The Incredible Hulk
1 9 7 8 - 1 9 8 2 (USA)
 "Don't make me angry... you wouldn't like me when I'm
angry."
These
were the words that sent many a chill down the spine of every fan
of TV's The Incredible Hulk. Once actor Bill Bixby said
these words, you knew a transformation from man to monster was
imminent, followed by a grand barrage of superhero action at its
purest.
Just the same, these obvious attractions were only part of the
show's magical allure.
The Incredible Hulk began its life in 1962 as a Marvel
comic book. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby, it
told the story of Bruce Banner, a scientist whose exposure to
gamma rays from a military bomb test resulted in periodic,
uncontrollable transformations into a superhumanly strong but
simple-minded and easily-angered giant.
Although unsuccessful in its initial run (which lasted only six
issues), the character was resurrected in Tales To Astonish,
another Marvel Comics title.
Here, the character became popular with the comics-reading
public, and Tales To Astonish was ultimately transformed
into a Hulk-only title re-dubbed The Incredible Hulk. It
became a flagship title for Marvel Comics and is still published
to this day.
In 1977, the comic book was adapted into one of a series of
two-hour Marvel Comics adaptations for CBS (which also included
The Amazing Spider Man, Dr. Strange and Captain America) by
writer/producer/director Kenneth Johnson.
He deviated from the comic's origin story by changing Banner's
first name from Bruce to David and making him a doctor trying to
discover the reason why certain people develop superhuman strength
in situations of extreme emotional stress. Dr. Banner, portrayed
by Bill Bixby, was driven in his research by the guilt he felt
over having been unable to save his wife from the fiery car crash
that caused her death.
 In the course of his experimentation, Dr. Banner accidentally
overexposed himself to gamma rays, triggering a change in his body
chemistry that caused him to black out when angered and transform
into a green-skinned behemoth (played by professional bodybuilder
Lou Ferrigno).
When Banner reverted to normal, he had no memory of what he did
as the creature, dubbed 'The Incredible Hulk' by sleazy
investigative reporter Jack McGee.
The Return Of The Incredible Hulk, another two-hour
television film, aired three weeks after the first, continuing the
story of David Banner. Like its immediate predecessor, it was a
success with the viewing public and prompted CBS to have Johnson
create and produce a one-hour prime time series that began its run
in the spring of 1978. Bixby, Ferrigno, and Jack Colvin (McGee)
all returned to play their respective roles in the series.
In each episode, Banner hitchhiked form town to town, assuming
new identities (Dr. David Banner was presumed dead), working odd
jobs, and helping other troubled souls out as he struggled to find
the cure to his affliction. Banner wasn't necessarily a wanderer
by nature, but he had no choice.
Whenever he was angered, agitated, in pain, or in any way
provoked, he would lose control and his body would transmogrify
into the Incredible Hulk. His eyes would change colour first,
followed by his clothes, which he would rapidly outgrow in a
matter of seconds. His muscles began to bulge, his hair would grow
into an unkempt mop top, and his skin would turn green.
After the metamorphosis, the mute Hulk would then do away with
whatever person or situation was bothering him.
Sadly for the Hulk, people were often afraid of his physical
presence and were blind to the fact that he had a big heart and
was only trying to help people. After he 'hulked out', he would
return to his natural form, only to discover that his clothes were
tattered and he had a bad case of amnesia.
Each episode would end with Banner leaving town, as the
soundtrack played a haunting piano score. Through all of this, Dr.
Banner was pursued by McGee, who suspected that Banner had
something to do with the sudden appearances of his "big
story", the Hulk.
The series was highly successful and stood apart from
traditional science-fiction television fare in many ways. Despite
being the title attraction of the series, the Hulk's appearance in
each episode was limited to a mere few minutes. Instead of
focusing on the creature, producer Kenneth Johnson chose to focus
the show primarily on Banner and the people he interacted with.
This format allowed the show to tackle serious social concerns
like alcoholism, mental illness, and child abuse, resulting in a
superhero show that covered unusually mature thematic ground. The
show was also notable for its rejection of campy Batman-style
theatrics in favour of a more sombre and serious tone.
In fact, Johnson's adaptation of the Hulk borrowed as much from
classic literature like Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
as much as it did the original Incredible Hulk comic book.
This approach brought the more tragic and romantic elements of
Banner's story to the fore, making it easier to take the story's
more fantastic elements seriously. The end result was a show that
could be appreciated by adults and children alike, an important
key to the show's popularity.
The series ran successfully for the better part of five years,
finishing its final season in 1982.
Despite its eventual cancellation, the Incredible Hulk
character was fondly remembered by television viewers and has
continued to live on in various forms since its initial run. An
Incredible Hulk cartoon ran on Saturday mornings on NBC between
1982 and 1985 (the Hulk had also been featured in the
anthology-style Marvel Super Heroes animated series in the
60s), and the character has made several cartoon appearances since
then.
The live-action incarnation of the Hulk was successfully
resurrected with Bixby and Ferrigno intact into a series of
successful made-for-television films in the late 1980s: The
Incredible Hulk Returns (1988), The Trial of the Incredible
Hulk (1989), and The Death of the Incredible Hulk
(1990).
More instalments were planned, but the unfortunate death of
Bixby in 1993 put an end to the Hulk's live-action adventures.
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