governor 's car--parked in front of the establishment. It turns out that David was called to retrieve Norma's wayward daughter from the dump, causing Cain to see Norma in a very negative light. Back at the estate, David tries to usher the horny Viki back to her room--but not for what she has in mind. While David is occupied, Cain sneaks into Banner's room, and makes a discovery which leaves him more confused than ever--
Cain: "The guy was some kind of math nut or something.He'd got calculations written down everywhere, and the books..Einstein would have trouble figuring them out. It was weird. Really weird."
Typing his name on David's typewriter, he discovers the same dropped letters match that seen on the blackmail note. Assured that Banner is the guilty party, Cain confronts David--quickly dreaming up motives, from trying to run off with money--and Vicki--to job security....anything. David denies he's responsible for the note, but Cain--still sensing something not quite right about Banner, pretends to let the matter go. arranging a meeting with Danny Romero (brushing off the hostile treatment from his lieutenant Sheehan), Cain gets the sinking feeling that Romero's instant interest in Vicki (and knowing about the note Cain did not have a chance to mention) means he might be the girl's father.
While Romero generates more questions than answers, Cain's sources I.D. Jack Lewis as a smalltime blackmailer---one who might have an inside line on Norma, as he's spotted cavorting in the pool with Vicki. Cain is apprehended by Lewis, Vicki and two thugs; before Lewis can shoot Cain, David rushes in on the scene, pushes a metal rack on the criminals,and yells for Cain to run. David is not so lucky--he tries to protect himself by sliding under a car suspended on a floor jack, but Lewis releases the device, dropping the heavy sports car on David--triggering a Hulk out. The Hulk rises, flipping the car over, eventually pushing it into the two thugs. Lewis runs off, (leaving Vicki behind) with Cain--and the Hulk--in hot pursuit.
Running through the woods around the property, Cain hears two gunshots, eventually finding a dead body--Lewis. Unfortunately, Romero and his gunmen show up; Romero reveals Lewis tried to sell damning information to the opponent of Norma's fiancée, but thanks to the recent turn of events, Romero has decided to take matters into his own hands, cleaning up Norma's problems (and shoehorn himself into becoming daddy to Vicki). Part of that cleaning up process begins with killing Cain, but he's rescued by the Hulk, who pushes a tree between Cain & the men, long enough for the (apparently wounded) investigator--and the Hulk--to escape. Needing a place to hide, Cain stumbles into David's room, then passes out...
Cain wakes to the sight of David dressing his wound. Somewhat trusting David, Cain gets Banner up to speed on the situation, including the fact Romero got a good look at David from a surveillance photo Cain took hours earlier. Promising to help David leave town, the investigator drives to his office to collect spare money, and runs right into the sight of an ambulance crew removing the corpse of Lewis...from his office. Clearly, Romero's men moved it there to frame him, along with sending men to chase him down. Evading the criminals, Cain provides a bit of backstory on how his "appetite" cost him his once-respectable status as an investigator. One of the objects of said appetite--Norma Crespi--meets Cain in a public park, where Norma's latest troubles complicate David's life more than he bargained for; Norma gives Cain a briefcase full of money to deliver to the blackmailers--meaning Lewis was not THE man after all.
The attached note demands Cain and David deliver the money to an abandoned film studio lot. There, it all becomes clear who was behind the entire scheme: Norma's daughter Vicki, and her lover--Romero's lieutenant, Sheehan. Vicki initially used Lewis to set the blackmail up, acting as an expendable face for the crime, but her intention was to end up with Sheehan, who seeks to usurp Romero, while Vicki aims to psychologically destroy her mother with even a whisper of scandal. Despite David & Cain held at gunpoint, Cain attacks Sheehan, and David runs for cover. During the struggle for Sheehan's gun (and Vicki loosely firing everywhere), a rope securing several flats (fake walls) snaps, sending the stacks toppling on David like dominoes, triggering a Hulk-out. The creature prevents the couple's escape by pushing a light tower in their path, then runs off, leaving Cain wondering how this green man managed to be at the right place & time for him...again...
Cain's story clear him of suspicion with the police, learning Romero's men found Sheehan & murdered him--but not Vicki. He hangs around long enough to see Vicki brought in, the woman now realizing she was spared because she is Romero's daughter. Vicki asks Cain to tell David she's sorry, but Banner has already hit the road.
NOTES:
Jack McGee does not appear in this episode, but his other half--Jack Colvin--directed the piece.
This is not a cure-related episode.
Where to begin...
"Goodbye, Eddie Cain" seems like a script serving two masters: One, with Cain's narration, and a classic example of Banner/Hulk dropped into this unconventional tale (for TIH), the story becomes Cain's, suggesting this could have been toying with the idea of being a backdoor pilot of sorts, instead of a one-off script. Two, Banner finding himself draped by the Raymond Chandler-esque plot felt like odd issues of the Marvel Two-in-One comic, where the Thing ended up in 1942 (fighting alongside the Liberty Legion), or facing Boss Barker, a Skrull (yeah, that's right) taking on the life and appearance of a 1930s gangster--interesting (in theory), but out of place.
Mitchell--typical of his ability--could play anything, including a stereotyped Chandler-esque investigator, but I will say that kind of performance is worth only one go around, so if this was a backdoor pilot, its good that it did not become a series.
GUEST CAST:
Cameron Mitchell (Eddie Cain)--Cameron Mitchell was one of the more versatile character actors of the 50s-70s, becoming quite well known in the process, but as the years wore on, he--like many older performers--no longer enjoyed quality roles, ending up (by the 1980s) in several low-budget, quickie fantasy movies best left in the Wal-Mart $5 bin. Still, some of his better work could be found on the fantasy side--
Jennifer Holmes (Vicki Romero) last visited Hulk-land in "Metamorphosis" --the third season premiere episode, and co-starred in the Cameron Mitchell horror movie, The Demon (Gold Key Entertainment, 1979).
"Goodbye, Eddie Cain"
LOS ANGELES--
At a police station, investigator Eddie Cain is grilled by detectives about several photos--one of a dead man named Jack Lewis found in Cain's office, killed with Cain's gun. His mind trails back to recent events...
Eddie Cain: "It was late August in Los Angeles, and hotter than the price of gold. For two long weeks, the super Santa Ana wind had been blowing in from the desert, and the City of Angels was beginning to curl up and shrivel, like cheap bacon on a hot grill. At night, the desert wind went away, but the heat hung around forever, trapped down on the streets and sidewalks and alleys, not to mention inside a guy's skull People can get strange when its been hot for so long. People can even get crazy.."
Cain's mind flashes back to David Banner being beaten...the Hulk raging...
Eddie Cain: "...take my word on it, troops. Eddie Cain, Investigator wouldn't kid you."
Cain thinks the murder of Jack Lewis (a semi-acquaintance) was a frame-up; offering to tell his side of the story, Cain thinks back a couple of weeks, sour over an unfulfilling run of cases, when an old friend--Norma Crespi--called to meet Cain. Crespi--now engaged to Howard Lang (a candidate for governor) makes his way to the Lang estate, meeting surly Jack Lewis, Crespi's lascivious daughter Vicki, and the man she desires, gardener David Benedict. Vicki demands David swim with her, instead of being locked away, working on some personal matter, but David begs off. Cain reunites with Norma, the woman frustrated that she's being blackmailed, the threat to expose Norma's past (sexual & criminal) relationship with longtime mob figure, Dante "Danny" Romero. Cain takes notice of the typed blackmail note--the typewriter drops a certain key...
As Cain runs background checks on the residents at the property, with two failing to be cleared: angry Jack Lewis, and David, the latter believed to hiding something, since he has next to no traceable background. Adding to David's "shady" nature is the man speeding away to a sleazy part of town, specifically, The Devil's Advocate club, known for being a play land for the sex and drugs set. The plot thickens when Cain sees Lewis--in the would-be governor 's car--parked in front of the establishment. It turns out that David was called to retrieve Norma's wayward daughter from the dump, causing Cain to see Norma in a very negative light. Back at the estate, David tries to usher the horny Viki back to her room--but not for what she has in mind. While David is occupied, Cain sneaks into Banner's room, and makes a discovery which leaves him more confused than ever--
Cain: "The guy was some kind of math nut or something.He'd got calculations written down everywhere, and the books..Einstein would have trouble figuring them out. It was weird. Really weird."
Typing his name on David's typewriter, he discovers the same dropped letters match that seen on the blackmail note. Assured that Banner is the guilty party, Cain confronts David--quickly dreaming up motives, from trying to run off with money--and Vicki--to job security....anything. David denies he's responsible for the note, but Cain--still sensing something not quite right about Banner, pretends to let the matter go. arranging a meeting with Danny Romero (brushing off the hostile treatment from his lieutenant Sheehan), Cain gets the sinking feeling that Romero's instant interest in Vicki (and knowing about the note Cain did not have a chance to mention) means he might be the girl's father.
While Romero generates more questions than answers, Cain's sources I.D. Jack Lewis as a smalltime blackmailer---one who might have an inside line on Norma, as he's spotted cavorting in the pool with Vicki. Cain is apprehended by Lewis, Vicki and two thugs; before Lewis can shoot Cain, David rushes in on the scene, pushes a metal rack on the criminals,and yells for Cain to run. David is not so lucky--he tries to protect himself by sliding under a car suspended on a floor jack, but Lewis releases the device, dropping the heavy sports car on David--triggering a Hulk out. The Hulk rises, flipping the car over, eventually pushing it into the two thugs. Lewis runs off, (leaving Vicki behind) with Cain--and the Hulk--in hot pursuit.
Running through the woods around the property, Cain hears two gunshots, eventually finding a dead body--Lewis. Unfortunately, Romero and his gunmen show up; Romero reveals Lewis tried to sell damning information to the opponent of Norma's fiancée, but thanks to the recent turn of events, Romero has decided to take matters into his own hands, cleaning up Norma's problems (and shoehorn himself into becoming daddy to Vicki). Part of that cleaning up process begins with killing Cain, but he's rescued by the Hulk, who pushes a tree between Cain & the men, long enough for the (apparently wounded) investigator--and the Hulk--to escape. Needing a place to hide, Cain stumbles into David's room, then passes out...
Cain wakes to the sight of David dressing his wound. Somewhat trusting David, Cain gets Banner up to speed on the situation, including the fact Romero got a good look at David from a surveillance photo Cain took hours earlier. Promising to help David leave town, the investigator drives to his office to collect spare money, and runs right into the sight of an ambulance crew removing the corpse of Lewis...from his office. Clearly, Romero's men moved it there to frame him, along with sending men to chase him down. Evading the criminals, Cain provides a bit of backstory on how his "appetite" cost him his once-respectable status as an investigator. One of the objects of said appetite--Norma Crespi--meets Cain in a public park, where Norma's latest troubles complicate David's life more than he bargained for; Norma gives Cain a briefcase full of money to deliver to the blackmailers--meaning Lewis was not THE man after all.
The attached note demands Cain and David deliver the money to an abandoned film studio lot. There, it all becomes clear who was behind the entire scheme: Norma's daughter Vicki, and her lover--Romero's lieutenant, Sheehan. Vicki initially used Lewis to set the blackmail up, acting as an expendable face for the crime, but her intention was to end up with Sheehan, who seeks to usurp Romero, while Vicki aims to psychologically destroy her mother with even a whisper of scandal. Despite David & Cain held at gunpoint, Cain attacks Sheehan, and David runs for cover. During the struggle for Sheehan's gun (and Vicki loosely firing everywhere), a rope securing several flats (fake walls) snaps, sending the stacks toppling on David like dominoes, triggering a Hulk-out. The creature prevents the couple's escape by pushing a light tower in their path, then runs off, leaving Cain wondering how this green man managed to be at the right place & time for him...again...
Cain's story clear him of suspicion with the police, learning Romero's men found Sheehan & murdered him--but not Vicki. He hangs around long enough to see Vicki brought in, the woman now realizing she was spared because she is Romero's daughter. Vicki asks Cain to tell David she's sorry, but Banner has already hit the road.
NOTES:
Jack McGee does not appear in this episode, but his other half--Jack Colvin--directed the piece.
This is not a cure-related episode.
Where to begin...
"Goodbye, Eddie Cain" seems like a script serving two masters: One, with Cain's narration, and a classic example of Banner/Hulk dropped into this unconventional tale (for TIH), the story becomes Cain's, suggesting this could have been toying with the idea of being a backdoor pilot of sorts, instead of a one-off script. Two, Banner finding himself draped by the Raymond Chandler-esque plot felt like odd issues of the Marvel Two-in-One comic, where the Thing ended up in 1942 (fighting alongside the Liberty Legion), or facing Boss Barker, a Skrull (yeah, that's right) taking on the life and appearance of a 1930s gangster--interesting (in theory), but out of place.
Mitchell--typical of his ability--could play anything, including a stereotyped Chandler-esque investigator, but I will say that kind of performance is worth only one go around, so if this was a backdoor pilot, its good that it did not become a series.
GUEST CAST:
Cameron Mitchell (Eddie Cain)--Cameron Mitchell was one of the more versatile character actors of the 50s-70s, becoming quite well known in the process, but as the years wore on, he--like many older performers--no longer enjoyed quality roles, ending up (by the 1980s) in several low-budget, quickie fantasy movies best left in the Wal-Mart $5 bin. Still, some of his better work could be found on the fantasy side--
- Flight to Mars (Monogram Distributing, 1951)
- Gorilla at Large (20th Century Fox, 1954) - with (believe it or not) Anne Bancroft, Lee Marvin, Lee J. Cobb & Raymond Burr. Thankfully, they all managed to live this down...
- Autopsia de un fantasma (Peliculas Rodriguez, 1968)
- Nightmare in Wax (Crown International Pictures, 1969)
- The Andersonville Trial (PBS/KCET, 1970) - not fantasy, but this George C. Scott-directed historical drama starred William Shatner & Richard Basehart
- Rod Serling's Night Gallery (NBC, 1972) - "Green Fingers" with Elsa Lanchester, & "Finnegan's Flight" with Burgess Meredith
- Search (NBC, 1973) - "The Mattson Papers"
- Death in Space (TV movie, 1974) with Star Trek one-timers Robert Walker, Jr. & Susan Oliver
- The Toolbox Murders (Cal-Am Artists, 1978)
- The Swarm (Warner Brothers, 1978) - arguably Irwin Allen's last stab at an interesting disaster film (with insects)
- Project U.F.O. (NBC, 1978) - "Sighting 4016: The Pipeline Incident"
- Screamers (Dania Films, 1979)
- The Demon (Gold Key Entertainment, 1979)
- Supersonic Man (Almena Films, 1979)
- The Silent Scream (Denny Harris Productions, 1979)
- Without Warning (Heritage, 1980)
- Cataclysm aka The Nightmare Never Ends (Yeaman, Yordan & Halle Productions,1980)
- Captive (Sandler Institutional Films, 1980)
- The Perfect Woman (Sandler Institutional Films, 1981)
- Frankenstein Island (Cerito Films, 1981)
- Blood Link (Zadar Films, 1982)
- Night Train to Terror (Visto International, 1985)
- Shadow Chasers (ABC, 1986) - "Blood and Magnolias"
Jennifer Holmes (Vicki Romero) last visited Hulk-land in "Metamorphosis" --the third season premiere episode, and co-starred in the Cameron Mitchell horror movie, The Demon (Gold Key Entertainment, 1979).
- The Incredible Hulk (CBS, 1979) - "Metamorphosis"
- Voyagers! (NBC, 1982) - "Agents of Satan"
- Tales of the Unexpected (ITV, 1985) - "Nothin' Short of Highway Robbery"
- Misfits of Science (NBC, 1985-86) - series regular as Jane Miller
- The Ghost and the Guest (Alexander-Stern Productions, 1943)
- Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (RKO, 1946)
- The Catman of Paris (Republic Pictures, 1946)
- Tarzan and the Slave Girl (RKO, 1950)
- Flying Disc Man from Mars (Republic Pictures, 1950)
- Adventures of Superman (Syndicated, 1953) - "Czar of the Underworld"
- Phantom of the Rue Morgue (Warner Bros., 1954)
- The Lone Ranger (ABC, 1955) - "The Tell-Tale Bullet"
- Suspicion (NBC, 1958) - "Comfort from the Grave"
- Zorro (ABC, 1958) - recurring as Don Juan Ortega
- Thriller (NBC, 1960) - "The Guilty Men"
- Kraft Suspense Theatre (NBC, 1964) - "A Cause of Anger"
- The Addams Family (ABC, 1965) - "Morticia's Dilemma"
- Tarzan (NBC, 1966) - "The Figurehead" (one of the few actors to star In Tarzan movies & TV series)
- The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (NBC, 1967) - "The U.F.O. Affair"
- The Time Tunnel (ABC, 1967) - "Idol of Death"
- Claws (Alaska Pictures, 1977)
- Yogi's Space Race (NBC, 1978-79) - various voices
- On the Beach (United Artists, 1959)
- Sinderella and the Golden Bra (Paul Mart Productions, 1964) - Yes, that's SINderella...
- Count Yorga, Vampire (AIP, 1970)
- Dream No Evil (Clover Films, 1970)
- Werewolves on Wheels (South Street Films, 1971)
