Homecoming
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Episode
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8 of season 3
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Director
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John McPherson
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Writer
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Andrew Schneider
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Original airdate
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November 30, 1979
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Alias
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David Braynard (in the beginning)
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Location
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Colorado
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Preceded by
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Followed by
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Homecoming is episode forty-two of the live-action TV series The Incredible Hulk. It originally aired on November 30, 1979, on CBS.
Synopsis[]
On Thanksgiving, David returns to his home in Colorado where he reunites with his sister and estranged father. There, he must resolve past conflicts with his father while working to save his family's farm from a devastating plague and an unscrupulous developer.
Cast[]
- Bill Bixby as David Banner
- Jack Colvin as Jack McGee
- Lou Ferrigno as The Hulk
- John Marley as D.W. Banner
- Regis Cordic as Dean Eckart
- Claire Malis as Elizabeth Banner
- Steve Burns as Teenage David
- Diana Muldaur as Dr. Helen Banner
- Reed Diamond as Young David
- Drew Snyder as Croft
- Guy Boyd as Steve Howston
- Barbara Lynn Block as Newscaster
- Richard Armstrong as Entomologist
- Julianna Tutak as Young Helen
Highlights[]
Two very powerful scenes:
- The emotional anguish David experiences as D.W. sternly, almost cruelly (though we know from the look of anguish in his own eyes that D.W. is not being cruel but actually is looking out for the best interests of his son, whom he understands so much better at last) yells in the face of the Hulk for him to leave—David is a man who has experienced a great deal of loss in his life, and you can tell in the face of the creature that David wants nothing more than to stay and be a part of his family again (a terrific piece of acting on Ferrigno's part, who probably cherished these moments in the scripts to be able to bring depth to the creature and to remind the viewer that the Hulk was simply the outward, rampaging expression of a deep-feeling, deeply-flawed, yet wonderful man).
- The depth of communication that occurs between David and D.W.—wordlessly (supreme acting on the part of Bix and John Marley)—as they say goodbye outside the back door while we hear the banal banter between McGee and Helen in the background. This follows the scene where the Hulk is crying in front of D.W.
Hulk-outs:
- Dreaming about his mom (nightmare)
- Chasing after a bi-plane, grabbing the edge of the cockpit while it takes off, then hulking out under the stress
Trivia[]
- The episode was originally going to be a two-hour episode but was rewritten as a regular one-hour episode.
- The introduction of D.W. Banner in this episode predates the introduction of Brian Banner in the Marvel Comics by about two years. The theme of David's anger based on his strained relationship with his father would also be used as the basis for Bruce's strained relationship with his father. Although, in the comics, Brian was established to be far more abusive and malevolent than D.W. as he abused his wife as well as his son. Brian Banner was created by Bill Mantlo.
- Possible continuity goof: The events depicted in this episode contradict something David says in the pilot: David tells Elaina, "My mother always did like you." Elaina replied, "And I always liked her." Since Elizabeth died when David was 8 or 9 years old (it's difficult to pinpoint his exact age), Elaina could never have met David's mother. There is also no evidence that D.W. ever remarried, so it's unlikely David means his stepmother (also, it's evident that David's estrangement from his father has persisted for David's entire adulthood, so it's unlikely, even if D.W. had remarried at some point, David would be introducing Elaina to his stepmother).
- Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood visited the set of this episode to show his viewers how the series was made and the transformations that Lou Ferrigno goes through to portray the Hulk.
- During the making of this episode, Stan Lee overheard one of the producers discussing the vague idea of Diana Muldaur spinning off into a series where she would turn into a female version of the Hulk (much in the same way that the Bionic Woman was a counterpart to The Six Million Dollar Man). Hearing this, Lee immediately called the Marvel Comics offices and arranged for the very hasty creation of the She-Hulk. He knew that if the show introduced the concept of a female Hulk first, then Marvel would not fully own the character.