First, big fan of this series. It would have been less than it was, except for Bixby. He brought a nobility and humanity to the role. And in case you have not noticed, the casting of Edward Norton more recently was an attempt to bring back the same characteristics that Bixby had brought to the comic legend. Although all the episodes had a standard plot arc -- very common for TV of the day -- this one had a twist which makes it memorable. When the hydraulics fail on a plane he is on, and Banner is forced to land by himself, he does not have the strength to work the control so he has to go half-Hulk by force of will. Clever, and way ahead of its time.
7 Reviews
Slow transformation worth the price of admission
LukeCoolHand16 February 2022
I loved the Incredible Hulk when it first appeared. This was one of the best episodes of the whole series topped only by episodes like A Death in the Family. A treat was the appearance of Brandon Cruz who played Bixby's young son in the 60's series The Courtship of Eddie's Father. In this episode he is a teenager helping the Hulk land the plane.
The scene at the end when David is trying to land the airplane is pure movie magic as David is this time fighting turning into the Hulk, and for a few minutes only turns halfway. The make-up is incredible as he turns into the Hulk little by little as the air traffic controller gives him instructions how to land the plane and keeps urging him to not lose control, which is a very clever double meaning. The werewolf movie transformations of the day had nothing on this one. This episode has to be seen to be believed.
The scene at the end when David is trying to land the airplane is pure movie magic as David is this time fighting turning into the Hulk, and for a few minutes only turns halfway. The make-up is incredible as he turns into the Hulk little by little as the air traffic controller gives him instructions how to land the plane and keeps urging him to not lose control, which is a very clever double meaning. The werewolf movie transformations of the day had nothing on this one. This episode has to be seen to be believed.
very suspenseful and almost without the hulk
trashgang2 May 2013
For me this is so far the best Hulk episode and maybe for some it's strange because the hulk isn't that much to see here in this airplane disaster. Finally David has found a doctor who can help him with his problems but once he wants to make an appointment the doctor has left to Chicago. Up to David to take a plane to Chicago. But on the plane the pilot and a stewardess wants to steel artifacts from ages ago. David sits against an old couple and when the man wants a coffee he takes one himself not knowing that the coffee has been drugged to take out the crew. Of course as being a doctor David notice that somethings wrong on board.
Very quickly he has a fight as the hulk but once the plane doesn't has a crew anymore it's David who's becoming the hero. You have to wait until almost the end before he changes again. His last change is something special and not seen before. He changes in half hulk half David and it takes a while he stays that way. That's something we haven't seen before. But not having the hulk that much in this episode you will keep watching it with full suspense until the end. I've said it before but Bill is playing his role in an excellent way.
Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5
Very quickly he has a fight as the hulk but once the plane doesn't has a crew anymore it's David who's becoming the hero. You have to wait until almost the end before he changes again. His last change is something special and not seen before. He changes in half hulk half David and it takes a while he stays that way. That's something we haven't seen before. But not having the hulk that much in this episode you will keep watching it with full suspense until the end. I've said it before but Bill is playing his role in an excellent way.
Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 3/5 Story 4/5 Comedy 0/5
The Incredible Hulk - 747
Scarecrow-8811 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
How about this for an Incredible Hulk plot: David Banner (Bill Bixby) tries to get a quick plane trip to Chicago from San Francisco but a rogue pilot with an agenda to steal artifacts for a King Tut exhibit, having his stewardess lover drug the other pilots (a traveler sitting next to David swipes a cup from the kitchenette unbeknownst to the stewardess, and his passing out tips David off), derails those plans, with the Hulk emerging on board the 747! Seeing David having to pilot the plane and turning into Big Green while trying to land the 747 is a great deal of fun! Or I think for fans of this show, it will be an entertaining episode if just for the suspenseful plot. People on board clueless to what was going on in the cockpit (I particularly enjoyed how David must ask if there is a possible pilot on board by those at a command center!), with a few characters given some time when the show isn't concerned with David's dilemma (shoe-salesman on his first flight, a divorcée and her plane-smart son, and an old married couple (one of which was the janitor in the memorable Creepshow tale, The Crate) going back to Chicago where they first met) certainly might appeal to fans of the Airport movies or the genre which has an ensemble on a plane in possible jeopardy. Bixby is excellent in the episode, showing real fear and anxiety, but has enough of a cool head to pilot the plane for a period when there is no other choice.
How the Hulk appears while David tries for naught to pull on the wheel due to leakage from the plane (the elevator hydraulic pressure gauge reveals this, worrying the command center who are uncertain that the plane can be landed due to the pounds lost, 3000 compared to what the plane had: 650!) because of the fight between David (made angry when locked in an animal cage by the evil pilot who planned to push him out of the cargo hold door when opened!) and the pilot who shot a gun at him (the bullet hitting the plane, causing the leakage) is surreal but so unusual it is compelling! I mean, the thought of the Hulk in the pilot seat of a 747 with a command center telling him how to land is hard to swallow but nonetheless cool I give credit to those who kick around imaginative scenarios of where to take David and the Hulk alter ego. Seeing the Hulk burst through the pilot cockpit door, treading down the hall with passengers freaking out (rightfully so!), and easily disposing of the plane exit door so he could escape is a hoot! I think it is because the Hulk, active in a functioning society, is so out of place and peculiar, that anytime he emerges at the most awkward time, it creates opportunity for something quite extraordinary.
The villains of the episode are more or less simply responsible for the dangerous situation David will need to help resolve. Sondra Currie is more of a clueless participant as the duped-in-love stewardess with the pills used to send the pilots unconscious (she doesn't realize that the amount of pills she used would knock them out for six hours!), while her lover, played by Edward Power, was in charge of the whole orchestrated plot (not quite well thought out; he planned to supply himself and Currie with parachutes so they could leave with the artifacts while the plane is doomed to crash!). Denise Galrik is the other stewardess who must assist David in trying to keep the passengers from truly understanding what was actually going on. Howard Honig (shoe guy) sees the Hulk while in the bathroom, wondering if he what he was seeing was real! Brandon Cruz is the kid who helps both David *and* the Hulk land the plane!
How the Hulk appears while David tries for naught to pull on the wheel due to leakage from the plane (the elevator hydraulic pressure gauge reveals this, worrying the command center who are uncertain that the plane can be landed due to the pounds lost, 3000 compared to what the plane had: 650!) because of the fight between David (made angry when locked in an animal cage by the evil pilot who planned to push him out of the cargo hold door when opened!) and the pilot who shot a gun at him (the bullet hitting the plane, causing the leakage) is surreal but so unusual it is compelling! I mean, the thought of the Hulk in the pilot seat of a 747 with a command center telling him how to land is hard to swallow but nonetheless cool I give credit to those who kick around imaginative scenarios of where to take David and the Hulk alter ego. Seeing the Hulk burst through the pilot cockpit door, treading down the hall with passengers freaking out (rightfully so!), and easily disposing of the plane exit door so he could escape is a hoot! I think it is because the Hulk, active in a functioning society, is so out of place and peculiar, that anytime he emerges at the most awkward time, it creates opportunity for something quite extraordinary.
The villains of the episode are more or less simply responsible for the dangerous situation David will need to help resolve. Sondra Currie is more of a clueless participant as the duped-in-love stewardess with the pills used to send the pilots unconscious (she doesn't realize that the amount of pills she used would knock them out for six hours!), while her lover, played by Edward Power, was in charge of the whole orchestrated plot (not quite well thought out; he planned to supply himself and Currie with parachutes so they could leave with the artifacts while the plane is doomed to crash!). Denise Galrik is the other stewardess who must assist David in trying to keep the passengers from truly understanding what was actually going on. Howard Honig (shoe guy) sees the Hulk while in the bathroom, wondering if he what he was seeing was real! Brandon Cruz is the kid who helps both David *and* the Hulk land the plane!
The Airplane
AaronCapenBanner18 November 2014
David Banner(Bill Bixby) takes the chance of booking a commercial airline flight from San Francisco to Chicago in order to meet with a doctor who might hold a cure, but will be going away soon. Of course, as David's luck would have it, this particular flight is carrying Egyptian artifacts that a co-pilot(played by Ed Power) and a stewardess(Sondra Currie) want to steal by drugging the flight crew, but this plan backfires, and David finds himself in the pilots seat trying to land the plane before the Hulk does... Best episode of the first season is well cast and directed, making inspired use of its "Airport" borrowed storyline. Memorable sight of the Hulk on a plane scenario.
Banner Goes Green Twice
BloodTheTelepathicDog15 January 2012
For viewers that want to see the Hulk rampage a bit, this isn't the episode for you. Bill Bixby turns into Lou Ferrigno just twice in 747. First he tangles with a pilot trying to dump him out of the plane in the snow-capped wilderness... which makes him angry, then he has to get angry in order to land the plane. The Hulk has little to do in this episode, with the exception of the show's final three minutes. 747 centers more on story than angering Dr. Banner.
A pilot and his sexy stewardess gal pal(Currie) plan to hijack a King Tut exhibit and hit it to South America. Unfortantely for them, Banner is on the flight and thwarts their plans. When Currie drugs the co-pilot and the Hulk knocks out the crooked pilot, there is no one left to fly the plane, which is suffering from a leak. A kid on board (Cruz) knows a thing or two about flying as Banner must land the craft with the kid and good girl stewardess Denise Galik looking over his shoulder. With the hydraulic leak, Banner doesn't have the strength to land the craft, so he shoos Cruz and Galik out of the cabin, goes green, and takes care of business.
Although this episode failed to employ the Hulk well, it was entertaining and kept you on the edge of your seat. The acting was quite well with Bixby shining as always and Currie doing an adequate job as the swayed-to-do-wrong stewardess. Cruz is okay as the bookish teen and the lovely Denise Galik is in fine form with her supporting role as the stewardess Banner can actually rely on. Although her stewardess skirt was quite hideous, Denise looked great in the mile high uniform.
A pilot and his sexy stewardess gal pal(Currie) plan to hijack a King Tut exhibit and hit it to South America. Unfortantely for them, Banner is on the flight and thwarts their plans. When Currie drugs the co-pilot and the Hulk knocks out the crooked pilot, there is no one left to fly the plane, which is suffering from a leak. A kid on board (Cruz) knows a thing or two about flying as Banner must land the craft with the kid and good girl stewardess Denise Galik looking over his shoulder. With the hydraulic leak, Banner doesn't have the strength to land the craft, so he shoos Cruz and Galik out of the cabin, goes green, and takes care of business.
Although this episode failed to employ the Hulk well, it was entertaining and kept you on the edge of your seat. The acting was quite well with Bixby shining as always and Currie doing an adequate job as the swayed-to-do-wrong stewardess. Cruz is okay as the bookish teen and the lovely Denise Galik is in fine form with her supporting role as the stewardess Banner can actually rely on. Although her stewardess skirt was quite hideous, Denise looked great in the mile high uniform.
The Hijackers and the Hulk
flarefan-819067 March 2017
As you might have guessed from the title, this episode takes place almost entirely aboard a plane. And as you might have guessed from the series trend, the plot focuses around crooks trying to hijack it by drugging the crew.
The setup is good, and we're immediately introduced to a sizable cast of varied characters, much like in a drawing room mystery. But the episode has little grasp of reality, to the point where it's unintentionally humorous. When I said "drugging", you were probably thinking some powder that dissolves instantly in liquid or something, right? Instead, the stewardess plops a half-dozen **gelcaps** into each pilot's coffee. And we're expected to believe they don't notice all those pills when they drink it! I wish I was making this up.
At the beginning, a teenager is reading a novel about planes and remarks that the technical points are all wrong. I hope that was intentional irony, because even a layman knows that planes don't work the way they're shown here. But the silliest part is when the Hulk, by following orders from the plane-savvy teenager, successfully brings the plane in for a landing! Note to writers: The Hulk gets angry and smashes things. He does not follow orders or pilot aircraft.
This episode has its moments, like the fight in the cargo hold, but there's too much silliness for it to hold together.
The setup is good, and we're immediately introduced to a sizable cast of varied characters, much like in a drawing room mystery. But the episode has little grasp of reality, to the point where it's unintentionally humorous. When I said "drugging", you were probably thinking some powder that dissolves instantly in liquid or something, right? Instead, the stewardess plops a half-dozen **gelcaps** into each pilot's coffee. And we're expected to believe they don't notice all those pills when they drink it! I wish I was making this up.
At the beginning, a teenager is reading a novel about planes and remarks that the technical points are all wrong. I hope that was intentional irony, because even a layman knows that planes don't work the way they're shown here. But the silliest part is when the Hulk, by following orders from the plane-savvy teenager, successfully brings the plane in for a landing! Note to writers: The Hulk gets angry and smashes things. He does not follow orders or pilot aircraft.
This episode has its moments, like the fight in the cargo hold, but there's too much silliness for it to hold together.
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