| The Incredible Hulk | |
|---|---|
_logo.svg){kind=logo} | |
| Genre | |
| Based on | |
| Developed by | Kenneth Johnson |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Ted Cassidy (opening narration) |
| Ending theme | "The Lonely Man Theme" |
| Composer | Joe Harnell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 80 + 5 TV movies(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Kenneth Johnson |
| Producers |
|
| Running time | 47–50 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | November 4, 1977 (1977-11-04) – May 12, 1982 (1982-05-12) |
| Related | |
| The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) | |
The Incredible Hulk is an American television series based on theMarvel Comics character theHulk. The series aired on theCBStelevision network and starredBill Bixby as Dr. David Banner,Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, andJack Colvin as Jack McGee.
In the series, Dr. David Banner, a widowed physician and scientist who is presumed dead, travels across the United States underassumed names and finds himself in positions where he helps others in need despite his terrible secret: Following an accidental overdose of gamma radiation that altered his cells, in times of extreme anger or stress, he transforms into a huge, savage, incredibly strong green-skinned humanoid, who has been named the Hulk. In his travels, Banner earns money by working temporary jobs while searching for a way to either control or cure his condition. All the while, he is obsessively pursued by atabloid newspaper reporter, Jack McGee, who is convinced that the Hulk is a deadly menace whose exposure would enhance his career.
The series' two-hourtelevision pilot movie, which established the Hulk's origins, aired on November 4, 1977. The series' 80 episodes were originally broadcast by CBS over five seasons from 1978 to 1982. It was developed andproduced byKenneth Johnson, who alsowrote ordirected some episodes.
In 1988, the filming rights were purchased fromMCA/Universal byNew World Television for a series ofTV movies to conclude the series' storyline. The broadcast rights were, in turn, transferred to rivalNBC. New World (which at one point owned Marvel) produced threetelevision films:The Incredible Hulk Returns (directed byNicholas J. Corea),The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, andThe Death of the Incredible Hulk (both directed by Bill Bixby). Since its debut,The Incredible Hulk has garnered a worldwide fan base.[1]
David Banner, M.D., is a physician and scientist employed at California's Culver Institute, who istraumatized by the car accident that killed his beloved wife, Laura. Banner and his research partner, Dr. Elaina Marks, study people who summonedsuperhuman strength during moments of extreme stress. Obsessed with discovering why he was unable to exhibit such super-strength under similar conditions, Banner hypothesizes that high levels ofgamma radiation fromsunspots contributed to the subjects' increase in strength.
Impatient to test his theory, Banner conducts an unsupervised experiment in the laboratory, bombarding himself with gamma radiation. However, the radiology equipment has recently been recalibrated, so Banner unknowingly gives himself a massive overdose. He initially thinks that the experiment has failed, but later, when he injures himself under a heavy rain while changing a flat tire, Banner's anger triggers his transformation into a 6-foot-7-inch-tall (2.01 m), 285-pound (129 kg) green skinned, superhumanly strong creature who is driven by rage, and has only a primitive intelligence. The creature reverts to Banner when he calms down, and, since Banner is unable to remember what occurs while in his transformed state, he goes to Marks for help. They succeed in deliberately triggering the transformation again - this time under laboratory conditions - and investigate the nature of the metamorphosis, and the possibility of a cure. Tabloid reporter Jack McGee, who was initially investigating Banner and Marks' superhuman strength research, now suspects them of being connected to the reports of a green-skinned monster roaming the area. While snooping around their laboratory, McGee unknowingly triggers a fire. Banner rushes back into the laboratory to save Marks, only for the creature to emerge from the fire with her in his arms, dying. Mistakenly believing that Banner was killed in the fire along with Marks and that the creature was responsible for their deaths, McGee publishes a story naming the "Incredible Hulk" as their killer and urges law enforcement to capture him.
Banner travels from place to place, assuming different identities and odd jobs to support himself and enable his search for a cure. He also finds himself feeling obliged to help the people he meets out of whatever troubles have befallen them. Inevitably, doing so puts him in perilous situations that trigger his transformations into the Hulk, which in turn attracts the attention of McGee, who is obsessively pursuing the mysterious creature across the country, both to prevent further violence and to bring legitimacy to his story.
Despite the rampages, the Hulk usually does good for the people Banner encounters in his travels. Each episode ends with Banner back on the road, fearful that the Hulk's appearances will bring unwanted scrutiny from the authorities and the ever-persistent McGee.
The opening narration summarizes the experiment that turned Banner into the Hulk, McGee's pursuit of the Hulk, and Banner's quest to control the Hulk while eluding authorities. A different version of the opening narration was used for the second pilot movie,The Return of the Incredible Hulk (later re-titled "Death in the Family"). This version is mostly the same but adds an explanation of why the Hulk is wanted for murder and why Banner is believed dead.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| Pilot movies | November 4, 1977 (1977-11-04) | November 28, 1977 (1977-11-28) | CBS | ||
| 1 | 10 | March 10, 1978 (1978-03-10) | May 26, 1978 (1978-05-26) | ||
| 2 | 22 | September 22, 1978 (1978-09-22) | May 25, 1979 (1979-05-25) | ||
| 3 | 23 | September 21, 1979 (1979-09-21) | April 11, 1980 (1980-04-11) | ||
| 4 | 18 | November 7, 1980 (1980-11-07) | May 22, 1981 (1981-05-22) | ||
| 5 | 7 | October 2, 1981 (1981-10-02) | May 12, 1982 (1982-05-12) | ||
| Movies | May 22, 1988 (1988-05-22) | February 18, 1990 (1990-02-18) | NBC | ||
In early 1977,Frank Price, head ofUniversal Television (known today asNBCUniversal Television), offered producer and writer Kenneth Johnson a deal to develop a television show based on any of several characters they had licensed from theMarvel Comics library.[4] Johnson turned down the offer at first, but then, while reading theVictor Hugo novelLes Misérables, he became inspired and decided to add elements from the novel, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the idea of Greek tragic hubris, and then began working to develop the Hulk comic into a TV show.[5][6][7]
Johnson made several changes from the comic book; this was partly to translate it into a live-action show that was more believable and acceptable to a wide audience, and also because he disliked comics and thus felt it best that the show be as different from the source material as possible.[8] In the character's origin story, rather than being exposed togamma rays during a botched atomic testing explosion, Banner is gamma-irradiated in a more low-key laboratory mishap during a test on himself. Another change was Banner's occupation, fromphysicist to medical researcher/physician. Although the comic book Hulk's degree of speaking ability has varied over the years, the television Hulk did not speak at all—he merely growled and roared. Hulk co-creatorStan Lee later recounted: "When we started the television show, Ken said to me, 'You know, Stan, I don't think the Hulk should talk'. The minute he said it, I knew he was right. [In the comics], I had the Hulk talking like this: 'Hulk crush! Hulk get him!' I could get away with it in a comic, but that would have sounded so silly if he spoke that way in a television show."[8]
The Hulk's strength is far more limited than in the comic book, which Johnson felt was necessary for the show to be taken seriously by viewers.[8] The Hulk still retained a healing factor, however. For instance, in "The Harder They Fall", Banner is in a serious accident that severs his spinal cord, leaving him paraplegic, but after his next transformation into the Hulk he is able to walk within minutes while in that form, and Banner's spine is completely restored by the end of the episode. In the majority of episodes, the only science-fiction element was the Hulk himself. Johnson also omitted the comic book's supporting characters, instead using original character Jack McGee.[8]
Johnson changed the name of the Hulk's comic bookalter ego, Dr. Bruce Banner, to Dr. David Banner for the television series. This change was made, according to Johnson, because he did not want the series to be perceived as a comic book series, so he wanted to change what he felt was a staple of comic books, and Stan Lee's comics in particular, that major characters frequently hadalliterative names.[9] According to both Stan Lee[8] and Lou Ferrigno, it was also changed because CBS thought the name Bruce sounded "too gay-ish", a rationale that Ferrigno thought was "the most absurd, ridiculous thing [he had] ever heard".[10] On the DVD commentary of the pilot, Johnson says that it was a way to honor his son David. "Bruce" ultimately became the television Banner's middle name, as it had been in the comics. It is visible on Banner's tombstone at the end of the pilot movie,[8] and that footage is shown at the beginning of every episode of the series.
Kenneth Johnson also wanted the Hulk to be colored red rather than green. His reasons were that red, not green, is perceived as the color of rage, and also that red is a "human color", whereas green is not. However, Stan Lee, an executive at Marvel Comics at the time, said that the Hulk's color was not something that could be changed, because of its iconic image.[9][11]
Stan Lee told Kenneth Plume in a June 26, 2000, interview: "The Hulk was done intelligently. It was done by Ken Johnson, who's a brilliant writer/producer/director, and he made it an intelligent, adult show that kids could enjoy. He took a comic book character and made him somewhat plausible. Women liked it and men liked it and teenagers liked it... It was beautifully done. He changed it quite a bit from the comic book, but every change he made, made sense."[12]
For the role of Dr. David Banner, Kenneth Johnson castBill Bixby[13]—his first choice for the role.[14]Jack Colvin was cast as Jack McGee, the cynical tabloid newspaper reporter—modeled after the character ofJavert inLes Misérables[5]—who pursues the Hulk.Arnold Schwarzenegger auditioned for the role of the Hulk, but was rejected due to his inadequate height, according to Johnson in his commentary onThe Incredible Hulk – Original Television Premiere DVD release. ActorRichard Kiel was hired for the role. During filming, however, Kenneth Johnson's son pointed out that Kiel's underdeveloped physique did not resemble the Hulk's. Soon, Kiel was replaced with professional bodybuilderLou Ferrigno, although a very brief shot of Kiel (as the Hulk) remains in the pilot. According to an interview with Kiel, who saw properly out of only one eye, he reacted badly to the contact lenses used for the role, and also found the green makeup difficult to remove, so he did not mind losing the part.[15]
The Incredible Hulk was unusual in that the two principal actors, Bixby and Ferrigno, almost never interacted, since they were playing two forms of the same character. According to Bixby, he and Ferrigno also made a point of not discussing their parts with each other or watching each other as they were filmed, since this made it more natural for them to act as though unaware of where they are or what their alter ego has done following a transformation.[16]
The opening narration was provided by actorTed Cassidy,[17] who also provided the Hulk's voice-overs (mainly growls and roars) during the first two seasons.[10] Cassidy died during the production of season two in January 1979.[17] The Hulk's vocalizations for the remainder of the series were provided by actorCharles Napier, who also made two guest-starring appearances in the series.[3][2]
Guest actors on the series included futureFalcon Crest andCastle co-starSusan Sullivan in the original pilot;Brett Cullen, also ofFalcon Crest;Kim Cattrall, ofSex and the City fame;Ray Walston, co-star of Bixby's first series,My Favorite Martian;Brandon Cruz, co-star ofThe Courtship of Eddie's Father; Lou Ferrigno, who along with starring as the Hulk, appeared in one episode ("King of the Beach") as a different character; Bixby's ex-wifeBrenda Benet; and in an uncredited role, the bodybuilder and professional wrestlerRic Drasin as the half-transformed Hulk in "Prometheus" (parts 1 and 2).[18]
Mariette Hartley won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her guest appearances as Dr. Carolyn Fields in the episode "Married" (aka "Bride of the Incredible Hulk") in season two.
Stan Lee andJack Kirby, the writer and artist team who created the Hulk forMarvel Comics, both made cameo appearances in the series. Kirby's cameo was in the season two episode "No Escape", while Lee appeared as a juror inTrial of the Incredible Hulk (the 1989 post-series TV movie).
The effect of Banner transforming into the Hulk was created by editing together five stages: 1) Bill Bixby as normal, 2) Bixby wearing green contact lenses, 3) Bixby wearing green makeup and a forehead prosthetic, in addition to the contact lenses, 4) Bixby with green hair dye and a darker shade of green makeup, and 5) Lou Ferrigno in full makeup.[16]
Initially, the Hulk's facial make-up was quite monstrous, but after both pilots, the first two weekly episodes and New York location shooting for the fourth, the design was toned down.[19] The makeup process used to transform Ferrigno into the Hulk took three hours, and Bixby's stage 4 makeup alone took two hours to apply.[16] The hard contact lenses Ferrigno wore to simulate the Hulk's electric-green eyes had to be removed every 15 minutes because he found wearing them physically painful. The green fright wig he wore as the Hulk was made of dyedyak hair.[10]
According to Bixby, filming for the show was intensive and exhausting for both the cast and crew. He commented during production of the series's fourth season, "We've already lost a third of our crew, because of sickness or sheer exhaustion. ... Working on an hour action show demands all your time. We are constantly on the road with all ourlocation shooting. We're like gypsies; we have no place to settle down. We don't even have asound stage of our own!"[16]
Lou Ferrigno performed all his own stunts for the series, as there were no available stunt doubles who could match Ferrigno's physique.[20]
Joe Harnell, one of Kenneth Johnson's favorite composers, composed the music forThe Incredible Hulk. He was brought into the production because of his involvement with the seriesThe Bionic Woman, which Johnson had also created and produced. Some of the series' music was collected into an album titledThe Incredible Hulk: Original Soundtrack Recording. The show's main theme, "The Lonely Man", is heard in two distinct arrangements. Theopening credits features the piece in an up-tempo, percussive arrangement whilst a sad, melancholic solo-piano version is played over theclosing credits, which usually shows Bannerhitchhiking.[21]
The show's secondary theme, "The Love Theme from The Incredible Hulk", was used extensively in both the pilot episode and in the Season 2 openerMarried, and it made sporadic appearances throughout the show's run.
Often, Banner's inner struggle is paralleled by the dilemmas of the people he encounters, who find in Dr. Banner a sympathetic helper. ProducerKenneth Johnson stated: "What we were constantly doing was looking for thematic ways to touch the various ways that the Hulk sort of manifested itself in everyone. In Dr. David Banner, it happened to be anger. In someone else, it might be obsession, or it might be fear, or it might be jealousy or alcoholism! The Hulk comes in many shapes and sizes. That's what we tried to delve into in the individual episodes."[22]
CBS[23]
The series first went into syndication in September 1982.[citation needed] It has aired as reruns on theSci-Fi Channel and was one of the series that the channel showed at its inception in September 1992.[24] It has also aired onRetro Television Network,[25] and ran onEsquire Network from 2014 to 2015.[26] Series reruns began airing on mostMeTV affiliates in February 2016.[27] The series began airing on mostH&I affiliates in May 2017.[28]El Rey Network started airing the series in portrait-form in January 2017.[citation needed]
Two episodes of the series appeared first as stand-alonetelevision films, but these were later re-edited into one-hour length (two-parters) forBroadcast syndication. They were produced as pilots before the series officially began in 1978;
After the cancellation of the television series in 1982, Bill Bixby retained an interest in producing new adventures featuring the Hulk for television. In 1984, just two years after the cancellation of the weekly series, he made a proposal toNicholas Hammond, who had played Peter Parker in the 1977–79 TV seriesThe Amazing Spider-Man, to develop a new TV movie featuring both the Hulk andSpider-Man.[29] Although nothing came of this idea, threetelevision movies were eventually produced with Bixby and Ferrigno reprising their roles. All of these aired onNBC:
Despite the apparent death of the Hulk in the 1990 film, another Hulk television movie was planned,Revenge of the Incredible Hulk.[31] It was rumored that in this film the Hulk would be able to talk after being revived with Banner's mind, and that it was abandoned because of Bill Bixby's death from cancer in November 1993.[32] However,Gerald Di Pego (writer/executive producer ofThe Trial of the Incredible Hulk,The Death of the Incredible Hulk, andRevenge of the Incredible Hulk) revealed that the film was canceled before Bixby's health began to decline, owing to disappointing ratings forDeath of, and that Banner was to have been revived without the ability to change into the Hulk at all, reverting to (still non-speaking) Hulk form only in the film's final act.[8]
Universal released all 5 seasons on DVD in Region 1 from 2006 to 2008; a complete series DVD set was also released.[33]
Fabulous Films releasedThe Incredible Hulk - The Complete Series on DVD in the UK on September 30, 2008. They subsequently released the complete series (not including the three post-series TV movies) on Blu-ray in December 2016.[34]
On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the two-hour pilot has a score of 57% based on seven reviews, for an average rating of 5.4/10,[35] while the first season has a rating of 75% based on eight reviews, for an average rating of 6.0/10.[36] Writing for theTallahassee Democrat, Steve Watkins noted that Lou Ferrigno "did the strong, silent type like nobody's business", and was "natural" in the titular role.[37]
A retrospective on the TV series reported that the episodes that fans of the show most often cited as the best of the series are "The Incredible Hulk" (pilot), "Married", "Mystery Man", "Homecoming", "The Snare", "Prometheus", "The First" and "Bring Me the Head of the Hulk".[8]
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The Incredible Hulk was a solid ratings performer, usually winning its Friday night time slot, and even became a hit in Europe, despite superheroes generally being much less popular there than in the United States.[38]
The series led to asyndicated newspaper strip that ran from 1978 to 1982. It used the same background and origin story as the series but narrated stories outside of it.
Power Records (Peter Pan records) created an LP in 1978 entitledThe Incredible Hulk: Hear Four Exciting All New Action Adventure Stories! – Black Chasm, Monster From The Deep, The Assassin & Blind Alley. In the stories he is referred to as "David Banner" and is also a name-changing drifter seeking a cure.
In 1979,Ideal Toy Company released a board game calledThe Incredible Hulk – Smash–Up Action Game. Players must to try to create a lab in order to find a cure for "Dr. David Banner".
In 1979, a Hulk "video novel" in paperback form was released, with pictures and dialog from the pilot.[39]
TheMarvel Cinematic Universe has homaged the show twice. The first time, during the opening credits of the filmThe Incredible Hulk (2008),Bruce Banner's (Edward Norton) experiment which serves as hisorigin story as the Hulk is shown as the same as in the television series. The show's opening sequence is homaged in theDisney+ seriesShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) during the episode "Whose Show Is This?". It is recreated to focus onJennifer Walters / She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany), with Banner (Mark Ruffalo) also appearing, dressed as David. Stan Lee createdShe-Hulk to ensure CBS did not create a female Hulk first and acquire the rights to the concept.[40]
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