THE INCREDIBLE HULK (1977)

On this day in 1977, CBS aired Kenneth Johnson's first Incredible Hulk television movie, which led to a five year, 82 episode weekly series. My thirteen year-old mind was blown... and I've never been quite right since.

70's Sci-Fi Topps Trading Card Flyers

I collected a lot of Topps bubblegum cards back in the 1970's. I had tons of Star Wars cards (blue, red, yellow and green series) almost all of the Galactica cards (and still have most of them), and a small stack of Buck Rogers cards. I didn't collect the Superman or Hulk cards, but I seem to remember buying some Star Trek - TMP sets.

Anyway, here, courtesy of Star Kid (and Dark Shadows aficionado) Cousin Barnabas (of the Collinsport Historical Society), are a selection of colorful promotional flyers produced by Topps to interest retailers in carrying their various Space: 1970-era photo cards. Enjoy!

PIZZAZZ Magazine Cover Gallery

I have never actually read an issue of Marvel Comics' 70s-80s tween/teen magazine, Pizzazz, but I wouldn't mind getting a look at the mag's exclusive serialized Star Wars comic, which was mixed into the usual assortment of puzzles, pop culture articles, bubble gum pop star coverage (Shaun Cassidy!), short stories and games.

Of course, being of the Space: 1970 era, it covered (and cover-featured) plenty of genre stuff, including two properties that Marvel Comics was then publishing in four-color form: Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica - and lots of Marvel superheroes. Here's a small sampling:

THE INCREDIBLE HULK (1978) TV Guide Cover

I might as well go on record here: The Incredible Hulk is my favorite of the comic-based television series/specials of the 1970s. Oh, I loved Wonder Woman, Isis, and Shazam!, and even the Spider-Man and Captain America shows, but The Incredible Hulk was (in my opinion) the best of them all.

As developed by Kenneth Johnson (one of the more genre-savvy producers of the era), Hulk was a science fiction show first, with storylines designed to appeal to both adolescent and adult audiences. The format was borrowed from The Fugitive (and a few dozen other shows), but the characterization and pseudo-science of Banner's transformation gave the show a distinct identity, and it ended up running longer than any of the other "superhero" shows, garnering strong ratings for much of its run.

Veteran television actor Bill Bixby was a compelling, sympathetic lead, bringing remarkable humanity to his role and always taking it seriously... without ever being grim. Lou Ferrigno's Hulk was a monster in the vein of the Universal Monster films of the 30s and 40s, a misunderstood and persecuted brute that, even through the rage, retained a spark of humanity and compassion.

Comic book purists may bitch and complain about the Hulk's scaled down strength, or the changing of Banner's first name, but frankly, that's all irrelevant bullshit. Comic book fans - moreso than most - should understand and forgive different interpretations of their favorite characters, and if they can't, they should rationalize and accept that the TV Hulk simply existed in a parallel universe from his four color cousin.

The changes wrought on The Incredible Hulk to make it sustainable as a prime time 70s television series were all sound and well-considered, and I believe resulted in a genuinely "classic" TV series.

Friday Night is Super Hero Night on CBS!

Ah, Friday nights on CBS in 1978 were fantastic fun for Star Kids, with back-to-back episodes of The New Adventures Of Wonder Woman, starring the stunning Lynda Carter, and The Incredible Hulk, with Bill Bixby and the titanic Lou Ferrigno! Two hours of prime time, live action comic book hero adventure.... and, apparently, lots of "evil scientists!" Those were the days, indeed!

Mr. Rogers Meets THE INCREDIBLE HULK (1978)

Children's television host/personality Fred Rogers (and Mr. McFeely!) of the long-running PBS series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, visits the set of CBS' popular The Incredible Hulk series in these vintage clips, probably from 1979/80. Both stars Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno (in full Hulk mode) take time to discuss Hollywood "make believe" with the soft-spoken, sweater-clad visitor. Together, they run just under twenty minutes (although there's some overlap).

I had several people (including my wife) forward these to me in the last day or so - I'm guessing some blog much more popular than this one must have showcased these vids recently....

The Envelope, Please....

And... the results of our most recent Space: 1970 Reader's Poll are in!

A week or so ago, I posed the musical question: "Which 70's LIVE ACTION Super-hero Show Or TV Movie Was YOUR Favorite?" For the purposes of this poll, I excluded "on the cusp" characters like bionic Steve Austin & Jaime Sommers and Atlantean Mark Harris, and chose to limit the choices to a.) characters directly derived from super-hero comic books (including the non-costumed Hulk), and b.) characters that had distinct super-hero identities/costumes (i.e. Isis, Electra Woman).

With an astounding 291 votes cast, the winner is: The Incredible Hulk, with an even One Hundred votes! I voted for The Hulk, myself; not only was it a terrifically fun show, the Bill Bixby-Lou Ferrigno series was one of the most successful genre shows of the decade.

In the early days of balloting, the Green Goliath was running neck-and-neck with second-place winner, The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, starring the eternally-beautiful Lynda Carter. WW ultimately ended up with a very respectable 74 votes. In fact, for the first half of the week, the two CBS shows were never separated by more than a single vote. But sometime around last Thursday, the Hulk received a boost of Gamma radiation, I guess, and surged ahead to victory.

Tying for third place were the Saturday morning classic, Shazam! and prime-time's The Amazing Spider-Man, with 23 votes apiece. To my delight, every nominated show garnered at least a couple of votes, even that goofy Hanna-Barbara Legend Of The Super-Heroes! I was genuinely surprised to find Isis so low in the tabulations - even Electra Woman & Dyna Girl beat the Egyptian goddess by a single vote!

Thanks to everyone who participated! Keep visiting the site - you never know when I might post another Space: 1970 Poll!

SFTV Color Poster Books

Remember these? Poster magazines were another distinctly 70s piece of memorabilia. These were basically one huge sheet of paper, one side of which was a giant poster, while on the other side, articles and photographs were printed. Then, the whole thing was folded up into 8 1/2" x 11" magazine size. These magazines were cool and all, but once you tacked it up on your wall, it was a bit difficult to go back and re-read the articles.

I had several issues of the Star Trek Poster Magazine that was published in the 70s, and also a couple of the movie/TV tie-in poster mags (Salvage 1, Moonraker and CE3K) that were published during the Space: 1970 era. I also had this one, the SFTV Color Poster Book, published by the Starlog Group. As far as I know, only this one issue appeared. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have it any longer....

ADDENDUM: Apparently these kinds of mags were published well into the 80s - my wife just showed me a few celebrity-type poster mags that she bought in the 80s. One of them was also from Starlog Press, so I guess they just kept cranking them out....

ADDENDUM 2: It turns out that there were, indeed, at least two issues of this poster mag. Courtesy of Space: 1970 Facebook Fan Scott Weller, here's the cover to the second issue of the SFTV Poster Book:

Cool! Thanks, Scott!