The Increible Hulk -Of Guilt, Models and Murder
* * * / * * * *
I absolutely love the opening of this episode! This is a
revisit and the opening is even better on second viewing as it was the first.
David Banner awakens from his Hulk excursion to tattered clothes [natch],
confused and ultimately terrified by a torn apart, disheveled crime scene where
a room in an affluent mansion of a mogul whose dead model girlfriend lies in a
heap. David’s worst fears seem to have come true. You can see as he surveys the
wreckage the developing fear and realization that despite what Elaina assured
him, it appears the Hulk finally killed someone. The foggy remnants of memory
prior to the Hulk unleashing, it seems, fury upon the mogul’s mansion, e
merge
to Banner but what details told by the mogul to reporters and the police is
that the Hulk crushed the model, leaving her dead. It would be up to David
Banner to either turn himself in or prove that the model was killed by mogul,
Joslin. The absence of memory when transformed into the Hulk is once again
established to be a hindrance Banner must endure, needing to find some way to prove
his innocence or else give himself up. By applying as valet for Joslin, he gets
inside the mansion and closer to the man who set up the Hulk. Joslin feels
Banner was there when the model was killed, confidant of it, hiring him as
valet with plans to get rid of him. So herein lies the plot. But that opening
is superb because it is a kick in the gut: did the Hulk kill this woman in a
fit of rage? Must he turn himself over to the authorities? How does he prove he’s
innocent?
User comments review from December 2015:
In the same year as
her most recognizable role in WKRP in Cincinnati, Loni Anderson guest starred
on The Incredible Hulk as a model caught up in a tangled web of blackmail,
deceit, and murder. Taking the last name Blaine this go-around, David Banner
finds himself in the mansion of a cosmetics magnate, realizing that he has just
transitioned back from the Hulk, trying to recollect what happened. A model
named Terri Ann lies dead on the floor of a bedroom as furniture and
furnishings are destroyed and scattered throughout the room. Did the Hulk cause
this? Was the Hulk responsible?
Strong opening emphasizes that even though the Hulk is powerful, can obliterate whatever is in his path, and cause harm to others when necessary, David Banner is still in this body…and David Banner is not a killer. So who is the killer? I think Bixby shines in the part of Banner during episodes like this where he is tormented by the cloudy fog that comes in transitioning to the Hulk. The concern that the Hulk could kill or seriously hurt does bother him and Bixby shows this. The relief that the Hulk isn't responsible for the murder, getting a *type of* confession from Anderson who was in that room when Terri Ann was murdered (a chauffeur named Sanderson (Ben Gerard) was also there, as was Terri's lover, James Joslin (Jeremy Brett), the owner of the mansion) Bixby displays David just hoping that his humanity perseveres, and when learning it does grants him another reprieve from the ongoing struggle that he faces day in and day out. Anderson really proves here that her bimbo act was just that…she has a devious, conniving character right here that is quite a juicy part. Anderson gets one of those confession scenes with a pompous and prideful delivery; this "I got you" speech that David must endure after trusting her. It is a nice bit of treachery.
But I think the start of the episode is so compelling, even if we know the Hulk wasn't responsible, what a way to immediately drop us into another harrowing situation for poor David Banner. Coming down from the Hulk, the green contacts still in, the episode unravels what happened in a "mystery unfolds" method that really sets this whole story off. Not just that, but you get differing accounts of what happened from both Anderson and Brett (two from Anderson!), with David Banner himself recollecting bits and pieces. The salvage car yard has the Hulk trying to halt a hydraulic lift from crushing him and Sanderson (those responsible for Terri's demise attempt to bound and gag Sanderson and David, placing them in a car to be crushed in order to silence them). I think the use of Jack Colvin's reporter is ingenious this go-around as his tape recorder actually captures a confession, and his car is stolen amusingly by David! Too funny. David taking the job of a valet in order to get closer to Joslin and his entourage is his best temp job yet. How the show can sometimes take this sojourning *man alone* character and thrust him into difficult scenarios, many times inadvertently (in this episode, David hears a cry for help while walking down a road near the mansion where the murder takes place), is part of the appeal, I think. Bixby's soft-spoken delivery and intuitive expressiveness are perfect for his calm intellectual, in comparison to the grunting, growling mute monster that emerges from him at the most opportune (and sometime inopportune) times.
Strong opening emphasizes that even though the Hulk is powerful, can obliterate whatever is in his path, and cause harm to others when necessary, David Banner is still in this body…and David Banner is not a killer. So who is the killer? I think Bixby shines in the part of Banner during episodes like this where he is tormented by the cloudy fog that comes in transitioning to the Hulk. The concern that the Hulk could kill or seriously hurt does bother him and Bixby shows this. The relief that the Hulk isn't responsible for the murder, getting a *type of* confession from Anderson who was in that room when Terri Ann was murdered (a chauffeur named Sanderson (Ben Gerard) was also there, as was Terri's lover, James Joslin (Jeremy Brett), the owner of the mansion) Bixby displays David just hoping that his humanity perseveres, and when learning it does grants him another reprieve from the ongoing struggle that he faces day in and day out. Anderson really proves here that her bimbo act was just that…she has a devious, conniving character right here that is quite a juicy part. Anderson gets one of those confession scenes with a pompous and prideful delivery; this "I got you" speech that David must endure after trusting her. It is a nice bit of treachery.
But I think the start of the episode is so compelling, even if we know the Hulk wasn't responsible, what a way to immediately drop us into another harrowing situation for poor David Banner. Coming down from the Hulk, the green contacts still in, the episode unravels what happened in a "mystery unfolds" method that really sets this whole story off. Not just that, but you get differing accounts of what happened from both Anderson and Brett (two from Anderson!), with David Banner himself recollecting bits and pieces. The salvage car yard has the Hulk trying to halt a hydraulic lift from crushing him and Sanderson (those responsible for Terri's demise attempt to bound and gag Sanderson and David, placing them in a car to be crushed in order to silence them). I think the use of Jack Colvin's reporter is ingenious this go-around as his tape recorder actually captures a confession, and his car is stolen amusingly by David! Too funny. David taking the job of a valet in order to get closer to Joslin and his entourage is his best temp job yet. How the show can sometimes take this sojourning *man alone* character and thrust him into difficult scenarios, many times inadvertently (in this episode, David hears a cry for help while walking down a road near the mansion where the murder takes place), is part of the appeal, I think. Bixby's soft-spoken delivery and intuitive expressiveness are perfect for his calm intellectual, in comparison to the grunting, growling mute monster that emerges from him at the most opportune (and sometime inopportune) times.
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