Customer Reviews

The Incredible Hulk - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After being accidently exposed in his laboratory to a massive dosage of gamma radiation, David Banner (A Research Scientist) physiology was dramaticaly effected.

Normally peaceful, quiet man, David now found that once angered, he turn into the Incredible Hulk, a huge, powerful seven foot greenish, manlike monster of immense strength and primitive passions.

David knew and remember what happened at the start of his transformation but had no recollection of what he had done when he was the creature. He searched for a cure traveling around the country taking all sort of odd jobs in order to provide food and clothes for him self and in the same time avoiding the pursuit of investtigative reporter Jack McGee who suspected his secret but had no solid proof.

The Incredible Hulk was based on the 1962 comic-book character created by Stan Lee.

After two pilot movies in 1977, "The Incredible Hulk" a two parts first movie originally aired on November 4th,1977 and "A Death In The Family" two parts movie aired on November 27th,1977, the show was first telecasted on March 10th, 1978 until its last telecast on May 12th, 1982 for a total of 5 seasons and 83 episodes including the two pilot movies.

The cast were:
*David Bruce Banner ..... Bill Bixby
*The Incredible Hulk ..... Lue Ferrigno
*Jack McGee ..... Jack Colvin

The First Season consisted of 10 episodes not counting the two pilot movies and they are as follows:
01- The Final Round - Aired March 10, 1978
02- The Beast Within - Aired March 17, 1978
03- Of Guilt, Models and Murder - Aired March 24, 1978
04- Terror in Times Square - Aired March 31, 1978
05- 747 - Aired April 7, 1978
06- The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas - Aired April 21, 1978
07- Never Give a Trucker an Even Breake - Aired April 28, 1978
08- Life and Death - Aired May 12, 1978
09- Earthquakes Happen - Aired May 19, 1978
10- The Waterfront Story - Aired May 31, 1978

I wish all 5 seasons will be released soon after the First season.

Thank you for reading my review, have a nice day :)

With the exception of the two 1977 pilot episodes, there is only one(747)episode here in season 1 already in the "Ultimate Collection, the other 9 episodes are not, they are previously un-released episodes, & I personally am glad to see more of the "Hulk" on DVD, when season 2 is released, that might warrant a gripe about already released episodes in the "UC", but for now, this is not exactly a waste of money.

Like so many other Hulk fans, I WAITED a few years for the complete season to finally come out. I ignored the "Ultimate Collection" set issued in 2003, in the hopes that a season by season box set would arrive. It finally did, and I'm thrilled. Although there isn't much in terms of bonus material, (the interview with Kenneth Johnson is the same as the intitial release of the pilot episode) the quality of remastering is good. Picture is very clean and clear and the sound is good mono. It would have been nice to have some commentary from the celebrity guest stars. Though they were not well known at the time (Loni Anderson, Gerald McRaney) it still would have been nice to have them reminisce about their appearances on the show. Despite these minor quibbles, it's nice to have all of season one COMPLETE without the cuts and edits when it appeared on syndication. Great set for Incredible Hulk fans!

I never watched this show as a child, so these DVD's are my first exposure. And while I read comics, I never read "The Hulk". The character always seemed... cartoonish, silly. A boy's fantasy, and very obvious. This, though.... this is amazing. This is the boy's fantasy turned nightmare, the ruin of a life done with a light touch. I am deeply impressed with Bill Bixby's acting and with the cinematography, with the whole thing. I cringe at the transformation, but the special effects just weren't there back then so I can forgive that bit.

I can't wait for the rest of the seasons to come out.

WARNING:Spoilers contained herein...
I'm a new fan of "The Incredible Hulk" (I wasn't alive back in the 70s) and am already hooked on this great story and series; just about everything here is as great as it gets. I guess not having been an original generation fan, and therefore not having spent years of disgruntled waiting for this release to happen, has allowed me to avoid the bad taste that Universal seems to have left in the mouths of some others. That said, I still fail to see how marketing issues, unfortunate as they are, could make anyone dislike the show itself (as seems to have happened with one reviewer here.) I think the DVDs themselves are fine; the packaging is great (perhaps better than the second set), the extras aren't much (though I can't say I've heard the commentary yet, nor seen "Stop the Presses" from season; the latter I'll probably just watch on the season 2 set), but the video and audio quality is good, with a little grain popping up from time to time (this minor issue will, I'm sure, elect enraged outbursts from "technophiles".) So the DVD itself is a 4/5 (it's a TV series so I don't expect that much in the way of bonuses; the occasional quality problems do merit a downgrade in the rating though) but how about the episodes?
First off, the grading of actual episodes breaks down into two categories: the two films (pilots) contained on disc 1, and the ten regular episodes contained on discs 2-4, and which make up the whole of season 1. For their part, the two pilot films are both enjoyable and important to the series as a whole (obviously; one is the first episode ever and shows the creation of the hulk!) "The Incredible Hulk" (Pilot) is a GREAT human film (and I do think that the humanity of Dr. Banner is one of the greatest elements of the series.) All acting, writing (script and story) are good to great, the action is exiting, and yes, heart-pounding (to use the cliche so joyously employed on the back of the DVD case.) The Hulk overturns David's car, setting it alight, pulls a tree and drops on into a river in an attempt to save a young girl (this whole scene is perhaps a highlight for the pilot Hulk-wise), and breaks into a burning building. The most important part of this episode, however, is the humanity and sadness of David Banner/The Incredible Hulk. This is brought through by the excellent (and often exiting) writing and direction of Ken Johnson, and the acting of Bill Bixby (Banner), and Susan Sullivan as his beautiful assistant, Elaina Marks (the rest of the cast is fine too, and watch of course, for Lou Ferrigno in his great premiere performance as the Hulk.) All of this serves to make the pilot an entertaining, well-written, well-acted, well-paced, exiting 5/5 film. "Death in the Family" (the second film) plays out pretty much exactly like a standard episode of the series stretched to two hours... and that means action, action, and more action! Of course there is great writing (a cracking murder plot) and acting behind this thing, but the suspense, excitement, and action (of which the great plot is a fine provider), along with characters drive it. The Hulk battles several ranching employees in the best Hulk vs. Man "fist fight" I've seen yet, and also wrestles a grizzly, and a snake while helping a girl and an old man (both acted to near perfection) through the woods for help. He also knocks a helicopter out of the sky with a boulder in an impressive show of special effects. All in all, this film is an engaging, exiting, rewarding, suspenseful, and well-made one. 4.5/5; in hindsight, a sign of great things to come.
The regular episodes: those programs running 50 minutes which make up a majority of this set. Favorites include: "Final Round" (love the whole boxing thing, exiting, well-written story, even if drug dealers are nothing new in action entertainment, engaging characters and acting of an at least competent level from the guest stars and GREAT action, no matter what anyone says; I don't know much about the "Rocky" movie thing from that time period, so I can't pass comment there; I just think this is an especially good episode.) I also like: "The Beast Within" (that gorilla), " Terror in Times Square" (my absolute favorite yet), "747" (my 2nd favorite; great, action-packed, brilliantly suspenseful episode, "The Hulk Breaks Los Vegas" ( merely good as compared to "747" or "Terror in...") "Life and Death" is a fairly good episode, if not outstanding, I greatly enjoyed "The Waterfront Story", a political piece with a solid cast/characters, great action and excitement and some humor (the barroom brawl scene being an example of the winning humor that, much to the episode's advantage, did not override the entire plot.) I have yet to view "Earthquakes Happen" but am looking forward to doing so soon.
Finally, there are two remaining episodes that I felt deserved special attention, for various reasons. First off is "Of Guilt, Models, and Murder" (disc 2, episode 3.) Here we find a clever plot (and fine script) involving David coming out of a metamorphosis in the apartment of model as the episode's beginning; the only problem is that the model is DEAD! Is the Hulk a murderer? Attempting to find out, David enters employment as a chauffeur for Joslin Cosmetics; the company headed by James Joslin (Jeremy Brett), had apparently hired the model. Here David uncovers a chilling murder plot...
This episode has, for various reasons, been called the weakest of season 1 by a number of reviewers. I beg to differ; it isn't the strongest, but as a fan of murder mysteries (and Jeremy Brett, Granada's "Sherlock Holmes") I found this episode highly enjoyable. The plot and writing were fairly good, as was the acting (OK, Loni Anderson isn't great, but she is fairly good), and it was exciting, suspenseful, and had some nice action. The action wasn't the best (one hulk-out scene was entirely in flashback, told from various points of view), but their is nothing sub-par about the Hulk battling a car crusher (and winning.) Good episode already; The Hulk, Bill Bixby, Jeremy Brett- what more could you want!!?
Last but not least, comes "Never Give Trucker and Even Break" (disc 3, episode 3) in which David assists Jonie, a trucker, exact revenge on a group of criminals/truckers who stole her Dad's "rig." This is easily the weakest of season 1 (again, I don't care what anyone says on this subject.) The humor works sometimes, the story and script (involving "very expensive computer components" in David's words) is far from the best, but does work, and there is good exciting action and things definitely pick up at the end with the second Hulk-out, and the telephone pole thing (which must be seen to be believed.) There is also an impressive piece of action as the truck crashes over the edge of a cliff, and explodes spectacularly. It has a way of growing on you (even just thinking about it) but is easily the weakest here; not that it's that bad, just a little below the standard set by previous episodes. 3.5/5
Overall, "The Incredible Hulk" show, and season 1 DVD, is great entertainment for those who enjoy action, and some character. Highly recommended for action fans, and those who can suspend their disbelief for a short while every now and then. Final rating: 5/5.

...the show didn't really get into a good storyline "groove" until the second season. It did have some great moments though.

I won't bore you with what everyone else has written, but I will tell you about something you may not know: There were a number of scripts that were written for the 5th Season, but were never filmed, because CBS pulled the plug at the start of the 5th Season. You can find (and even download) a number of these online by doing a simple Google search.

The best of them is a script for an unfilmed episode entitled, "THE TRIAL OF JACK McGEE". This would have been one of the best of the Banner-McGee confrontation episodes, if not THE best, and it's a real shame that it was never filmed. I couldn't stop reading it once I started. I spoke to exec. producer Kenneth Johnson about how the Banner-McGee conflict would finally end, and he states that it would have been resolved, probably by the end of the 5th Season, if the show had not been cancelled. NO script had been written for the finale, however this "THE TRIAL OF JACK McGEE" script comes awfully close to bringing things to a head. Search it out. You'll enjoy it!

The reason why the Banner-McGee thing wasn't resolved later on when the three NBC tele-movie reunions aired is because Bill Bixby took over as exec. producer, and Kenneth Johnson was no longer involved. Too bad...

Bill Bixby as David Banner was the reason I watched this show. He was the every man, the man that smaller men look up to. I cannot disagree more with the review that came in recently about his style and mannerisms. His vulnerability is what made this show the hit that it was.

This show was filmed in the 1970's, when all bad guys we terribly bad and cartoonish. The good guys were always extremely good and moral and ethical in the 1970's. My wife and I, both in our 30's prefer watching these re-runs over Big Brother and Rock Star any day of the week.

The only regret I have towards this show is that it didn't get the chance it deserved to conclude properly. But if someone ever produced a follow up show, I would be there watching it, like the kid I was all those years ago, rooting for the every man.

Since the release of the final three films of The Incredible Hulk series, I (like many others) have wanted the original series to be released and someone finally heard us because here is Season One of one of the best adaptations of a comic book on either TV or the big screen ever! This 4 disc set was very riveting as the episodes are uncut and complete! Here is what you'll find:

Disc 1

Pilot - In the two hour premiere, we find Dr. David Banner still grieving for his failure to save his wife from an auto accident As a result, he is obsessed with finding the hidden strength that all humans have. When he discovers that gamma rays hold the key, he exposes himself to the mysterious radiation not knowing that he had it set too high! To his horror, he discovers that in times of stress and anger he transforms into a huge, raging and powerful creature which will become known as The Hulk!

Death In The Family - In this two hour follow up, Dr. Banner runs across Julie. The daughter of a rich and powerful rancher who had died just recently. David takes a job at the ranch only to discover that Julie's caretakers are secretly trying to murder her to gain control of the fortune!

Bonus Feature - Alternate commentary by Writer, Director and Producer Kenneth Johnson for "Pilot." This is actually on the solo release that came out back in 2003 as well.

Disc 2

The Final Round - In the first regular episode, Banner runs across a boxer who aids him in fending off some muggers. The boxer then helps Banner get a job at a local gym where the good doctor discovers that the gym owner is also a drug dealer and is looking kill his newfound friend!

The Beast Within - A female scientist at a zoo is conducting experiements that may be a breakthrough for David's own condition but it runs a snag when certain other parties want to gain control of those findings as well.

Of Guilt, Models & Murder - The Hulk has killed a woman......or so it seems!

Terror In Times Square - While working in an arcade, Banner discovers a blackmailing scheme against the owner! This show features one of the iconic shots shown frequently throughout the series as The Hulk races down Times Square in New York!

Disc 3

747 - A robbery attempt on an airplane doesn't go as planned as David Banner and a young boy must land this 747 to avoid a major crash! One of the series' most legendary episodes!

The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas - While working as a shill, David gets involved with a local reporter who's working to bust a gambling racket. This reporter, however, has ties to Jack McGee! The man determined to find and capture The Hulk and who also thinks that David is dead!

Never Give A Trucker An Even Break - David aids a female trucker who's rig was stolen by smugglers. Not a great episode but watchable.

Life & Death - While aiding a pregnant woman, David discovers a group called The Matrix who plans on taking her baby and using it for DNA experiments.

Disc 4

Earthquakes Happen - While trying to use a radiation unit to cure himself, David Banner is caught in an earthquake and now must use his own wits and the power of The Hulk to save himself and some workers at the research facility.

The Waterfront Story - While in Texas, David Banner becomes involved with Josie who is an owner of a restaurant and is a widower herself. He also becomes involved in the ruthless world of union politics.

Bonus Feature

Stop The Presses - A taste of Season 2 as we find Banner trying to keep a picture of himself out of the paper for fear of being exposed while helping two female restaurant owners keep their business from going under thanks to a crooked reporter from The National Register.

Overall, a very good ride! Worth the price of purchasing whether its here at Amazon.com or even at its regular price of nearly $[...]!

"The Incredible Hulk" was my favorite show while I was growing up. Interestingly, I never got into the comic book; but the TV series intrigued me. I hadn't seen it in a long time, and I ordered it almost for old time sake and was afraid that I wouldn't like as much as I did while seeing the show through the eyes of a child or pre-teen.

My fears were at once dsipelled upon my first viewing of the pilot episode (which I had never seen before). Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno and Jack Colvin were a great ensamble. Bixby has a warmth about him, and he generates a certain empathy, especially as he must go on at the end of every episode as a lonely fugitive. Ferrigno, of course, is outstanding as a body builder and captures the Hulk's spirit of intense anger juxtaposed by a childlike goodness. Colvin as McGee adds a tense edge and energy to each episode, even if his appearences are brief.

The moving soundtrack also adds a certain pathos to this outstanding show.

Through the eyes of an adult, I am still completely caught up in the Hulk myth.

Despite high-tech CGI, the newer cinema version does not compare to the humanity behind the Bixby/Ferrigno/Colvin trinity.

Okay, so a few people rant about this one, and a few people rave. I remember reading that Universal's decision to release the Ultimate Collection (UC) was based on a fan vote, not a rush to get some episodes on DVD, and they never said for sure that they would never release the series. Most of the delays in
releasing (any of) the older TV series has to do with the rights to the property expiring ( i.e. Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman, both Kenneth Johnson series as well) . That doesn't happen with today's shows because studios have more control over the copyright and intellectual property rights. (BTW - the rights also may vary country to country as both season 1 collections of the SMDM and BW series are available in U.K.) Anyway, all that side, my ONLY gripe about this season 1 DVD collection is the bonus episode, Stop The Presses from season 2. For those of us who already have the UC, and plan to buy the 1st season, this bonus episode is useless because it is already on the UC, and when (if) Season 2 comes out, then people will have the same episode on 3 different sets. Universal will probably do the same for any subsequent seasons as well, that is, the bonus episode will have already been included on the UC. The only good thing about a bonus episode on season 4 (if released) is that no season 5 episode had been included on the UC so at least that will be nice. On that note, Season 5 has fewer than 10 episodes, so maybe they should release seasons 4 and 5 together. Last but not least, hopefully they will all be released in a timely manner....waiting 6 - 9 months between seasons is ridiculous, especially when other series last year came out within 4 months of previous seasons (i.e. Magnum P.I., A-Team, and Knight Rider Season 4 - all came out within 4 months of season 3 sets)