Incredible Hulk season 1 dvd box set review

[Michael Mercy]

Any fans of the original Incredible Hulk TV series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno?

 

[hoodonit00]

I liked it when I was a kid but I wouldn't spend the money to own the series.

 

[EVILFACE]

Was pissed when Netflix removed it from streaming. Had 3 episodes left....

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

I have the complete box set

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

Was pissed when Netflix removed it from streaming. Had 3 episodes left....

I think I saw it on Hulu

 

[Prime Clone]

The complete series is now out on Blu-ray in the UK.

 

[ishothimsixtimes]

Besides from the intro and end credits (hobo Banner trying to hitch a lift with the sad piano tune tinkling away) I only really remember a couple of episodes. One where he tossed a giant (clearly fake as f##k) grizzly bear through the air, another where some guy faked being the Hulk to attract tourists and one where he got married to a chick who used dream imagery to cure disease. Even as a kid, I had my doubts about the second Mrs Banner's 'genius' status when our hero stated his name was 'Dr David Bannion' and he used to work at 'whatever' University conducting research into Gamma radiation and she replied "Why, that must mean you worked with Dr David Banner?".

 

[Prime Clone]

I recall it bugging me that he was David Banner in the show but Bruce in the comic. And that he wore purple duds in the comic but not the show.

 

[Johnny1378]

I recall it bugging me that he was David Banner in the show but Bruce in the comic. And that he wore purple duds in the comic but not the show.

I remember an interview with Stan Lee on the Sci-Fi channel back in the 90s (back then Sci-Fi was running re-runs of the series). In the interview, Lee stated that the show's Producers felt the name Bruce sounded "too homosexual." Because of this they changed his name to David (although Lee did talk them into putting David Bruce Banner on Banner's tombstone that was seen in the opening montage that served as the show's lead-in. The Producers' argument about the name Bruce always seemed ridiculous to me on its face, but I always wondered if they were so dead-set against calling him Bruce, why they didn't go with the name Robert, as his full name in the comics was Robert Bruce Banner. That was never addressed in the interview though.

 

[Prime Clone]

Huh, weird. Thanks for the insight!

 

[Johnny1378]

I remember several years ago when they released these DVD sets of the various seasons of the Incredible Hulk tv show (if memory serves they timed the release of most of them to coincide with the release of the Edward Norton Hulk movie in theaters), I watched every episode in order, over the period of a few weeks. Like most shows of its time, the story telling wasn't as serialized as most shows are now. The one over-arching element to the series was Banner's search for a cure. Otherwise, with the exception of a few two-parters, most of the episode stories were one-and-done. That being said, I was impressed with the dramatic aspects of the show and how seriously Bill Bixby took playing Banner. He brought a credibility to the role, and given the limitations of the time with special effects, that was no small feat. There were a few episodes that I remembered from childhood and quite a few that I didn't remember, but overall, I did enjoy watching them. There were quite a few goofy moments (The bear fight is from the very first episode after the pilot, and is unintentionally hilarious-worth watching at least twice, as well as an episode later in the series that features a guy in a gorilla suit, playing the part of an actual gorilla), and a few genuinely dramatic ones. It's just kind of a bummer that the series didn't get a better send off than the "Death of the Incredible Hulk" TV movie that they released years after the show had ended.