By Geno McGahee
David Banner (Bill Bixby) is still on the run and still running into attractive women that want to help him out. He’s a hero and helpful and just overall, a very nice guy. The chicks dig him. Little do they know that he has a monster in his pants…I mean inside. This time around he meets Renee (Carol Baxter), a woman that needs to move into her childhood home where a tragedy had taken place. Her twin sister died right in front of her and it took her this long to get over it.
She hires David to help her move and they soon become chummy, but you never see Banner get any. I had several people theorize that he was into dudes, but I totally disagree. I lean toward the fact that he is afraid of hulking up during sex and would wake up next to a woman that was literally split in two. So, all these hot women must be a real tease for the Banner…but he at least enjoys their company.
They arrive at the house and are met by the creepy caretaker, Renee’s cousin Bernard (John O’Connell). He has a tendency of talking to himself and wearing member’s only jackets. The minute he’s introduced, I assumed that he was a bad guy and the Hulk would end up near killing him.
The house appears to be haunted by the soul of young Rebecca, the twin sister of Renee. At one point, the little shit ghost slashes the arm of Renee. David becomes convinced that somebody is screwing with her and begins investigating.
There isn’t much Hulk in this, but the Hulk we get is grade A Hulk (I know that is too many ‘Hulks’ in one sentence). At one point, Hulk finds a large stuffed bear and starts growling at it, probably remembering his battle with the grizzly in the “Death in the Family” episode. Hulk took that Grizzly and threw it nearly a mile and now he has another bear starting shit with him? Hulk growls a little more, smashes the bear and then returns to Banner form, where he is found clutching a baby doll. That baby doll belonged to Rebecca, the dead girl.
David begins hearing little girl voices and eventually runs into the truth. The conclusion of this episode was quite entertaining. David Hulks out and jumps out of the water, smashing everything in sight and saving Renee from certain doom. He is always helping the ladies and throwing the men through walls. Hulk hates cock blockers and wants all the women to himself, apparently.
The Haunting doesn’t have the feel of a Hulk episode. I get the feeling it wasn’t originally written for the show, but it was altered to fit and produced, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad thing. I really enjoyed this episode. It wasn’t scary but they did create a pretty decent atmosphere and the ending is very satisfying.
I recommend this episode. It’s not the best but it kept my interest and wrapping with the Hulk was a good way to end it. I didn’t like how Bernard started out as a potential pervert and turned out to be a good guy. Why couldn’t he have aggressively made his moves on Banner and then Banner Hulks up and rips off his junk and beats him to death with it? I bet that if the writer is reading this right now, he is kicking himself for not coming up with that idea.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6/10. Good atmosphere, interesting episode, not enough Hulk.