33: The Quiet Room (2.21)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography Edward Rio Rotunno
Written by Karen Harris/Jill Sherman; Produced by Nicholas Corea;
Directed by Reza S Badiyi

Operating as an attendant at a mental hospital, David notices that one of the senior doctors is pioneering unethical techniques in mind control with the claimed motivation of reducing crime, violent behaviour, etc. Stealing a VHS tape that contains evidence, David attempts to get out of the place altogether, but escape from such a place is never going to be easy if one's intention is to whistle-blow: he is promptly caught, drugged, and put in line for procedures that will effectively lobotomise him, thereby protecting the doctor’s future money-spinner.

David really lands himself in a pickle in this slightly disturbing episode. He spends most of the time drugged up and either attempting to escape or trying to convince one of the other doctors about what is really going on, inadvertently sounding like someone who is genuinely deranged in the process. I thought the story may wander into A Clockwork Orange territory for a while but, probably due to its basis in family television entertainment, the writers refrain from taking the central theme too far.

Number of Fists: ***

32: The Confession (2.20)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Deborah Davis; Produced by James G Hirsch;
Directed by Barry Crane

Using a cleaning job to get into a computer laboratory, David breaks into one of the rooms at night where he performs an experiment on himself intended to get closer to a way of controlling the monster inside.  Triggering a metamorphosis the experiment results in Hulk wrecking the place and then escaping, but not before lab assistant Harry Milburn catches sight of what's happening and follows the creature, recognising an opportunity to break free of his lonely existence.

McGee shows up with a new assistant, Pamela Morris, to investigate the latest sightings and Milburn later visits their office to confess... to being the man that turns into the Hulk.  McGee knows this is a fraud (mainly due to his exeriences in the Mystery Man story) but palms Pamela off with Milburn so he can continue with a more serious enquiry.  The somewhat rebellious Pamela gets the hoax story printed anyway, against McGee's better wishes of course.  David notices the newspaper story and poses as another reporter to get an interview with Milburn to find out more about what's going on himself, not realising that the spurned loner has called a TV station so that he can commit live suicide and finally get himself noticed once and for all.

Beginning with an explosive appearance of Hulk as he smashes his way out of the lab, a number of threads are thoughtfully entwined here as Banner is first seeking solutions in a computer lab whilst later trying to figure out why someone else would claim to be the Hulk, McGee is being irritated by having to lug around an enthusiastic new assistant with too much initiative, while Milburn is attempting to break out of the humdrum existence of a small man unable to be noticed in a busy world.

This all leads to a great sequence in a bell tower as Milburn is initially the centre of attention, as he wished, but Hulk himself is trapped up there after the clanging bell sparks his arrival, and McGee's team attempt to ensnare the monster (somewhat amusingly, causing even Milburn's death threats to be overshadowed by something bigger!).  One of the first of five episodes that Barry Crane would direct, someone who had previously worked with Bill Bixby on The Magician.

Number of Fists: ****½

31: Kindred Spirits (2.19)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Karen Harris/Jill Sherman ; Produced by James G Hirsch;
Directed by Joseph Pevney

Following the discovery of rock paintings going back fifty thousand years that depict the transformation of an early homo sapien into a green giant, David hooks up with an expedition to search for further evidence.  David feels that the painting suggests the man/beast may have discovered a controlling device in the form of a plant, hence he is eager to be involved as much as possible.

The woman leading the expedition, Dr Gabrielle White, allows his presence because she actually recognises him as the supposedly deceased David Banner.  In trust he tells her his story and together they look for and analyse findings in the caves, only to find themselves the recipients of Native American hostile attentions, some of whom feel that they are unjustly taking (relics) from their land.

An enticing mix of interpretations for the Hulk is cooked up between the characters of this story.  McGee is on the scene as soon as there is a sighting, citing the facts that he has uncovered to various people but to little avail, the professor who works alongside White believes that the creature is the 'missing link' that forever leaves holes in evolution theory, while the elder of the Native American family passes on folkloric tales of the ancient green creature in the belief that it is some form of godly spirit.  Hulk's appearance only reinforces everyone's personal opinions of course, which grants an interesting parallel to the world whereby we see whatever is around us as evidence of what we want to believe.  In the midst of all this, Banner just wants to locate a cure or control for his affliction.  Kim Cattrall made a wonderful and surprising early appearance as Gabrielle, a dreamy, unimaginably appealing presence in her prime.

Number of Fists: ****

30: No Escape (2.18)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Ben Masselink; Produced by James G Hirsch;
Directed by Jeffrey Hayden

Picked up during a nocturnal beach rest as a vagrant, David is locked into a Police van with a paranoid schizophrenic who alleges to have received shock treatment, something that has led to his problems with temper control, etc.  Mistaking David's identity and intentions he beats him up, only to have Hulk appear, smash open the van and throw aside two shocked officers.

Later on David is concerned about what Tom might do to himself or those close to him, so against a backdrop of increasing media and Police activity he chooses to investigate what might have happened to cause Tom's condition, and to warn the fragile man's wife of what he thinks could happen.

David's overly caring nature puts him almost into McGee's spotlight as the reporter arrives on the scene following the mystery vagrant's escape from confinement.  He slowly pieces together theories about what is the real cause of Tom's problem, leading to a pretty good showdown as David is trapped as a hostage on a moored boat with Tom as the Police and McGee lay siege outside.

Number of Fists: ***

29: The Disciple (2.17)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written and Produced by Nicholas Corea/James G Hirsch;
Directed by Reza S Badiyi

A family of cops (two brothers and their father) are tipped off by a sleek informer about the whereabouts of a wanted mobster by the name of Lynch.  Instead of taking things in a procedural fashion they decide to storm the place in effort to catch Lynch themselves, not realising that he has set an explosive trap for them.  In the blast the father is killed, and one of the brothers - Michael - is shot as he himself shoots the escaping Lynch.

Staggering into a Chinese philosophy/martial arts club Michael is treated by David, who has just arrived there to visit his old wise-man buddy Li Sung.  Michael embarks on a journey of re-enlightenment as his brother takes the opposite path in the pursuit of vengeance.

A follow up of sorts to the episode Another Path, whereby David actually returns to visit a character he left behind temporarily, primarily for continued assistance with his problem but ultimately to end up helping Michael during his conflict that leads to a confrontation with Lynch.  One brother wants to kill the man who was responsible for the father's death, the other seeks to essentially forgive and get the dying murderer to medical attention.  A slow episode containing two odd appearances of Hulk where his growls sound as if they were recorded inside a large steel drum.  However, some interesting themes are explored.

Number of Fists: ***

27/28: Mystery Man (2.15/16)

1979; 48+48 minutes

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

A hitch-hiking Banner picks the wrong car to climb into when the driver turns out to be a neurotic, crazed, misandrist who, in her emotionally charged speeding, loses control of the car and ploughs them both off the road.  The woman is thrown free but a trapped Banner can only be saved by his transformation into the Hulk, who escapes from the wreckage with his head on fire.  Passers-by obviously report the sighting whilst alerting the medical authorities who find Banner a few minutes later (naturally not realising that he was the creature).

Suffering from facial burns and memory loss he is bandaged up at the hospital, before McGee turns up to take a grip on the story.  Unaware of who is beneath the mask, McGee suspects that the 'mystery man', now dubbed John Doe, could be instrumental in his hunt for the creature, and agrees to take the amnesiac Banner/Doe to see a memory specialist in another state.  Mid flight the plane runs into a storm and crashes in the forest below, the pilot killed but Banner and McGee surviving, albeit with a badly broken leg in the case of the latter.  Banner patches him up and calculates a 45 mile trek to get them to the nearest town.  Thus begins an adventure through the vast forest as fires several miles away are closing in, wolves in the vicinity are sensing a fresh meal, and a masked Banner is struggling to piece together who he is.

A great concept begins with an unusually funny escapade as David is trapped in a car with the wrong woman, a scene that quickly turns to frisson as the vehicle crashes.  The bewildered David spends the rest of the two episodes that make up this story listening to McGee's obsessive tales of the Hulk, and because these snippets of information are essentially part of David's own history as well, gradually his memory begins to recover.  The superior first episode is a rare cliffhanger finale, leading to the second part that admittedly runs slightly too thin to keep the excitement going.  Having said that, it does finally lead to the pivotal moment in McGee's epic chase where he learns the truth that the Hulk actually transforms to and from a visibly normal human, and that's primarily how the monster has remained largely elusive.

Number of Fists: ****/***

26: Haunted (2.14)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Karen Harris/Jill Sherman; Produced by James G Hirsch
Directed by John McPherson

David takes a temporary job as a helping hand for a woman who is moving out of the city back to her old family home, a place where her twin sister accidentally drowned years before.  The estate agent along with her cousin seem eager for Renee not to stay in the place, instead encouraging her to sell it for her own wellbeing.  Then there are odd occurrences and sightings of a little girl on the premises...

Taking more of a mystery approach, the episode borders (as suggested by the title) on haunted house horror movie territory, as David stays a few days/nights to help Renee out.  He's immediately suspicious of the two other characters who pop up every now and again, particularly the cousin who seems to have a habit of appearing behind doorways, etc.  Matters are not helped by Renee's increasingly fragile nature.

I did sit there thinking, I've seen this kind of scenario quite a few times going back to forties cinema, but I was a little surprised by how the story takes its turn, as it's not quite as predictable as first thought.  Unfortunately Hulk's participation in this episode is reduced to contrivance.  Of note is that this episode is directed by series regular cinematographer John McPherson. 

Number of Fists: ***

25: Like A Brother (2.13)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Richard Christian Matheson/Thomas E Szollosi

Produced by James G Hirsch
Directed by Reza S Badiyi

Completely eschewing the temporary progress he made in A Solitary Place, David manages to wander into a predominantly black neighbourhood to obtain a job in a ghetto not particularly welcoming of white folk...  Working at a car wash he finds himself on the bitter side of a black colleague who he later befriends after helping one of the guys with a cut wrist.  It turns out the young man is looking after his diabetes-inflicted brother whilst on the verge of becoming a runner for a local drug-dealer-cum-dodgy club owner.

David certainly knows how to land himself in trouble, and this time it's with a black gang who were never going to take kindly to a white man befriending one of their 'brothers', who is effectively being groomed to be a gofer.

Ineffectual Hulk-outs are marred by contrivance and another attempt to draw out Hulk's softer side when his anger is momentarily dissipated to pick up a child/pushchair (which amusingly slips out of the mother's hands to roll right into the middle of the action, as her friends hold her back...).  Pertinent at the time, since then very tired, the story overlays conventional criminal antics with race relations commentary. 

Number of Fists: **

24: A Solitary Place (2.12)

1979; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Jim Tisdale/Migdia Varela; Produced by Nicholas Corea
Directed by Jeffrey Hayden

Banner has been living in a makeshift hut in the Mexican woods for a month now, without incident, the solitary existence he finds to be generally something that facilitates the calm required to maintain his more 'human' form.  This is until a woman stumbles into his camp.  She's a doctor who was held responsible for the death of a child on the operating table, and she too is seeking a little solitude from the world and its, or her, problems.  She is also being hunted by the father of the girl who died, who is accompanied by his son and one Jack McGee.  Exaggerating a damaged knee she persuades Banner to let her stay for a few days, but this of course means that her trouble is about to become his trouble...

An unusual premise with David's self-imposed isolation from society taking precedence as he realises that Hell Is Other People.  And just to prove the point, as soon as a woman wanders into his safe bubble, strife begins, even leading McGee right there inadvertently.

Spoiler ahead:  The theme of revenge is turned on its head here as the hunter is about to kill the doctor when a jeep crash causes his own son to become almost fatally injured, and the doctor herself has to save him, thereby redeeming her in the eyes of the would-be killer.  David's problems are not resolved though, and he has to leave behind his month of non-incidence as he heads back out on to the road.

Number of Fists: ****

23: Wildfire (2.11)

1978; 48 minutes

Director of Photography John McPherson 
Written by Brian Rehak; Produced by James G Hirsch
Directed by Frank Orsatti

Wildfire, one of a dwindling number of independent oil drilling companies, is close to financial collapse and run by a stubborn veteran of the industry who feels that they are close to hitting metaphorical gold.  Meanwhile a corporation, recognising the potential in Wildfire, is trying to buy out the small company before they actually do find oil in their current land-based spot, while the price can be kept low, but one of its employees is prepared to go to any lengths to sabotage Wildfire's chances of success.  At the same time David is generally getting in the way as a new operative at Wildfire, whilst forging a relationship with the owner's daughter.

Note that there is a spoiler in the following text.  Saved from being filed under M for Mundane by a dramatic final third when the oil rig blows up, leaving a fire to rage almost out of control.  Hulk's first appearance, after David is trapped in an oil drum by the no-good employee of the opposition, is quite witty in that Hulk's attention on the bad guy is irretreivably diverted to the truck's radio, leaving the guy to scarper.  This child-like, animalistic nature is illogically subverted during the final act when Hulk shows a little too much intelligence when he rescues the owner from the burning rig before capping the escaping oil.

David once more manages to develop a relationship with a female during this story, before having to move on again (although this time with a major boost in finances provided by some fruitful shares in Wildfire, which could arouse some cynicism regarding his motives for sticking around in the first place).

Number of Fists: ***