The Incredible Hulk 1978 Series Now Free to Stream on Tubi

Before the release of the movies Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was tough to be a Marvel fan. Outside of the comic books, there were slim pickings of other media that took Marvel characters seriously. X-Men: The Animated Series is an obvious exception, and Spider-Man: The Animated Series was fairly solid too, but they were intended for children. Only one mainstream, successful piece of media took a Marvel comic book character seriously and it is currently available on Tubi to stream entirely for free.

The Incredible Hulk (1978)

Developed by television veteran Kenneth Johnson, The Incredible Hulk was an hour-long primetime television show aimed at adults. It starred Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner, a scientist who was exposed to gamma radiation in his laboratory. Whenever David loses his temper, he transforms into the Hulk, an enormous, muscle-bound monster.

In the first episode of the series, Banner experiences his first transformation and a fire breaks out at the laboratory. When the Hulk is spotted in the wreckage, observers believe he killed Banner. This forces Banner to go on the run. For the rest of the series, Banner works odd jobs and tries to escape the shadow of the Hulk.

After kicking off with two TV movies in 1977, The Incredible Hulk ran for five seasons, totaling 80 episodes. It ended in 1982, but network executives followed it up with two TV movies in the late 1980s. In 1990, the franchise concluded with The Death of the Incredible Hulk.

In an interview with the Television Academy, Hulk co-creator Stan Lee praised the adaptation:

“The Hulk television show, I thought, was wonderful. It was created and done by Kenneth Johnson, who I think did a brilliant job. I got quite friendly with him in the course of it. He was so smart. He took a character which, in live-action television, might have been unbearably foolish-looking, with nonsensical stories, and he made it as palatable for grown-ups as for kids — maybe more so, because what he did, if you remember, that series it was an hour show and in the course of the hour, you only actually saw the Hulk for, I don’t know, five or six minutes maybe? Not that much. The rest of the time, it was Bruce Banner, played by Bill Bixby, as a very human, empathetic character that you cared about. So it was really an adult show about an interesting, complex hero with a lot of personal problems.”

For its serious commitment to the source material, The Incredible Hulk is worthy of a look. The series is dated in certain ways, particularly regarding the special effects. When David Banner turns into the Hulk, Bill Bixby is replaced by the 6-foot-5-inch, 300-plus pound bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno. Ferrigno does a great job in the role and defined the character for many people, but modern viewers accustomed to CGI might find the practical effects difficult to embrace.

David?

For this television show, Dr. Bruce Banner was renamed David Banner. According to Johnson, he did not like alliterative comic book names, so he changed the name to David. However, both Stan Lee and Lou Ferrigno offered a different answer. They claimed CBS thought the name Bruce sounded inappropriate and thus Dr. Bruce Banner became Dr. David Banner.

The Incredible Hulk is available to stream on Tubi.

Source: Polygon