41: Behind The Wheel (3.07)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography Edward Rio Rotunno
Written by Rick Rosenthal; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer;
Directed by Frank Orsatti

Acquiring a job as a taxi driver for the Majestic Cab Co, the struggling endeavour of a debt-ridden woman who appears to also have been the unfortunate recipient of a heart condition, David attracts the unwanted attention of the drug dealing gangsters who have loaned money to the company owner.

Aside from the aggravating comedy-slanted showings of Hulk, Behind The Wheel is an entertaining chapter in David's attempts to earn money whereby, on this occasion, he becomes embroiled in the problems of a small time business run by a charismatic woman.  The heart issue brings about a quirky little revelation and a neat little interlude includes David unexpectedly picking up McGee from the airport, having to quickly disguise himself before almost becoming identified when McGee stops off to interview some people who witnessed Hulk in action.

Number of Fists: ****

40: Jake (3.06)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Chuck Bowman; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer;
Directed by Frank Orsatti

David becomes embroiled in the life of a patently old fashioned rodeo star who's nearly had his day, which involves a debt-ridden brother who is staggering onto a path towards crime and the problematic health of the rodeo man himself.

Set against the not entirely inspiring (from my perspective) world of buckaroo and rodeo this is a run-of-the-mill story with one stand-out moment of lovely timing as McGee and David are featured in the same scene, only to narrowly miss one another.  Ferrigno is in absolute peak condition here but the rather oddly meagre growls (something that plagues the previous episode My Favorite Magician also) let Hulk's appearance down.  The cruelty visible in rodeo/buckaroo, clearly accepted at the time and still no doubt with some backward audiences today, does the episode few favours.

Number of Fists: **

39: My Favorite Magician (3.05)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Sam Egan; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer;
Directed by Reza S. Badiyi

After getting the sack from a restaurant, David hooks up with an aging magician who is not quite ready to face up to the fact that he is a) past it, and b) not quite the mythical figure he wishes to consider himself to be.  Simultaneously working on an intravenously applied serum that could cure him, David is momentarily tangled up in the complicated politics of the magician's life, which involves an old flame that is about to be married off to a money-seeking gangster, a long lost daughter that wants to put her father on the right path, and the old man's deteriorating health in light of heart and asthma problems.

Was this episode inspired by Bixby's thespian past (he starred in the short lived The Magician a few years prior to The Incredible Hulk), or perhaps by the title of the series that both Ray Walston and Bill Bixby starred in the mid sixties (My Favorite Martian), or perhaps a combination of both?  I'm not sure but the labyrinthine life of the initially very corny magician Jasper (played by Walston) makes for an entertaining net for David to become entangled in, as he innocently attempts to continue his business of finding a cure.  Also features the ever lovable Scatman Crothers (Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining).

Number of Fists: ****

38: The Slam (3.04)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written and Produced by Nicholas Corea;
Directed by Nicholas Corea

The story begins with David having been arrested for theft, vagrancy, and damage to property.  He is 'slammed' up in a prison run by a fascist despot, where the 't's are crossed but the regime is less than democratic.  He's locked up with a small group of men plotting an escape and dragged into it despite just wanting to stay out of potential trouble by carrying out his sixty-day sentence.

Tense episode and one that holds much potential for destruction locking 'Hulk' up inside an isolated desert prison, something that is partly realised though not to the extent I hoped.  The pinnacle scene - taking place in a minimally lit holding cabin - is when David is visciously beaten (for being suspected of snitching) by a group of prisoners - the Hulk's appearance sparks a moment of exhiliration as the prisoners fly backwards, and some small scale destruction occurs.

An enjoyable episode featuring the much loved and highly prolific Charles Napier, who also turned up in the later episode Triangle as well as the TV movie The Incredible Hulk Returns, both times as different characters (this was quite common for Napier, who had varied bit roles in a number of TV series at the time, often popping up later on as someone entirely different).

Number of Fists: ****