It’s actually kinda wild when you think about it. Before the billion-dollar CGI budgets and the interconnected multiverses, we had Bill Bixby and a green-painted Lou Ferrigno. We had a guy wandering a lonely highway with a backpack and a sad piano theme that could make a grown man cry. Honestly, The Incredible Hulk television show shouldn’t have worked. By all logic, a show about a scientist who turns into a muscle-bound creature in ripped purple pants should have been campy, goofy, and forgotten by the mid-80s. Instead, it became a cultural touchstone.
It wasn't just a "superhero show." Kenneth Johnson, the creator, famously hated comic books. He didn't want to make a show for kids; he wanted to make a psychological drama inspired by Les Misérables and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That’s why the stakes felt so real. When David Banner (changed from Bruce because Johnson felt "Bruce" sounded too "gay" or just didn't fit the character's new tragic vibe) feels that white-hot anger rising, it isn’t a power trip. It’s a curse.
The Psychological Weight of David Banner
Most people remember the "Don't make me angry" line. You've heard it a thousand times. But the brilliance of The Incredible Hulk television show was in the quiet moments between the growls. Bill Bixby brought this incredible, simmering sadness to David Banner. He wasn't a hero; he was a victim of his own biology.
The show fundamentally changed the origin story from the comics. In the 1962 Marvel comic by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Bruce Banner is caught in a gamma bomb explosion while saving a teenager. It’s an act of heroism. In the TV show? It’s an act of obsession. David is a physician and researcher haunted by his inability to save his wife, Laura, from a fatal car accident. He discovers that under extreme stress, humans can tap into a "hyper-strength." He experiments on himself, unaware that a solar flare has calibrated the equipment to a much higher dosage.
That shift matters. It grounds the entire series in grief.
Every episode followed a formula, sure, but it was a formula that worked because it mirrored the classic "Western" or The Fugitive. David arrives in a new town, finds work, tries to help someone, the "Hulk" comes out to smash a bulldozer or a corrupt sheriff, and David has to leave before Jack McGee—the obsessive tabloid reporter—catches him. It’s lonely. It’s repetitive in a way that emphasizes Banner’s isolation. He can never have a home. He can never have a girlfriend for more than 48 minutes of screen time.
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Lou Ferrigno and the Power of Practical Effects
We live in an era where the Hulk is a 10-foot-tall digital monster voiced by Mark Ruffalo. He’s great, but he’s not there.
When Lou Ferrigno stepped onto the set of The Incredible Hulk television show, he was a physical reality. He was 6'5" and over 280 pounds of pure muscle. The production didn't use foam suits or prosthetics for his physique; they just painted him green and gave him some contact lenses and a wig.
There’s a specific texture to those transformations. The slow-motion shots of Bixby’s eyes turning white or green. The shirt seams literally popping. The shoes splitting. It feels tactile. When Ferrigno flips a car, you see the strain in his neck muscles. It’s visceral. You can feel the weight of the character in a way that pixels often struggle to replicate.
Interestingly, the "Hulk" in the show was significantly weaker than his comic book counterpart. He couldn't jump into orbit or crack planets. He could flip a car or break through a brick wall, but he could be hurt by bullets or even heavy machinery. This made the action sequences tense. If the Hulk was invincible, the show would have been boring. Instead, every "Hulk-out" felt like a desperate, violent explosion of survival instinct.
Why Jack McGee Was the Perfect Antagonist
Jack Colvin played Jack McGee, the reporter for the National Register. He’s often remembered as a nuisance, but he’s actually a tragic figure in his own right. McGee isn't a "villain" in the traditional sense. He’s a man looking for a story that will make his career, but he’s also genuinely convinced that the Hulk is a murderer.
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In the pilot movie, McGee is there when the laboratory explodes. He sees the "creature" carrying the body of David’s colleague, Dr. Elaina Marks. He assumes the creature killed them both. From McGee’s perspective, he is hunting a monster that killed two brilliant scientists.
The dynamic between Bixby and Colvin was electric, even though they rarely shared scenes outside of chases. The near-misses weren't just plot devices; they were the walls closing in on David Banner’s humanity.
Surprising Facts and Production Struggles
The show ran from 1977 to 1982, but it wasn't always smooth sailing. Here are a few things that actually happened behind the scenes:
- Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered for the Hulk. He was reportedly rejected because he wasn't tall enough. Imagine how different the show would have been with Arnold's screen presence compared to Ferrigno's raw, silent intensity.
- The "Green" paint was a nightmare. It took hours to apply and would rub off on everything. The production went through dozens of shirts per episode because they had to be pre-cut to rip "just right."
- Richard Kiel (Jaws from James Bond) was the original Hulk. He actually filmed scenes for the pilot. However, Kenneth Johnson’s daughter saw him and said he didn't look like a "muscle-bound" Hulk, just a tall guy. They let him go and hired Ferrigno, who was a professional bodybuilder.
- The "Lonely Man" theme. Composed by Joe Harnell, that final piano melody is arguably more famous than the show's actual opening theme. It perfectly encapsulated the "sadness" of the character.
The Cultural Legacy of the "Smashes"
The show tackled surprisingly heavy themes for its time. Domestic abuse, drug addiction, disability, and corporate greed were all fair game. David Banner wasn't just hiding; he was a doctor who used his skills to fix people's lives before his "condition" forced him to move on.
It was a procedural with a soul.
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When the show was eventually canceled after five seasons, it wasn't because of low ratings. It was due to a change in network leadership and rising production costs. Fans were devastated. We eventually got three made-for-TV movies: The Incredible Hulk Returns, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk, and The Death of the Incredible Hulk.
The final film is still a point of contention. To see David Banner actually die—falling from a plane and hitting the tarmac, reverting to his human form one last time to say "I am free"—was a gut-punch. It was the definitive end of an era.
How to Revisit the Series Today
If you’re looking to dive back into The Incredible Hulk television show, don't just look for "the best fights." You’ll be disappointed if you expect MCU-level spectacle. Instead, watch it as a character study.
Start with the two-hour pilot movie. It’s genuinely one of the best pieces of superhero media ever produced. It treats the source material with a level of gravity that was unheard of in the 70s. Then, check out "The Married" (Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2). It won Bixby an Emmy nomination, and for good reason. It’s heartbreaking.
Practical Next Steps for Fans:
- Check the Blu-ray Remasters: The high-definition transfers of the series are surprisingly crisp. They reveal the detail in the practical effects and the nuances of Bixby’s performance that were lost on old CRT televisions.
- Listen to Joe Harnell's Score: Beyond the "Lonely Man" theme, the orchestral work throughout the series is top-tier 70s television scoring.
- Visit the Locations: Many of the show's iconic "small town" locations were actually filmed around the Universal Studios backlot and various spots in Santa Clarita and the San Fernando Valley.
- Compare the Narrative: Watch the 1977 pilot and then watch the 2008 Incredible Hulk movie starring Edward Norton. The 2008 film is a massive love letter to the TV show, from the opening credit sequence to the Lou Ferrigno cameo.
The show proved that you don't need a massive budget to tell a great "super" story. You just need a character people care about and a monster they can understand. David Banner’s journey wasn't about winning; it was about surviving. That’s why we’re still talking about it fifty years later.