Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 20, 2021

Before he was a key cog in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Incredible Hulk was a mainstay on television in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the excellent The Incredible Hulk, a five season behemoth of a show about a grieving scientist and the uncontrollable, and transformative, rage inside. The show, based on the Marvel comic and developed for television by Kenneth Johnson, wields mighty storytelling with practical special effects in what is today a dated, but still daring and oftentimes delectable, story of the human condition experienced both from the outside in and from the inside out.

Doctor David Banner (Bill Bixby) lives with the guilt, and the recurring nightmares, about his failure to save his wife from a horrific automobile accident. Try as he might, he was unable to perform an exercise of superhuman strength to pull her from the mangled automotive mess. He desperately seeks a simple answer -- why? -- and interviews numerous individuals who have performed superhuman feats well beyond their means. One day, he makes a connection: on those days that the everyday people were able to tap into their dormant inner strength, gamma radiation was at peak highs. Conversely, on the day he could not save his wife, gamma radiation levels were at an all-time low. Banner, anxious to test his theory, exposes himself to a large dose of gamma radiation, but it turns out to be far more than he anticipated. He transforms into a hulking green creature, exceptionally large and muscular and powerful, but the transformation occurs only at a point of unhinged rage and anger; Banner returns to his "normal" self in times of peace. Believed guilty of murder and dead himself, Banner, and his alter ego The Incredible Hulk (Lou Ferrigno), nomadically travel the country in search of a cure, and in search of anyone that needs The Hulk's help. Meanwhile, a tabloid journalist named Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) zealously pursues the Hulk story.

The show largely eschews the sort of over the top comic book shenanigans one might expect to find in a modern blockbuster. Part of that was due to lack of sophistication when the show was made and part of that was Creator Kenneth Johnson's desire to pull the character away from the comic origins and as far into the real world and as closer to the real human psyche as possible. Johnson opts for a more reality driven show about a nomadic scientist and the beast that emerges when he grows anxious and angry, capable of great harm or great good. Johnson actively pursued making wholesale changes from the comic book to the screen, including changing the character's name from Bruce to David Banner in an effort to distance from comic book expectations and even sought Stan Lee's blessing to turn the Hulk from green to red (from the color of jealousy to the color of anger), a failure Johnson still laments to this day. Yet even if only tangentially related to the source comic the show is a great success walking on its own two feet, exploring complex human emotions and fine character development even within an episodic, story-of-the-week framework.

The two-in-one Banner/Hulk is a fascinating character, obviously serving as a metaphor for the psychological metamorphosis that happens inside everyone when rage and fury brews within, and is finally released in some for or fashion from, every mild mannered person. Sometimes, that animal instinct cannot help but to come out, rightly or wrongly, and lash out in an expression of various emotions that usually carry with them a negative connotation but as this series shows, can be harnessed for good as well. But the show is certainly not afraid to put the Hulk in some dicey situations where brute force, where throwing people and things around, is the logical end result, but the contrast is Banner’s eagerness not just to cure himself of his gamma overdose and put the Hulk behind him once and for all, but to be a pillar of humanity along the way and do good where he can.

That is what always made the character, and this show, so special: the dichotomy of man and what that looks like, for David Banner, in practice (and not just in sociological theory and existential practice). The nice things about The Incredible Hulk is that it can be as intelligent and dramatic as one audience member wants it to be and as big and ferocious and action-packed as another wants it to be. Johnson’s show plays in tremendous balance and harmony, partly for his vision, partly due to the writing, and partly attributed to his cast, headlined by Bixby and Ferrigno who each bring the perfect characterization for their respective parts to the screen. Bixby is stellar as the more familiar external persona, a man who is intelligent and driven but also caring and always wearing his heart on his sleeve. Ferrigno’s Hulk, also recognizable and relatable at his core, is not a one-shot character, though certainly the externalities prevail. Ferrigno manages to build Hulk with almost as much dramatic muscle as he does the physical characteristics of musculature and green pigmented skin; it’s at once a ferocious and dramatically nuanced work that might not show much range in the moment but through the full body of work he builds a full blooded character that ultimately becomes much more than mass.

The title character looks great, too, away from the CGI trickery and digital builds of recent vintage. Hulk is played by a real man with makeup and real muscle, and while the character might not have the extreme size (minus the musculature, of course, talking here height and width) or the fluidity of a fully computer generated character, Ferrigno's physical performance sells the character's intensity and bulk by both look and performance excellence alike. The show may not engage in spectacular effects but its set design, revolving locations, lighting, and general atmosphere and reliable structure all contribute to a show that, despite a few iffy episodes here and there, holds as one of the best of its era and remains infinitely watchable more than four decades after its 1977 debut.

The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Universal brings The Incredible Hulk to Blu-ray across 19 discs that carry very effective and pleasing 1080p transfers. The picture quality is rather stable but later episodes and seasons do seem to have a mild leg up in terms of crispness, clarity, grain management, and color stability, but even out of the gate the picture is excellent. Longtime fans who maybe have not seen the show for several decades but fondly remember it on small TV screens will be thrilled with this presentation that brings new life to the image. It's held within an original aspect ratio of 1.35:1, essentially preserving the format on which the show was originally aired (the result here are vertical "black bars" on either side of the 1.78:1 HD display.

The image holds to a fairly stable grain structure. Some fluctuation is to be expected, and is found, as any given episode challenges the film stock but overall the picture is reliably filmic with well managed grain that is never too heavy or spiky, appearing flatteringly consistent and pleasing to the eyes. Textural might is in evidence throughout. The film resolution translates well to Blu-ray, here not the victim of any egregious scrubbing or noise reduction. Skin is rendered texturally complex, clothes are sharp and tactile, and various environments are delightfully high yield. Sharpness abounds and the picture is a delight in practically every shot.

Color reproduction is terrific, too. While colors are not so vivid and lifelike as might be found on the newest productions or with HDR grading, there's an unquestionable stability at work, allowing natural greens, Hulk green makeup, period attire, and other era-specific colors within the show's palette to present with eye-catching reliability and depth. Contrast is neutral and color temperatures likewise run perfectly dialed-in. Whites are appropriately crisp, blacks nice and deep with few serious exceptions, and skin tones are perfect.

Scattered imperfections appear here and there to be sure. This was not a thorough clean up or restoration, but the odd speckle doesn't adversely impact a watch. Just as important, there are no major encode issues to report either. This is a very well-rounded transfer from Universal.

The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal Hulks it up with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 lossless soundtrack. This might not be a track that is bulky and muscular, but it's well rounded and very capable of delivering the show's sonic needs with general excellence. There are some severely scratchy audio cues; when David is triggered after hearing a story about a woman who saved her son from a burning car around the 14-minute mark of the pilot episode (or film), the score seems to crumble, but such is the exception to the rule. Largely, music is in fine shape and listeners will appreciate the front end stretch and clarity at work. Even absent surround and subwoofer content the sense of room-filling accuracy and clarity through the entire range is to be commended. Action scenes follow suit with enough spread and potency to play well within the limited confines and certainly, now, offer superior engagement and detail beyond what listeners undoubtedly heard back as the show originally aired on television. Dialogue is clear and center focused for the duration.

The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series contains a smattering of extras scattered throughout the five-season, 19-disc run. Below is a breakdown of what's included. Each season ships in its own Amaray case, the five of which are packed inside a standard slip box. No DVD or digital copies are included with purchase. Each case includes episode summaries and bonus feature listings on the reverse of the jacket artwork. Note that for season five, the inner print was printed upside down (on my copy, anyway).

Season One, Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: For The Incredible Hulk (Pilot): Writer, Director, and Producer Kenneth Johnson.
• Introduction with Kenneth Johnson (1080p, 7:48): Johnson discusses the original title card, the character's humanity, Victor Hugo influences on the show and changes from the comics, his desire to change the Hulk's color, cast and characters, the show hitting its stride in season two and the success and story of the episode "Married," and the reality that some episodes where not as good as others (but many were solid). This is a fine retrospective; it's a shame it's not substantially longer.
• Introduction with Lou Ferrigno (1080p, 3:56): The bodybuilder and star of the show discusses his understanding of the character and starring in this show, his love for being on camera, working with Bill Bixby, Hulk makeup, physical training during the shoot, stunt work, the show's success, his celebrity, and the show's enduring popularity.

Season Two, Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: For Married: Writer, Director, and Producer Kenneth Johnson.

Season Three, Disc Five:

• Remembering The Incredible Hulk: An American Classic (1080p, 17:35): Kenneth Johnson and Writers Karen Harris and Reuben Leder discuss the transition from season two to season three, progressing the story and pushing the show's edge, budget, the blend of excitement and drama, the show's timeslot and audience, revolving locations, Bill Bixby's and Lou Ferrigno's work on the show, Bixby's personal life, and more.

Season Four, Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: For Prometheus (Part 1 and Part 2): Writer, Director, and Producer Kenneth Johnson.
• Inside an Episode: "Prometheus" Photo Gallery (1080i, 2:02): A series of still photographs set to music and provided a small caption to identify the action.

Season Four, Disc Four:

• Creating an Iconic Character: The Hulk (1080p, 9:52): The search for the right actor to play the Hulk, Ferrigno's performance as a rookie actor, voicing the Hulk, writing "Hulk Outs," the tearing clothes, and more.

Season Five, Disc Two:

• Behind the Success: The Story of The Incredible Hulk (1080p, 18:22): A look at various factors that made the show a success: the writing, the show's aesthetics and cinematography, Kenneth Johnson's work as director and producer, the show's relatability and centeredness on drama rather than frivolity, music, the show's cancellation, and more.
• Gag Reel (1080i, 6:04): Humorous moments from the shoot.

The Incredible Hulk: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Universal has done right by The Incredible Hulk on Blu-ray. While the show may not be quite the seminal classic as some others of its era, it's certainly deserving of a well rounded Blu-ray release which is exactly what it has earned. While the release could have benefited from some more extras -- a few more commentaries, perhaps, and several additional featurettes or even some deleted scenes -- what's here is quite good. The video and audio presentations are very good, too. Highly recommended.