The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk was an American television series loosely based on the comic book character of the same name. The show ran on CBS from 1977 to 1982, and starred Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk.

David Banner is a geneticist who has been traumatized by the loss of his wife in a fatal car accident, and his guilt over his inability to save her from the burning wreckage. He begins to conduct research into strange phenomena in which human beings temporarily display superhuman levels of strength, trying to understand why others faced with a similar traumatic experience to his own were able to save themselves or their loved ones while under abnormally high emotional distress, whereas he was not. He concludes that high levels of gamma radiation from sunspots are the cause, and to prove the theory, he bombards his body with gamma radiation to see if he can endow himself with superhuman strength.

Unbeknownst to him, however, the equipment has been upgraded, causing him to administer a far higher dose than he'd intended. He initially thinks that the experiment has failed, but later that evening he experiences a flat tire during a rainstorm and injures himself with a lug wrench while trying to change it. The resulting pain and anger trigger his first transformation (which begins with Banner's eyes turning a whitish-green color) into the Hulk. He proceeds to destroy his car. While trying to reverse the process, the interferences of a nosy reporter named Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) result in the destruction of the research laboratory and the death of a fellow scientist. Banner, now presumed dead, is forced to go on the run while trying to find a "cure" for his condition. In a manner similar to the popular series The Fugitive, this forms the basis of the TV series, as Banner endlessly drifts from place to place assuming different identities, while at the same time involuntarily using the powers of the Hulk to deal with the problems of the people that he encounters.