The Incredible Hulk
The Phenom
TV Flash files “The Phenom” as the first listed hour of season 5 — The Incredible Hulk (1977–1982) on CBS, season 5, episode 1, aired 1981-10-02, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E01: listed hour 76 of 82 in the The Incredible Hulk guide, first listed hour of season 5. It aired 1981-10-02 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Patterns” (S04E18). Next is “Two Godmothers” (S05E02).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
David 'Bedecker' catches a ride to Florida with a promising young baseball pitcher, but it will take the strength of the Hulk to protect the young man from the dangers of an unscrupulous agent.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Phenom sit in the The Incredible Hulk guide?
S05E01 is listed hour 76 of 82 — first listed hour of season 5, season 5 episode 1.
When did The Incredible Hulk S05E01 air?
The Phenom aired 1981-10-02 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…