You young tykes and folks living under a rock since the 70’s, gather ‘round and listen to the story of the Incredible Hulk. Bruce Banner is a brilliant young scientist. At the testing of a gamma bomb he notices Rick Jones driving obliviously through the danger zone. The heroic doctor rushes out to rescue the unsuspecting Rick right at the moment of the explosion! Banner takes a huge dose of gamma radiation but seems to be generally fine afterwords. Fine, that is, until he gets angry. When that happens his higher brain functions shut down, he turns green, and he becomes an unstoppable tank of a man with a primitive mind. 

 

Okay, so that’s the comic book. The TV show takes the basic premise, but is considerably different. DAVID Banner (yes, name change, although his middle name is revealed to be Bruce) is plagued by memories of the crash that took the life of his wife. Other people in high-stress situations were able to exhibit unnatural strength so why couldn’t David? He begins experimenting and accidentally exposes himself to high doses of gamma radiation, but seems to be generally fine afterwords. Fine, that is, until he gets angry. When that happens his higher brain functions shut down, he turns green, and he becomes an unstoppable tank of a man with a primitive mind.

 

So the end result of the origin is basically the same, though the TV version is a bit easier to swallow. From there we follow David as he pretends to be dead in order to avoid the press, namely Jack McGee who’s determined to build a career on the back of the Hulk, and quietly travels the land in search for a cure for his unique condition. He’s tortured by the destruction he wreaks always afraid he has or will hurt someone. He always helps others when he can (usually a beautiful woman) in part because that’s his nature and in part because it’s compensation for the guilt he feels from his alter ego.

 

I love werewolves and the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde concept in general, as well as cross-genre stories. I believe my taste developed largely because of this show. It’s one of the earliest memories of TV I have, and at the height of my love for it my grandmother met Lou Ferrigno who, in full Hulk makeup, gave her a hug. She didn’t have a clue who he was, but she couldn’t wait to tell me about it because she knew I would be enamored. That served to further ensconce the show in my heart.

 

This is very much a Jekyll/Hyde or lycanthropy-type story with its split-personality, shape-changing hero. The Hulk is in no way evil, though. He can be enraged and is most often destructive, but he protects the innocent in super-heroic fashion, he just does it more on instinct than any noble intentions.

 

This is where the cross-genre comes in. This is a comic book super-hero about an incredibly strong monster, yet the show is more of a drama than anything. Sure it has its moments of action, but the excitement is complimentary and often even secondary to the emotional content. Obviously there are going to be episodes with varying levels of emotion and action, and some have much simpler plots than others although they still tend to have at least a little bit of David’s plight.

 

However, the most defining episodes tug heavily on the heartstrings of the viewer. The show does nothing if not incite caring and sympathy for its main character.

 

There are a few things that weaken the effect of the show. Guest and supporting actors are a variable. Sometimes they are great, sometimes not so good. Occasionally the stories can be stifled a bit by the poor portrayals. The 70’s styles, particularly the bell bottom jeans, date the show and keep it from feeling as timeless as it otherwise could be. The effects are pretty corny by today’s standards. The green paint washes or rubs off, the morphs are unconvincing, and the car explosions are cliché. If there were nothing more to the story then it would not be worth seeing again (much like how I view the Adam West "Batman" show, I liked it as a kid but can do without it as an adult).

 

The scope of the writing and effort to tell a character-driven story makes this show a joy to watch almost 30 years later regardless of the dated look. Despite the bad effects there are still some good visuals. The white eyes with the signature sound signifying the upcoming morph still excites me. I love watching the shirts rip apart to reveal the green of the Hulk’s skin. The practical effects (done with props and illusion rather than special effects) are often good, and if you’re really into the show you’ll barely notice where they falter.

 

Rick Jones, Betsy Ross, and the military are completely absent. In order to have a constant other than Banner, reporter Jack McGee follows the Hulk from town to town. Jack is a large part of the reason Banner keeps up the illusion of death and is often the reason he must move on when he otherwise feels like he could settle down and set up shop to research a cure. I remember wishing Jack wasn’t a part of so many plots, but as I came to appreciate the storytelling as much as the rampaging monster I grew to enjoy the character and Colvin’s portrayal of him more and more.

 

His importance clicked for me when I went back to watch the pilot again and was old enough to recognize the irony in him being the cause of the disaster that he blames on the Hulk which is part of what drives Banner into hiding. I was thoroughly disappointed when he abruptly disappeared from the story in the late 80’s and thought he should have been included in the final tales of the Hulk. But that’s for another review I suppose.

 

There are only two other constants: Bill Bixby as Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. Both do an outstanding job with their roles. Lou’s is mostly physical which is understandable, but he manages to give some emotional range to the creature beyond pure rage. His facial expressions help sell the fact that this is actually Banner in an altered state retaining some of the basic humanity and emotion of his normal self. No CGI creature here, the actor in makeup approach doesn't have the flash and dash of the big budget movie versions but there's a charm and humanity here that is easily lost with a digital creature. 

 

Impressive in every way it may not be, but a good piece of storytelling it is. It’s miles ahead of the soulless Ang Lee movie. The TV show can still bring a tear to my eye, but the movie can bring a yawn to my mouth. Later incarnations have improved, but they will never be what the series was to me.