The Incredible Hulk (1978 TV series)

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.

• Bill Bixby as David Bruce Banner
• Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk
• Jack Colvin as Jack McGee, a reporter tracking the Hulk's trail
• 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])

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

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 was 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 because red, not green, is perceived as the color of rage, and also because 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 on 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]

Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, from the 1978 episode "Married"

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]

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 but not limited to: 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 played 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).

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]

Joe Harnell, one of Kenneth Johnson's favorite composers, composed the music for The Incredible Hulk. He was brought into the production due to 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 hitch-hiking.[17]

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 on Esquire Network from 2014 to 2015.[22] Series reruns are to begin 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 has aired the series in portrait-form since January 2017.

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, three television movies were 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.[25]
• 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.[26] 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 due to Bill Bixby's death of cancer in November 1993,[27] but 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, due to disappointing ratings for Death of, and that Banner was to have been revived without the ability to change into the Hulk at all, only reverting to (still non-speaking) Hulk form in the film's final act.[7]

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,[30] while the first season has a rating of 75% based on eight reviews, for an average rating of 6.0/10.[31]

A retrospective on the TV series reported that the episodes 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]

• 1977-1978: #26 (Tied with Hawaii Five-O)
• 1978-1979: #44 (Tied with Hawaii Five-O & Dear Detective)
• 1979-1980: N/A
• 1980-1981: N/A
• 1981-1982: #35

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.[32]