Death In The Family

DVD, The Incredible Hulk S1 (Death In The Family)

I don't know whether this second feature-length episode was meant to be a second pilot (it was made the same year, 1977), or whether they just decided to make two TV films for the sake of it, but it's nice to have another long chance to sink into the world of Dr. Banner. And this does continue directly on from the first one, with David on the road, his unshaven face, straggly hair, checked shirt and jeans reminding me oddly of Hugh Jackman! There's a recap of the previous film and then we get slowly into it: Banner, despite his problems doesn't hesitate to plunge right in and help someone he sees in trouble (I wonder, did he ever get his bag back?), and she doesn't even mind that his hands are sticky from eating fruit! He could easily have chosen to walk on by and forget all about the young woman who stumbles over her Father's grave, but it's not in his nature to do that, a true heroic gesture. And if he hadn't got involved with that small act of kindness she would have died and some bad people would have profited. It's a bit of a fairytale with the wicked stepmother out to use her stepdaughter and cause her the ultimate harm, when a giant swoops in and rescues the girl. But it's more than a fairytale, it has people having to overcome their own inadequacies, while helping each other.

I think that would be the theme of the story: that helping others can inspire them to do the same, so that the goodness and friendship are perpetuated. Julie finds the strength to overcome her mental illness of thinking she can't walk, stricken by survivor guilt, and the old man, Michael, his self-imposed exile from people, and his own guilt that his son's dead because he glorified war in his eyes. Banner has the worst complication of all in his life, yet it resurfaces again and again for the good of his new friends. There are a total of four Hulk-outs this time and they're generally more ambitious than before, even down to having a proper transition with Bill Bixby wearing some of the neanderthal-like makeup. There isn't the same tension there was in the first film because Hulk proves that he won't harm those that don't fear him. In that we were waiting to see him do damage to good people, now we get to see the power used against bullies and criminals: the first time he literally brings the house down! One thing I would have liked to have seen was a resolution between Banner and Denny, the boyfriend of Julie. It would have meant he'd probably have had to be in on the secret, but he genuinely seemed protective of her, and if he'd known about his employer's plans to kill her he wouldn't have been so tough with Banner.

The second Hulk-out is equally as dramatic. I didn't expect to see a real live grizzly in the river, and even less for them to actually have Hulk fight it, so that was an impressive sequence, even if it was easy to spot the wire leash tied round the animal and that the bear itself began to look as if it was having a Hulk-out due to all the paint rubbing off on its fur! Mind you, I give them credit for pulling such a fight off, with water, live animal and a Hulk all together. The moment he lifts it over his head and hurls it downstream was rather funny, I must admit. There were several moments of humour that worked for me, one being intentional: as soon as I saw Michael give Hulk the drumstick I was hoping he'd eat the whole thing, bones and all, so I was amused to find he did. There's also the moment when Hulk breaks Julie out of her room - instead of crashing out of the window as expected, he dashes a hole right through the wall next to it!

I wonder if the actors knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed up for this one? We have people buried in timber, others wading through water, crawling around in scrubland, mud and muddy waterholes! Even Hulk isn't immune to a bit of slime as he gets his fourth transformation in the desperation of being sucked into quicksand. The weedy branch Julie triumphantly pulled down for him didn't do the scene justice, and after last episode's tree incident I was expecting the Hulk to use the entire trunk to pull himself out. While we're on the subject of the pursuit, I think they should have used some big, scary dogs as the ones they had looked friendly and inquisitive rather than ravening and bent on hunting prey! The last Hulk-out was purely so he could defend Julie against the attacking helicopter, too, throwing a tree stump to smash the rear rotor (which, if you look closely, you can see is back on again and working in the next shot!).

It is nitpicking, but I noticed the reuse of a shot of Hulk jumping with Julie in his arms, or should I say 'pre-use' as it was a shot of them jumping the quicksand and they're all muddy, yet it was before they got dirty. I thought at the time how strange they looked as they leaped, and it wasn't as if they only jumped once. I think there were two more jumps and they filmed them as normal. It was also a bit much to expect the vital evidence of the bottle of poison to have survived wading a river, a grizzly fight and the quicksand! Even if the bottle was hardy it wasn't going to have fingerprints after that! But I liked that David becomes an investigator this time, he's not just an academic, he's got other skills too. He even uses two aliases this time, Benton and Benchley, like a spy. It's fortunate that he continues to be careful as, just as I hoped, Jack McGee, the slimy reporter is back on the trail of Bigfoot. He doesn't get a lot of screen time, but he gets pretty close, so I hope that continues in the series proper.

It ends much as it did last time, with Banner sadly having to go on his way, not safe to stay with his new friends whose lives he would only complicate. The burden of his situation is that he can never settle, the murder charge hanging over him for Elaina's death, though it wasn't his fault. Even his big hope of the X-ray machine may not have worked, so things look grim for him. But there is a bright spot in that each time he changes he learns a little more about the creature and how it reacts. Banner's kind and gentle face makes him easily approachable and a trustworthy person, even when shabby from travelling, and his intelligence shines through, as shown from his recognising that the drug they're giving Julie isn't what they say it is - I recognised the nurse (Ann Weldon), who administered the jab - she was the 'Angel' in an episode of 'Starsky & Hutch,' though in that she was taking drugs herself. I also knew the actor that played Michael - if he was John McLiam he was the dog-wrangler in 'First Blood' which suits his character here, whose son died in Vietnam! Again, there were some scenes that went on longer than was necessary, having well made a point, and I wait to see how the stories will unfold in an 'hour-long' situation. As it is, the episode had plenty going for it, was as good as the first film, but didn't have quite enough meat to it for a modern, thinking audience, though the seeds for more character depth and stories are definitely there.

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