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grrgoylFew television shows influenced me more as a young tomboy than The Incredible Hulk. I tried the shows I think were SUPPOSED to influence me, Wonder Woman, Charlie's Angels, The Bionic Woman (but I always secretly preferred The Six Million Dollar Man), but none of these quite enthralled me as much as the adventures of Dr. David Banner and his cranky alter-ego.
I only mention this because the Sci-Fi Channel has started playing reruns of the show, and this little tomboy feels like she has died and gone to heaven.
The irony is I never was (and still am not) into big, beefcakey, pumped-up guys...unless they happen to be green, apparently. Maybe that is what I loved about the show. I had a small crush on gentle, wimpy David, but I also loved that he could kick some serious ass when he needed to as The Hulk. Oh, how I looked forward to it every week, the inevitable moment when the villain of the week (or their henchmen) would tangle with mild-mannered David B. He would get tossed around a bit or get hit with a bundt cake pan (with sometimes painful overacting on Mr. Bixby's part, but I still loved it) and then it would start....first his eyes would turn Marilyn-Manson blue (I always preferred when the "transformation music" started at the precise moment he opened those eerie-looking eyes). Next just a flash of a green, bulging muscle tearing out of some seams. (oh, yeah, baby, give it to me...) Then the feral growling. (Boy those guys are gonna get it.....) Then the payoff...the creature rises up in all his glorious green howling rage!!!!!!!!
Even as a kid I was bothered by the flawed logic....if The Hulk is the physical embodiment of pure, unadulterated, unfettered, primeval rage (that presumably lives in all of us), why is it that he only takes out this anger on the bad guys and knows to leave the good guys alone (or in some lucky cases, carry them off with him)? I also had to explain to Tery that The Hulk never kills anyone, at least not that I remembered. Some may argue that there is a small part of David Banner in The Hulk that still knows right from wrong, but I was under the impression David blacked out when The Hulk took over. I never let this line of questioning interfere with my enjoyment of the show though, not in the least. I even loved watching the creature slowly lose steam, fleeing the scene of his wanton destruction in slo-mo with slabs of pecs rippling across his chest.
Watching the show in the 21st century, it does seem a little dated, and I doubt it would hold the attention of the MTV Generation with its use of long, drawn-out panning shots and close-ups and agonizingly slow plot buildup. But I just revel in it. It is all just foreplay leading up to the scenes with the creature and that wonderful, cathartic, orgasmic release of fury.
When I was a little girl my sister and I were picked on by this fat, ugly bully, Chuckie Smith. Like most bullies, he didn't need a good reason to harass us. In our case (I think) it was because we were Polish, which seemed like a pretty flimsy excuse then and now. He really only resorted to psychological abuse, name-calling, etc. but I hated him nevertheless. I would fantasize that I could become The Hulk and imagine the look on his face as I lifted him above my head with one arm, either hanging him from the flagpole in front of the school or simply tossing him 30 feet into the bushes like a rag doll. But instead of such dramatics, we resolved the problem the way all kids do....we grew up and learned to ignore him and he eventually got bored and moved on to someone else.
Years later in college, while dating what would turn out to be my last boyfriend, I was talking to a co-worker who told me he had seen my boyfriend out at a bar the night before (after he had cancelled a date with me to supposedly finish a paper). My co-worker flattered me more than he knew when he said the look on my face when I heard this news made him think I was going to turn into The Hulk. The way I felt at that moment I probably could have. But instead of such dramatics, I handled it the way all women do.....I dumped his sorry ass and turned to a life of lesbianism (what? That ISN'T what all women do? Well, it's what they SHOULD do.....)
I have not yet seen the theatrical version of The Hulk, though I probably will some day. I just think the CGI monster in the trailers looks downright silly compared to what was accomplished with an ex-Mr. Universe, some green body paint, funky contact lens and a (granted very unfortunate) wig. Bill Bixby sadly is dead, Lou Ferrigno is no doubt retired somewhere, but these two will always be the true Incredible Hulk to me.
-=Lainey=-
I only mention this because the Sci-Fi Channel has started playing reruns of the show, and this little tomboy feels like she has died and gone to heaven.
The irony is I never was (and still am not) into big, beefcakey, pumped-up guys...unless they happen to be green, apparently. Maybe that is what I loved about the show. I had a small crush on gentle, wimpy David, but I also loved that he could kick some serious ass when he needed to as The Hulk. Oh, how I looked forward to it every week, the inevitable moment when the villain of the week (or their henchmen) would tangle with mild-mannered David B. He would get tossed around a bit or get hit with a bundt cake pan (with sometimes painful overacting on Mr. Bixby's part, but I still loved it) and then it would start....first his eyes would turn Marilyn-Manson blue (I always preferred when the "transformation music" started at the precise moment he opened those eerie-looking eyes). Next just a flash of a green, bulging muscle tearing out of some seams. (oh, yeah, baby, give it to me...) Then the feral growling. (Boy those guys are gonna get it.....) Then the payoff...the creature rises up in all his glorious green howling rage!!!!!!!!
Even as a kid I was bothered by the flawed logic....if The Hulk is the physical embodiment of pure, unadulterated, unfettered, primeval rage (that presumably lives in all of us), why is it that he only takes out this anger on the bad guys and knows to leave the good guys alone (or in some lucky cases, carry them off with him)? I also had to explain to Tery that The Hulk never kills anyone, at least not that I remembered. Some may argue that there is a small part of David Banner in The Hulk that still knows right from wrong, but I was under the impression David blacked out when The Hulk took over. I never let this line of questioning interfere with my enjoyment of the show though, not in the least. I even loved watching the creature slowly lose steam, fleeing the scene of his wanton destruction in slo-mo with slabs of pecs rippling across his chest.
Watching the show in the 21st century, it does seem a little dated, and I doubt it would hold the attention of the MTV Generation with its use of long, drawn-out panning shots and close-ups and agonizingly slow plot buildup. But I just revel in it. It is all just foreplay leading up to the scenes with the creature and that wonderful, cathartic, orgasmic release of fury.
When I was a little girl my sister and I were picked on by this fat, ugly bully, Chuckie Smith. Like most bullies, he didn't need a good reason to harass us. In our case (I think) it was because we were Polish, which seemed like a pretty flimsy excuse then and now. He really only resorted to psychological abuse, name-calling, etc. but I hated him nevertheless. I would fantasize that I could become The Hulk and imagine the look on his face as I lifted him above my head with one arm, either hanging him from the flagpole in front of the school or simply tossing him 30 feet into the bushes like a rag doll. But instead of such dramatics, we resolved the problem the way all kids do....we grew up and learned to ignore him and he eventually got bored and moved on to someone else.
Years later in college, while dating what would turn out to be my last boyfriend, I was talking to a co-worker who told me he had seen my boyfriend out at a bar the night before (after he had cancelled a date with me to supposedly finish a paper). My co-worker flattered me more than he knew when he said the look on my face when I heard this news made him think I was going to turn into The Hulk. The way I felt at that moment I probably could have. But instead of such dramatics, I handled it the way all women do.....I dumped his sorry ass and turned to a life of lesbianism (what? That ISN'T what all women do? Well, it's what they SHOULD do.....)
I have not yet seen the theatrical version of The Hulk, though I probably will some day. I just think the CGI monster in the trailers looks downright silly compared to what was accomplished with an ex-Mr. Universe, some green body paint, funky contact lens and a (granted very unfortunate) wig. Bill Bixby sadly is dead, Lou Ferrigno is no doubt retired somewhere, but these two will always be the true Incredible Hulk to me.
-=Lainey=-
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totally unrelated
Date: 2003-08-26 03:23 am (UTC)