THE INCREDIBLE HULK
SEASON ONE

"Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry"

Pilot: Death in the Family
With the world believing him to be dead, David Banner is on the run, trying to find a way to be cured of his transformations into the Hulk. Meanwhile, David lands a job at a ranch, where he befriends a young heiress. He notices that the woman is being given a questionable drug by her physician. He then overhears a plot to kill her so that her stepmother could gain an inheritance; he also learns that the recent death of the young woman's father was no accident. Now, David must get the heiress to safety before it is too late.

The Final Round
After a boxer named Rocky rescues David from muggers, Rocky gets David a job at his gym. David tries to help Rocky when he discovers that their boss is a drug dealer.

The Beast Within
While working at a zoo, David finds a female scientist doing genetic research, which could help him stop his unwanted transformations into the Hulk.

Of Guilt, Models, and Murder
After a transformation as the Hulk, David awakens in a room with a dead model and fears he may have killed her.

Terror in Times Square
David discovers a murder plot while working in a Time Square arcade, where the owner is being extorted to pay for protection.

747
David boards a flight to visit another doctor whom he thinks has information that might help him with his problem. But, when the pilot and stewardess drugs the rest of the crew in an attempt to bail out of the airplane with stolen property, David and a young boy named Kevin try to land the jetliner.

The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas
While working in a casino, David helps a Las Vegas reporter with a gambling scandal, only to discover that the reporter is Jack McGee's partner.

Never Give a Trucker an Even Break
While working for a female trucker, David is involved in her quest for revenge against the hijacker that stole her father's rig.

Life and Death
David helps a pregnant woman, and on their way to the hospital, they discover a plot to steal babies for DNA experimentation.

Earthquakes Happen
David Banner poses as top physics doctor to infiltrate a research complex, in order to access some gamma-ray equipment that may just be able to cure him of his green alter ego. He is about to start the attempt of reversing his condition when an earthquake strikes, blowing his cover, causing mass destruction and devastation, and setting off an impending core melt-down.

The Waterfront Story
David Banner is working in a dock tavern in Galveston, Texas, where he befriends the owner, a Union President's widow, whose husband was killed under suspicious circumstances. The woman is being pestered by a shady businessman standing for replacement President to endorse his election campaign - and he is willing to go to any lengths necessary to win the election.

When it comes to naming some of the defining cult TV shows of the late 70s and 80s there is one that will be on many people's lists, 'The Incredible Hulk'.

With the immortal words 'Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry', 'The Incredible Hulk' was for a long time the defining comic book TV series. Adapted from one of Marvel's most famous comic books, the Hulk was a character that has always had the scope to produce a huge well of stories. The inner conflict of the comic book character Bruce Banner made him easy to connect and they just loved to see the Hulk smash. The TV show was slightly different to the comic book however.

The major change was the lead character's name from Bruce to David. Also instead of the Hulk and Banner been in conflict with the military and other gamma radiation mutated villains. The TV show saw David Banner on the run, with the world thinking he was dead. It is the Hulk himself that is gaining all of the attention and investigative reporter Jack McGee is hot on his trail. Every time David settles down something happens to get him angry and the Hulk appears and then he has to move on.

While this premise may be a little similar every week and each show always finished with David walking out of town to a piano piece that made you really feel for the character, it didn't take away anything from the enjoyment. Whether he is working for a boxer, a reporter, in a zoo or in a tavern, there is always a moment when things start going too well and something happens to trigger the Hulk, meaning he either attracts too much attention from the authorities or Jack McGee.

With David constantly moving on, the cast for the show is very small essentially only three main characters. The show has in essence two leads. Playing David Banner was a respected actor that brought a huge amount of credibility to the show. Bill Bixby played the troubled scientist, desperate for a cure and constantly battling with his own inner rage with unprecedented passion and the greatest integrity. This made the character and the show far less over the top than it could have been and drew fans in that hadn't even read the comics. Jack Colvin also brought some credibility to the show with his portrayal as Jack McGee, the intrepid reporter trying to track the Hulk down and prove that he exists.

Bringing the Hulk to life was one of the greatest body builders of all time, Lou Ferrigno. In the 1970s, both Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger where the biggest body builders on the circuit so it was obvious that one of them would be chosen to portray the green menace and it was Arnie that missed out (apparently he was considered to be too short). Sprayed green, with a bad wig and some facial makeup, it is to Ferrigno's credit that the creature doesn't become a joke. The big man really has fun with the character as he smashes through each episode when David becomes angry.

The first season of 'The Incredible Hulk' set the standard for comic book adaptations on television. While it did change many things from the comic book, the show had a great integrity and one that drew in both fans of the source material and those looking for quality family entertainment. The Incredible Hulk is definitely a cult television smash.