The Incredible Hulk
Proof Positive
TV Flash files “Proof Positive” as hour 47 of 82 in the TV Flash guide — The Incredible Hulk (1977–1982) on CBS, season 3, episode 13, aired 1980-01-11, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E13: listed hour 47 of 82 in the The Incredible Hulk guide, hour 13 of 23 in season 3. It aired 1980-01-11 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Broken Image” (S03E12). Next is “Sideshow” (S03E14).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
When the publisher of The National Register leaves the paper and puts his daughter in charge, Jack McGee is put in a tough spot: she wants to move the paper away from tabloid stories and into more respectable journalism, so no more stories about the Incredible Hulk. Refusing to take no for answer, he attempts to prove to her that the Hulk is real so he can continue with his investigation. Note: David is portrayed by a stunt double and Bill Bixby only appears in footage from previous episodes. Bixby was unavailable for the episode due to scheduling conflicts with court dates relating to his divorce.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Proof Positive sit in the The Incredible Hulk guide?
S03E13 is listed hour 47 of 82 — hour 13 of 23 in season 3, season 3 episode 13.
When did The Incredible Hulk S03E13 air?
Proof Positive aired 1980-01-11 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Why is he David Banner, not Bruce?
The CBS series used David in a looser comics adaptation. It is classic TV continuity, not later film continuity.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Bill Bixby's David Banner hunts a cure while Lou Ferrigno's Hulk does the misunderstood smash, then the credits send him hitchhiking again. CBS Marvel as tragic road drama: lonely piano, fugitive endings, no quip army. Don't make him angry — the walkaway still hits.
CBS dropped a Marvel property into the 1977 night and programmed it as tragic road drama, not a quip army. The Incredible Hulk (1977–1982) ran five seasons, 82 episodes, loosely adapted by Kenneth Johnson. Bill Bixby is the pathos; Lou Ferrigno is the muscle. The television version used David Banner rather than the later-common Bruce, leaned into fugitive drama, and often ended with Banner hitchhiking onward after the Hulk saved the day. Jack Colvin's Jack McGee pursued. Piano-sad theme replaced comic-book jokes.…
Filed against
- Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner
Bill Bixby’s Tim O’Hara hid a Martian in a 1960s catalog reporter household, then The Incredible Hulk recast the nice-guy face as David Banner’s tragic road. TV Flash files him as the straight man who learned how to hitchhike: antennae…
- Lou Ferrigno as The Hulk
Lou Ferrigno did the misunderstood smash as the Hulk on The Incredible Hulk — Bill Bixby’s David Banner hunting a cure, CBS Marvel as tragic road drama, lonely piano, hitchhiking credits, no quip army. Don’t make him angry. TV Flash files…
- Jack Colvin as Jack McGee
Jack Colvin’s Jack McGee chased the Hulk with a notebook and no sense of when to quit — tabloid hunger on a CBS road drama that preferred lonely piano to quips. Bill Bixby’s Banner runs; Lou Ferrigno smashes; McGee is the scoop that will…