The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series)

David Banner, M.D., Ph.D., is a physician and scientist employed at California's Culver Institute, who is traumatized by the car accident that killed his beloved wife, Laura. Haunted by his inability to save her, Banner and his research partner, Dr. Elaina Marks, study people who were able to summon superhuman 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 of gamma radiation from sunspots 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, and Banner unknowingly receives a massive overdose. He initially thinks that the experiment has failed, but, when he injures himself while changing a flat tire, Banner's anger triggers his transformation into a 7-foot-tall (2.1 m), 330-pound (150 kg), green-skinned, superhumanly strong creature who is driven by rage, and has only a primitive, sub-human 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. The two of them slowly piece together what happened and investigate the nature of the metamorphosis, and the possibility for a cure. Their efforts are hindered by tabloid reporter Jack McGee, who was initially investigating Banner and Marks' superhuman strength research but 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, and 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. Believed to be dead, Banner grimly resolves to travel from place to place, assuming different identities and odd jobs to support himself and to 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 Hulk's rampages usually helping put some wrong right, Banner flees the town at the end of each episode, fearful that the Hulk's appearance will bring unwanted scrutiny from the authorities or the ever-persistent McGee.

Opening narration

The opening narration is provided by Ted Cassidy:

Dr. David Banner—physician, scientist—searching for a way to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have. Then an accidental overdose of gamma radiation alters his body chemistry. And now, when David Banner grows angry or outraged, a startling metamorphosis occurs. The creature is driven by rage and pursued by an investigative reporter.

[Banner]: "Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry".

The creature is wanted for a murder he didn't commit. David Banner is believed to be dead. And he must let the world think that he is dead, until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him.

Prior to the beginning of the series, a different version (also provided by Cassidy) was used for the second pilot movie, The Return of the Incredible Hulk (later re-titled "Death in the Family"):

Dr. David Banner—physician, scientist—searching for a way to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have. Then an accidental overdose of gamma radiation interacts with his unique body chemistry. And now, when David Banner grows angry or outraged, a startling metamorphosis occurs. The creature is driven by rage and pursued by an investigative reporter.

[Banner]: "Mr. McGee, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry".

An accidental explosion took the life of a fellow scientist—and supposedly David Banner as well. The reporter thinks the creature was responsible.

[McGee]: "I gave a description to all the law enforcement agencies; they got a warrant for murder out on it!"

A murder which David Banner can never prove he or the creature didn't commit. So he must let the world go on thinking that he, too, is dead, until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him.

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Psychological trauma

Psychological trauma

Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typical. Longer-term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, difficulties with interpersonal relationships and sometimes physical symptoms including headaches or nausea.

Sunspot

Sunspot

Sunspots are phenomena on the Sun's photosphere that appear as temporary spots that are darker than the surrounding areas. They are regions of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic flux that inhibit convection. Sunspots appear within active regions, usually in pairs of opposite magnetic polarity. Their number varies according to the approximately 11-year solar cycle.

Ted Cassidy

Ted Cassidy

Theodore Crawford Cassidy was an American actor, noted for his tall stature at 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), and his unusual facial features and deep voice which were due to acromegaly. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction works such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, and he played Lurch on The Addams Family in the mid-1960s. He also narrated The Incredible Hulk TV series and voiced The Hulk in the show’s first 2 seasons.

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List of The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series) episodes

List of The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series) episodes

The following is a list of The Incredible Hulk episodes. The series began with two, two-hour made-for-TV movies on November 4 and 27, 1977. Regular one-hour episodes began on March 10, 1978 and ended on May 12, 1982. It was created by Kenneth Johnson, produced by CBS, and ran for 80 episodes.

CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainment Group division of Paramount Global.

NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are located at Comcast Building in New York City. The company also has offices in Los Angeles at 10 Universal City Plaza and Chicago at the NBC Tower. NBC is the oldest of the traditional "Big Three" American television networks, having been formed in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network," in reference to its stylized peacock logo, introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early color broadcasting.

Main cast

• Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner
  • Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, a green humanoid David turns into when angered.
    • Ted Cassidy as the voice of the Hulk (seasons 1–2; uncredited)^[2]
    • Charles Napier as the voice of the Hulk (seasons 2–5; after Cassidy's death in 1979: uncredited^[3][2])
• Jack Colvin as Jack McGee, a reporter tracking Hulk's trail.

Recurring cast

• Walter Brooke as Mark Roberts, McGee's boss at the National Register (seasons 3–4)

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Bill Bixby

Bill Bixby

Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist.

Lou Ferrigno

Lou Ferrigno

Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles; and appeared in the documentary film Pumping Iron. As an actor, he is best known for his title role in the CBS television series The Incredible Hulk and vocally reprising the role in subsequent animated and computer-generated incarnations. He has also appeared in European-produced fantasy-adventures such as Sinbad of the Seven Seas and Hercules, and as himself in the sitcom The King of Queens and the 2009 comedy I Love You, Man.

Hulk

Hulk

The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of The Incredible Hulk. In his comic book appearances, the character, who has dissociative identity disorder (DID), is primarily represented by the alter ego Hulk, a green-skinned, hulking and muscular humanoid possessing a limitless degree of physical strength, and the alter ego Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a physically weak, socially withdrawn, and emotionally reserved physicist, both of whom typically resent each other.

Ted Cassidy

Ted Cassidy

Theodore Crawford Cassidy was an American actor, noted for his tall stature at 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), and his unusual facial features and deep voice which were due to acromegaly. He tended to play unusual characters in offbeat or science-fiction works such as Star Trek and I Dream of Jeannie, and he played Lurch on The Addams Family in the mid-1960s. He also narrated The Incredible Hulk TV series and voiced The Hulk in the show’s first 2 seasons.

Charles Napier (actor)

Charles Napier (actor)

Charles Lewis Napier was an American character actor known for playing supporting and occasional leading roles in television and films. He was frequently cast as police officers, soldiers, or authority figures, many of them villainous or corrupt. After leaving his Kentucky hometown to serve in the Army, he graduated from college and worked as a sports coach and art teacher before settling on acting as a career. Napier established himself in character roles and worked steadily for the next 35 years. He made numerous collaborations with director Jonathan Demme, including roles in Something Wild (1986), Married to the Mob (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993), Beloved (1998), and The Manchurian Candidate (2004).

Jack Colvin

Jack Colvin

Jack Colvin was an American character actor of theatre, film and TV. He is best known for the role of the tabloid reporter Jack McGee in The Incredible Hulk television franchise (1977–82).

Walter Brooke

Walter Brooke

Walter Brooke was an American actor.

Development

In early 1977, Frank Price, head of Universal Television (known today as NBCUniversal Television), offered producer and writer Kenneth Johnson a deal to develop a television show based on any of several characters they had licensed from the Marvel Comics library.^[4] Johnson turned down the offer at first, but then, while reading the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables, he became inspired and began working to develop the Hulk comic into a TV show.^[5][6]

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.^[7] In the character's origin story, rather than being exposed to gamma 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, from physicist 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-creator Stan 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".^[7]

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.^[7] 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.^[7]

Johnson changed the name of the Hulk's comic book alter 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 had alliterative names.^[8] According to both Stan Lee^[7] 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".^[9] 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,^[7] and that footage is shown at the beginning of every episode of the series.

In an interview with Kenneth Johnson on the Season 2 DVD, he explains that he had also wanted the Hulk to be colored red rather than green. His reasons given for this 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.^[8]

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".^[10]

Casting

For the role of Dr. David Banner, Kenneth Johnson cast Bill Bixby^[11]—his first choice for the role.^[12] Jack Colvin was cast as "Jack McGee", the cynical tabloid newspaper reporter—modeled after the character of Javert in Les 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 on The Incredible Hulk – Original Television Premiere DVD release. Actor Richard Kiel was hired for the role. During filming, however, Kenneth Johnson's own son pointed out that Kiel's tall-but-underdeveloped physique did not resemble the Hulk's at all. Soon, Kiel was replaced with professional bodybuilder Lou 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.^[13]

The opening narration was provided by actor Ted Cassidy,^[14] who also provided the Hulk's voice-overs (mainly growls and roars) during the first two seasons.^[9] Cassidy died during production of season two in January 1979.^[14] The Hulk's vocalizations for the remainder of the series were provided by actor Charles Napier, who also made two guest-starring appearances in the series.^[3][2]

Guest stars and cameos

During the series' five-season run, many actors familiar to viewers, or who later became famous for their subsequent works, made appearances on the series, including: future Falcon Crest and Castle co-star Susan Sullivan in the original pilot; Brett Cullen, also of Falcon Crest; Kim Cattrall, of Sex and the City fame; Ray Walston, co-star of Bixby's first series, My Favorite Martian; Brandon Cruz, co-star of The 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-wife Brenda Benet; and in an uncredited role, the bodybuilder and professional wrestler Ric Drasin as the half-transformed Hulk in "Prometheus" (parts 1 and 2).^[15]

Mariette Hartley won the Primetime 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 and Jack Kirby, the writer and artist team who created the Hulk for Marvel 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 in Trial of the Incredible Hulk (the 1989 post-series TV movie).

Make-up

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.^[16] The makeup process used to transform Ferrigno into the Hulk took three hours. 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 dyed yak hair.^[9]

Music

Joe Harnell, one of Kenneth Johnson's favorite composers, composed the music for The Incredible Hulk. He was brought into the production because of his involvement with the series The Bionic Woman, which Johnson had also created and produced. Some of the series' music was collected into an album titled The Incredible Hulk: Original Soundtrack Recording. The show's main theme, "The Lonely Man"—a sad solo-piano tune—is always heard during the closing credits, which usually shows Banner hitchhiking.^[17]

Discover more about Production related topics

Frank Price

Frank Price

Frank Price was a television writer and executive during the 1950s to 1970s, and a Hollywood studio chief in the 1980s. He held a number of executive positions including head of Universal TV in the 1970s; president, and later chairman and CEO, of Columbia Pictures; and president of Universal Pictures. In the 1960s, he is credited with helping to develop the "made-for-TV movie" and the 90-minute miniseries television formats, including The Virginian (1962–1970).

Les Misérables

Les Misérables

Les Misérables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Les Misérables has been popularized through numerous adaptations for film, television and the stage, including a musical.

Gamma ray

Gamma ray

A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or ), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically shorter than those of X-rays. With frequencies above 30 exahertz (3×1019 Hz), it imparts the highest photon energy. Paul Villard, a French chemist and physicist, discovered gamma radiation in 1900 while studying radiation emitted by radium. In 1903, Ernest Rutherford named this radiation gamma rays based on their relatively strong penetration of matter; in 1900 he had already named two less penetrating types of decay radiation (discovered by Henri Becquerel) alpha rays and beta rays in ascending order of penetrating power.

Alter ego

Alter ego

An alter ego means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different personality. The altered states of the ego may themselves be referred to as alterations. A distinct meaning of alter ego is found in the literary analysis used when referring to fictional literature and other narrative forms, describing a key character in a story who is perceived to be intentionally representative of the work's author, by oblique similarities, in terms of psychology, behavior, speech, or thoughts, often used to convey the author's thoughts. The term is also sometimes, but less frequently, used to designate a hypothetical "twin" or "best friend" to a character in a story. Similarly, the term alter ego may be applied to the role or persona taken on by an actor or by other types of performers.

Alliteration

Alliteration

Alliteration is the conspicuous repetition of initial consonant sounds of nearby words in a phrase, often used as a literary device. A familiar example is "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers".

Bill Bixby

Bill Bixby

Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist.

Jack Colvin

Jack Colvin

Jack Colvin was an American character actor of theatre, film and TV. He is best known for the role of the tabloid reporter Jack McGee in The Incredible Hulk television franchise (1977–82).

Javert

Javert

Javert, no first name given in the source novel, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables. He was presumably born in 1780 and died on June 7, 1832. First a prison guard, and then a police inspector, his character is defined by his legalist tendencies and lack of empathy for criminals of all forms. In the novel, he becomes obsessed with the pursuit and punishment of the protagonist Jean Valjean after his violation of parole.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, filmmaker, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. Time magazine named Schwarzenegger one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2004 and 2007.

Lou Ferrigno

Lou Ferrigno

Louis Jude Ferrigno Sr. is an American actor and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles; and appeared in the documentary film Pumping Iron. As an actor, he is best known for his title role in the CBS television series The Incredible Hulk and vocally reprising the role in subsequent animated and computer-generated incarnations. He has also appeared in European-produced fantasy-adventures such as Sinbad of the Seven Seas and Hercules, and as himself in the sitcom The King of Queens and the 2009 comedy I Love You, Man.

Charles Napier (actor)

Charles Napier (actor)

Charles Lewis Napier was an American character actor known for playing supporting and occasional leading roles in television and films. He was frequently cast as police officers, soldiers, or authority figures, many of them villainous or corrupt. After leaving his Kentucky hometown to serve in the Army, he graduated from college and worked as a sports coach and art teacher before settling on acting as a career. Napier established himself in character roles and worked steadily for the next 35 years. He made numerous collaborations with director Jonathan Demme, including roles in Something Wild (1986), Married to the Mob (1988), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Philadelphia (1993), Beloved (1998), and The Manchurian Candidate (2004).

Falcon Crest

Falcon Crest

Falcon Crest is an American prime time television soap opera created by Earl Hamner Jr. that aired for nine seasons on CBS from December 4, 1981, to May 17, 1990. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the California wine industry set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley, located northeast of San Francisco and modeled after the real Napa Valley.

Often Banner's inner struggle is paralleled by the dilemmas of the people he encounters, who find in Dr. Banner a sympathetic helper. Producer Kenneth 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".^[18]

CBS^[19]

• March 1978 – January 1979: Friday, 9p.m. (ET)
• January 1979: Wednesday, 8p.m.
• February 1979 – November 1981: Friday, 8p.m.
• May – June 1982: Wednesday, 8p.m.

Syndication

The series first went into syndication in September 1982. It has aired as reruns on the Sci-Fi Channel and was one of the series that the channel showed at its inception in September 1992.^[20] It has also aired on Retro Television Network,^[21] and ran on Esquire Network from 2014 to 2015.^[22] Series reruns began airing on most MeTV affiliates in February 2016.^[23] The series began airing on most H&I affiliates in May 2017.^[24] El Rey Network started airing the series in portrait-form in January 2017.

Made-for-TV movies

Two episodes of the series appeared first as stand-alone movies, but were later re-edited into one-hour length (two-parters) for syndication. They were produced as pilots before the series officially began in 1978:

• The Incredible Hulk (1977) (distributed in theaters in some countries)
• The Return of the Incredible Hulk (1977) (also shown overseas as a feature film) – It was retitled Death in the Family for syndication.

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 to Nicholas Hammond, who had played Peter Parker in the 1977–79 TV series The Amazing Spider-Man, to develop a new TV movie featuring both the Hulk and Spider-Man.^[25] Although nothing came of this idea, three television movies were eventually produced with Bixby and Ferrigno reprising their roles. All of these aired on NBC:

• The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) – This marked the first time that another Marvel Universe character appeared in the milieu of the TV series. David Banner meets a former student (played by Steve Levitt) who has a magical hammer that summons Thor (played by Eric Allan Kramer), a Norse god who is prevented from entering Valhalla. It was set up as a backdoor pilot for a live-action television series starring Thor. This project marked Jack Colvin's final appearance as McGee.^[26]
• The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989) – David Banner meets a blind lawyer named Matt Murdock and his masked alter ego, Daredevil. The Incredible Hulk and the Daredevil battle Wilson Fisk (the Kingpin of Crime). Daredevil was portrayed by Rex Smith, and John Rhys-Davies portrayed Fisk. This was also set up as backdoor pilot for a live-action television series featuring Daredevil. Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as one of the jury members overlooking Banner's trial.
• The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990) – David Banner falls in love with an Eastern European spy (played by Elizabeth Gracen) and saves two kidnapped scientists. The film ends with the Hulk taking a fatal fall from an airplane, reverting to human form just before he dies.

Despite the apparent death of the Hulk in the 1990 film, another Hulk television movie was planned, Revenge of the Incredible Hulk.^[27] 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.^[28] However, Gerald Di Pego (writer/executive producer of The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, The Death of the Incredible Hulk, and Revenge of the Incredible Hulk) revealed that the film was cancelled before Bixby's health began to decline, owing to disappointing ratings for Death 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.^[7]

Discover more about Broadcast history related topics

Syfy

Syfy

Syfy is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. Launched on September 24, 1992, the channel broadcasts programming relating to the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres.

Esquire Network

Esquire Network

Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashion, along with reruns of popular sitcoms and dramas.

MeTV

MeTV

MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television programs from the 1930s through the 1990s.

Heroes & Icons

Heroes & Icons

Heroes & Icons (H&I) is an American diginet television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Usually carried on the digital subchannels of its affiliated television station in most markets, the network airs classic television series from the 1950s through the 2000s, with a focus on action/adventure, westerns, crime dramas, sci-fi, and superhero programming.

El Rey Network

El Rey Network

El Rey Network is a media brand founded by Robert Rodriguez on December 15, 2013, that is currently owned in a joint venture with FactoryMade Ventures.

Nicholas Hammond

Nicholas Hammond

Nicholas Hammond is an American-born Australian actor and writer who is best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 1970s television series The Amazing Spider-Man. He also appeared in the theatrical films as Spider-Man and its two sequels outside of North America.

The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series)

The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series)

The Amazing Spider-Man is a short-lived American television series based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. It is the first live-action television series featuring Spider-Man and was shown on CBS in the United States from September 14, 1977 to July 6, 1979. Though it was a considerable ratings success, the CBS series was cancelled after just 13 episodes, which included a pilot film airing in autumn of 1977. Despite its storylines being set in New York City, the series was mostly filmed in Los Angeles.

Spider-Man

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He has been featured in comic books, television shows, films, video games, novels, and plays. Spider-Man's secret identity is Peter Parker, a teenage high school student and an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash. Lee and Ditko had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and financial issues and gave him many supporting characters, such as Flash Thompson, J. Jonah Jameson, and Harry Osborn; romantic interests Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and the Black Cat; and his enemies such as the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Venom. In his origin story, Spider-Man gets his superhuman spider-powers and abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider; these include superhuman strength, speed, agility, jump, reflexes, stamina, durability, coordination and balance, clinging to surfaces and ceilings like a spider, and detecting danger with his precognition ability called "spider-sense." He also builds wrist-mounted "web-shooter" devices that shoot artificial spider-webs of his own design that were used for fighting his enemies and web-swinging across the city. Peter Parker originally used his powers for his own personal gain, but after his Uncle Ben was killed by a thief that Peter didn't stop, Peter begins to use his spider-powers to fight crime by becoming the superhero known as Spider-Man.

NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are located at Comcast Building in New York City. The company also has offices in Los Angeles at 10 Universal City Plaza and Chicago at the NBC Tower. NBC is the oldest of the traditional "Big Three" American television networks, having been formed in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network," in reference to its stylized peacock logo, introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early color broadcasting.

The Incredible Hulk Returns

The Incredible Hulk Returns

The Incredible Hulk Returns is a 1988 American television superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk which serves as a continuation of the 1978–1982 television series The Incredible Hulk.

Steve Levitt (actor)

Steve Levitt (actor)

Steve Levitt is an American actor who has appeared in films and on television. He is best known for his role in the 1987 movie Hunk as Bradley Brinkman and a recurring role in the Showtime TV series The Paper Chase.

Eric Allan Kramer

Eric Allan Kramer

Eric Allan Kramer is an American actor and fight choreographer. Kramer has appeared in numerous feature films and television programs including True Romance and Robin Hood: Men in Tights and is also known for his performances as Thor in The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988), and as Scott Miller on AMC's Lodge 49 but is best known for his role as Dave Rogers on The Hughleys and Bob Duncan on Good Luck Charlie from 2010–2014. He also appeared as Iron Mike Wilcox in the 2019 video game Days Gone.

Universal released all 5 seasons on DVD in Region 1 from 2006 to 2008; a complete series DVD set was also released.^[29]

Fabulous Films released The 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.^[30]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the two-hour pilot has a score of 57% based on seven reviews, for an average rating of 5.4/10,^[31] while the first season has a rating of 75% based on eight reviews, for an average rating of 6.0/10.^[32] Writing for the Tallahassee Democrat, Steve Watkins noted that Lou Ferrigno "did the strong, silent type like nobody’s business", and was "natural" in the titular role.^[33]

A retrospective on the TV series reported that the episodes that fans of the show most often cite 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".^[7]

Ratings

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• 1977-1978: #26 (tied with Hawaii Five-O)
• 1978-1979: #44 (tied with Hawaii Five-O and Dear Detective)
• 1979-1980: #42
• 1980-1981: #49
• 1981-1982: #34

The Incredible Hulk was a major ratings success, and even became a hit in Europe, despite superheroes generally being much less popular there than in the United States.^[34]

The series led to a syndicated newspaper strip that ran from 1978 to 1982. It used the same background and origin story as the series but narrated stories outside it.

Power Records (Peter Pan records) created an LP in 1978 entitled "The 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 drifter seeking a cure, like in the TV series. The Hulk also does not speak and has limited power.

In 1979, a Hulk "video novel" in paperback form was released, with pictures and dialog from the pilot.^[35]

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has homaged or parodied the show twice. The first time, during the opening credits of the film The Incredible Hulk (2008), Bruce Banner's (Edward Norton) experiment which serves as his origin story as the Hulk is shown as the same as in the television series. The show's opening sequence is parodied in the Disney+ series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022) during the episode "Whose Show Is This?". It is recreated to focus on Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany), with Banner (Mark Ruffalo) also appearing in place of Jack McGee. Marvel Comics originally created She-Hulk to ensure CBS did not create a female Hulk first and acquire the rights to the concept.^[36]

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The Incredible Hulk (film)

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Bruce Banner (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

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