The Incredible Hulk 3.4
Sandra Kerns. Enjoyable middle-of-the-road Hulk episode.
- A lesser-example of something the show normally does really well: create a fully-rounded ‘world’ with interesting people for David to interact with. When the show does this properly, you honestly feel as if these character will have a life after David moves on. As if it’s a crossover with another television series.
- For some reason, this particular ‘world’ that David is temporarily part of doesn’t have the ‘spark’ that so many others do.
- It’s not the cast. Both L.Q. Jones and James Crittenden are good as mismatched brothers on the rodeo circuit: one a cowboy, one a clown. There’s a lot tension between then, and the actors make it work perfectly. One of the best scenes in the episode is a fight between them.
- And it’s not the story: David discovers that one brother has been stealing cattle to pay off gambling debts, which makes him a target for the rustlers. Cue: plenty of drama some entertaining Hulk action.
Meanwhile the other brother is hiding a serious illness. The good drama there, too. - The episode probably falls down when it comes to creating a believable rodeo environment. The opening minutes are a stock footage montage, and the same generic stock footage (from the 60s!) pops up a lot throughout the episode. Now, I understand that it’s hard to fake a rodeo with some big sheds and a horse, but this constant use of old documentary film leaves me cold.
- On the good side, the story zips along and it’s another instance of David being a great TV hero: coming into people’s lives, really caring about them and setting them on the right path before moving on.
