Digital downloads have revolutionised my life. For years I was reluctant to give up DVDs because I saw them as part of my identity, but my wife and I have incompatible tastes in entertainment, so need won out and I started watching television series on my iPad.
As I write this, I am alternately watching The Walking Dead, Supergirl, and The Flash – and when I’m waiting for new episodes of those to appear, I’m watching the first two seasons of The Incredible Hulk, which I picked up for about $20 on iTunes. Good luck finding The Incredible Hulk on DVD now, let alone two seasons of it for the price of a cheap meal at a restaurant.
The show was based on the Marvel comic of the same name, although the man who developed it for television, Kenneth Johnson, reined in the more fanciful elements. (These changes have been discussed ad infinitum elsewhere, so I won’t belabour them again.) The pilot, which aired in 1977, stars Bill Bixby as Dr David Banner, a scientist who is investigating reports of regular people exhibiting superhuman feats of strength during times of stress. He has more than an academic interest in this subject: a few years earlier, he and his wife were in a car crash and she burned to death because he was unable to get into the vehicle to save her.
When his research shows the common denominator among these feats of strength could be unusually high gamma radiation levels, Banner decides to use himself as a test subject. He bombards himself with what he believes is a small dose of gamma rays, but due to a (not especially plausible) mislabelling of the gamma ray machine, the dose is actually thousands of times stronger than intended.
Later, while trying to change a tyre in a rainstorm, Banner skins his knuckles on the road and loses his temper. Thus begins his first change into the powerful green creature that will become known as ‘The Hulk’ (played by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno). The offending tyre – along with the rest of the car – is thrown into a nearby ditch.
Once he has returned to normal, Banner and a trusted colleague begin to search for a cure, but they are unsuccessful. That search, in various guises, provides the over-arching subplot for the episodic series to come.
This show holds a special place in my heart. It is the first thing I ever remember watching as a child. I was around three at the time, so it would have been 1980. The Hulk’s transformations both fascinated and terrified me; I would endure the ‘boring bits’ in anticipation of them, but when David Banner’s metamorphosis began I would end up putting a cushion over my face*. Fearsome or not, it ignited a love affair with the character that exists to this day.
So how does the show hold up after nearly 40 years?
As a drama, more than tolerably well. Its biggest asset is undoubtedly Bixby, whose acting prowess helps sell the sometimes contrived plot developments that put Banner in danger, but more importantly, his resulting transformations into the Hulk.
The storylines for each episode range from very good to non-existent. The pilot is still a fine piece of television; ‘747’ (co-written by Richard Matheson) has an excellent premise that is well executed; and ‘A Child in Need’ touches on the subject of domestic violence (although the conclusion does reek of the glib psychoanalysis that was so trendy in the 1970s). The best episodes are the ones that make the Hulk an integral part of the storyline, such as the abovementioned ‘747’ and ‘Of Guilt, Models and Murder’.
Along the way there are a couple of stinkers, most notably ‘Never Give a Trucker an Even Break’, which is just a straight rip-off of Steven Spielberg’s telemovie, Duel.**
The Hulk make-up stands the test of time. Bill Bixby wearing white contacts during the onset of the change has become one of TV’s more memorable images, while the green body paint and fright wig used on Ferrigno are still convincing enough. The 1970s TV production values are evident elsewhere, however, in grainy stock footage, Hulk scenes recycled from previous episodes, and one of the most distracting continuity errors I have ever seen (watch the position of Bixby’s arms while he and his female co-star are talking in ‘Married’).
Like every television show of its ilk – The Fugitive and Prison Break are two others that come to mind – The Incredible Hulk gradually falls victim to its unresolved subplot. Banner supposedly has to stay on the run because he is being pursued by an investigative reporter who could expose him as The Hulk (ol’ Greenskin is wanted for a murder he didn’t commit), but that plot device quickly wears thin. If Banner is on the verge of finding a cure, as he often is in each episode, wouldn’t he just risk hanging around a little longer?
But what really lets the shown down, at least in modern eyes, is the choreography and sound production on the Hulk scenes. Rarely do Ferrigno’s slow-motion actions suggest much in the way of superhuman strength, and the accompanying sound effects that should sell them are pathetic. I found myself eagerly anticipating each ‘Hulk out’, but nine times out of ten I was disappointed when it came. I do like the Hulk’s growling, though… and for some reason I was delighted to learn that the same guy who did the opening voiceover also gave voice to the Hulk.
As an adaptation of the comic book, then, I don’t think The Incredible Hulk succeeds terribly well***. As a TV drama, though, it’s easy to recommend, especially if you can download it for twenty bucks. Very few episodes disappoint.
* Another memory from that time: Like most three-year-olds, I was prone to taking off my jumper and/or shirt regardless of how cold it was. I must have been doing so during an episode of The Incredible Hulk, because my grandmother admonished me and said, “Look, even the Hulk has his shirt on.” (Sometimes the Hulk leaves Banner’s tattered shirt on, sometimes he rips it off.) I swallowed that clever piece of psychology hook, line and sinker, and only on reflection years later did I realise how I’d been duped.
** Since noting the similarity, I’ve learned the episode used actual footage from Duel. The thrift of 1970s network television knew no bounds, eh?
*** But then I feel the same way about all the big budget Hulk movies, which are too cartoonish in their treatment of the action scenes. I believe a modern TV series, that mixes prosthetics and CGI ala Hellboy, could finally do the comic book justice.