By Geno McGahee
I’ve always thought that the Hulk needed to be left alone and that Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) needed to shut the fuck up and mind his own business, but I definitely felt for the reporter in the episode: PROOF POSITIVE. McGee is told to get off the story of the Hulk by the new publisher, Patricia Steinhauer (Caroline Smith), and to start covering real issues. “Hulk is fiction” she booms and then slams her file onto her desk. McGee kept his composure, but you could tell that he was ready to say “sit on it bitch.” He should have. He’s less of a man because he didn’t.
McGee goes to the roof of the newspaper building and it gives the impression that he’s going to jump and kill himself, which was enough to convince the new publisher to let him cover the hulk if he can prove it exists. The Hulk has crashed a boxing match, a rock concert and has been seen running through New York City. What did she need? Green junk flapping in her face?
Patricia continues to be a complete bitch and McGee has endless flashbacks to prior episodes. I think that Bill Bixby must have called in sick because they don’t use him at all in this episode. Even at the end, the transformation happens, it’s not Bixby. It’s some asshole hiding his face as he runs. Now either there are two Hulks or this episode fucked us.
McGee can’t get the Hulk off his mind. He keeps imagining what Hulk would do if he was in Patricia’s spot. She slams down a file, McGee imagines Hulk smashing the desk. She struggles to open a cabinet, he imagines the Hulk smashing the cabinet. Hulk smash. McGee can’t stop dreaming about the Hulk. He wakes up all hot and bothered after he dreams about the Hulk pushing his head down over and over again. Maybe Patricia is right. Maybe he’s too consumed with the Hulk. The next logical step for McGee was to have a wet dream and that would be inappropriate for an episode. That is not family friendly entertainment.
Flashback…another flashback, and more bitchy Patricia…that’s the episode. I kept waiting for David Banner to show up and say “stop talking shit about me,” but he never showed. Where the hell was Bixby? You can’t have a Hulk episode without Bixby, but they did it anyway. If he called in sick, you postpone. You don’t get some asshole to pretend to be him. I will say that McGee was great as usual, but this episode was lacking and could not be carried on the flashback McGee story alone.
Patricia agrees to go to a new sighting of a Hulk to see if there is any legitimacy to the claims, and she gets to see the green big fuck in person. She turns to McGee and says: “I believe you.” McGee stares her down, enjoying the moment where he was proven right, but when they return, Patricia learns that she is removed from the position and her dad is coming back to run the show. This opens up some romance between McGee and Patricia, which I thought was pretty screwed up. They fight the entire episode, hate each other, and now they are going to bump uglies? On top of that, McGee is old enough to be her grandfather. Also, I believe that McGee’s hulk obsession will enter the bedroom and he will paint her green to have sex with her and that just isn’t right. “You like getting smashed Hulk?” Keep it in your pants McGee.
PROOF POSITIVE is one of those flashback episodes that all shows do. It was watchable but not great and didn’t break any new ground. If you are a faithful Hulk fan, you may get bored re-watching everything that you have already seen with McGee’s narration. It’s just not the Hulk without Bixby. That’s my biggest point here. If you can’t live without Bixby, then avoid this episode. If you’re a Hulk TV show fan, you’ll get through this and forget about it shortly thereafter.
Rating: 5/10 – McGee, screw somebody your own age!
Reports were that Bixby was in the middle of a divorce predicament with his then wife Brenda Benet who would later appear in the season 3 episode THE PSYCHIC. CBS, which was never crazy about the show (despite impressive ratings) asked the producers to come up with a flashback episode without Bixby or (in hearsay form) go through a short hiatus. I actually enjoyed this episode in spite of Bixby’s non-presence. Frank Orsatti, who directed a few episodes of the show and a stuntman, played David in this episode. And the still shot Hulkout came from the season 3 episode THE SNARE which was directed by Orsatti.
Thanks Abel!!! I did not know that. It now makes sense! I appreciate the info
I think this is a really good episode because for once, you get into the mind of Jack McGee and his obcession with the hulk, also that Patricia Steinhauer is one hot woman, damn! I don’t blame Mr McGee, I would totally screw her, I mean don’t get me wrong she is a bitch but she’s really attractive and hot.
You’re right. She is hot!