With comic book movies and TV shows being all the rage now in the 21st century, it's always good to re-visit the roots and influences of modern superhero presentations. In terms of film, it's easier to remember that 'Superman' in the late 70s kind of fore-fathered the modern superhero film experience (and in some ways I still think of that as the greatest of all time). But I wonder how many people realize the influence and importance of this groundbreaking series I'm reviewing "The Incredible Hulk (1978-1982), which actually premiered in the same year as the first Superman film? Amazing that both the film that set the stage for big screen superheros and the show that set it for the small screen came out at the same time and are to this day getting their due on their respective influences of the modern superhero genre."The Incredible Hulk" tells the story of genetic scientist Dr. David 'Bruce' Banner, (brilliantly played by the legendary Bill Bixby in an iconic TV performance). Bixby imbibed David Banner with a humanity that I think very few actors could pull off in such a genre, as most superhero actors, especially the TV versions end up coming across as vapid, one-dimensional fashion models playing hero. Look at all the failed superhero shows that came out in the 80s, each of which lasted at most 1 full season! While The Hulk went for 3 seasons, which was pretty good for a comic book TV show that came out at a time when the genre really didn't exist on television.What the producers and writers smartly did with The Hulk is to humanize it by casting a great, genuine actor in the lead role and also to style it in the form of an anthology series, a la the 1960s series "The Fugitive". Indeed, the Hulk actually played like a combination of "The Fugitive" and "Frankenstein", with Banner being a doctor who obsessed over the loss of his wife in a fatal car accident that he didn't have the strength to save her in, so in trying to make himself more physically strong, he inadvertently exposes himself to gamma radiation, thereby creating this creature inside him that only comes out when Banner is in situations that causes him to express rage and anger. Then, after a horrible accident at his laboratory that results in the death of his associate Dr. Elaine Marks (TV vet Susan Sullivan in typically reliable performance), Banner is forced to go on the run as the creature is believed to have killed both he and Dr. Marks since the creature was seen carrying the doctor's dead body from the exploding facility by snooping investigative reporter Jack McGee (passionately played by Jack Colvin). The comparisons to the Fugitive are apparent, with Banner and Richard Kimble both being doctors falsely accused of crimes of women they loved or cared about (except Banner is believed to be dead and the Hulk believed to be the killer), both go on the run until their innocence can be proved and both being chased by an obsessive figure (with The Hulk it's McGee, with Kimble it's Lt. Gerard) who will stop at nothing to capture their prey. And both are anthology series with their heroes each episode in a different place doing a different odd job and getting into new scrapes having to get themselves out of them while leaving an impression with the people they meet and affecting their lives in some way. And by the end of the episode, Banner is on the run again just like Kimble. But while The Hulk followed 'The Fugitive's' general trajectory, it still managed to feel like it's own entity and having the creature was the wild card that set The Hulk apart. The creature was played by famed bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno (in an immensely persuasive performance). Ferrigno, without any dialogue as the gargantuan green creature, was able to convey both fear and sympathy from the viewer as The Hulk, being the other half of David Banner, was actually a hero, not a menace, saving David's life numerous times when he got into trouble.The horror aspect was a huge bonus for this show, as especially in the first season, the creature was very scary and intimidating. The first transformation scene in the Pilot is one of the scariest transformations in all of TV or movie history, set on a stormy night with slow-building tension and accompanied by the show's memorable theme music that would eventually be used to introduce every episode of the series after the Pilot. Then each show was bookended with the scarier version of the score at the beginning and a more toned down version at the end to relay the sadness of Banner's plight.In addition to being the first of it's kind for TV, I still think this version of the Hulk has trumped every presentation since, including Ang Lee's pretentious Hulk film and Edward Norton's generic Incredible Hulk movie, as well as the Hulk in the bloated Avengers movies. The TV Hulk is still the standard-setter and best representation of the iconic character, all thanks to Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno!

I remember watching this series growing up, and feeling so bad for poor David Banner, who was played to perfection by the late Bill Bixby; without him, this series would not have worked, and would likely be forgotten. He was able to convey the melancholy plight of this man remarkably well, and was aided immeasurably by Joe Harnell's haunting and poignant piano theme "The Lonely Man", which suited his performance perfectly. The sight of David walking away alone on another road, duffel bag over his shoulder, as he hitchhikes or walks into the next episode is so powerful it can make the viewer cry, yet Bixby portrayed David with dignity and respect to balance out the pathos.It should be mentioned that Hulk actor Lou Ferrigno was highly effective in his performance and huge body made him perfect casting. Creator Kenneth Johnson was inspired to present this premise seriously, and ground the plots and action in reality. The contribution of these men should not be overlooked! A great pity this series was canceled without proper closure, but it is available on DVD, so can be viewed and appreciated by all.

I loved the show despite the fact that I found many parts of the Pilot movie very disturbing. When I first saw it, I was just twelve years old, and had been having what ultimately were prescient recurring dreams of my someday becoming an unusually young widower since approximately the age of three. I also had a long history of tragically-misunderstood (very often seriously maligned) heroic deeds and intentions of pure altruism which were often seriously misrepresented by those who seemed to delight in making trouble for me or anyone who dared to get close to me, the "geek with the bulletproof-thick glasses" until the day I had finally had enough (at age 15) and delivered a well-deserved beat-down to some a$$hole who had been slandering the "new girl" in school with tales of promiscuity (attributing the lies he told about her to ME, actually) for her having befriended me, probably motivated by jealousy over my having been the one she had befriended rather than him. After being pummeled by me that day, he managed to arrange a "sneak attack" on me, but I wasn't injured as badly as he had hoped. Years later, though, he delivered a long-overdue apology. There were also surprisingly-few times when I actually had to fight before the common misconception of "He can't hit what he can't see!" was dispelled. Other than "sucker punches" delivered from behind, I blocked pretty well for a "half blind" kid, too.The deaths of Laura and Elaina were particularly disturbing back then, even more so after 2003. I was 37 when my wife, Jan, lost a long battle with kidney failure. When our relationship began, she told me of her potentially-fatal condition, the high school gymnastics accident which was determined to have been its cause, the kidney transplant she received in 1988, the ten-year prognosis given by the surgeon who performed the transplant (the transplant ultimately exceeded the surgeon's expectations by three years). While waiting for a compatible replacement to become available for her, the dialysis treatments which sustained her life during that time ultimately caused a fatal heart attack while she slept after a particularly strenuous dialysis session. About 36 hours before she passed away, she told me of her belief that she wouldn't have much longer to live. It was her way of saying "Goodbye" to me, and reminding me that it was only because she was ready to stop fighting to stay alive since she had fulfilled all that she had ever hoped for in life and more (finding true love with me, witnessing the Graduations of both her children, the birth of her first grandchild, and being called Grandma for the first time by her granddaughter) and had already known this was coming when she signed her Living Will and Do Not Resuscitate orders. If not for that final "Goodbye" from her, I would still be a mess 6-1/2 years later, filled with frustration at the fact that I was also asleep for well over an hour past the time when I believe she must have died.Dedicated with love to Jan (1961-2003)

The narration during the opening credits of The Incredible Hulk claims that this show will present a serious context and an epic, story-based, developing struggle with David Banner searching for a cure to his condition of transforming into the Hulk beast involuntarily.Yet, that is *not actually* what the content of the show presents. Almost every single episode follows the exact same, very silly, simplistic formula. A formula that never changes or evolves. The worst part is, the formula has almost *nothing* to do with *the Hulk* whatsoever. The narration belongs on a different, *better* show --- not the show they *actually made.*Really, "the Hulk" on this show is just a superfluous gimmick that is barely related to the content of any episode. They could have made almost exactly the same show, with *no* Hulk scenes or references, with *very few* changes to any of the scripts. This show is basically just: "A drifter goes from town to town doing odd temporary jobs and/or befriending locals whom he asks for money and hospitality from" + "a few tacked on scenes of a Hulk creature smashing some things, then running away". The tacked-on parts *include* the "fights" Banner gets into before the Hulk comes, because they too are contrivances that need not be present in these "drifter story" scripts.Subtracting the Hulk scenes from the equation wouldn't take away much from the show, because they don't add much to the show in the first place. "The Incredible Hulk" premise is *mostly irrelevant* to the *content* of this show. The vast majority of screen-time is spent showing Banner be Dr. Phil to every "random stranger of the week" he meets. The formula of this show is: 90% "David Banner: Self-Help Guru" and 10% "The Hulk appears and uses the environment in some way to 'boff' the bad guys (Ie: pulling the rug out from under them) or throws them around a bit (the Hulk never actually punches anyone with his fists in this show) and then runs away just in time to avoid being captured." All that self-help content is *completely irrelevant* to the premise of "The Incredible Hulk", therefore the amount of screen-time it gets is *ludicrous*.This show has no on-going story whatsoever, it is 'episodic.' Which means that by the limitations of this primitive storytelling-killing formula, there is no way they could have developed Banner, Hulk, or his quest for a cure even if they wanted to, unless they *first* had the fortitude to discard this primitive formula completely. Perhaps this show is a victim of it's times, as primitive 'episodic'-handicapped stories were 'the norm' back then. But it is what it is, and now in 2008 it is apparent that The Incredible Hulk's lack of any story or character development whatsoever does not bode well for it's standing in history as an artistic show. Banner & the Hulk start again from zero at the beginning of every episode, therefore everything that happens in the series is a moot point since it has zero relevance to evolving Banner's or the Hulk's story in any way. Nothing *meaningful* ever can or does happen.In the comics, the Hulk speaks. He's an intelligent being capable of communication. In this show, he's dumbed-down to a big green ape who is incapable of doing anything other than grunting, running, lifting, smashing, and throwing things. Hulk remains dumb for the whole series. You *already know* what's gonna happen with the Hulk *before the episode starts*, because it always follows the *exact* same formula. There's no reason to *care* about the Hulk presented in this series since he's just a big dumb green ape with no potential to change in any subsequent episodes.Banner's quest for the cure is almost completely ignored. Granted there are a scant few episodes that deal with this, but for something that is central to the show to be ignored *most of the time* is absurd. *Especially* since the opening narration before every episode drives home that searching for a cure is *supposed* to be what the show *is*, even though it generally has *nothing* to do with that!Banner spends almost *zero* screen-time looking for a cure. All he ever does with his time is hang out with locals, or take temporary jobs. Time spent looking for a cure seems to be non-existent. This show ignores/abandons it's own opening narration "Banner is looking for a cure" premise by refusing to devote screen-time to showing Banner doing it. As with the Hulk, the Banner character never grows or changes on this show one iota. The maximum amount of development that Banner got was in the pilot where he changed from being obsessed and angry all the time about not helping out his wife, to mellowing-out and completely forgetting about her. However, that is the *entire extent* of all the development Banner *ever* got in the series. After the pilot, he's *exactly* the same character from the first episode to the last.If they *did* make the show into an epic story where Banner, the Hulk, and the search for a cure, all got developed in a new and continual way in each and every episode -making every episode truly *matter*- it *could* have been one of the best shows ever made: a work of art rather than merely entertainment. On the plus side, Bill Bixby's acting is excellent. He's very sympathetic and convincing. Bixby had an inherent quality about him that simply makes people wanna like him. However, his fine acting can only go so far since he was given *nothing* to work with on the script level. This show is marginally entertaining, but *not* as a *Hulk show*.By abandoning & ignoring it's *Hulk* premise, The Incredible Hulk, fell epically short of it's potential for greatness.