The Incredible Hulk
A Rock and a Hard Place
TV Flash files “A Rock and a Hard Place” as hour 53 of 82 in the TV Flash guide — The Incredible Hulk (1977–1982) on CBS, season 3, episode 19, aired 1980-02-29, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E19: listed hour 53 of 82 in the The Incredible Hulk guide, hour 19 of 23 in season 3. It aired 1980-02-29 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Psychic” (S03E18). Next is “Deathmask” (S03E20).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Caught between the FBI and a lethal gang in Atlantic City, handyman David 'Braynard' must play the part of both criminal and informant in order to survive.
Viewer FAQ
Where does A Rock and a Hard Place sit in the The Incredible Hulk guide?
S03E19 is listed hour 53 of 82 — hour 19 of 23 in season 3, season 3 episode 19.
When did The Incredible Hulk S03E19 air?
A Rock and a Hard Place aired 1980-02-29 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…