The Incredible Hulk 

A troubled scientist's accidental overexposure to gamma radiation curses him with the tendency to change into a bestial green brute under extreme emotional stress.

Director:

Kenneth Johnson

Writer:

Kenneth Johnson

Stars:

Bill Bixby, Susan Sullivan, Jack Colvin

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Bill Bixby	...	Dr. David Banner
Susan Sullivan	...	Dr. Elaina Marks
Jack Colvin	...	Jack McGee
Lou Ferrigno	...	The Incredible Hulk
Susan Batson	...	Mrs. Maier
Mario Gallo	...	Mr. Bram
Eric Server	...	Policeman
Charles Siebert	...	Ben
Terence Locke	...	Young Man (as Terrence Locke)
June Whitley Taylor	...	Woman
George Brenlin	...	Man at Lake
Jake Mitchell	...	Jerry
William Larsen	...	Minister
Olivia Barash	...	Girl at Lake
Eric Deon	...	B.J.

Storyline

David Banner, a research scientist who is haunted by the death of his wife whom he couldn't save in a car accident is researching how to tap the hidden reserves of incredible strength all humans have. While investigating episodes of people who have displayed such strength under times of great stress, he discovers that each one coincided with a solar flare spike of gamma radiation. Convinced by the link, Banner decides to put it to the test when he deliberately doses himself with gamma radiation. Unknown to him however, the machine was modified to give a far higher dose than he anticipated. While there was no immediate effect, that soon changes when on the way home, he forced to change a tire in the rain. He injures himself and the result anger and frustration transforms him into a massively powerful green giant, the Hulk. He eventually changes back and, now he must investigate what did this thing and face the consequences.

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Plot Keywords:

the incredible hulk character | scientist | frustration | car accident | reference to benjamin franklin | 

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Taglines:

A scientist is exposed to a massive dose of gamma rays - and becomes a superhuman beast...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 November 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der unglaubliche Hulk

Filming Locations:

California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min 105 min (uncut) 103 min (cut) 120 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shot in 18 days.

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Goofs

The laboratory explosion was caused from the reaction of two agents accidentally mixed in the chemical storage room. Chemicals with such explosive potential would never be stored in hazardous proximity to one another.

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Quotes

Dr. David Banner: All right, but I wanna make sure that that never happens again. I wanna be Dr. Banner, not Dr. Jekyll.

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Alternate Versions

Though originally shown as a two-hour TV-movie, it has been edited to be shown as two one-hour episodes for syndication. In order to make up for the additions of a recap of the first hour at the beginning of the second and a full second set of opening and closing titles, as well as for clearing more time for extra commercials, a significant amount of footage was excised, including all of Jack McGee's visit to Dr. Marks' home the morning after Banner's first "Hulk-out," during which he, unknown to either of them, glimpsed Banner over her shoulder.

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Connections

Version of Hulk (1966)

User Reviews

A fitting start

This pre-series pilot was a good way to start off a TV saga based on a comic book superhero. To me, it is a TV-movie classic.

As you'll see in this pilot (as well as the series that followed it), our hero is really a reluctant hero. We have a man who changes into a seven-foot green creature, but he doesn't want to. All he wants is to be rid of the curse. Still, he has to give his alter-ego credit for having saved countless lives.

The three characters in the series are also ones that I can relate to because of various common traits, and they are as follows:

David Banner: he is a man looking for solace. In addition, I know what it's like to be close to obtaining certain goals, only to have them suddenly slip away. He's experienced that himself when he has thought that he would finally be cured of his problem, only to have something happen and ruin that chance.

The Incredible Hulk: he has experienced something we all experience in life: rejection. In his case, the rejections tend to result from some misunderstanding. Like the Frankenstein monster, the Hulk is misunderstood, and, therefore, people confuse his intentions. Few people will admit it, but I am sometimes misunderstood. And I suspect that other people's general misconceptions about me has often played a role in my being rejected.

Jack McGee: he is, of course, the newspaper reporter who chases the Hulk, thinking our hero is a killer. McGee is persistent in his goal to capture and expose the Hulk. Like McGee, I am very relentless when it comes to reaching certain objectives, and I tend not to give up until they are finally obtained.