Show creator Kenneth Johnson saw something in the Hulk that could work as a serious television drama. He took what worked from the comic and discarded what wouldn't work on TV. He treated it as Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde meets Les Misérables, choosing to focus on the tragedy of Banner's curse as the Hulk. Johnson threw in a murder mystery that would give us the ever persistent, Jack McGee.

Johnson also wanted to cast credible actors and managed to convince the likes of Bill Bixby and Jack Colvin to the project. Everyone followed Johnson's lead to make the Hulk a show that could be enjoyed by both adults and children.

14. First Marvel TV Show To Be A Hit

Not only was The Incredible Hulk Marvel's first show to be a hit, it remained its only live-action hit until Blade was a moderate success in 1998. X-Men really opened the flood gates after that.

We're talking about a show that debut in 1977 and ended in 1982. It's a staggering, and somewhat sad statistic, in part because Marvel seemed incapable of releasing anything good for 15 years. This is a perfect example of how hard it was to get the right components together to make a quality superhero show or movie. Not only were fans of the comics watching The Incredible Hulk, it attracted plenty of new fans as well.

The Incredible Hulk was a ratings hit and would go on to be ed as one of the best TV shows to come out of the seventies/early eighties.

13. The Pilot Episode

This is the episode that has all the essential elements of the series in it. It even features the best Hulk-out ever (slang for when the Hulk transforms).

We meet Dr. David Banner shortly after the death of his wife in a car accident. Banner blames himself for not having the strength to pull his wife out of the burning car where she died. Banner becomes obsessed in finding a way to tap into the hidden strength that all humans are capable of during extreme situations. His research with his colleague, Dr. Elena Marks, leads him to the conclusion that high levels of radiation are the key. He decides to test on himself and accidentally isters 1.7 million units instead of 300,000 units of radiation. Thus, the Hulk is born.

The episode only gets better from there. We learn what really happened to Elena Marks and we meet Jack McGee for the first time.

12. It Successfully Added To The Mythology Of The Character

The show made several changes from the comics, the most notable being changing Bruce Banner's first name to David. There's some speculation as to the real reason why the name was changed but it remains unclear.

One of the changes that worked best was the green eyes Banner would get just before transforming into the Hulk. Johnson always said that he did that so that fans would recognize that moment as the point of no return for Banner. Once you saw those eyes, you knew that it was about to get real. Many comics, and even the 2008 movie The Incredible Hulk have used the green eyes since.

Another definite positive was the addition of investigative reporter Jack McGee. Fans couldn't get enough of McGee and his unending quest to capture the Hulk. It's a shame that the series never gave McGee a conclusion to his story.

11. "Mystery Man" Part 1 & 2

You can't talk about Jack McGee and David Banner without mentioning the terrific two-part episode "Mystery Man". It's an extremely well-written episode that gave fans an opportunity to watch McGee and Banner to interact. Any episodes before or after only had the characters interact incidentally.

In "Mystery Man", Banner survives a car accident that leaves him with amnesia, and burns that require his face to be covered in bandages. McGee manages to track him down in the hospital, suspecting that Banner could hold the key to the Hulk. At this point, McGee is still unaware that a man physically transforms into the creature. Banner doesn't anything but he does find McGee familiar, and agrees to go back with him to the city to see if together, they can jog his memory.

Things get very interesting when the two are forced to fend for themselves after their plane crashes in the middle of a large forest. Throughout the episodes the two men come to understand each other and we learn why McGee is so obsessed with the Hulk. This is a wonderfully written and acted episode that showcases the best The Incredible Hulk can offer.

10. First Marvel Show To Win An Emmy

The Emmys have often overlooked comic book shows, even to this day. It only goes to show you how respected The Incredible Hulk was that it was even nominated for an Emmy award. The fact that Mariette Hartley won for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series was a shock to everyone except the creators of the show. Johnson pitched the script to Mariette Hartley and told her "this is your Emmy." She played Dr. Caroline Fields in the episode "Married", which we'll talk more about later.

The Incredible Hulk also managed to get two more nominations through the course of the series, for Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) and Outstanding Cinematography for a Series. Jessica Jones would finally give Marvel TV another Emmy, this time for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

9. "Married"

Season two of The Incredible Hulk kicked things off with one of the finest episodes of the series. The aforementioned "Married" received critical acclaim as we know but it gave Banner something he didn't have; a chance for happiness.

In the episode, Banner heads to Honolulu to find renowned hypnotherapist/psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Fields. Banner hopes to use Dr. Fields' methods in order to help control the Hulk. Dr. Fields suffers from a deadly disease herself and realizes that the Hulk's unique healing factor can perhaps help cure her. They decide to help each other and through the course of the episode fall in love. They go so far as to marry each other, making Caroline Fields the first woman David Banner marries after the death of his first wife.

As is often the case in the life of David Banner, things end in tragedy, but the journey is well worth it. As fleeting as it may have been, it was nice to see David Banner truly happy for a change.

8. The first ever Stan Lee Cameo

The cameos that Stan Lee makes in all the Marvel movies are a staple at this point. Many fans have come to love and expect them. Funnily enough, Stan Lee's first cameo was actually in the TV movie Trial Of The Incredible Hulk, which starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno.

Bixby ended up taking the director's chair, as well as starring in it. Stan Lee's cameo takes place during the "trial" (dream sequence trial), and he plays the part of a juror. During the climax of the scene, Banner transforms into the Hulk and picks up the jury box and tosses it, and everyone in it, aside. Of course, Lee needed a stunt double for that.

Stan Lee's first cameo may have ended up being the shortest he's ever done. Interestingly enough, iconic creator/artist Jack Kirby had a cameo himself in the episode "No Escape".

7. The Only Superhero Show to Have 3 TV Movies

The Incredible Hulk ended with its fifth season in 1982 but, remained popular enough to warrant three made for TV movies; Return Of The Incredible Hulk (1988), Trial Of The Incredible Hulk (1989), and Death Of The The Incredible Hulk (1990). Many fans lament that David Banner/the Hulk, never got to end their story on the show. Instead, they got their conclusion in the last of the three TV movies.

The Hulk movies got made thanks to NBC. They nabbed the rights from CBS. The movies vary in quality compared to the show. The show had the same cast but attempted to add more supernatural elements than its predecessor. Bixby and Ferrigno were as strong as usual and the first two movies were a ratings smash. The third and final movie suffered from a dip in viewers but nothing lasts forever.

6. " Prometheus" Part 1 & 2

The episode "Prometheus" is the episode closest to a comic book type story. It presented an intriguing premise that was executed very well. This episode almost always shows up on any fan's list of the best episodes of the series.

In the episode, David befriends a blind woman named Katie, after saving her life. In another location, scientists monitor a large meteor that seems to be headed right toward the area where David and Katie are.

Eventually the meteor crashes, and leaves David and Katie shaken but unharmed. But the high levels of radiation coming from the meteor begin to affect David, and after transforming into the Hulk, he doesn't revert back to human form. Instead, he's in a perpetual half-Hulk like state.

The government send a team to investigate the crash site and they end up capturing the Hulk, thinking he's an alien. The episode has plenty of interesting twists and turns and yet another memorable performance from Bill Bixby.