The Incredible Hulk Returns is a 1989 made-for-television film sequel to the 1970s Incredible Hulk television series. In the late 1980s, television movies which reunited the casts of older TV shows were big business. Nostalgic viewers tuned in to see new stories about characters they had followed years earlier. In 1988, The Incredible Hulk became another series that reformed as part of a reunion movie when The Incredible Hulk Returns roared onto NBC as a TV movie of the week. NBC viewed the Hulk as a great vehicle for spinning off television series which featured other Marvel comics characters. This film featured the Hulk's fellow Avenger, Thor, and rocketed into the top five of the ratings that week. The movie garnered the fifth highest rating spot out of all programs aired that week. NBC