David (Bixby) is working at a construction site when he's nearly crushed by a container - the Hulk saving the day, but not before the event is witnessed by a nosy neighbour (Sterling) who promptly contacts the newspaper to report her Hulk sighting. Meanwhile, the now laconically lazy former high-profile journalist Emerson Fletcher (Conrad) picks up Sterling's tip meant for Jack MacGee (Colvin) and ends up discovering that David Banner is indeed the Hulk.
While Fletcher initially coerces Banner into giving him an exclusive interview revealing the entire Hulk story, he gradually comes to respect and admire his strength of character, a quality absent in Fletcher's own existence for reasons that are later revealed. Conrad (the original desk sergeant from "Hill Street Blues") is dynamic as the burly, yet sensitive newsman with more underlying integrity than his actions suggest, and it's a great shame that he died prematurely only a couple of years after this episode first aired.
It's one of those vintage episodes where the appearance of the Hulk isn't obligatory (no offence to big Lou); the story and characters provide the stimuli to carry the show to its always poignant, and this case especially, fitting conclusion.
While Fletcher initially coerces Banner into giving him an exclusive interview revealing the entire Hulk story, he gradually comes to respect and admire his strength of character, a quality absent in Fletcher's own existence for reasons that are later revealed. Conrad (the original desk sergeant from "Hill Street Blues") is dynamic as the burly, yet sensitive newsman with more underlying integrity than his actions suggest, and it's a great shame that he died prematurely only a couple of years after this episode first aired.
It's one of those vintage episodes where the appearance of the Hulk isn't obligatory (no offence to big Lou); the story and characters provide the stimuli to carry the show to its always poignant, and this case especially, fitting conclusion.