"The Incredible Hulk" Vendetta Road (TV Episode 1979) Poster

(TV Series)

(1979)

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7/10
The Avenging
AaronCapenBanner20 November 2014
David Banner(Bill Bixby) is walking along a desert road when he stops at a gas station to buy a drink, and use the facilities. After coming out of there, he is stunned to see two young people throw dynamite at the pumps, but help David out of there before it blows up. Turns out the young man is out to punish the oil company to avenge the death of his father, which he blames on them, and David must try and stop them doing so, since the man's girlfriend is also pregnant. Morgan Woodward plays a trouble shooter hired to track them down by any means necessary. Last episode of the second season is an acceptable action-packed story, if still a bit thin.
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9/10
Great all-action episode to close season 2
h-ahmad-17 May 2009
Vendetta Road is a joy to watch from start to finish. Lots of explosions, a gunfight involving the police, a likable anti-hero and his gorgeous, sympathetic partner, a decent plot concerning an oil baron (shades of JR Ewing here), McGee playing a vital part in the story with his investigative reporting and exciting hulk-outs. As ever, Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno are highly dependable in their roles.

One humorous scene involves The Incredible Hulk confronting a gang of moonshiners. When they accuse him of mishandling a young woman, a fight breaks out and we all know who the victor is.

Corruption in the oil world is the theme for Vendetta Road. People who knock the show always forget that it had realistic villains and situations that mirrored real life in some shape or form. This is the reason why it was such a success back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. We have the writers, producers and directors to thank for that, as well as a plentiful budget which got exceeded by the time cracking season 4 opener Prometheus came along.

A fitting way to round off the impressive second season which saw the series go from strength to strength (pardon the pun).
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4/10
Vigilante Family
flarefan-819061 May 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This time bad luck and incredibly bad timing hook David up with a young man named Ray and his wife Cassie, who are blowing up gas stations. But they're not just psychos: the gas company hired an assassin to murder the young man's father, in order to get rid of the competition, and he's determined to avenge his father's death. David of course does not approve of his means, so he has to stop him while simultaneously fending off the company's hired killers.

There's a truly ludicrous scene in the middle: a posse corners David and Cassie in a cabin, and one of the gas company's hirelings fires a shot into one of their cars, hoping they'll think their quarry fired the shot. Good drama - except that the hireling inexplicably waits until David and Cassie have come out with their hands up, and the police still open fire on them! And almost as ludicrously, every single shot misses!

This episode has a pretty good cast of characters: The principled Sheriff Madrid who, due to a moral lapse in his past, must now work for the crooked gas company; McGee, relentless in his pursuit of the Hulk, who sees something of himself in Madrid; Cassie, supportive of her husband but uncertain of the justice in their actions; the gas company executive, consumed by greed and malice; and of course David, ever firm in standing up for what's right.

But Ray, the key character, doesn't work. We're expected to think of him as a good family man despite the fact that he is willing to ruin the lives of his wife and unborn child for the sake of revenge. It just doesn't fit, and the implication at the end that he is inexplicably not being incarcerated for his crimes is infuriating rather than satisfying. There's a solid amount of quality drama in this episode, but I can't give it a wholehearted thumbs up.
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