Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno in "The Incredible Hulk"- Season 4
© Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

Mania Grade: B-
DVD: "The Incredible Hulk" (Complete Season 4)
Rating: Not Rated
Starring: Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, Jack Colvin, Ted Cassidy, Jed Mills, Harry Townes, Dick Durock
Written By: Kenneth Johnson
Directed By: Kenneth Johnson
Distributor: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Original Year of Release: 2008
Extras: Creating and Iconic Character: the Hulk featurette, Audio and Photo Gallery of "Prometheus" with captions by Creator/ Producer Kenneth Johnson, The Incredible Hulk(2008) Sneak Peek
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DVD Review of The Incredible Hulk - The Complete Fourth Season

Season 3 of the Incredible Hulk went out with a whimper. David Banner (Bill Bixby) got mixed up with some forest fire fighters and a crazy fire bug. The plot was mundane and your standard throw away episode of the series. The ideas of cliffhanger season finales must have started somewhere in the mid-Eighties. They weren’t present on season 3 or 4. Season 4 begins with a huge bang of a two part episode (which would have made a great season ending cliffhanger) titled “Prometheus”. However, with one exception, most of season 4 returns to the plots where David helps someone and returns to that open stretch of highway.

“Prometheus” has the distinction of being the most expensive episode of the Incredible Hulk ever filmed. It really was an incredible launch to the fourth season. David investigates a meteor which is overloaded with gamma radiation. After becoming the Hulk, David settles down and for the first time he transforms back but only halfway. A mentally challenged, stronger David Banner is now all that remains. David’s blind friend, Katie (Laurie Prange), escorts David away from the Army scientists that have come to investigate the meteor. That intrepid reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) is also close by. David, of course, becomes the Hulk in full growling green glory when he is captured by the Army scientists. It’s ironic that an unprepared Army can capture the Hulk but in the comic a prepared Army always failed.

The second part of “Prometheus” marked the longest time Lou Ferrigno would play the Hulk. For practically 35+ minutes he was green and on screen. The Hulk was captured and experimented on. Ferrigno really shows different sides to the Hulk as he tries to rescue the girl and escape. A huge missed opportunity for the series happens in this episode as well. Why this team of scientists wasn’t brought back in other episodes as a HulkBuster type team is dumbfounding. Finally, some new characters in the show which could have added to the show’s dynamic and revitalized lone gunman comes to town plot. The reporter on the hunt was becoming tiresome. “Prometheus” is a lot of fun overall and a great look at early Eighties TV science fiction. With Ferrigno Hulked out for practically the whole second part, this episode alone is a must see for fans of the series.

“King of the Beach” is also a must see for any fan of the series. Here Ferrigno steps into a new role and plays a body builder on Muscle Beach named Carl Molino. David and Carl work together at restaurant. Carl needs money to open his own restaurant and enters a body building competition to win extra cash. Of course the competition is crooked so David and Carl have to rise to the challenge. The issue of Ferrigno’s character being deaf (as he was in real life) is dealt with along with how he faces the challenges of the world. Ferrigno really is a babe in the woods when it comes to his scenes but it is fun to see him act with Bixby and, for once not be covered in green paint. 

The granddaddy of Incredible Hulk two part episodes is the “The First”. David learns of another Hulk that once terrorized a small town several years ago. David discovers that there was another scientist researching solar gamma radiation. Unlike David this scientist experimented on his lab assistant not himself. Dell Frye (Harry Townes) was that lab assistant but the years have not been kind to Dell and he is now a bitter old man. Longing for the strength and vitality he had as the Hulk, Dell forces David to reignite the Hulk inside him. For the first and only time in the series there is a monster battle royal between two Hulks. Swamp Thing himself, Dick Durock, plays Dell’s Hulk. He is taller and thinner than Ferrigno’s Hulk but still incredibly powerful. This episode marks an important discovery for David. In seeing Dell’s Hulk he learns that the creature within takes on the characteristics of the man he inhabits. David realizes that his creature will never harm anyone, that he is inherently good. Finally David gains some piece of mind about his “darker” side.

This season brought up a few new questions. Where was Betty Ross in the series? David had his wife Laura, a girlfriend named Carol and a scientist who he was partnered with named Helena. Betty Ross was Banner’s love interest in the comics but she was never featured in the series. Her father being General “Thunderbolt” Ross probably wouldn’t have hurt the story either. Another good question is where was he walking to and how does he keep getting his brown satchel back? David seemed to have some sort of plan but how could he stick to it when in one episode he would be in Arizona and the next be in Maryland? It wasn’t like the Hulk was leaping great distances. This is nitpicking but when David is fighting the mob (again) the mind begins to wonder about these things.

By having two big budgeted two part episodes in this season, producer Kenneth Johnson and company probably had to reduce the amount of episodes to accommodate the budget for the entire season. Season 3 totaled a number of 23 where season 4 totaled only 18. With that in mind, season 4 isn’t the bang for your buck that season 3 was. “Prometheus”, “The First” and “King of the Beach” make this season worth picking up. If you only want the two part episodes from this season you can get them on the The Incredible Hulk - The Television Series Ultimate Collection along with many other fan favorites. Outside of these episodes season 4 left little to be desired. There is one more season of the Incredible Hulk to be released on DVD. Is there a chance David can learn to control the raging spirit that dwells within him? 

Special Features:

There is a great, albeit short, documentary about “Creating an Iconic Character: The Hulk”. Kenneth Johnson goes into detail about initially wanting to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger. He also talks about how Richard Kiel (Jaws from the James Bond films) was the second choice and that he even filmed scenes as the Hulk for the pilot. The best bit of information is that it came down to one of the producer’s eight year old daughters to pick who the Hulk would be. Johnson also revealed how Lurch (Ted Cassidy) from the Addams Family was not only the voice of the creature but the opening narrator as well. Sadly the Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno, is not present on these DVDs.