October 2, 2009

HULKenstein: Part 1


there are many frankenstein moments/homages through out the INCREDIBLE HULK tv series. since it's october, and soon to be halloween [and halloween means monsters], i thought i'd highlight a few of my favorites. today will be the first of several monster mash worthy HULK posts to be continued through out the month.

the early james whale films, frankenstein + bride of frankenstein, seem to have been a huge influence on kenneth johnson's series in the beginning. the misunderstood monster misunderstanding the world he's been newly born into is a major theme for both the frankenstein films + the HULK television episodes. below are a collection of stills from the television pilot, released in november 1977.

the scene takes place after bix's first HULK-out. while wondering through the forest all confused + disoriented, HULK comes across a little girl fishing by the lake. in the HULK pilot, the specifics of the scene [as well as the final outcome] are different from james whale's monster meets girl scene in frankenstein... but it speaks to the same effect. it's hard to be a misunderstood monster. i've paired a few HULK vs. frankenstein images for comparison.





girl spots monster.


monster meets girl.


girl falls in water.


monster in distress.



monster tries to save girl.



clearly this nameless girl dosen't drown like the unfortunate maria of whale's film. in fact, if this fisher-girl was even half as nice as maria was to the monster, she'd still be bone dry with a new eight foot green friend to boot. unlike the frankenstein monster, HULK never kills [not even grizzly bears], cause david banner is no killer, and the HULK is david banner. this character point is maintained and explored through the entire series. but in many ways johnson's HULK is quite similar to whale's monster. both creatures have good intentions, just give them half a chance + don't make them angry. unfortunately for HULK this scene is far from over. cause the little girl's dad shows up with a shot gun + all hell breaks loose... and i'll leave it at that, for now.

be sure to check back next friday for another HULKenstein installment.
for just about anything + everything you'd like to know about frankenstein be sure to visit frankensteinia.

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