The Incredible Hulk - Death in the Family

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Although a bit overlong—I could see this as a perfect 45 minutes episode trimmed of some fat—I thought this was a perfectly acceptable second episode (I’ve noticed some consider it an extenuation of the Pilot in certain circles) before the first season really sets off. It still recalls the Pilot and mentions Elaina while following Dr. David Banner to Everett, California, where he encounters a treacherous stepmom and physician secretly (until he uncovers their hideous scheme) poisoning a young, beautiful heiress, after being responsible for the murder of her father in a boating explosion.

In this episode, the heiress, Julie (Laurie Prange), on crutches, has a psychosomatic trauma where she thinks she can’t walk but really has no problems with her legs, eventually convinced by Banner that it is all in her mind. Margaret (Dorothy Tristan), the stepmom, pretends to be the worried parent while Dr. John Bonifant (William Daniels, of Knight Rider & Boy Meets World fame!) feeds intravenously a supposed medicine to Julie (ultimately poison masquerading as a medicine, which is supposed to be clear, noticed by Banner). Gerald McRaney (of Simon & Simon fame) has a guest appearance in support as a doting orchard farm supervisor, jealous of Banner (going by David Benton), exploited of his feelings for Julie by Margaret. War veteran, Michael (John McLiam), keeps a shack near a swamp in and around the orange orchard. Michael rescued Julie from the boat and keeps Banner’s presence a secret when the sheriff comes by his place looking for the Hulk. Michael eventually decides to help Banner and Julie when he must get her away from Margaret’s hound-led thugs (there is even a hired chopper thug in the sky looking for them), with seven miles to the local authorities.

What makes Death in the Family so unique within the series cannon is that both Julie and Michael know of Banner’s condition and even witness his metamorphosis into and out of the Hulk! This is not that typical as the series found ways for Banner to change without others witnessing it. The cloak and dagger cleverness of doing that always amused me. A constant of this episode is Julie grappling with her mental illness regarding actually walking, eventually having to force herself to get up on her feet and legs, as Banner works hard to push her to. When Banner and Julie fall into quicksand and he turns into the Hulk she has no choice but to get to her feet and secure a branch to help him out. It is quite neat to see that Banner’s secret is known by a certain, select few, with Julie able to co-exist so well with both David and the Hulk. Michael does the same. This episode includes a snake biting Michael as the Hulk tosses it away and David having to combat a bear in the swamp, turning into Hulk and hurling the damn thing a great distance in the air! Julie removing the snake venom from Michael’s leg, Michael hiding underwater from Margaret’s thugs (who eventually fall into quicksand and lose Julie and Banner’s trail), and the Hulk throwing a rock into the propeller of the chopper operated by another hired henchmen of Margaret’s are other highlights.

A subplot (the mission of Banner) is a radiology device at the Everett Hospital, state of the art technology that might provide radiation treatment that could help David Banner. X-rays and the poison have Bolifant’s fingerprints, provided to Julie by Banner, and his witnessing the evil doctor chatting with Margaret about their plans in Bolifant’s office closet serve as evidence…not to mention the thugs sent out after them.

Hulk goes through a wall and carries Julie out of her room to safety for a trek into the orchard swamp even as she cannot accept (for some time) that Margaret or Bolifant would want to kill her. Julie telling Hulk not to follow her and his resistance in allowing her to walk away on her own is a sweet scene that points out that the green, bulky creature cares about her. While Dr. David Banner always worries about the carnage in the wake of each and every transformation, often more than not the Hulk’s rampage is justified and helps good folks keep from harm. Imagine if Banner doesn’t move off the side of the road for an orange, notices Julie visiting her father’s grave, and striking up a conversation with her…what happens afterward would have been tragic. Julie wouldn’t have made it, with doctored X-rays and complicit trusted members of the heiress’ entourage secure in their cover-up of a poisoning never discovered. And Michael wouldn’t have had his reclamation. Banner’s situation, as bad as it is, often interrupts corruption and crimes as they occur or halts ongoing underhanded activities and schemes orchestrated by really bad people. This movie (in syndication as two parts) has plenty of changes from David into the Hulk while future shorter episodes often only do so twice. The story in this movie is right out of primetime soap opera melodrama. The travel into the swamp takes up a lot of the end as Julie usurps her own trauma, eventually overcoming her psychosomatic crisis. This episode features a lot of Hulk leaping high in the air and landing smoothly with no difficulty.

McGee returns to look for evidence of the Hulk's presence in the location, wanting a statement from the sheriff and Julie, nearly running into David at Everett Hospital. He was warned in the Pilot (a memorable line in the credits of the credits of every episode) not to make Banner angry, but proves to be a bit of a nuisance, convincing the sheriff, at least, that his grocery magazine has done some serious reporting. You can see that the Hulk's reputation is spreading. At the end, as is always the case for poor David Banner, he makes friends with Julie and Michael but must leave because he can't bear to worry about what his alter ego might tear up when he gets angry.