The Surreal Moment When Mister Rogers Met The Hulk

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1980) – Bill Bixby, Fred Rogers, Lou Ferrigno

If you ever wanted to see Mister Rogers meet the Hulk now’s your chance. Back in 1980, the wonderful PBS children’s show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood did a special two-part episode where they visited the set of The Incredible Hulk. In “Mister Rogers Talks About Superheroes” he does a special series of episodes about superheroes because it was an important topic for parents and teachers at the time. “The adult world can seem overwhelmingly large to children.” Fred Rogers said, “As a result, children often pretend they have super powers and strength that will make them ‘superbig’, ‘superfast’, and ‘superstrong’, even stronger than adults! Television superheroes can be very appealing to young children, but they can also be very frightening. We need to help children realize that the superheroes and monsters they see are either pictures that someone has drawn, or people dressed up in costumes and make-up. They’re not real, but they often scare people because they look so real.” The Incredible Hulk TV series was very popular and the perfect way to show kids that superheroes aren’t real and aren’t scary. Rogers goes to the set of Universal Studios in Hollywood, CA and meets the actors.

It’s a perfect mix of geek and nostalgia, but there are some pretty surreal moments. Like when Bill Bixby explains that he liked to go to his playhouse and get mad saying, “It’s okay to be angry and it’s alright to let it out as long as we don’t hurt anybody else and as long as we don’t hurt ourselves.” This from the man who transforms into a giant green rage-monster. There’s also the scene in part two where Mister Rogers talks to a shirtless Lou Ferrigno and watches him put on the Hulk makeup before trying it on himself.

At the end of part one Rogers shows that you don’t have to have superpowers to be special and sings the moving song “It’s You I Like.” That guy always had a way of making you feel special and that’s true at any age.

What do you think of the video? If you saw the show, what was your favorite part of Mister Rogers or the Hulk?

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