Season three of The Incredible Hulk had some very good episodes, including The Psychic in which Bill Bixby's ex-wife Brenda Benet guest-starred as a woman who could get psychic flashes when she touched someone. Bixby and Benet wanted to do the episode shortly after their divorce to show their son that they could still get along. Tragically, their son would die not long after the episode was made and Benet would kill herself a year later, which, if you know their story, makes the episode even more emotional. There are a couple of episodes in which David and Jack come face-to-face, making much better use of Jack Colvin instead of having him just show up for a single scene. There is also an entire episode devoted to Jack's character in which David and the Hulk mostly just appear in flashbacks. There is also a good episode involving a serial killer targeting a college campus in which Gerald McRaney makes yet another guest-starring appearance playing, yet again, a new character that was totally different from the characters he played in season 1 and season 2. There are also some total duds, including a voodoo-themed episode and an episode in which David joins the circus.
For those who get the DVD, the big extra is a 17-minute retrospective on the show that features interviews with a couple of the writers and series creator Kenneth Johnson, who discuss making the show, working with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, and the challenges they faced when making the show. If you are a fan of the show it is very interesting. There are no commentary tracks like there were in the first and second-season DVD releases.
Overall, as I said, the season is uneven. The episodes are mostly good, but the bad ones are really bad. I think most of the attempts to inject humor via the Hulk fell pretty flat, and the sound effects they inserted sometimes were just cheesy. The good episodes hold up now even forty-plus years later, but the bad ones seem to be the kinds of things that could have only been made at that time. But, it will always be nostalgic for those of us who are old enough to remember the show being on TV, either during its original run, or who, like me mostly saw it in re-runs.
For those who get the DVD, the big extra is a 17-minute retrospective on the show that features interviews with a couple of the writers and series creator Kenneth Johnson, who discuss making the show, working with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, and the challenges they faced when making the show. If you are a fan of the show it is very interesting. There are no commentary tracks like there were in the first and second-season DVD releases.
Overall, as I said, the season is uneven. The episodes are mostly good, but the bad ones are really bad. I think most of the attempts to inject humor via the Hulk fell pretty flat, and the sound effects they inserted sometimes were just cheesy. The good episodes hold up now even forty-plus years later, but the bad ones seem to be the kinds of things that could have only been made at that time. But, it will always be nostalgic for those of us who are old enough to remember the show being on TV, either during its original run, or who, like me mostly saw it in re-runs.
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