I have a great deal of fondness for The Incredible Hulk television show. At the time, ten-year-old me wasn’t very interested in the dramatic elements of The Incredible Hulk. I was much more interested in the supernatural aspects of the Hulk, so I didn’t watch the series as much as I probably should have.
Now, looking back nearly 50 years later, it’s hard not to see how even the simple production of The Incredible Hulk television show rivaled the current MCU. In the 70s, 80s, and 90s, making a superhero show was done on the cheap. The effects surrounding The Incredible Hulk was swapping out the great Bill Bixby with the hulking Lou Ferrigno. Slap on some colored contacts and give us the slow-motion camera tricks, and you have an inexpensive superhero show.
Bill Bixby’s Dr. David Banner analyzes research scans while searching for the key to human strength in The Incredible Hulk 1978 television pilot.
“Bill Bixby has a way of building instant sympathy for David Banner’s loss…”
What makes this pilot episode stand out is the show’s commitment to authentic storytelling while introducing over-the-top superhero elements. That opening montage of David and Laura Banner was long and schmaltzy. We get it, they’re in love…get a room. But Bill Bixby has a way of building instant sympathy for David Banner’s loss—a grieving widower, who was jealous of others who were able to save their loved ones.
We then add the Gentle Giant angle. He’s a menacing beast with a heart of gold, but the world only sees a beast. The Incredible Hulk was made at a time when writers and directors knew they had a small budget. They resorted to some movie magic and a significant emphasis on the very human story being told as a way to compensate for the hokey camera tricks. While the pilot is a superhero-heavy story, there’s enough heart in it to set up the further adventures of David Banner—a man with no home…looking for a way to be normal again and hunted no more.
"…a menacing beast with a heart of gold..."
