Agreed. I used to always say, despite what I personally felt of the tv show, Bixby was not only the saving grace but one of the greatest actors the genre has ever seen.
For me, it always went back to his eyes. There's an intensity to Bill that was very much real. He was said to be a very stern and direct person naturally, and I feel as though he channeled a lot of that with his performance. He was very charming, extremely believable as a scientist, and somebody you could relate to. But there was still a look in his eyes that something was bubbling underneath. Not just a rage, but sadness too. In the pilot episode, when he first awakens from his nightmare, in bed alone, and fights back tears, it pretty much exemplifies everything he brought to the role. Something not even the great Ed Norton did...which is pain...