joeharnell.com presents THE INCREDIBLE HULK: MARRIED/HOMECOMING, featuring music composed and conducted by Joe Harnell for the cult television show, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, created and developed by Kenneth Johnson (THE BIONIC MAN, THE BIONIC WOMAN, V) and starring Bill Bixby as David Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno as his green-skinned, purple-panted living ID, along with Jack Colvin as Bannerís nemesis, journalist Jack McGee.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK was a surprisingly popular television show that ran for five seasons on CBS, from 1978 to 1982 and returning again in the late 1980ís, in three more television films. Taking a page from Victor Hugoís LES MISERABLES, the show chronicled the journey of scientist David Bruce Banner, wrongly accused of the murder of an associate in a lab explosion and doggedly pursued across the country by tabloid journalist Jack McGee and law enforcement, as he struggled to find some way to both prove his innocence and cure himself of the radiation-inspired accident that forced him to turn into the Hulk when provoked.

The Second Season of THE INCREDIBLE HULK began in September, 1978, with a special two hour episode called ìMarriedî, written and directed by Kenneth Johnson. For the music, Joe Harnell returned to the love theme heíd introduced in the pilot and developed it fully with the orchestra. In this episode, David Banner approaches Dr. Carolyn Fields (Mariette Hartley) in Hawaii about a new form of hypnotherapy she has developed, with the hope that it might help to cure him or control his alter ego. His arrival is poorly timed, though, as Carolyn is about to take a leave of absence. Following her home, David finds her in the midst of a seizure. After he saves her life, he learns that Carolyn has developed her therapy because she is terminally ill with a condition similar to ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig's Disease and has eight weeks to live. David reveals his identity to her and offers to help her with the therapy, hoping that they will be able to find the time to help him as well. As the days pass and they grow mutually dependent on each other, love blossoms. David and Carolyn decide to get married, even though they know time is short and their relationship will end in heartbreak. Searching for a solution, they develop a plan to use a tissue sample from the Hulk to possibly cure Carolyn. After Carolyn obtains the sample while David is changing into the Hulk, she prepares the sample for her own use. When the island is swept by a typhoon during a crucial moment in the procedure, David and Carolynís destiny rushes to a conclusion which neither of them can control.

For her work in ìMarriedî, Mariette Hartley won the Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for her touching and fully realized performance as Carolyn Fields. Although other superhero shows have received similar nominations, this marks one of the rare occurrences of a show of this type actually winning an Emmy in this category.

Broadcast in November, 1979, the eighth episode of the Third Season is called ìHomecomingî. Written by Andrew Schneider and directed by John McPherson, this episode finds David Banner returning to his home in Colorado, where he is reunited with his father and sister. For the music, Joe used a whistling motif to represent the Banner homestead and Davidís memories of his past. Veteran actor John Marley (THE GODFATHER) plays his father and Diana Muldaur (L.A. LAW, STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION) plays his sister, Helen. David returns home for Thanksgiving and learns that his fatherís homestead may be lost. A land developer, Dean Eckhart, is slowly buying up the land in the area so it can be developed for a new city but Davidís father wonít sell. In addition, a deadly plague of beetles is consuming their land. The beetles on their own are harmless but they metamorphose into Longinus worms that feed on the undergrowth and make it impossible to grow crops, which is exactly what Eckhart is hoping for. As David tries to find a solution for the plague, he tries to make peace with his estranged father and struggles to keep his alter ego under control. ìHomecomingî is considered to be one of the best episodes of the Third Season.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK: MARRIED/HOMECOMING features music composed and conducted by Joe Harnell, continuing Joeís successful creative collaboration with Writer/Director/Producer Kenneth Johnson, a relationship that includes fondly remembered television projects such as THE BIONIC WOMAN, HOT PURSUIT, CLIFFHANGERS, V ñ The Original Mini-Series and ALIEN NATION. Joe Harnell has been nominated for an Emmy Award on three occasions for Best Dramatic Score. During his career, Harnell composed over 400 hours of original music for motion pictures and television. His scores for THE BIONIC WOMAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK heavily influenced the scoring of all Universal television programs in the late 1970ís. His scores used a traditional orchestral approach (influenced by his Jazz roots) using a 32 piece orchestra. He frequently conducted scores from the piano during recording sessions and he performed all the piano and keyboard solos in all of his scores.

joeharnell.com presents the original television soundtrack recording to THE INCREDIBLE HULK: MARRIED/HOMECOMING in loving memory of the great Joe Harnell. THE INCREDIBLE HULK: MARRIED/HOMECOMING is an Exclusive joeharnell.com release, factory manufactured, limited to 1000 units and professionally mastered by Digital Outland.