History Series / TheIncredibleHulk

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[[caption-width-right:350:"''Within each of us, offtimes, there dwells a mighty and raging fury.''"]]

->''"Doctor David Banner: physician, scientist; searching for a way to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have. \\
Then an accidental overdose of gamma radiation alters his body chemistry. \\
And now, when David Banner grows angry or outraged, a startling metamorphosis occurs.\\\
The Creature is driven by rage, and pursued by an investigative reporter.''\\\
'''Banner:''' Mister [=McGee=], don't make me angry. YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry.\\\
''The Creature is wanted for a murder he didn't commit. David Banner is believed to be dead; and he must let the world think that he is dead, until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him..."''
-->-- '''OpeningNarration'''[[labelnote:*]]Read by Ted Cassidy, aka Lurch from ''Series/TheAddamsFamily''.[[/labelnote]]

''The Incredible Hulk'' is a LiveActionAdaptation of the classic Creator/MarvelComics [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk character]] produced by [[Creator/{{Universal}} Universal Television]] and developed by Kenneth Johnson, laced thoroughly with intentional AdaptationDistillation. Airing on Creator/{{CBS}} from 1977 to 1982, it starred Creator/BillBixby as Banner and bodybuilder Creator/LouFerrigno as his violent super-powered alter-ego.

Preceded by a pair of {{Pilot Movie}}s — ''The Incredible Hulk'' and ''Death in the Family'' (no, not ''that'' [[ComicBook/ADeathInTheFamily Death in the Family]]) — the series proper was in turn followed by three late-'80s {{Made for TV Movie}}s. The first was a PoorlyDisguisedPilot for a ''[[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]'' series, the second was a Poorly Disguised Pilot for a ''{{ComicBook/Daredevil}}'' series (neither of which got made), and the last ended with the Hulk being KilledOffForReal, though this was ''not'' originally the intention, as the Hulk was going to be resurrected in a fourth film. However, it was cancelled due to low ratings, then any plans for a fourth film ended permanently with the death of Bill Bixby in 1993.

Oddly, despite the many radical changes made to the concept -- ranging from the character's first name[[note]]Depending upon who you talk to, either the producers didn't want an "alliterative comic-booky name", or they thought the first name "Bruce" sounded stereotypically gay. Though it's also quite likely that there was another famous [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Bruce used as a civilian identity]].[[/note]] all the way up to his enemies and locale -- it managed to embrace and faithfully support the core idea of the original comic book. It remains one of three superhero adaptations from the 1970s that is remembered fondly to this date, the others being ''Series/{{Wonder Woman|1975}}'' and ''Film/{{Superman|TheMovie}}''.
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!!''The Incredible Hulk'' provides examples of the following tropes:

* AbusiveParents: Not David's, but on several episodes, David comes across a kid being smacked around or otherwise abused by his parents (it's mostly boys). David tries to help the kid, for the AbusiveDad to come after David, and try to beat David around too. Say hello to the other end of the NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Mr. Abuser!
* AdaptedOut: ''None'' of the supporting characters from the comics (particularly Rick Jones, Betty Ross and General Thunderbolt Ross) ever appear. However, some of David's [[GirlOfTheWeek girls of the week]] could be similar to Betty and the role of the guy hunting down the Hulk has been taken over by Jack [=McGee=].
* AdaptationDistillation: The show, while adding original elements and removing some themes from the comics, still followed the core idea of the comic (ex. "scientist transforms into a raging beast") and helped introduced many people to the character. Most of the film adaptations of the character took cues from the TV Show (including [[Film/TheIncredibleHulk the 2008 reboot]]).
* AdaptationNameChange: Sort-of. Bruce is still his middle name, but Banner goes by his first name, which was changed from "Robert" to "David."
%%* AdventureTowns
* AgeLift: While Bruce Banner in the comics is one of those characters kept eternally in their early 30s by ComicBookTime, Bill Bixby was 44 when he took the role of David Banner, and in his mid 50s by the last TV movie.
* AliceAllusion: "Alice in Discoland" has shades of this. The title character is an alcoholic teenage disco dancer who has nightmarish hallucinations of John Tenniel's illustrations, and directly references the book.
--> '''Alice Morrow''' (while standing on a billboard high above the street): [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHQHpRLk0iU "Daddy, where's the white rabbit? WHERE'S THE WHITE RABBIT IN WONDERLAND?"]]
* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: Subverted with Carl Rivers in "Long Run Home," who though he was previously in a gang and has a criminal past is generally a decent guy.
* AllPartOfTheShow: In "My Favorite Magician," David assists an elderly magician. As part of a trick, he is handcuffed in a glass box full of water, placed behind a screen. The handcuffs' key is supposed to be in the box's false bottom, but the magician ''forgot to place it there''. Not finding the key and unable to hold his breath for much longer, David hulks out, breaking out of the box and bringing the screen down. The audience feels baffled for a moment, then applauds. A short while later, a middle-aged couple finds the Hulk outside the theater... [[RunningGag and compliments his performance]]. When he reacts awkwardly to the camera's flash (yes, they wanted pictures of him), they simply regard it as "show folk" being eccentric.
** He is applauded again after the second hulkout of "King of the Beach." It's even more justified than the previous example, as he appears on the stage of the [[TitleDrop titular bodybuilding contest]], an event in which the audience ''expects'' to see muscular men. It also happens that he has the same muscular build of one of the contestants [[spoiler: and the contest's winner]], Carl Molino, [[ActingForTwo also played by]] Lou Ferrigno.
* AlmightyJanitor: David typically took on menial jobs such as janitor, dishwasher, and manual labor. In ''Death of the Incredible Hulk'', he actually secretly corrected a scientist's formulas overnight while posing as a mentally handicapped janitor.
%%* AntiHero %% incomplete example - who is an anti-hero? what do they do that shows them to be one?
* {{Area 51}}: Prometheus.
* BandagedFace: In "Mystery Man," David and Jack [=McGee=] are stranded in the woods together, but because David is suffering both amnesia and a badly burned (and bandaged) face, neither of them recognizes the other.
* BarehandedBarBending: The Hulk did this all the time, to remind the TV audience just how strong he was.
* BenchBreaker: From time to time, David gets tied to a chair and then Hulks out, breaking the chair more or less automatically.
* TheBoxingEpisode: The first regular-season episode was "Final Round," where a crime boss attempts to kill a hypertensive boxer by spiking his water. While the prospect of putting the Hulk in the ring made this an obvious story idea, it's not considered one of the better episodes of the series. It's the only episode to date to be mocked by the fine folks at [[http://www.rifftrax.com/the-incredible-hulk-final-round Rifftrax]].
* BullyingADragon: While most of the mooks that the Hulk dealt usually [[MuggingTheMonster did not know that David Banner and the Hulk were one and the same]], there are a few instances, where after it was pretty clear that this rampaging green monster [[CurbStompBattle could easily defeat them]], these mooks still attacked the Hulk. A particularly good example is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSScKDcn_Ds during the two-parter "Married"]], where one guy repeatedly threw several large plastic bottles at the Hulk as he was leaving. It did not end well, for the guy or for ''his entire house''.
* BuryingASubstitute: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]] in the pilot, when we see David Banner's already filled in gravesite as they bury his colleague/love interest. After everyone leaves, David comes out of hiding and spends some time contemplating his gravestone. (This last part is seen during the opening, as well.)
* ButtMonkey: David, of course. Some people go their whole lives without getting into a violent confrontation. He can't walk ten feet down the street.
** Interestingly, Bill Bixby was a former Marine and therefore fairly adept at hand-to-hand combat. However, having the fighting skills of a Marine wasn't exactly something that could fit with Banner's background.
* CanonForeigner: David's sister Helen Banner.
* CanonImmigrant: Jackie [=McGee=], a {{Gender Flip}}ped and {{Race Lift}}ed version of Jack [=McGee=], makes her comic debut in 2018's ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk''. There's also Hulk's father DW Banner, whose comics version appeared three years ''after'' the TV version, with a [[AdaptationNameChange different name]] (Brian) and [[AdaptationalVillainy personality]].
* CartwrightCurse: Goes with David's status as a CosmicPlaything. He loses two wives and later [[spoiler:joins them.]]
* TheCasanova / CluelessChickMagnet: David stands somewhere between the two with a little bit of CovertPervert thrown in.
* CatchPhrase: David's parting words to [[OneShotCharacter characters of the week]] are often, "You be good to yourself."
* CatScare: "The First, Pt. 1."
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: For a man who's supposed to be in hiding David really gets involved in people's business.
* ClipShow:
** "The Mystery Man Pts. 1 and 2." Though there is some fairly significant plot development: [[spoiler:[=McGee=] learns that the Hulk transforms into a normal man (though one whose identity he doesn't yet know)]].
** "Proof Positive" counts as one as well, as it details the whys and wherefores behind Jack's continuing obsession with capturing the Hulk, and actually made him seem somewhat more humanized, as we see him desperately trying to convince the paper's new boss that he has to continue his crusade to bring the creature in, both to put an end to the creature, and hopefully to cure the man behind the monster, whom he's come to see as an individual who is as much a victim of the creature as the people he believes the Hulk murdered -- despite not realizing that one of the people he believes was killed by the Hulk ''IS'' the Hulk.
** There is also "Interview with the Hulk" in which a rival reporter steals a lead from Jack [=McGee=] and corners David Banner into giving him an interview. As such, Banner discusses various incidents involving his Hulk condition and wins over the reporter so that he helps Banner escape when [=McGee=] tracks him down.
* ClotheslineStealing: Occasionally David will find a clothesline with a shirt hanging in order to reclothe himself. (Since he has MagicPants he's not worried about below the waist.) Since he's an honest person, when he can he leaves a few dollars in its place so he's not stealing the shirt in question.
* ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames:
** You can count on one hand the amount of times most people use the name "the Hulk." Almost literally. Almost everyone, including David, calls it some variation of "the creature" (or "that green thing"). Jack [=McGee=] is the only one who calls it "the Hulk" regularly (since he created the name for his newspaper), but even he calls it "the creature" from time to time.
** In the episode "The First," the other Hulk is explicitly credited as "[[spoiler:Frye's]] Creature" rather than any variation of "Hulk."
* ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument: In "The First," David finds a multi-volume diary detailing the process by which a scientist actually turned someone else into a Hulk-like creature, and cured the condition...but the volume with the actual process is missing. [[spoiler:The scientist's groundskeeper - who was the person who had been turned into the Creature - had hidden it.]]
* CreatorCameo: Creator/JackKirby appears as a police sketch artist in the episode "No Escape." He is sketching a witness's description of the Hulk. Quite expectedly, the sketch resembles his own comics style of the character rather than Creator/LouFerrigno. Creator/StanLee would make the first of his continuing cameo appearances in ''The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk.''
* CriminalDoppelganger: An episode had David Banner cross paths with a criminal who looked exactly like him (Bill Bixby with a mustache and a suit). Despite trying to frame Banner, the criminal was caught by police and attempted to weasel out of it by saying, "There's a guy who looks exactly like me." The police dismissed the idea as inane.
* CursedWithAwesome: As much as his condition has made David's life a complete shambles as a fugitive, the only reason he survives his adventures, or recovers from paralysis, is by transforming into the Hulk in times of need.
** BlessedWithSuck: On the other hand, if his condition hadn't wrecked his life, he'd be living quietly as a research scientist, and wouldn't be getting into trouble to begin with. He also has no memory of HulkingOut, leaving him worried about just what he did and who he might have hurt (or killed).
* CutShort: Season 5 was only a few episodes long. This also goes for the ending of the show itself, as another movie was planned but ultimately cancelled, though this merely served to alter the final outcome of Banner's fate.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler:Renee in "Haunted," whose twin sister drowned when they were children; she pretended to be the dead sister because everyone liked her more. However, the mental trauma she sustained caused it to become an EvilSplitPersonality, making for one of the most shocking plot twists in the series when the facade is revealed.]]
* DecompositeCharacter: In the MadeForTVMovie ''The Incredible Hulk Returns'' ComicBook/TheMightyThor appears; but instead of Don Blake [[SharingABody turning into Thor]], Blake and Thor are separate characters. Blake calls upon Odin while holding Thor's warhammer and Thor magically appears. Presumably in the spinoff series that never happened, [[WunzaPlot one's a doctor, one's a Norse God]]. Together, TheyFightCrime.
* DisposableSuperheroMaker: The machine in the pilot that emits gamma rays (and which is apparently mis-labeled so David gives himself a much higher dosage than intended). It's destroyed when the entire lab goes up in an explosion. There's another machine in "The First" that does something similar, and it gets destroyed in the two Hulks' fight.
* DownerEnding: The third movie which concludes the series. [[spoiler:The Hulk falls out of a plane and transforms back into David, who dies. All of his years of searching for a cure were in vain, the only way he could be free from his condition was to die.]] To make this already depressing ending even worse, [[spoiler:there was a script written for a sequel in which the Hulk would be revived with Banner's mind. However, due to Bill Bixby's declining health and eventual death, it was never made.]]
%%* DumbMuscle
* EarlyBirdCameo: In ''Trial of the Incredible Hulk'', Matt Murdock's office mates were seen but had no lines and remained unnamed. Marvel fans, however, know that they were Foggy Nelson and Karen Page. Presumably, they would have been properly introduced had the [[BackdoorPilot intended]] ''{{Comicbook/Daredevil}}'' spinoff series been greenlighted.
* EndingTheme / SolemnEndingTheme: "The Lonely Man," perhaps the only one that is more famous than the opening theme.
* EvilCounterpart: "The First," [[spoiler: a Hulk-like creature created in a similar experiment 30 years before David Banner's. Unlike Banner, the other man was selfish, paranoid, and a murderer even before his transformation, traits that were only exacerbated after he transformed.]]
* ExtraStrengthMasquerade: The Hulk is treated as an urban myth for far longer that should be considered possible considering he has been seen by large crowds in public quite a few times. He appeared at a rodeo, at a professional football game, in televised boxing and wrestling matches, and even running down the street in broad daylight...through Times Square, no less. His existence was acknowledged by police in many cities, and there were clear pictures of him published in various big-city newspapers (not just the tabloid [=McGee=] worked for). Yet somehow, the next town over, nobody had ever heard of this green creature before.
* EyeAwaken/ EyeColorChange: As in the Hulk is waking up. Whenever David crossed the threshold for the Hulk to manifest, he would close or cover his eyes for a moment, and when they were shown again, the irises would have changed from brown to pale, bright green as the transformation sound/music started. This particular Eye Take became so iconic that the 2008 theatrical movie used it as well.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: David can never find the cure for his little condition because if he did, no more show.
* FakingTheDead: Read the opening lines.
* {{Flanderization}}: [=McGee=] in ''The Incredible Hulk Returns'' where he's stripped of all his CharacterDevelopment and reduced to a comedic buffoon. Even his {{leitmotif}} is played on a tuba.
* FriendOnTheForce: In ''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'', Matt Murdock explains to David that he was inspired to become Daredevil after hearing Officer Tendelli bemoan to the press the corruption inherent in the city's law enforcement. He says he needs good people to change things, including someone who can do the kinds of things he can't. Matt decided to become a masked vigilante and, once trained and costumed, approached Tendelli about working together. Tendelli doesn't know his secret identity, but he does have a way to contact him and provide any useful information.
* FriendToAllChildren: David, even as the Hulk, although kids are generally told to stay away from the latter.
* GentleGiant: The show strictly follows the "just wants to be left alone and will only attack if provoked" characterization of the Hulk, [[AdaptationalHeroism toning down his disdain for "Puny Humans"]] (aside from his disdain for "puny Banner"), and almost always gives him a PetTheDog moment before he turns back.
* GoneHorriblyRight: When looked at another way, Banner's experiment worked '''TOO WELL'''; he wanted strength enhancement, but he got much more than he bargained for, leading to one really tragic case of BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor. Or put another way: ANGER leads to DANGER.
* GrandFinale: "The Death of the Incredible Hulk," the last of the TV series movies, sees Banner's long search to escape his Hulk metamorphosis come to an end. [[spoiler:Though with a title like that, it's not hard to guess what happens to him in the end...]]
* HandicappedBadass: Li Sung of "Another Path" and "The Disciple." He's old and blind, but a very skilled martial artist, easily defeating the villain of his first episode alone, along with many of his mooks. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZionzIYpU Even the Hulk was just cleaning up after him rather than defusing the threat himself.]]
* HealingFactor: While not as dramatic as in the original comics, the Hulk can recover from nearly any injury and with incredible speed. Also unlike the original comics, most of the healing seems to take place during the transformation itself. However, one transformation is not always enough for more serious injuries.
** In "The Harder They Fall," where Banner was paralyzed and later transforms, the Hulk initially flops around and pounds his numb legs, but after a few seconds he's capable of at least standing and hobbling along. When he changes back, David is able to trade his wheelchair for leg braces and crutches. Later, a second transformation fully restores his ability to walk.
** Another example is the first-season episode "Life and Death," where David is given a lethal injection of poison. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMmsANtYDLU The first transformation]] only partially gets rid of the poison, leaving both the Hulk and David groggy and dizzy, until [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K55hEP9VXt0 the second transformation]] purges the rest.
** Another example: in "Two Godmothers," David's right hand is completely crushed by a boulder, triggering his first transformation, and his hand is still broken after he transforms and reverts. It's not until the second transformation that it's fully healed.
* HeroAntagonist: Jack [=McGee=] genuinely does think the Hulk is a threat to society but, despite that, won't let others kill him, for the sake of the Hulk's alter-ego. He could be considered a HeroOfAnotherStory if his presence didn't constantly make David's situation worse. Some of that is David's fault: Jack becomes a far more sympathetic character as the series goes on, and is more than willing to help the man who becomes the Hulk find a cure, but David doesn't know this and only sees him as a threat rather than a potential ally.
** In at least two episodes ("Hulk Breaks Las Vegas" and "Prometheus"), Jack ''almost'' succeeded in having a calm conversation with Hulk/David, but, in both occasions, [[InterruptedCooldownHug other people ruined these attempts]].
* HeroicBSOD:
** David goes into one in "The Psychic" when [[spoiler:he sees that a teenager the Hulk had attacked died in the hospital. David, who had always clung to the belief that the Hulk would not kill anyone, is driven to the brink of suicide until he finds out the Hulk didn't do it.]]
** In ''The Trial of the Incredible Hulk'', Daredevil suffers this after he falls into Fisk's trap and is overwhelmed until the Hulk saves him. Aside from the rigorous beating, the villains used intense sound to disorient him, so he thinks that means they know he's blind. David tries to shake him out of it by pointing out Fisk employed assorted disorienting techniques all at once, including bright lights.
* HiddenInPlainSight: The main reason David avoided Jack as long as he did was because when not hulked-out he's such a GenericGuy nobody could ever give a good description of him. Lampshaded by Jack in "Proof Positive."
* HighVoltageDeath: Attempted but averted when a KISS-like heavy metal singer (played by Mackenzie Phillips) plans to do this and make it look like an accident during a concert in order to teach her fans a lesson about...something or other. But when she sees David Hulk Out and the fans are still screaming for more, she realizes that her death will make no difference to them.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame villainous hunter chasing David]] in the episode "The Snare" accidentally hit himself with [[spoiler: the tip of one of his poisonous arrows. It led to his KarmicDeath]].
%%* HotBlooded
* HulkingOut: The series writers [[TropeNamer named this trope]].
* HulkSpeak: Mostly averted in this version, where the Hulk only growls and roars. The Demi-Hulk that David is stuck as in "Prometheus" is the closest the series comes, but even then he still uses full sentences and proper pronouns, he just uses shorter and simpler words (like calling a meteor "a rock from the sky").
* HuntingTheMostDangerousGame: One classic episode had Banner trapped on an island with a wealthy retired hunter who becomes ''delighted'' when he first sees the transformation:
-->"I saw that beast you turned into David, unbelievable! What was it, how do you do it? It was magnificent, David, magnificent! Make it come back? '''You hear me, David! Make it come back!'''"
* ILoveNuclearPower: The Hulk was originally created by exposure to too much gamma radiation, and further exposure can affect the transformation, as seen in "Prometheus."
* InformedAttribute: Hulk is repeatedly described as being a monster over seven feet tall. While Creator/LouFerrigno is pretty tall at 6'4", it's obvious he isn't over seven feet with how he is always standing next to people.
* InspectorJavert: Jack [=McGee=] is pursuing the Hulk. At first, it's partly for stories for his paper and partly because he honestly thinks the Hulk is a murderer and a menace. Somewhat deconstructed over the series as [=McGee=] comes to realize that the Hulk is no killer, and that there is a normal human being who turns into the Hulk; he'd probably want to help him rather than bring him in. Played with, in that [=McGee=] doesn't know who the man he's pursuing is, that he's someone he's met and is actually one of the Hulk's supposed victims.
* InterruptedCooldownHug: In his more sympathetic moments, Jack [=McGee=] actually tried to calmly talk to Hulk at least twice, but both attempts are ruined by other people, who tried a more violent approach to the protagonist:
** In the episode “Hulk Breaks Las Vegas,” although not quite understanding Jack’s words, Hulk was calm enough in his presence to start reverting to Banner. The episode’s BigBad, however, was hidden nearby and shot Hulk’s shoulder, interrupting the transformation (which was in the very beginning) and making him flee.
** In “Prometheus,” David was locked in mid-transformation. This time, he was able to understand [=McGee=]’s words and was almost trusting him. But then, the guys near Jack decided to take a more violent approach, shooting David with tranquilizers and harassing a female friend near him. This completed his transformation into Hulk, then he saved the woman and fought the guys, fleeing with her afterwards.
* IntrepidReporter:
** Jack [=McGee=] is a complicated example. [=McGee=] may be chasing a tabloid-like tale of a giant green monster (and gets mocked for it by his colleagues), but he's keen on reporting the truth. On occasion he reports on other breaking news and scandals that deserve coverage. Furthermore, when a hunter offers to kill the Hulk, [=McGee=] is the most adamant against that for the sake of the human containing the creature. He starts out as an InspectorJavert, but by the end of the series, he's a much more sympathetic HeroAntagonist.
** Other episodes show his fellow journalists in less-than-flattering lights.
** Emerson Fletcher in "Interview with the Hulk" is another complex example. [[spoiler:He was a respected science reporter until his daughter's tragic death, at which point his career fell apart. He steals a tip from [=McGee=] about the Hulk in the hope that landing the story will help him regain his professional standing, and uses deception to get close to David and get him to tell his story. But after listening to David for a while, he starts to remember the integrity and decency he used to have, and by the time [=McGee=] catches up he has decided to help David escape.]]
* InvoluntaryShapeshifting: Of the HulkingOut variety, [[TropeNamer but of course!]]
* ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans: In "Babalao" — in fact, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVro3juRmFg the first transformation of the episode]] happens right in the middle of the parade itself.
* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine:
** The title character of the episode "My Favorite Magician" is played by Ray Walston, Bixby's co-star in ''Series/MyFavoriteMartian''.
** In the episode "747," the boy who helps the Hulk safely land the plane is played by Brandon Cruz, Bixby's co-star in ''Series/TheCourtshipOfEddiesFather''.
* JekyllAndHyde:
** In the pilot, David states, "I want to be Dr. Banner, not Dr. Jekyll!"
** Outright stated by David in "Married" when he is hinting his condition to Dr. Caroline Fields after she realizes who he really is.
** [[spoiler:In "Deathmask," police officer Frank Rhodes is pursuing a man who murders college co-eds, and comes to believe David is the killer, not realizing that it's actually himself.]]
** Taken further in "Dark Side," where David develops an ID-driven split personality, which in many ways hews closer to the original novel. (David and "evil David" shared a consciousness, like the original Jekyll and Hyde, in contrast to David having no memory of the Hulk's actions.)
* KnowWhenToFoldEm[=/=]ScrewThisImOuttaHere: While most of the villains, mooks, or antagonists fail to grasp this concept until it's too late and try for the latter, only to fail, the episode featuring a rodeo has The Hulk smash into the arena (after David is thrown into a bull-pen and left to be trampled), and face off against a berserk multi-ton bull. After The Hulk grabs the bull by the horns and wrestles him to the ground, the bull goes to the other side of the arena and tries to smash is way out, with the rodeo commentators going, "He's had enough — smart animal!"
* {{Leitmotif}}:
** The Hulk had a simple four-note theme that was mixed into whatever background music was playing while the Hulk was on his rampage.
** David's leitmotif was variations on The Lonely Man theme, including a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBUPZ5PYWnk disco version]].
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0cFCneI5HU main title theme]] alternated between the two (starting at 0:16, with the Hulk's leitmotif getting louder and louder each time) before segueing back into Banner's theme, but the final notes are Hulk's theme.
** In "The First," [[spoiler:Frye's Creature]] had his own five-note leitmotif as well.
* LimitedWardrobe: David's tan-and-white jacket shows up throughout the series. {{Justified}} by him being pretty much homeless. What makes less sense is that he always seems to be wearing the same boots, even though they get torn up and discarded every time he transforms. See ClotheslineStealing above, or some GoodSamaritan gives him spare clothes, with David always offering to pay if he can or promising to pay them back as soon as he's able.
* TheLoad:
** Julie in "Death in the Family;" for two-thirds of this two-hour episode, she's about as much use to David as a bag full of sand. Mainly because she's been thoroughly convinced through psychological torment that she's paraplegic and can't fend for herself because of it.
** Her actress, Laurie Prange, appears again as the blind girl Katie in "Prometheus," where she plays a similar role - at least, until she has to act as the Demi-Hulk's brain while he acts as her eyes and hands.
* LonelyPianoPiece: The ending piece, literally entitled "The Lonely Man."
* TheLostLenore: Banner's wife Laura, who was the whole reason he went into studying how humans become stronger in times of danger (and, more importantly, why he didn't when he needed to save her), which ultimately led to his "curse." He still has nightmares about her death, even years later (which always triggers a transformation).
* MagicPants: [[TropeCodifier Goes without saying that this is in place;]] what is of note is when this trope is defied…
** Immediately following the second [[spoiler:(full)]] [[HulkingOut transformation]] of ''Prometheus,'' the creature [[BattleStrip actively discards his pants]] in favor of fighting in his equally indestructible [[UnderwearOfPower underwear.]]
* MailOrderBride: A Chinese one shows up for David in "East Winds," much to his bewilderment. [[spoiler:She's actually been sent to root around his apartment for a fortune in gold that was hidden there.]]
* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: Jack [=McGee=] plays with this during an episode wherein he infiltrates a secret government base that has captured the Hulk and is examining him, thinking he's an extraterrestrial life form. When caught, the people running the installation are desperate to keep the place a secret and threaten to have him imprisoned for trespassing. Jack tells them to go right ahead and send him to prison, saying a lot of good books have been written in prison. They get the point and back off, since they can't shut him up by sending him to prison, where he'll do exactly what they are trying to prevent.
* MistakenForMurderer: The Hulk is suspected in Elaina Marks' death, even though he was just trying to save her from the fire and falling debris that did kill her.
* MistakenForOwnMurderer: The Hulk is also suspected in David Banner's death because almost no one knows his secret.
* MisunderstoodLonerWithAHeartOfGold: The Hulk himself. He's very animalistic and most people are terrified of him, but he's still David Banner under it all.
* MobstacleCourse: David must run one in "Rainbow's End." Of course, they can get pretty frustrating...
* MrViceGuy: As ever, the Hulk represents Wrath.
* MuggingTheMonster: Very, very often, as it happens to Banner/Hulk in other media. It's one of the most frequent triggers that causes David's [[HulkingOut transformation]], and what leads many {{Mook}}s to the OhCrap trope mentioned below.
* MundaneLuxury / MundaneObjectAmazement: In the first TV movie, Thor is amazed at the ''shower'', having never seen one before.
-->'''Thor:''' That shower bath is a miracle. Water from nowhere. Wonderful. Hot and cold. All you could want. I’m telling you, the eyes would pop from my old comrades’ heads if they could see what I’m seeing in this god-forsaken world of yours.
** It also happens to Hulk himself sometimes, due to his primitive mind. In the episode "Ricky," he is amused with...soda cans.
* NeverFoundTheBody: "David Banner is believed to be dead." Obviously Elaina Marks' body is found (the Hulk carried her out of the building), hence her burial. But no human remains can be found that could be connected to David. It takes an extremely hot fire to destroy bones, and even then teeth usually survive. Then again, the fire was started by a chemical explosion and continued to send a column of flame high into the sky as it burned, so who-knows-what other chemical reactions and electrical shorts might have made the fire even hotter.
** There was also mention of faking a radiation leak in a way that implied such a leak would be plausible to actually happen; it might be that the site is considered too dangerous to go in and search through rubble for tiny little fragments and teeth, just to look for a man who was last seen trying to get inside and had no known reason to hide if he were still alive.
* TheNondescript: [=McGee=] sometimes gets frustrated at the fact that David isn't more distinctive-looking. He'll ask somebody about him and the person will say, "Well, you know, sort of average...brown hair, brown eyes..."
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Sometimes David feels it best to hide his education. Not everyone is fooled.
* OhCrap: The usual reaction by the {{Mook}}s in each episode when they are beating up on Banner and suddenly a giant green monster appears with a tremendous roar.
* OpeningNarration: The show opens with the narration seen in the page quote on top.
* PartialTransformation: In "Prometheus," where Dr. Banner gets stuck halfway between himself and the Hulk, thanks to being too close to a meteor emitting gamma radiation.
* PetTheDog: The "savage" Hulk almost always gets a moment where he proves he's just a big softy at heart. Children or cute baby animals are often involved.
** In "The Beast Within" the Hulk ends up sitting in the tiger enclosure, holding and petting a tiger cub. Which is what David is still doing when he comes back to himself, perhaps one of his cutest yet scariest (for David) awakenings!
** In the final episode, "A Minor Problem," he pets a literal dog right before reverting to Banner.
* PilotMovie: Two of them. The unnamed "Pilot" was the actual origin story, detailing how David is afflicted with his condition, and why he has to go on the run; "Death in the Family" was a two-hour adventure that started the series proper.
* PoorlyDisguisedPilot:
** The TV movies ''The Incredible Hulk Returns'' and ''Trial of the Incredible Hulk'' were obvious pilots for undeveloped TV series for ''[[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]]'' and ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' respectively.
** The episode "The Disciple" was potentially a pilot for a series about the martial artist private detective played by Rick Springfield. It never got off the ground.
* PragmaticAdaptation: Some of the changes from the comic resulted from different needs in the televised medium.
** The Hulk's inability to speak came because even consultant and co-creator Creator/StanLee agreed that HulkSpeak sounded silly spoken out loud. Fan lore suggested that Lou Ferrigno's hearing impairment was a factor, but the decision predated his casting and Ferrigno has handled spoken dialogue in many other roles.
** The Hulk's origin was changed from a nuclear test gone wrong to a lab accident due to the budget limitations of a TV show shooting in 1978.
* PrisonEpisode: "The Slam," David is arrested [[FelonyMisdemeanor for stealing an apple]] and sent without trial to a corrupt prison.
* ProWrestlingIsReal: In "Half-Nelson," David has a job as a trainer/medic at a pro wrestling arena. The wrestlers got along with each other well enough, but inside the ring it was all real.
* PunishmentBox: In the episode "The Slam," David gets put in one. Strangely enough, he doesn't HulkOut. Another prisoner in the box next door tells him how to survive: find a rock to suck on, put your head in the least exposed place possible, and don't move around.
* RageBreakingPoint: Used in most episodes to some degree, but one of the most infamous was in "Never Give a Trucker an Even Break." David's friend is locked in a nearby warehouse screaming for help, as she's surrounded by mobsters who want to beat her up and then kill her, so he tries to call the police at a nearby phone booth. First he calls the Operator, doesn't get an answer, and doesn't get his dime back (which isn't supposed to happen). Then he calls Directory Assistance. The DA operator is unable to return his dime or connect him directly to the police, and also annoys him with incessant (but practically speaking necessary) questions. She finally gives him the number for one of the local police departments. He hangs up, not getting his dime back ''again'', and calls the number he was just given, only for the operator to demand 25 cents, which means DA didn't even give him the number of a ''local'' police station, but one further away! At that point:
-->'''Operator:''' Please deposit 25 cents for the first three minutes.\\
'''David:''' (''frantically looking through what's left of his change before pounding his fist on the table in rage, his eyes glowing bright green'') '''I DON'T HAVE ''25 CENTS!'''''
* RashomonStyle: In "Of Guilt, Models and Murder," David comes out of a Hulk episode with wreckage and a dead body in the next room, and subsequently hears several different accounts of how the woman was killed.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: David gives a well-intentioned one to RichBitch Diane in "Equinox." He was hired to sort through her family's library, but when he wants to leave her private island ([=McGee=]'s getting close) she won't let him and insists that he stick around for the masquerade party she's throwing. When someone at the party tries to kill her, she suspects him, but he tells her that she needs to look at how she treats people and realize that he's not the only one with a motive to harm her. After a little introspection she realizes he's right and helps him get away from [=McGee=].
* RecycledInSpace: Many of the people who look back on the show today are quick to point out, ''favorably'', that the show was basically ''Series/KungFu'' '''with superpowers!''' Also, a distinct influence from ''Series/TheFugitive'' is obvious.
** Coincidence or not, two episodes ("Another Path" and "The Disciple") featured Asian characters and martial arts. As mentioned in HandicappedBadass above, Li Sung, who appeared in these episodes, was an old and blind awesome martial artist, like Master Po from ''Kung Fu''.
* RoarBeforeBeating: It is the Hulk, after all.
* SadBattleMusic: The uptempo version of The Lonely Man that plays in the opening. Though not used in a battle per se, it did display quite a bit of the destruction that David Banner caused in his Incredible Hulk state.
* ShoutOut: In "Stop the Presses," the name of the publisher of McGee's newspaper, the National Register, is R.B. Steinhauer. One of the series' producers at the time was named Robert Bennett Steinhauer.
* SimpleScoreOfSadness: The closing theme, "The Lonely Man."
* SpannerInTheWorks: David is a 2-in-1 spanner: he tends to accidentally stumble into some illegal activity going on. When the [[BigBad villains]] [[MonsterOfTheWeek running the schemes]] use violent methods to get rid of David, he transforms into the Hulk, who's an even bigger spanner, and ruins the schemes for good.
* SplitPersonality: Not necessarily. The Hulk is still David Banner, just regressed to an animalistic state. Which is why the Hulk refuses to kill people, and protects and responds to people who are important to David.
** This becomes more clear in the two-parter "The First," in which [[spoiler:Dell Frye is presented as more power-hungry and less concerned with others' safety than David. His "Hulk" is likewise crueler and kills a man, which doesn't bother Dell.]]
** Played straight in the episode "Dark Side," where an attempt at a cure instead unleashes David's ID in the form of a second personality, only concerned with his own immediate needs and perfectly willing to use the Hulk to achieve them. David swaps back and forth between the two personalities during the course of the episode. The Hulk likewise becomes more aggressive and nearly kills several people before snapping back to normal.
** On the other hand, the third-season premiere "Metamorphosis" sees David affected by a powerful hallucinogen, and he starts having visions of the Hulk attacking him, which causes him to transform. As the Hulk, he then has visions of David, who he attacks immediately and violently, destroying the room and injuring a bystander. They may not be fully separate personalities, but each represent a part of the whole that the other hates.
%%* SternChase
* SuperHero: Super strength, super toughness, super endurance, and a personality that drives him to protect and rescue those in need, but [[BlessedWithSuck with little intelligence or self-control]] once he transforms.
* SuperStrength: David wanted to tap into "the hidden strength that all humans have;" he succeeded in his goal and then some! The Hulk's feats of strength are not quite as epic as his comic book counterpart (due to being made on a 1970s TV budget), but on the other hand, he seems to have no upper limits, either. In his most impressive feat, he easily (if unintentionally) destroys an entire government facility by overloading the hydraulics.
* ThemedAliases: David Banner always used a last name that started with a B. David Banner to David Bradley, etc. The only time he didn't use that was when he ran in to his IdenticalStranger, a mobster named Mike Cassidy, and he tried to use that to get out of a scrape. Banner uses the Mike Cassidy alias when he comes face-to-face with his personal InspectorJavert, Jack [=McGee=], who up until the moment he sees him thinks Banner is dead. Banner uses one of his usual aliases when running into the mobsters looking for Cassidy, but they don't believe him.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Elaina Marks assures David in the pilot that the Hulk won't kill, "because David Banner wouldn't kill." David isn't entirely convinced, and he constantly frets that the Hulk might eventually cross the line. Of course, if those crooks weren't all MadeOfIron, then surely one of the countless thugs the Hulk launches through walls would have died sooner or later.
* TookALevelInBadass: In the climax of ''Trial of the Incredible Hulk'', it's David who successfully saves the day, not the Hulk. The Hulk doesn't show up at all.
* TranquilizerDart: IntrepidReporter Jack [=McGee=] at one point has a tranq gun to use on the Hulk. Sure enough, the Hulk shows up and [=McGee=] shoots him, to seemingly no effect even though he uses several darts. After the Hulk grabs & destroys the gun and runs off, he starts being affected, in an [[AvertedTrope aversion]] of InstantSedation. [=McGee=] accidentally shoots himself too, but he's able to chase the Hulk for a little while before he falls unconscious.
* TwinSwitch: See DeadPersonImpersonation above.
* UnstoppableRage: It's what the Hulk ''is''.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: When watching "Terror in Times Square," it's obvious who were the paid actors hired to react, and who were the random people in Times Square watching Creator/LouFerrigno's performance.
* VagueAge: David is supposedly in his early 30s when the series starts (Bill Bixby was 43 at the time of the original movie so it's an extreme case of DawsonCasting). When given descriptions of said "John Doe," he is most often described as about 34. Given that he was already a renowned researcher, he might have been older than that, since for a physician/scientist, being in his early 30s wouldn't make him that far removed from his medical school/residency days. At the time of the first TV movie, seven years had passed for him as in realtime. Add to the number of years that the series lasted, that would make him about eleven years older, so mid forties by 1988. Don Blake is said to be a contemporary of David, having been in the same class but he clearly looks like he would have still been in undergraduate college when David was already established in his career.
* WalkingTheEarth: Looking for a cure.
* WickedStepmother: "Death In the Family" has one. After David finds out the whole family history, the DamselInDistress of the episode was to die with her father because her stepmother wanted the family fortune. The girl survived, but developed a psychosomatic belief that she couldn't walk due to the "accident," and a corrupt doctor subsequently deliberately worsened her condition. After David and the girl manage to report to the authorities, the stepmother and her {{Mooks}} are presumably sent to prison for murder and attempted murder.
* WolverinePublicity: The first two telemovies were intended as pilots for {{Spinoff}}s based on ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'' and ''ComicBook/{{Thor}}'', with the Hulk added in an obvious effort to boost their popularity. Neither show ended up being produced.
* WouldntHurtAChild: In many instances the Hulk encounters children, but he never hurts them. However, he does hurt one child's father for shooting him. Screaming mothers (it ''was'' filmed in the 70s), he just either stares at or runs away. Most times, children aren't even scared of him. The young girl in the Pilot episode who the Hulk tries to save from drowning is a rare exception.
%%* WrenchWench: Irene in "Ricky."
* WronglyAccused: The creature is wanted for ''two'' murders he didn't commit: Elaina Marks and David Banner.
%%* YouKilledMyFather: In "Wax Museum."
* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: The TropeNamer. The line was only used straight once, during the first Pilot, but it made it into the show's opening, so it's a very well-known line. (And, of course, not many people like David when he's angry, what with the turning into a giant green monster.)
** David does say it again in the episode "Dark Side," but it's delivered in a taunting fashion to a group of people who lash out at him at a nightclub (after he starts the fight by trying to sucker-punch one of them), due to David accidentally altering his own personality and unleashing his ID, so that he now ''wants'' to become the Hulk.
----

* WickedStepmother: "Death In the Family" has one. After David finds out the whole family history, the DamselInDistress of the episode was to die with her father because her stepmother wanted the family fortune. The girl survived, but was told she couldn't walk due to the "accident," and thus overdosed on medication. After David and the girl manage to report to the authorities, the stepmother and her {{Mooks}} are presumably sent to prison for attempted murder.

* WouldntHurtAChild: In many instances whenever he Hulks out, he never hurts a child. However, he does hurt one child's father for attacking him. The mother, on the other hand, he just either stares at or runs away. Most times, children aren't even scared of him. The young girl in the Pilot episode who the Hulk tries to save from drowning is a rare exception.

** David does say it again in the episode "Dark Side," but it's delivered in a taunting fashion to a group of people who lash out at him at a nightclub (after he starts the fight by trying to sucker-punch one of them), due to David accidentally altering his own personality and unleashing his ID, and now he ''wants'' to become the Hulk.

* TheNondescript: [=McGee=] sometimes got frustrated at the fact that David wasn't more distinctive-looking. He'd ask somebody about him and the person would say, "Well, you know, sort of average...brown hair, brown eyes..."
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Sometimes David felt it best to hide his education. Not everyone was fooled.

* PetTheDog: The "savage" Hulk almost always gets a moment where he proves he's just a big softy at heart.
** In the final episode, "A Minor Problem," he petted a literal dog right before reverting to Banner.
** There's a very touching moment with a tiger cub in his lap in a zoo enclosure during the first transformation back into Banner in "The Beast Within."
* PilotMovie: Two of them. The unnamed "Pilot" was the actual origin story, detailing how David was afflicted with his condition, and why he had to go on the run; "Death in the Family" was a two-hour adventure that started the series proper.

* ProWrestlingIsReal: In "Half-Nelson," David had a job as a trainer/medic at a pro wrestling arena. The wrestlers got along with each other well enough, but inside the ring it was all real.

* RageBreakingPoint: Used in most episodes to some degree, but one of the most infamous was in "Never Give a Trucker an Even Break." David's friend is locked in a nearby warehouse screaming for help, as she's surrounded by mobsters who want to beat her up and then kill her, so he tries to call the police at a nearby phone booth. First he calls the Operator, doesn't get an answer, and doesn't get his dime back (which isn't supposed to happen). Then he calls Directory Assistance. The DA operator is unable to return his dime or connect him directly to the police, and also annoys him with incessant questions. She finally gives him the number for one of the local police departments. He hangs up, not getting his dime back ''again'', and calls the number he was just given, only for the operator to demand 25 cents, which means DA didn't even give him the number of a ''local'' police station, but one further away! At that point:

* RashomonStyle: In "Of Guilt, Models and Murder," David comes out of a Hulk episode next to a dead body, and subsequently hears several different accounts of how the woman was killed.

%%* SuperHero

* KnowWhenToFoldEm[=/=]ScrewThisImOuttaHere: While most of the villains, mooks, or antagonists fail to grasp this concept until it's too late and try for the latter, only to fail, the episode featuring a rodeo has The Hulk smash into the arena (after David is thrown into a bull-pen and left to be trampled), and face off against a berserk multi-ton bull. After The Hulk grabs the bull by the horns and wrestles him to the ground, the bull goes to the other side of the arena and tries to smash is way out, with the rodeo commentators going "he's had enough, smart animal!"

* LimitedWardrobe: David's tan-and-white jacket shows up throughout the series. {{Justified}} by him being pretty much homeless. What makes less sense is that he always seems to be wearing the same boots, even though they get torn up and discarded every time he transforms. [[FridgeLogic How does he afford to buy new clothes every week]]?

* MightAsWellNotBeInPrisonAtAll: Jack McGee plays with this during an episode wherein he infiltrates a secret government base that has captured the Hulk and is examining him, thinking he's an extraterrestrial life form. When caught, the people running the installation are desperate to keep the place a secret and threaten to have him imprisoned for trespassing. Jack tells them to go right ahead and send him to prison, saying a lot of good books have been written in prison. They get the point and back off, since they can't shut him up by sending him to prison, where he'll do exactly what they are trying to prevent.
* MistakenForMurderer: The Hulk is suspected in Elaina Marks' death, even though he was just trying to save her from the fire that did kill her.
** MistakenForOwnMurderer: The Hulk is also suspected in David Banner's death because almost no one knows his secret.

* MuggingTheMonster: Very, very, often, as it happens to Banner/Hulk in other media. It's one of the most frequent triggers that causes David's [[HulkingOut transformation]], and what leads many {{Mook}}s to the OhCrap trope mentioned below.

%%* InspectorJavert: Jack [=McGee=]

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: The title character of the episode "My Favorite Magician" is played by Ray Walston, Bixby's co-star in ''Series/MyFavoriteMartian''.

* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: The title character of the episode "My Favorite Magician" is played by Ray Walston, Bixby's co-star in ''Series/MyFavoriteMartian''.
** In the episode "747," the boy who helps the Hulk safely land the plane is played by Brandon Cruz, Bixby's co-star in ''Series/TheCourtshipOfEddie'sFather''.

* NeverFoundTheBody: "David Banner is believed to be dead." Obviously Elaina Marks' body is found, hence her burial. But no human remains can be found that could be connected to David. Even burned bodies leave behind something. The nature of the lab explosion was not anywhere enough to completely incinerate a body without a trace. Strange that no one has ever postulated searching for David as a suspect.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: When watching "Hulk In Times Square", it's obvious who were the paid actors hired to react, and who were the random people in Times Square watching Creator/LouFerrigno's performance.
* VagueAge: David is supposedly in his early 30s when the series starts (Bill Bixby was 43 at the time so it's an extreme case of DawsonCasting). When given descriptions of said JohnDoe, he is most often described as about 34. Given that he was already a renowned researcher, he might have been older than that, since for a physician/scientist, being in his early 30s wouldn't make him that far removed from his medical school/residency days. At the time of the first TV movie, seven years had passed for him as in realtime. Add to the number of years that the series lasted, that would make him about eleven years older, so mid forties by 1988. Don Blake is said to be a contemporary of David, having been in the same class but he clearly looks like he would have still been in undergraduate college when David was already established in his career.

* WickedStepmother: "Death In the Family" has one. After David finds out the whole family history, the DamselInDistress of the episode was to die with her father because her stepmother wanted the family fortune. The girl survived, but was told she couldn't walk due to the "accident", and thus overdosed on medication. After David and the girl manage to report to the authorities, the stepmother and her {{Mooks}} are presumably sent to prison for attempted murder.

%%* WrenchWench: Irene in "Ricky".

* YouWouldntLikeMeWhenImAngry: The TropeNamer. The line was only used straight once, during the first Pilot, but it made it into the show's opening, so it's a very well-known line. (And, of course, not many people like David when he's angry, what with the turning into a giant green monster)
** David does say it again in the episode "Dark Side", but it's delivered in a taunting fashion to a group of people who lash out at him at a nightclub (after he starts the fight by trying to sucker-punch one of them), due to David accidentally altering his own personality and unleashing his id, and now he ''wants'' to become the Hulk.

* HiddenInPlainSight: The main reason David avoided Jack as long as he did was because when not hulked-out he's such a GenericGuy nobody could ever give a good description of him. Lampshaded by Jack in "Proof Positive".

* ILoveNuclearPower: The Hulk was originally created by exposure to too much gamma radiation, and further exposure can affect the transformation, as seen in "Prometheus".

** In the episode "747", the boy who helps the Hulk safely land the plane is played by Brandon Cruz, Bixby's co-star in ''Series/TheCourtshipOfEddie'sFather''.

** In the episode “Hulk Breaks Las Vegas”, although not quite understanding Jack’s words, Hulk was calm enough in his presence to start reverting to Banner. The episode’s BigBad, however, was hidden nearby and shot Hulk’s shoulder, interrupting the transformation (which was in the very beginning) and making him flee.
** In “Prometheus”, David was locked in mid-transformation. This time, he was able to understand [=McGee=]’s words and was almost trusting him. But then, the guys near Jack decided to take a more violent approach, shooting David with tranquilizers and harassing a female friend near him. This completed his transformation into Hulk, then he saved the woman and fought the guys, fleeing with her afterwards.

** Taken further in "Dark Side", where David develops an id-driven split personality, which in many ways hews closer to the original novel. (David and "evil David" shared a consciousness, like the original Jekyll and Hyde, in contrast to David having no memory of the Hulk's actions)

** In "The First", [[spoiler:Frye's Creature]] had his own five-note leitmotif as well.

** Julie in "Death in the Family"; for two-thirds of this two-hour episode, she's about as much use to David as a bag full of sand. Mainly because she's been thoroughly convinced through psychological torment that she's paraplegic and can't fend for herself because of it.
** Her actress, Laurie Prange, appears again as the blind girl Katie in "Prometheus", where she plays a similar role - at least, until she has to act as the Demi-Hulk's brain while he acts as her eyes and hands.
* LonelyPianoPiece: The ending piece, literally entitled "The Lonely Man".
* TheLostLenore: Banner's wife Laura, who was the whole reason he went into studying how humans become stronger in times of danger (and, more importantly, why he didn't when he needed to save her), which ultimately led to his "curse". He still has nightmares about her death, even years later (which always triggers his transformation).

* MobstacleCourse: David must run one in "Rainbow's End". Of course, they can get pretty frustrating...

** It also happens to Hulk himself sometimes, due to his primitive mind. In the episode "Ricky", he is amused with... soda cans.
* NeverFoundTheBody: "David Banner is believed to be dead". Obviously Elaina Marks' body is found, hence her burial. But no human remains can be found that could be connected to David. Even burned bodies leave behind something. The nature of the lab explosion was not anywhere enough to completely incinerate a body without a trace. Strange that no one has ever postulated searching for David as a suspect.
* TheNondescript: [=McGee=] sometimes got frustrated at the fact that David wasn't more distinctive-looking. He'd ask somebody about him and the person would say, "Well, you know, sort of average... Brown hair, brown eyes..."

* PartialTransformation: In "Prometheus", where Dr. Banner gets stuck halfway between himself and the Hulk, thanks to being too close to a meteor emitting gamma radiation.
* PetTheDog: The "savage" Hulk almost always gets a moment where he proves he's just a big softy at heart. In the final episode, "A Minor Problem", he petted a literal dog right before reverting to Banner.

* PoorlyDisguisedPilot

* PrisonEpisode: "The Slam", David is arrested [[FelonyMisdemeanor for stealing an apple]] and sent without trial to a corrupt prison.
* ProWrestlingIsReal: In "Half-Nelson", David had a job as a trainer/medic at a pro wrestling arena. The wrestlers got along with each other well enough, but inside the ring it was all real.
* PunishmentBox: In the episode "The Slam". David gets put in one. Strangely enough, he doesn't HulkOut. Another prisoner in the box next door tells him how to survive: find a rock to suck on, put your head in the least exposed place possible, and don't move around.
* RageBreakingPoint: Used in most episodes to some degree, but one of the most infamous was in "Never Give a Trucker an Even Break". David's friend is locked in a nearby warehouse screaming for help, as she's surrounded by mobsters who want to beat her up and then kill her, so he tries to call the police at a nearby phone booth. First he calls the Operator, doesn't get an answer, and doesn't get his dime back (which isn't supposed to happen). Then he calls Directory Assistance. The DA operator is unable to return his dime or connect him directly to the police, and also annoys him with incessant questions. She finally gives him the number for one of the local police departments. He hangs up, not getting his dime back ''again'', and calls the number he was just given, only for the operator to demand 25 cents, which means DA didn't even give him the number of a ''local'' police station, but one further away! At that point:

* RashomonStyle: In "Of Guilt, Models and Murder", David comes out of a Hulk episode next to a dead body, and subsequently hears several different accounts of how the woman was killed.

** Coincidence or not, two episodes ("Another Path" and "The Disciple") featured asian characters and martial arts. As mentioned in HandicappedBadass above, Li Sung, who appeared in these episodes, was an old and blind awesome martial artist, like Master Po from ''Kung Fu''.

* ShoutOut: In "Stop the Presses", the name of the publisher of McGee's newspaper, the National Register, is R.B. Steinhauer. One of the series' producers at the time was named Robert Bennett Steinhauer.
* SimpleScoreOfSadness: The closing theme, "The Lonely Man".

** Played straight in the episode "Dark Side", where an attempt at a cure instead unleashes David's id in the form of a second personality, only concerned with his own immediate needs and perfectly willing to use the Hulk to achieve them. David swaps back and forth between the two personalities during the course of the episode. The Hulk likewise becomes more aggressive and nearly kills several people before snapping back to normal.

* SuperStrength: David wanted to tap into "the hidden strength that all humans have"; he succeeded in his goal and then some! The Hulk's feats of strength are not quite as epic as his comic book counterpart (due to being made on a 1970s TV budget), but on the other hand, he seems to have no upper limits, either. In his most impressive feat, he easily (if unintentionally) destroys an entire government facility by overloading the hydraulics.

* AdaptationNameChange: Sort-of. Bruce is still his middle name, but Banner goes by his first name, which was changed from "Robert" to "David".

* AllBikersAreHellsAngels: In "Long Run Home." subverted with Carl Rivers who though he was previously in a gang and has a criminal past is generally a decent guy.
* AllPartOfTheShow: In "My Favorite Magician", David assists an elderly magician. As part of a trick, he is handcuffed in a glass box full of water, placed behind a screen. The handcuffs' key is supposed to be in the box's false bottom, but the magician ''forgot to place it there''. Not finding the key and unable to hold his breath for much longer, David hulks out, breaking out of the box and bringing the screen down. The audience feels baffled for a moment, then applauds. A short while later, a middle-aged couple finds the Hulk outside the theater... [[RunningGag and compliments his performance]]. When he reacts awkwardly to the camera's flash (yes, they wanted pictures of him), they simply regard it as "show folk" being eccentric.
** He is applauded again after the second hulkout of "King of the Beach". It's even more justified than the previous example, as he appears on the stage of the [[TitleDrop titular bodybuilding contest]], an event in which the audience ''expects'' to see muscular men. It also happens that he has the same muscular build of one of the contestants [[spoiler: and the contest's winner]], Carl Molino, [[ActingForTwo also played by]] Lou Ferrigno.

* BuryingASubstitute: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]] in the pilot, when we see David Banner's already filled in gravesite as they bury his colleague/love interest. After everyone leaves David comes out of hiding and spends some time contemplating his gravestone. (This last part is seen during the opening, as well.)

* ClipShow
** "The Mystery Man Pts. 1 and 2". Though there is some fairly significant plot development: [[spoiler:[=McGee=] learns that the Hulk transforms into a normal man (though one whose identity he doesn't yet know)]].

** There is also "Interview with the Hulk" in which a rival reporter steals a lead from Jack [=McGee=] and corners David Banner into giving him an interview. As such, Banner discusses various incidents involving his Hulk condition and wins over the reporter that he helps Banner escape when [=McGee=] tracks him down.

** You can count on one hand the amount of times most people use the name "the Hulk". Almost literally. Almost everyone, including David, calls it some variation of "the creature" (or "that green thing"). Jack [=McGee=] is the only one who calls it "the Hulk" regularly (since he created the name for his newspaper), but even he calls it "the creature" from time to time.
** In the episode "The First", the other Hulk is explicitly credited as "[[spoiler:Frye's]] Creature" rather than any variation of "Hulk".
* ConvenientlyInterruptedDocument: In "The First", David finds a multi-volume diary detailing the process by which a scientist actually turned someone else into a Hulk-like creature, and cured it... but the volume with the actual process is missing. [[spoiler:The scientist's groundskeeper - who was the person who had been turned into the Creature - had hidden it.]]
* CreatorCameo: Creator/JackKirby appears as a police sketch artist in the episode "No Escape". He is sketching a witness's description of the Hulk. Quite expectedly, the sketch resembles his own comics style of the character rather than Creator/LouFerrigno. Creator/StanLee would make the first of his continuing cameo appearances in ''The Trial Of The Incredible Hulk.''

* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler:Renee in "Haunted", whose twin sister drowned when they were children; she pretended to be the dead sister because everyone liked her more. However, the mental trauma she sustained caused it to become an EvilSplitPersonality, making for one of the most shocking plot twists in the series when the facade is revealed.]]

* EndingTheme / SolemnEndingTheme: "The Lonely Man", perhaps the only one that is more famous than the opening theme.
* EvilCounterpart: "The First", [[spoiler: a Hulk-like creature created in a similar experiment 30 years before David Banner's. Unlike Banner, the other man was selfish, paranoid, and a murderer even before his transformation, traits that were only exacerbated after he transformed.]]
* ExtraStrengthMasquerade: The Hulk is treated as an urban myth for far longer that should be considered possible considering he has been seen by large crowds in public quite a few times. He appeared at a rodeo, at a professional football game, in televised boxing and wrestling matches, and even running down the street in broad daylight. His existence was acknowledged by police in many cities, and there were clear pictures of him published in various big-city newspapers (not just the tabloid [=McGee=] worked for). Yet somehow, the next town over, nobody had ever heard of this green creature before.

* FakingTheDead: Read the opening line.

* GrandFinale: "The Death of the Incredible Hulk", the last of the TV series movies, sees Banner's long search to escape his Hulk metamorphosis come to an end. [[spoiler:Though with a title like that, it's not hard to guess what happens to him in the end...]]
* HandicappedBadass: Li Sung of "Another Path" and "The Disciple". He's old and blind, but a very skilled martial artist, easily defeating the villain of his first episode alone, along with many of his mooks. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxZionzIYpU Even the Hulk was just cleaning up after him rather than defusing the threat himself.]]

** In "The Harder They Fall", where Banner was paralyzed and later transforms, the Hulk initially flops around and pounds his numb legs, but after a few seconds he's capable of at least standing and hobbling along. When he changes back, David is able to trade his wheelchair for leg braces and crutches. Later, a second transformation fully restores his ability to walk.

** Another example: in "Two Godmothers", David's right hand is completely crushed by a boulder, triggering his first transformation, and his hand is still broken after he transforms and reverts. It's not until the second transformation that it's fully healed.

[[caption-width-right:350:"''Within each of us, offtimes, there dwells a mighty and raging fury''"]]

* EyeAwaken: As in the Hulk is waking up. Whenever David crossed the threshold for the Hulk to manifest, he would close or cover his eyes for a moment, and when they were shown again, the irises would have changed from brown to pale, bright green as the transformation sound/music started. This particular Eye Take became so iconic that the 2008 theatrical movie used it as well.