2026/05/04
Intro:
And done! Five seasons of The Incredible Hulk, including the final three movies that were produced a number of years later, after the series ended. My overall experience watching The Incredible Hulk is a …disappointing one! Perhaps some of you cannot understand that but to me, it was too much of the same, same kind of story in a slightly different setting.
Yes, there are some entertaining episodes, some episodes delved into David Banner’s “condition”, there were a few surprises here and there but overall, it was fairly mediocre. When I was a youngster, so long ago, I truly loved it, but for me it didn’t stand the test of time. I even think that it isn’t for young kids, watching it now so many years later.
There were some episodes that addressed certain issues that were and still are issues that are, how can I say this, adult themes. Such as discrimination, people who are struggling with being disabled, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from soldiers who came back after the war and couldn’t function anymore in a society and so on. But as a kid, I was only interested in seeing the Hulk as often as possible, that was the only thing that mattered back then.
I am really relieved that I’m finished watching the series, it was a struggle most of the time to be honest. Of course I hear you thinking: why go through with watching it then? Well, because I purchased the set on Blu-ray, it was not cheap, so at least I wanted to have watched it once more, I felt I had to watch it till the end, but I certainly had my doubt halfway through the series. I stuck with it, but I really am happy it is done.
TV Series guest stars:
In season five I did see a number of familiar actors again, only 7 episodes, so the list is not so long this time: Anne Lockhart; Brett Cullen; Dick O’Neill and Ken Swofford; Diana Muldaur; Jerry Hardin; Henry Darrow; Charles Napier; Peter Mark Richman; Andrea Marcovicci; Faye Grant, John Hancock; Nancy Lee Grahn; Linden Chiles and Xander Berkeley. What also struck me as odd was that McGee only came around for one episode, one out of the seven episodes. He wasn’t even in the series finale.
Season 5:
Season five definitely is the weakest season of all. Only seven episodes, with some difficulty I was able to grade two episodes a 7/10 (5x03 Veteran & 5x07 A Minor Problem), the rest is below that 7. Why oh why did we not get an exciting series finale, why go out with a whimper instead of a bang? Really don’t understand the creators in this, a season with only 7 episodes, how hard can it be to create 7 decent episodes, solving David Banner’s alter ego problem, or if you don’t want to solve this issue, at least some exciting episodes, not the same mediocrity of most of the four seasons. I know I do sound harsh, but that is because I am so disappointed, perhaps a misjudgment from my side, expecting, or rather, hoping for something different than the final end product. I don’t think I will ever rewatch this ever again. And if I do decide on a rewatch, it will most likely be only 14 episodes. Out of the total of 82 episodes, I graded only 14 episodes an 8/10 or higher!
The Movies:
The first TV movie “The Incredible Hulk Returns”, aired in 1988. After I watched this movie, which I thought to be quite mediocre (5/10), I was concerned that the other two movies would be a disappointment also. I mean, when you check out IMDb, you’ll notice that all three movies stay below the 6 out of 10. Well, as I said before, always judge yourself, the 2nd movie is perhaps a backdoor pilot movie for Daredevil, which never materialized, but the movie itself I thought was quite enjoyable (7/10), I was pleasantly surprised with it. The Incredible Hulk was less involved in this movie but the whole Daredevil part I was really happy with. The 3rd and last movie even surprised me even more, I really enjoyed this a lot, this, to me, was perhaps the best Hulk story of all episodes and TV movies together! (8.5/10). This is what I wanted to see more from the get-go, action packed, Banner who again is dealing with his alter ego, some impressive guest stars, interesting story and a finale moment you hoped for but didn’t expect, at least I didn’t expect it, because studio’s always wanting to have a possible option to revive it. I wouldn’t be surprised that this was the reason Bill Bixby agreed to do the movies. This and the possibility to direct. The first movie Bill Bixby directed together with Nicholas Corea, who was also heavily involved in the series. The last two movies, Bill Bixby was the sole director.
So, I am glad the last movie was enjoyable, I am relieved that it got a good send off. It is a shame though that Jack Colvin’s McGee wasn’t part of the last two movies, I would have liked to see some resolution for his character too, a missed opportunity. What I also noticed was that the Hulk looked different from the TV series. Of course, the first movie was 6 years after the series finale, still, I thought the Hulk looked much angrier than in the series. Bixby has gained some pounds, in the series he was very skinny, but that look is gone in the movies.
TV movies guest stars:
Again, a lot of familiar guest stars in the first movie I recognized these actors: Charles Napier; Tim Thomerson; Lee Purcell. Charles Napier did the Hulk’s growl but had also another role to play in this movie. In the 2nd movie, John Rhys Davies is Fisk, Rex Smith as Matt Murdock. Others: Nancy Everhard; John Novak; Marta Dubois; Mark Acheson; Mitchell Kosterman; Nicholas Hormann. And the 3rd movie, for me, topped this even more: Elizabeth Gracen; John Novak (again); Andreas Katsulas; Philip Sterling; Barbara Tarbuck; Garwin Sanford. For me, especially Elizabeth Gracen, because of her role as Amanda on the TV series The Highlander. I thought I saw some resemblance with this character. And of course, Andreas Katsulas, who plays G’ Kar on Babylon 5.
Final Word:
As I said, I probably will never rewatch this, not sure at this point, but if I do, I will do some cherry picking. I think there are folks out there who disagree with me wholeheartedly, and they have that right of course. For me, it really is a closed book, although I am happy with the last movie, with the ending. It was 40+ years ago since I last saw The Hulk, I didn’t remember much of it, otherwise perhaps I would have never purchased it. Just to warn you, if you are not a true HULK fan, think before you purchase this, it can be a tough watch at times and in my case, most of the times.
Screencaps taken from IMDb
I've added the word document with the episode ratings with descriptions and comments for the ones who are interested in this. Just be aware, it is a draft document, sometimes also can be confusing because of grammar errors and some sloppiness.
Add comment
Comments