In the series, Dr. David Banner, a widowed physician and scientist who is presumed dead, travels across the United States under assumed names and finds himself in positions where he helps others in need despite his terrible secret: Following an accident that altered his cells, in times of extreme anger or stress, he transforms into a huge, savage, incredibly strong green-skinned humanoid, who has been named the Hulk.

In his travels, Banner earns money by working temporary jobs while searching for a way to either control or cure his condition.

All the while, he is obsessively pursued by a tabloid newspaper reporter, Jack McGee, who is convinced that the Hulk is a deadly menace whose exposure would enhance his career.

[1] David Banner, M.D., is a physician and scientist employed at California's Culver Institute, who is traumatized by the car accident that killed his beloved wife, Laura.

Haunted by his inability to save her, Banner and his research partner, Dr. Elaina Marks, study people who were able to summon superhuman strength during moments of extreme stress.

Obsessed with discovering why he was unable to exhibit such super-strength under similar conditions, Banner hypothesizes that high levels of gamma radiation from sunspots contributed to the subjects' increase in strength.

Impatient to test his theory, Banner conducts an unsupervised experiment in the laboratory, bombarding himself with gamma radiation.

He initially thinks that the experiment has failed, but, when he injures himself while changing a flat tire, Banner's anger triggers his transformation into a 7-foot-1-inch-tall (2.16 m), 330-pound (150 kg) green skinned, superhumanly strong creature who is driven by rage, and has only a primitive intelligence.

Mistakenly believing that Banner was killed in the fire along with Marks and that the creature was responsible for their deaths, McGee publishes a story naming the "Incredible Hulk" as their killer and urges law enforcement to capture him.

Inevitably, doing so puts him in perilous situations that trigger his transformations into the Hulk, which in turn attracts the attention of McGee, who is obsessively pursuing the mysterious creature across the country, both to prevent further violence and to bring legitimacy to his story.

Each episode inevitably ends with Banner back on the road, fearful that the Hulk's appearances will bring unwanted scrutiny from the authorities and the ever-persistent McGee.

The opening narration is provided by Ted Cassidy: Dr. David Banner—physician, scientist—searching for a way to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have.

And he must let the world think that he is dead until he can find a way to control the raging spirit that dwells within him.Prior to the beginning of the series, a different version (also provided by Cassidy) was used for the second pilot movie, The Return of the Incredible Hulk (later re-titled "Death in the Family"): Dr. David Banner—physician, scientist—searching for a way to tap into the hidden strengths that all humans have.

[4] Johnson turned down the offer at first, but then, while reading the Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables, he became inspired and decided to add elements from the novel, Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the idea of Greek tragic hubris, and then began working to develop the Hulk comic into a TV show.

It is visible on Banner's tombstone at the end of the pilot movie,[8] and that footage is shown at the beginning of every episode of the series.

In an interview with Kenneth Johnson on the Season 2 DVD, he explains that he had also wanted the Hulk to be colored red rather than green.

However, Stan Lee, an executive at Marvel Comics at the time, said that the Hulk's color was not something that could be changed, because of its iconic image.

According to an interview with Kiel, who saw properly out of only one eye, he reacted badly to the contact lenses used for the role, and also found the green makeup difficult to remove, so he did not mind losing the part.

[3][2] During the series' five-season run, many actors familiar to viewers, or who later became famous for their subsequent works, made appearances on the series, including: future Falcon Crest and Castle co-star Susan Sullivan in the original pilot; Brett Cullen, also of Falcon Crest; Kim Cattrall, of Sex and the City fame; Ray Walston, co-star of Bixby's first series, My Favorite Martian; Brandon Cruz, co-star of The Courtship of Eddie's Father; Lou Ferrigno, who along with starring as the Hulk, appeared in one episode ("King of the Beach") as a different character; Bixby's ex-wife Brenda Benet; and in an uncredited role, the bodybuilder and professional wrestler Ric Drasin as the half-transformed Hulk in "Prometheus" (parts 1 and 2).

[17] Mariette Hartley won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her guest appearances as Dr. Carolyn Fields in the episode "Married" (aka "Bride of the Incredible Hulk") in season two.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the writer and artist team who created the Hulk for Marvel Comics, both made cameo appearances in the series.

Kirby's cameo was in the season two episode "No Escape", while Lee appeared as a juror in Trial of the Incredible Hulk (the 1989 post-series TV movie).

Initially, the Hulk's facial make-up was quite monstrous, but after both pilots, the first two weekly episodes and New York location shooting for the fourth, the design was toned down.

The hard contact lenses Ferrigno wore to simulate the Hulk's electric-green eyes had to be removed every 15 minutes because he found wearing them physically painful.

[citation needed] Two episodes of the series appeared first as stand-alone television movies, but these were later re-edited into one-hour length (two-parters) for syndication.

[29] It was rumored that in this film the Hulk would be able to talk after being revived with Banner's mind, and that it was abandoned because of Bill Bixby's death from cancer in November 1993.

[34] Writing for the Tallahassee Democrat, Steve Watkins noted that Lou Ferrigno "did the strong, silent type like nobody's business", and was "natural" in the titular role.

[8] The Incredible Hulk was a solid ratings performer, usually winning its Friday night time slot, and even became a hit in Europe, despite superheroes generally being much less popular there than in the United States.

It is recreated to focus on Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany), with Banner (Mark Ruffalo) also appearing, dressed as David.