51: The Lottery (3.17)

1980; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Dan Ullman; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer & Jeff Freilich;
Directed by John McPherson

Witnessing an attempted robbery on a newspaper stand, David successfully intervenes, becoming friends with the owner, Harry, an ex-conman who is deliberately leading a simple life in order to keep himself away from criminal temptation.  A generous man at heart, he buys David a lottery ticket - against the odds the numbers turn up and a quarter of a million dollars is suddenly up for grabs.  Reluctant to attract any attention, David offers Harry half the winnings as a friendly gesture, and asks him to collect it on his behalf.  Thus begins a series of bizarre events after Harry absconds with the entire sum.  David tracks him down to a hotel where he finds Harry has adopted an alter ego, planning to con more money out of several crime-lords.

Very strange story by Daniel Ullman, who also wrote Blind Rage a year before.  Harry is a truly odd character, dressing up in disguise to collect the winnings and then hiring limousines, uniforms and people in order to pretend to be a military official.  David's character demonstrates quite a degree of desperation during all of this: after learning of his win he's phoning around to buy laboratory equipment that should put him on the road to a cure, but Harry's rash use of the winnings to craft a scam that should double their earnings brings David to the point of begging for his half of the money (even the leftover crumbs at one point) so as to leave Harry to it.  It's an interesting turn of events but I'm not quite sure the comedic elements of the episode really work.

Number of Fists: ***

50: Falling Angels (3.16)

1980; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Eric Kaldor & D K Krzemien; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer & Jeff Freilich
Directed by Barry Crane

At an orphanage some of the girls are being groomed for a life of crime by the matriarch and her boyfriend.  David obtains a temporary job there and, once he realises that the girls are heading down a path towards eventual prison, he tries to persuade them to change direction in life.  Naturally getting himself into trouble in the process. 

Aside from one well executed sequence whereby the speech presented by Rita on the benefits of the education they're providing at the orphanage is intercut with the girls putting their thieving skills into use, Falling Angels is a fairly mundane episode with confused portrayal of Hulk's intelligence (later in the episode he ventures from one place to another, quite some distance away, in order to apprehend a criminal).

On a note regarding the more efficient aspects, the sadness faced by unwanted children does shine through (particularly via one who wants David to take her away with him, i.e. adoption).

Number of Fists: **

49: Long Run Home (3.15)

1980; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Alan Cole & Chris Bunch

Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer & Jeff Freilich;
Directed by Frank Orsatti 

An biker who is on the verge of disenchantment with his clan picks David up on the road.  The man has been having concerns about the group's use of firearms and is about to be tracked down by that group, after a tip-off leads the authorities to them.  An unrelated accident results in the biker breaking his arm, and so David tags along with him until he's able to ride his bike again.

Strained somewhat by the incessant jazzy score, this is nevertheless a reasonable tale about seeing things differently, being judged by others according to what you look like, and evolution of the self.  David helps the man achieve the latter as he is involved in the conflict between his former allies and the authorities who now want his help, while everyone else they come across tends to draw prejudgmental conclusions about the man essentially based on what's he's wearing.

Hulk's appearance here is pretty neat when, following a beating in a bar, he then uses the actual bar counter itself to cram the entire confused and panicked crowd to the other side of the room.  Later on he goes up against the bikers themselves of course.  Features Ricky himself, Mickey Jones, who also appeared as yet another character some time later in Triangle.

Number of Fists: ***

48: Sideshow (3.14)

1980; 48 minutes

Director of Photography Vincent A Martinelli
Written by Len Jenkin; Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer & Jeff Freilich;
Directed by Nicholas Corea

After helping out a troubled woman at the side of the road David tags along with a travelling group of women who perform various acts at circuses, the woman he helped in particular - Nancy - being a performing clairvoyant.  Developing a bond with her, David becomes embroiled in the problems of her past, which involve a confused man who blames Nancy for his son's death.

Quite a decent episode underpinned by the sad romance (because the knowledge that it can only be temporary is prevalent) between David and Nancy, who is played by the incongruously attractive Judith Chapman.  Robert Donner also does a nice job with the holy man slightly unhinged by his son's death, Benedict (the actor later turned up as another character in The Phenom).  Hulk gets to smash his way out of a circus horror show, which is also good fun.

Number of Fists: ****

47: Proof Positive (3.13)

1980; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Karen Harris & Jill Sherman

Produced by Robert Bennett Steinhauer & Jeff Freilich
Directed by Dick Harwood

National Register reporter Jack McGee has become engulfed by his own obsession with the secret of the Hulk, which brings him into confrontation with Patricia Steinhauer, the daughter of the Register's boss, who has been put in charge of the paper while her father gallivants around the world on his latest honeymoon.  She has visions of stripping out the newspaper's less credible ideologies in order to increase circulation.  Following an ongoing battle over McGee's infatuation with discovering the truth about the Hulk and Patricia's drive towards media respectability, he is determined to prove to the new boss that the huge green monster is no fantasy.

I really like this episode, partly because it completely deviates from the established formula of the show, partly because the entire story revolves around the ensuing drama between two people of differing beliefs and is scattered with some great dialogue exchanges.  This story is most unusual because it doesn't really feature Bill Bixby, albeit there are some glimpses in flashback.  I understand that Bixby may not have been available during filming due to his own personal problems at the time, but the mystique of the apparent sole appearance of Banner (disguised, as McGee finally closes in on him) makes some narrative sense as the whole thing is told from the perspective of his nemesis, the reporter.

We learn a number of things about McGee in this one, including the fact that his partnership with a previous woman was essentially broken apart by his snowballing fixation with the Hulk, something that is symbolised by his recurring dreams of a barren landscape filled only with the green creature getting progressively closer (i.e. it's the only thing really on his mind).  The conclusion of the story also sweetly provides some hope for the wayward reporter on a personal level.

Number of Fists: ****