David Banner(Bill Bixby) returns to San Francisco to re-unite with his friend Li Sung(played by Mako, who appeared in 'Another Path') He is sad to learn that Li Sung is now gravely ill, and before he passes, wants to entrust the leadership of his school to his star pupil Mike Roark(played by Rick Springfield) who is also a police officer, and conflicted over his teachings and his law enforcer career, as both his brother and father are also policemen. When a criminal fugitive becomes the target of dogged police pursuit, Mike must make his choice soon as Li Sung will not live much longer... Reasonably good sequel to 'Another Path' isn't as compelling, but still maintains interest. Gerald McRaney makes his third series appearance as yet another character!
2 Reviews
Nothing to do with David Banner, the Hulk, or anything resembling good TV
flarefan-819061 May 2017
In this episode, David revisits Li Sung to try and learn from him again. This is a good plot idea. After all, David meets a lot of people, and some of them deserve to hear back from him; it's not as if each town the Hulk hits goes under permanent lockdown. The trouble is, while Li Sung is a pretty textured character in "Another Path", here he's just a generic philosophizing wise man. The bigger trouble is, this episode isn't about David or the Hulk. It's about Mike, Li's star student.
Now I'm sure you're thinking, So what, almost every episode puts a spotlight on whoever David is helping. But see, David doesn't really help Mike. Therein lies the key problem: not simply that David isn't the main character, but that he has no connection to the main character. He just chats with Li Sung about Li's imminent death and has a couple of Hulk-outs which feel like a distraction from the plot rather than a contribution to it.
This would still be acceptable if Mike were a decent character with a decent story. But despite a detailed, almost convoluted background, as a character Mike is an utterly cardboard Mary Sue, and a lifeless performance by Rick Springfield only makes him more unbearable.
But the story is the worst part. It asserts that law enforcement is morally equivalent to mob justice; at one point Mike actually states that the police are the villains and the mad bomber they are pursuing (who has already killed four people, including Mike's father) is the victim! This is just the tip of the iceberg, as the script weighs itself down with garbled imitations of Eastern philosophy and chronic disconnect with reality. The climax is so absurd that it's not even laughable.
Now I'm sure you're thinking, So what, almost every episode puts a spotlight on whoever David is helping. But see, David doesn't really help Mike. Therein lies the key problem: not simply that David isn't the main character, but that he has no connection to the main character. He just chats with Li Sung about Li's imminent death and has a couple of Hulk-outs which feel like a distraction from the plot rather than a contribution to it.
This would still be acceptable if Mike were a decent character with a decent story. But despite a detailed, almost convoluted background, as a character Mike is an utterly cardboard Mary Sue, and a lifeless performance by Rick Springfield only makes him more unbearable.
But the story is the worst part. It asserts that law enforcement is morally equivalent to mob justice; at one point Mike actually states that the police are the villains and the mad bomber they are pursuing (who has already killed four people, including Mike's father) is the victim! This is just the tip of the iceberg, as the script weighs itself down with garbled imitations of Eastern philosophy and chronic disconnect with reality. The climax is so absurd that it's not even laughable.
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