"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." - "The Incredible Hulk" opening credits
The Incredible Hulk: The Complete First Season DVD Review
By Jude Clement
What if you turned into a violent green creature every time you became angry? After one of his experiments gets out of control, Dr. David Banner (Bill Bixby) finds himself turning into a primitive green beast (played by Lou Ferrigno) whenever he gets angry or feels threatened. For most of us, even grocery shopping under these circumstances would be a challenge. ("What?! You have twenty items and you're using the express lane? I'm getting angry, and you won't like me when I'm angry.") Luckily, David Banner is a little more even-keeled. He mostly gets angry when confronted by physical danger. But when the beast is falsely accused of murder, Banner is forced to run until he can prove the creature's innocence and find a cure for his uncontrollable rages. Complicating matters is the fact that Jack McGee (Jack Colvin), an investigative reporter for the trashy tabloid The National Register, is hot on the trail of the creature he calls "The Hulk."
David is a fugitive (well, the creature is, anyway), traveling around the country trying to keep his condition secret. He isn't very successful. Wherever David goes, he manages to stumble across someone who needs his help, and this inevitably leads to the appearance of the Hulk. While walking through a ritzy neighborhood, he answers a call for help, gets attacked by guard dogs, and again finds the Hulk accused of murder ("Of Guilt, Models and Murder"). He aids a scientist in her study of animal aggression, but discovers a smuggling ring in the process, putting both of their lives in danger ("The Beast Within"). David's job at a Times Square arcade leads to a run-in with the mob ("Terror in Times Square," which features priceless footage of the Hulk running through Times Square as blasé New Yorkers look on). He comes to the aid of a reporter in Las Vegas only to discover that the man is an associate of Jack McGee ("The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas," which seems to have been filmed in another city with the Hulk superimposed over stock footage). In Galveston, he becomes embroiled in a particularly nasty case of union politics ("The Waterfront Story"). David never stays in any given place for longer than one episode. Once the Hulk appears, it's only a matter of time before McGee shows up and his cover might be blown.
Taking its green theme to an extreme, several first season episodes of The Incredible Hulk recycle footage from other Universal films and TV movies. "747" reunites Bixby with his The Courtship of Eddie's Father costar Brandon Cruz as David is forced to fly a plane after its pilots are drugged in a botched attempt to steal the King Tut exhibit. This episode uses footage from Airport 1975, the camp classic in which sloe-eyed stewardess Karen Black is forced to land a 747 when the pilot is sucked out of the plane after a mid-air collision. "Earthquakes Happen" employs clips from Irwin Allen's disaster flick Earthquake (a film that notoriously features Lorne Green playing Ava Gardner's father, which would mean he sired her when he was seven). The worst offender is "Never Give a Trucker an Even Break" in which David helps a female trucker who is trying to retrieve her father's rig from hijackers. This episode consists almost entirely of footage from Steven Spielberg's Duel. There are scenes where a perky blonde with a Dorothy Hamel 'do is supposedly driving a car, yet Dennis Weaver's stunt driver is plainly visible in long shots. This episode is totally shameless, making a derivative episode like "The Final Round" (featuring a boxer wannabe named Rocky battling against the odds in an attempt to become a champion fighter) seem downright creative.
Still, the series does have its hokey charms. And how can anyone totally dislike a series with such a succinct, memorable opening credits sequence? Plus there's the plaintive closing credits theme that uses a mournful piano solo to symbolize David's essential loneliness.
Season one features a slew of familiar faces, including Susan Sullivan (Dharma & Greg), William Daniels (St. Elsewhere), Gerald McRaney (Simon & Simon), Martin Kove (Cagney & Lacey), Caroline McWilliams (Benson), Dabbs Greer (Little House on the Prairie), Jeremy Brett (Sherlock Holmes), Loni Anderson (WKRP in Cincinnati), Robert Alda (Supertrain), Sarah Rush (Battlestar Galactica), Julie Adams (Capitol), and James Sikking (Hill Street Blues).
The ten episodes (and two TV movies) that make up the first season are divided onto four single-sided discs. The discs are housed in four slim, clear keepcases. The front covers each feature a different photo of David Banner's metamorphosis: the normal Banner on disc one; the green-eyed, queasy-looking Banner on disc two, the Hulk on disc three, and a composite of metamorphosis shots on disc four. The back covers include episode titles and plot synopses. The inside of the cases are plain. The actual discs feature a greenish pattern which is presumably meant to evoke the transformation process. The four keepcases slide into a cardboard sleeve which features a terrific 3-D lenticular cover. Simply by pivoting the sleeve, viewers are treated to David Banner's transformation into the Hulk.
The full-motion menus are easy to navigate. From the main menu, viewers can play all of the disc's episodes, visit the episode index, or navigate to the languages menu. Bonus features (where applicable) are also accessible through the main menu. The episode index menus contain stills from the episodes along with the episode titles. Upon choosing an individual episode, the episode begins to play automatically. The episodes are divided into chapters, but there are no scene selection menus.
