73: Danny (4.16)

1981; 46 minutes
Written by Diane Frolov; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer, Karen Harris, Jill Sherman
Directed by Mark A Burley

Wandering along the roadside David hitches up with a man who is on the run from pesky town's people.  He takes the traveller back to a camp where he and his friend are living free of the system.  There's also a woman there with a baby called Danny.  David stays for the night but departs the next morning as he realises all is not well within the little group: the woman, Rachel, is discontent and she heads off on the same morning.  One of the guys, frustrated that Rachel has spurned his advances, assumes the two of them have left together, thus he goes out looking to track them down, which lands David in a usual heap of trouble.

Taking place in the middle of nowhere with very few characters this one feels like it was made on a very small budget.  Robin Dearden (who also played Joleen in Brain Child) is quite good as the distraught mother Rachel but this episode otherwise feels very by-the-numbers, boring to watch and of little value to the series as a whole.  It's difficult as a viewer not to feel sorry for the baby Danny ('actor' uncredited), who spends much of the episode crying, screaming, and generally in distress.

Number of Fists: **

72: Half Nelson (4.15)

1981; 46 minutes
Written by Andrew Schneider; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer, Karen Harris, Jill Sherman
Directed by Barry Crane

David arrives in Baltimore and helps out a midget being mugged in an alleyway...  The little guy, who seems to have three names, is mixed up with some criminals whilst making a living as a wrestler.  He takes David in for a few days, at the same time getting him into trouble with the aforementioned gangsters.

Probably the nadir of the entire Incredible Hulk run, the whole far-fetched debacle is difficult to watch - the bad guys are the worst type of generic stereotypes (whose conversation consists largely of what to eat next), the alleyway mugging is a bit of a joke, and when David attends a party full of small people dancing and the like, it teeters over into parody.  Hulk's appearances are obviously also contrived in an episode that may desperately attempt to tackle the difficulties faced by those who are 'different' from what is considered to be the norm, but can't quite do anything skillfully enough to give it any substance.

Number of Fists: *

71: Interview With The Hulk (4.14)

1981; 47 minutes
Written by Alan Cassidy; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer, Karen Harris, Jill Sherman
Directed by Patrick Boyriven

One of McGee's colleagues - a science journalist by the name of Fletcher - attempts to steal his big story when he accidentally takes a call from a witness who has seen the man who becomes the Hulk.  Fletcher heads out and tracks down the mystery man via the woman who saw him change, and instantly recognises him as David Banner as a result of his previous writings in the science field.  Fletcher's insidious motivation leads him to make a deal with Banner to tell the his story in the newspaper with guaranteed anonymity.  However, as Banner divulges information about what's been happening over the last few years, Fletcher begins to sympathise with him, ultimately questioning his own ethics.

I wasn't entirely convinced by Michael Conrad's performance as the unscrupulous reporter hiding a difficult historical experience that allows him to sympathise with Banner's plight, but there are a number of good things about Interview With The Hulk, including the fact that it veers from the established formula for a change (Hulk only really appears in this episode once, aside from some flashbacks, and it's quite a nifty creature-trapped-on-the-roof sequence that reminds me of old monster movies), plus it's nice to see Banner in a position where he can lift the weight from his shoulders by telling his tale of loneliness and inner torture to another person, even though he is essentially forced into it.  The ongoing sadness of the character is prevalent in this story.

Number of Fists: ***½