As a kid this show terrified me.

I have to agree with you as well. Although I loved the show as a kid…..the metamorphosis always scared me. Like in the episode 747, he was mid-transformation for a while and Bixby's face scared me.The mid-transformation always disturbed me too.

I felt EXACTLY the same way. Kind of ironic. My favorite show as a kid, but had to turn my head when David started getting worked up, because I knew what was coming...*LOL*...

I think it was the combination of the eyes and the hulkout/transformation sound they used that made it scary.

The first transformation in the pilot remains my favorite as it's by far the most chilling. There's so much going for it - the storm, Banner's irascibility, etc.

Yes, I was scared of the Hulk as a kid too. That's one thing that is great about this, they really showed the horror roots of the character, particularly in the pilot, which is a good movie in its own right.

All good things must come to an end - Chaucer

Transformations were scary as a kid yet also the most exciting as a kid when the Hulk punished wrongdoers. The music and the white eyes definitely added to the scariness.
Today as an adult I watch it for the storyline and David Banner's life of struggle, research, and compassion. And during transformations I look at the Hulk and try to visualize him having the same compassion as Banner and trying to understand what's going on.
Three episodes that immediately come to mind of people trying to talk to him to get him to understand them are "Married", "Homecoming", and "Prometheus". I'm sure there are many other examples.
Some may say Lou was a bad actor but I think it's extremely difficult to act without speaking. The roar at the end of the pilot still resonates with me conveying extreme emotion. Watch it again. When Elaina dies he isn't primitive. He knows what's going on and it hurts.

Ha! I thought I was the only one who liked to watch it but was scared as hell of the transformations. The Hulks growls used to scare the hell out of me. I remember one time my brother was in the den watching it and I was in the living room playing and I heard the CHIIIIIIIIIIING! as a transformation was about to happen and I covered my ears because I knew the growl was coming!

I am the Energizer bunny of forensic science. I never sleep and I never give up-Abby Sciuto

I always felt sadness for David's plight more than fear of the Hulk, but that's me!

You guys aren't saying how old you were when you were scared. I would imagine that younger kids would be scared, but older ones, not so much. I was in high school when it began, so it was just cool to me.