The Incredible Hulk TV series appreciation thread
- Thread starter Kor
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In the third season's "Proof Positive", there was only one Hulk-out in act four. Of course, Bixby didn't even appear in this episode and the role of David Banner was played by series stuntman Frank Orsatti.
Sure, the show was formulaic, but so were most shows at the time. What was noteworthy about it was how good a job it did telling stories within the formula it was obliged to follow. For its day, it was a very good show, certainly the most successful live-action Marvel adaptation of the 20th century, and one of the top live-action superhero shows of the '70s and early '80s, with only a few significant competitors (Wonder Woman, the bionic shows, The Greatest American Hero). It hads strong leads in Bill Bixby, Jack Colvin, and even Lou Ferrigno (who I thought was very good at giving the Hulk a sympathetic personality), effective dramatic writing, good music, and pretty impressive (and expensive) stunt work and location filming. Kenneth Johnson may not have had any respect for the source material and may have been trying to have as little to do with it as possible, but he took the show he was doing seriously and did his best to make it with intelligence and quality. (In his mind, he was making a blend of Les Miserables and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I'm sure the network saw it as another The Fugitive, but Johnson claims that wasn't an inspiration.)
Doctorwhovian
Fleet Captain
It's interesting that the Hulk TV show has influenced future adaptations of the material and to a degree the comic book as well. The "Don't make me angry" line, the David Banner name, the theme song, the gamma experiment (Especially for the 2008 film), and of course cameos of Lou Ferrigno (and stock footage of Bixby) in various cartoons, movies, etc. The Hulk is also mostly silent in the movies too. The controversial run of Bruce Jones on the comic series in the early 2000s also seemed inspired by the TV show, although with a bit more of an "X-files" twist (Some elements from that run, oddly enough also appeared in the 2008 film).
There was also a short-lived Amazing Spider-man TV show which came out around the same time, but cancelled very shortly (There's also the Japanese spider-man series as well). Although they didn't have the impact the Hulk TV series had, both Spider-man TV shows were referenced in the Spider-verse comic crossover a few months ago. I would argue the 60's cartoon had more influence on later stuff, just for the theme song
There was also a short-lived Amazing Spider-man TV show which came out around the same time, but cancelled very shortly (There's also the Japanese spider-man series as well). Although they didn't have the impact the Hulk TV series had, both Spider-man TV shows were referenced in the Spider-verse comic crossover a few months ago. I would argue the 60's cartoon had more influence on later stuff, just for the theme song
IIRC, there were actually some discussions about the possibility of a Hulk/Spider-Man crossover while the two shows were both on the air. But Spidey got cancelled, which put paid to that idea.
I'll give you a hint why I loved this show:
I got home the other day and caught an early season rerun on Esquire network. It was an episode with Jennifer Darling (Oscar's secretary on 6m$man) as a woman truck driver who gets carjacked. Of course David tries to help and at one point tries to call the police on a pay phone.
Anybody old enough to remember pay phones must also remember the frustrations associated with them. In this case, though, those frustrations caused one of David's transformations, with his last coherent words being: "I don't HAVE EXACT CHANGE!"
Stuff like that keeps me coming back to the show over and over again.
I got home the other day and caught an early season rerun on Esquire network. It was an episode with Jennifer Darling (Oscar's secretary on 6m$man) as a woman truck driver who gets carjacked. Of course David tries to help and at one point tries to call the police on a pay phone.
Anybody old enough to remember pay phones must also remember the frustrations associated with them. In this case, though, those frustrations caused one of David's transformations, with his last coherent words being: "I don't HAVE EXACT CHANGE!"
Stuff like that keeps me coming back to the show over and over again.
^That made me LOL!
The people who "missed out" on payphones also missed out on things like replacing the needle on their record player. Records! The dial-up internet squeel. Beta-max.
I feel old.
Anyway, I loved the old Incredible Hulk show. Despite the predictable formula, it always managed to be entertaining. Probably the best comic-based show of its era.
An aside-- who was aware that Bill Bixby actually helped develop a proposal for a She-Hulk spin-off that never materialized?
The people who "missed out" on payphones also missed out on things like replacing the needle on their record player. Records! The dial-up internet squeel. Beta-max.
I feel old.
Anyway, I loved the old Incredible Hulk show. Despite the predictable formula, it always managed to be entertaining. Probably the best comic-based show of its era.
An aside-- who was aware that Bill Bixby actually helped develop a proposal for a She-Hulk spin-off that never materialized?
The episode was told from Jack McGee's point of view, so he never saw Banner's face. I think he just saw him at a distance.
A news paper paid Jack for 5 years, to almost write one story.
No wonder print media is a dying industry.
No wonder print media is a dying industry.
My absolute favorite childhood show, and one I've tried to revisit every decade or so if somebody's rerunning it (which hasn't been for awhile, I'm afraid). I only own a DVD with the pilot and the two-part Mariette Hartley episode.
It was formulaic, but it told its stories in a grounded and mature manner that's made it far more watchable for me as an adult than other genre shows of the era like Wonder Woman. Bixby gets the lion's share of the credit for this in my book...he played a protagonist that you could really get invested in, and pulled off what I've come to see as the main trick in live-action Hulk portrayals...he made you root for him not to change into the Hulk, even though the Hulk was supposed to be the reason you were watching the show.
I remember that, and it reminds me of a late-70s Crazy or Cracked parody that had David changing in a public restroom stall after he discovered that there was no toilet paper...!
COZI would work for me, too.
(Lord, it's been so long since I've watched the show that I had to Google the name of the paper to be sure...!)
It was formulaic, but it told its stories in a grounded and mature manner that's made it far more watchable for me as an adult than other genre shows of the era like Wonder Woman. Bixby gets the lion's share of the credit for this in my book...he played a protagonist that you could really get invested in, and pulled off what I've come to see as the main trick in live-action Hulk portrayals...he made you root for him not to change into the Hulk, even though the Hulk was supposed to be the reason you were watching the show.
Back in the broadcast days, you could literally set your clock by those transformations in most episodes...but there were a small few that broke the formula. One that comes to mind is the one with the psychic, when David was led to believe that the Hulk had killed a teenager. The creature actually appeared in the first scene!
I wouldn't say "silent"...but he is a man-monster of few words.
So somebody is rerunning it...I wonder if I get that channel.
I remember that, and it reminds me of a late-70s Crazy or Cracked parody that had David changing in a public restroom stall after he discovered that there was no toilet paper...!THIS!
COZI would work for me, too.
To be fair, it was supposed to be a trashy tabloid. The Hulk was the National Register's exclusive Sasquatch.
(Lord, it's been so long since I've watched the show that I had to Google the name of the paper to be sure...!)
^That made me LOL!
The people who "missed out" on payphones also missed out on things like replacing the needle on their record player. Records! The dial-up internet squeel. Beta-max.
I feel old.
Payphones are still here-and I used one just a few weeks ago. Now, they take credit cards, so 'David' (Bruce) should have no problem getting 'exact change' and no reason to Hulk out.
As for vinyl, I don't miss it, and I'm not joining in with hipsters who are now collecting records, either; my place is too small to store all of that stuff. CD's are it for me. I do miss Betamax (especially Super Betamax) and Super VHS, and wish that I could get both machines.
Its charms are lost on me now as an adult.
How would they have been able to pull that off convincingly? The production company was barely able to bring the Hulk to life.
A guy who's believed to be dead and on the run, moving from town to town, odd job to odd job, always under assumed names, may not have easy access to credit cards. They addressed the downfalls of leaving an electronic trail in the TIH movie, though that version of Banner had a more high-tech operation on his tail.
Public restroom stalls, OTOH, still run out of toilet paper.
Public restroom stalls, OTOH, still run out of toilet paper.
^I was jokingly referring to prepaid credit cards, not standard ones.
The Incredible Hulk along with Kung Fu was one of those rare shows my mom and I really shared when I was growing up so it always holds a special spot with me. Not quite sure what resonated about those between us though I suppose they have a bit of a common thread with the lonely nomadic outsider.
I never admitted it at the time but I actually found the Hulk himself to be kind of unsettling and scary as a kid. Made it a bit more thrilling.
Do you remember pay toilets? Like you'd have to put a dime in the door to use it? Haven't seen those since I was a kid and sure as hell don't miss them.
I never admitted it at the time but I actually found the Hulk himself to be kind of unsettling and scary as a kid. Made it a bit more thrilling.
Do you remember pay toilets? Like you'd have to put a dime in the door to use it? Haven't seen those since I was a kid and sure as hell don't miss them.
Well I do like vinyl a lot... though I find it to be a finicky format. I really don't enjoy the look and feel of CDs and CD cases. 
If you really want the best high-fidelity analog music experience, there's a company that's re-issuing certain jazz and roots albums on studio-quality tape reels. And they're about $300 per album.
Kor
If you really want the best high-fidelity analog music experience, there's a company that's re-issuing certain jazz and roots albums on studio-quality tape reels. And they're about $300 per album.
Kor
