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| Original promo art. |
Long before our latest comic book film adaptations, television was seen as an important place to market all sorts of things (and it still does), and every superhero who's been around long enough, knows it. In the 60's & 70's (specially in the 70's) , producers & film makers went through a prolific era where they worked their asses out to deliver entertainment to the whole family. Some of the most beloved series that are now consider as cult classics, came out during those days. Nevertheless, in those days there were no Comic Cons and comic book readers were treated like children who were uninteresting material for marketers. Boy things have surely changed after 30 something years later!
Anyways, DC Comics had already established some of their comic book characters in the tele, with a mild success, I might add. They had their world finest (Superman & Batman) plus the not so popular Captain Marvel (currently known as Shazam!) So what! you may say? well, since Marvel Comics match was doing quite well inside the idiot box, it was only a matter of time before they had their own characters on the small screen.
I'm sure out of all the different characters Marvel transferred to TV you will fondly remember The Incredible Hulk TV series, that run for five seasons from 1977 to 1982. Later, in 1978 they would try with Dr. Strange live action TV movie (Some say it was a pilot of an unproduced series) Finally in 1979, the legendary red, white and blue justice, Captain America TV movie came out, and by the end of the same year, the sequel Captain America II Death Too Soon was already on air.
however, today's entry is about the number one guy in Marvel Comics headquarters, your friendly neighbor Spider-Man!
Anyways, DC Comics had already established some of their comic book characters in the tele, with a mild success, I might add. They had their world finest (Superman & Batman) plus the not so popular Captain Marvel (currently known as Shazam!) So what! you may say? well, since Marvel Comics match was doing quite well inside the idiot box, it was only a matter of time before they had their own characters on the small screen.
I'm sure out of all the different characters Marvel transferred to TV you will fondly remember The Incredible Hulk TV series, that run for five seasons from 1977 to 1982. Later, in 1978 they would try with Dr. Strange live action TV movie (Some say it was a pilot of an unproduced series) Finally in 1979, the legendary red, white and blue justice, Captain America TV movie came out, and by the end of the same year, the sequel Captain America II Death Too Soon was already on air.
however, today's entry is about the number one guy in Marvel Comics headquarters, your friendly neighbor Spider-Man!
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| This is how you promoted a show in the 70's. |
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| Spider-Man gets Isis for a date! |
Though short lived The Amazing Spider-Man was quite an interesting live action TV series that was commercially overshadowed by the scripts & budgets that Wonder Woman & The Incredible Hulk had.
The Amazing Spider-Man live action series had nothing to do with campy comic book adaptations. In fact, Spider-Man could have easily outclassed other Superhero TV series, famous at that time, such as George Reeves' Superman & Adam West's Batman. While both DC Comics serials relied heavily on humor and campy situations, the producers of Spider-Man tried to come up with a super hero show as realistic as possible.
To me, The Amazing Spider-Man was clearly an action drama, and by action I mean real stunts. During the late 1970's the stunts had to be performed by tough stunt men, not in the database of some computer software. "Spider-Man" had its own very talented stuntman to perform the death defying daredevil acrobatics. His name was Fred Waugh, who donned the spidy suit for the action sequences. Nicholas Hammond, was Spider-Man during the dialogue scenes. Hammond's Spider-Man also had his own secret identity as Peter Parker, just like Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman did.
The Amazing Spider-Man live action series had nothing to do with campy comic book adaptations. In fact, Spider-Man could have easily outclassed other Superhero TV series, famous at that time, such as George Reeves' Superman & Adam West's Batman. While both DC Comics serials relied heavily on humor and campy situations, the producers of Spider-Man tried to come up with a super hero show as realistic as possible.
To me, The Amazing Spider-Man was clearly an action drama, and by action I mean real stunts. During the late 1970's the stunts had to be performed by tough stunt men, not in the database of some computer software. "Spider-Man" had its own very talented stuntman to perform the death defying daredevil acrobatics. His name was Fred Waugh, who donned the spidy suit for the action sequences. Nicholas Hammond, was Spider-Man during the dialogue scenes. Hammond's Spider-Man also had his own secret identity as Peter Parker, just like Superman, Batman & Wonder Woman did.
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| Original Promo art made to sell the series everywhere. |
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| The original Spider-man Suit. |
It's a shame that the series run for thirteen episodes only. Because when the first episode hit the airwaves in November of 1977, the entire country was watching it on CBS that Wednesday night. In all fairness, CBS should release this pilot episode as well as "The Deadly Dust", the "Captive Tower" etc. on DVD (there was an official Laserdisc release of the first four episodes) shortly. "Spider-Man" was short lived, but did have a cult following, and in my opinion was a heck of a lot better than the recent movie interpretations of the famed comic book hero starring Toby McGuire, and way better than the soon to be released Spider-man emo fag reboot edition.
CBS might be hesitant to release these episodes for two reasons. A There might not be a broad market for them based on the lack of longevity of the series and a generation of children and young people who weren't born when the series originally aired in the 1970's. A reason I disagree with, since the not so succesful 70's Captain America movies are set to be re-released on DVD by November the 1st. Reason B One of the early "Spider-Man" episodes dealt with a terrorist with designs on the World Trade Center, which was attacked twice many years after this show went off the air, in 1993, and of course the devastating attack against this country on 9/11/01 in which the towers were destroyed and many innocent lives were lost but, I assume they could easily skip that chapter and add the rest if they think the subject of the episode is too sensitive. However, I don't think that it would be in bad taste to release this "Spider-Man" episode even if the show was adventure, derived from a comic book, and camp in nature. The live action "Amazing Spider-Man" doesn't have a large following but it has a cult following. If and when CBS releases it out on DVD this cult gem will live on and I for one plan to make myself with a copy of this timeless piece that not only had action but some awesome 70's funky soundtrack to give it the 70's style vibes we all love and miss so much.
CBS might be hesitant to release these episodes for two reasons. A There might not be a broad market for them based on the lack of longevity of the series and a generation of children and young people who weren't born when the series originally aired in the 1970's. A reason I disagree with, since the not so succesful 70's Captain America movies are set to be re-released on DVD by November the 1st. Reason B One of the early "Spider-Man" episodes dealt with a terrorist with designs on the World Trade Center, which was attacked twice many years after this show went off the air, in 1993, and of course the devastating attack against this country on 9/11/01 in which the towers were destroyed and many innocent lives were lost but, I assume they could easily skip that chapter and add the rest if they think the subject of the episode is too sensitive. However, I don't think that it would be in bad taste to release this "Spider-Man" episode even if the show was adventure, derived from a comic book, and camp in nature. The live action "Amazing Spider-Man" doesn't have a large following but it has a cult following. If and when CBS releases it out on DVD this cult gem will live on and I for one plan to make myself with a copy of this timeless piece that not only had action but some awesome 70's funky soundtrack to give it the 70's style vibes we all love and miss so much.
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| Peter Parker. |
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| No Kevlar, just Spandex like real heroes. |
Here's the complete episode guide (courtesy of Wikipedia) for the Amazing Spider-Man 77'-79' live action series.
Season 1: 1978
| Nº | Ep | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Amazing Spider-Man" | E.W. Swackhamer | Alvin Boretz | September 19, 1977 |
University student Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider and decides to use his super powers to stop an evil New Age guru that is turning law abiding citizens into criminals through mind control.
This pilot TV-movie was released theatrically overseas and saw
VHS releases in the 1980s by CBS/Fox Home Video (and later, reissued on
its Playhouse Video label) and in the 1990s by Rhino Home Video. A CED
videodisc version (CBS/Fox) was also released. In Japan only, this was
also released on VHD format and laserdisc. All versions are out of
print but I'm one of the few lucky ones who has the Laser Disc episodes on Blu-Ray nonetheless!
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| 2 | 2 | "Deadly Dust: Part 1" | Ron Satlof | Robert Janes | April 5, 1978 |
Upset that their professor has brought a small amount of plutonium
onto campus in order to give a class demonstration, three University
students decide to steal the plutonium and build a bomb in order to
illustrate the dangers of nuclear power. However, the international
businessmen and arms dealer named Mr. White has his henchmen steal the plutonium so that he can detonate it in Los Angeles, California where the President will be giving a campaign speech.
"The Deadly Dust" saw video release as a "movie version" in the 1980s by
CBS/Fox/Playhouse, and in the late 1990s by Rhino Home Video. Also
released on videotape (in Europe) and laser disc (in Japan) in its
theatrical version, titled "Spider-Man Strikes Back" (1978). Take that George Lucas! Spidey stroke back before your empire did!
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| 3 | 3 | "Deadly Dust: Part 2" | Ron Satlof | Robert Janes | April 12, 1978 |
| International
terrorist "Mr. White" proceeds with his plan to detonate the bomb
during the President's speech in Los Angeles, but during preparation a
female member of the trio succumbs to acute radiation poisoning. While
Spider-Man is intent on thwarting the bomb's detonation, he is also torn
between helping the dying woman. |
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| 4 | 4 | "The Curse of Rava" | Michael Caffrey | Dick Nelson, Robert Janes |
April 19, 1978 |
Members of a religious cult, led by the telekinetic Mandak, plan to
steal a Rava religious icon from a museum and in the process frame Mr.
Jameson for attempted murder.
"The Curse of Rava" was spliced together with "Con Caper" to form "Con
Caper & The Curse of Rava" which was available on VHS and Beta from
Prism Home Video (in the mid 80s) and on VHS Rhino Home Video in the
late '90s. To provide a bridge between the two unconnected stories, a
new scene featuring Nicholas Hammond and Chip Fields (both with
noticeably different hairstyles) was filmed and edited in at the midway
point. Con Caper/Rava was also released on laserdisc in the USA by Prism
around 1990.
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| 5 | 5 | "Night of the Clones" | Fernando Lamas | John W. Bloch | April 26, 1978 |
A scientific convention is being held in New York City and a
controversial American scientist has figured out a way to clone human
beings, only to have his evil clone twin escape, and clone an evil
Spider-Man.
"Night of the Clones" and the episode following it, "Escort to Danger,"
were spliced together to make "Night of the Clones & Escort to
Danger" which was available on VHS and Beta from Prism Home Video (in
the mid-1980s) and on VHS from Rhino Home Video in the late 1990s.
Clones/Escort was also released on laserdisc in the USA by Prism around
1990.
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| 6 | 6 | "Escort to Danger" | Dennis Donnelly | Duke Standefur | May 3, 1978 |
While visiting New York City, the daughter of a recently elected pro-democracy Latin American President is kidnapped by those seeking a return of a fascist dictatorship.
"Escort to Danger", and the episode before it, "Night of the Clones"
were spliced together to make "Night of the Clones & Escort to
Danger" which was available on VHS from Prism Home Video (in the
mid-1980s) and Rhino Home Video in the late 1990s.
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| This is a cool New Yorker Hero picture, don't you think? |
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| The hand clap game yo! |
Season 2: 1978–79
| Nº | Ep | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "The Captive Tower" | Cliff Bole | Gregory S. Dinallo,
Bruce Kalish, Philip John Taylor |
September 5, 1978 |
Thieves steal ten million dollars from a new high-tech security building and use its computers to trap the people inside.
The plot of this episode is similar to the film Die Hard.
Since there were no other hour-long episodes with which to combine it
into a 2-hour movie, this episode is the most rarely seen of the series,
the only reruns being on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s. For the same
reason, this is also the only episode that didn't get a VHS release.
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| 8 | 2 | "A Matter of State" | Larry Stewart | Howard Dimsdale | September 12, 1978 |
NATO
defense plans are stolen and held for ransom by terrorists. Julie
Masters accidentally gets a photograph of the ringleader of the gang and
now Spider-Man has to protect Masters, while also trying to get the
defense plans back.
This episode has been released on VHS as "Photo Finish & A Matter of
State" by Rhino Home Video, but is now out of print. This version
included a new scene featuring Nicholas Hammond and Chip Fields that
served to connect the two stories.
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| 9 | 3 | "The Con Caper" | Tom Blank | Brian McKay, Gregory S. Dinallo |
November 25, 1978 |
An imprisoned politician is released and poses as a reformed humanitarian dedicated to prison reform in order to stage a break out of some prisoners and steal a hundred-million dollars.
This episode has been released on VHS and Beta by Prism Home Video (in
the mid-1980s) and on VHS Rhino Home Video (in the late 1990s) as "Con
Caper & Curse of Rava." This version included a new scene featuring
Nicholas Hammond and Chip Fields that served to connect the two stories.
Prism also released this combined version on laserdisc in the US in
1990. All releases are out of print.
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| 10 | 4 | "The Kirkwood Haunting" | Don McDougall | Michael Michaelian | December 30, 1978 |
Peter Parker is sent to the estate (complete with its own zoo) of a
wealthy widow and longtime family friend of Mr. Jameson. The widow
claims that she is being visited by the ghost of her dead husband and he
is telling her to donate all her money to the group of men that are
acting as objective investigators of paranormal phenomenon.
This episode has been released on VHS by Rhino Home Video spliced
together to make "Wolfpack & The Kirkwood Haunting" but is now out
of print.
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| 11 | 5 | "Photo Finish" | Tony Ganz | Howard Dimsdale | February 7, 1979 |
While doing a story on a rare coin collection, the coins are stolen
in a robbery with one of the thieves wearing a wig and muffling his
voice to appear to be the coin collector's bitter ex-wife. The photo
that Parker has of the disguised thief will falsely frame the ex-wife
and Parker is willing to go to jail in order to protect the innocent and
break out of jail as Spider-Man to bring the thieves to justice.
This episode has been released on VHS as "Photo Finish & A Matter of
State" by Rhino Home Video. This version included a new scene featuring
Nicholas Hammond and Chip Fields that served to connect the two
stories. Photo Finish was previously released by itself (in its original
one-hour format) on a LP-speed cassette from low-budget label Star
Maker Home Video. Both versions are out of print.
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| 12 | 6 | "Wolfpack" | Joseph Manduke | Stephen Kandel | February 21, 1979 |
When a greedy Sorgenson Chemical representative learns that
University students have developed a mind control gas, he uses the gas
to take control of the students and even some soldiers to commit crimes.
This episode has been released on VHS on Rhino Home Video as "Wolfpack & The Kirkwood Haunting", but is now out of print.
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| 13 | 7 | "The Chinese Web" | Don McDougall | Lionel E. Siegel | July 6, 1979 |
The final episode (a 2-hour special) has an old college friend of Mr.
Jameson fleeing China (where he is the Minister of Industrial
Development) to live with his Chinese-American daughter because the
Chinese government has falsely charged him with being a spy during World War II.
While Peter Parker tries to prove the man's innocence he must contend
with a henchmen of a British-Hong Kong businessman who will do anything
to get a new Minster of Industrial Development who will ensure that his
firm gets a lucrative business contract with China.
The two-part series finale has plenty of action, a new female love interest (played by Rosalind Chao), extensive footage of Hong Kong
and even exposition on its history and traditional religious beliefs.
This movie-length episode has been released in its full version on
videotape by CBS/Fox Home Video in the early 1980s (and re-released in
the mid '80s on Fox's own Playhouse Video label) and by Rhino Home Video
in the late 1990s. It was also released overseas on video (and on
laserdisc in Japan) in its theatrical version, titled "Spider-Man: The
Dragon's Challenge". All releases are out of print.
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| Check my Spider Strenght! |
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| Mirror, mirror. |
But, how did The Amazing Spider-Man become a TV series?
The series began as a backdoor pilot in the form of a two-hour film known simply as Spider-Man which aired in September 1977. In it, university student Peter Parker gains super powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider and uses his new super powers to get a job at the Daily Bugle and stop a con man who is using mind control. In the pilot J. Jonah Jameson was played by the well known actor David White and subsequently replaced with Robert F. Simon for the weekly series.
The series was then picked up for a limited series of five episodes, which aired at the end of the season in April and May 1978. This run of episodes debuted very well, with the first obtaining a 22.8 rating with 16.6 million viewers, making it the best rated program for the week on CBS, and the eighth best rated program for the week overall. The series ended up being the 19th best rated show of the season. However, CBS was reluctant to commit to a regular time slot for the 1978/9 season as Spider-Man was expensive to produce and lagged in the lucrative adult demographic ratings. Instead, CBS took the more cautious approach of optioning the episodes on a sporadic basis and deliberately placing it on the schedule to drain the ratings of specific competing shows at key times. Former Six Million Dollar Man producer Lionel Siegel took over production duties for the second season and made deliberate changes to attempt to grow the adult audience. These included dropping the character of Captain Barbera; adding the character of Julie Masters as a love interest for Peter; creating more down-to-earth plots; and toning down Spider-Man's powers slightly to make him more accessible. The second season of seven episodes was to air sporadically through the 1978-79 TV season. The show was officially cancelled after that. Reportedly, one of the problems was that CBS was cautious about being labeled the "superhero network", as it was airing other comic book content including The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Captain America and Doctor Strange. Another problem was that in spite of the show's popularity, fans were highly critical of the series for the changes made to the comic book storyline and the lack of any real "supervillains" so as you can see, trolls & naysayers have been around for quite some time now, haven't they?
In addition, Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee disliked the show, and was vocal about his dissatisfaction with it; he once said in an interview that he felt the series was "too juvenile" - a controversial statement given his credit as script consultant on each episode.
The show has so far featured the only live-action appearance of Peter
Parker's spider-tracer tracking devices, which are prominently featured
in several episodes throughout the series.
Season 3?
In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, two attempts were reportedly made to recreate an Amazing Spider-Man live-action television series. The first one would have had the original cast team-up with the cast from The Incredible Hulk television series.
This was part of a plan to have several television movies featuring the Incredible Hulk and various Marvel Comics characters (three had already been aired, the first with Thor, the second with Daredevil, while the announced She-Hulk did not appear in the third).
Reportedly, this attempt finally fell through when Bill Bixby died of cancer in 1993. A second attempt would have been an entirely new series that never got beyond pre production stage, because the networks wanted to make Spider-Man into a mutant due to the X-Men's cartoon rising popularity.
Funky Spider-man
Another cool and sometimes forgotten aspect of the series was its amazing 70's style music. Stu Philips, Dana Kaproff & Johnnie Spence had the job of delivering a catchy soundtrack which mixed funk, disco & more classic compositions to deliver an up to date (for those days anyways) vibe. Unfortunately, like most of the series, the music was also never released officially although there were some bootleg vinyl around from which you can find some MP3 rips around.
The series began as a backdoor pilot in the form of a two-hour film known simply as Spider-Man which aired in September 1977. In it, university student Peter Parker gains super powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider and uses his new super powers to get a job at the Daily Bugle and stop a con man who is using mind control. In the pilot J. Jonah Jameson was played by the well known actor David White and subsequently replaced with Robert F. Simon for the weekly series.
The series was then picked up for a limited series of five episodes, which aired at the end of the season in April and May 1978. This run of episodes debuted very well, with the first obtaining a 22.8 rating with 16.6 million viewers, making it the best rated program for the week on CBS, and the eighth best rated program for the week overall. The series ended up being the 19th best rated show of the season. However, CBS was reluctant to commit to a regular time slot for the 1978/9 season as Spider-Man was expensive to produce and lagged in the lucrative adult demographic ratings. Instead, CBS took the more cautious approach of optioning the episodes on a sporadic basis and deliberately placing it on the schedule to drain the ratings of specific competing shows at key times. Former Six Million Dollar Man producer Lionel Siegel took over production duties for the second season and made deliberate changes to attempt to grow the adult audience. These included dropping the character of Captain Barbera; adding the character of Julie Masters as a love interest for Peter; creating more down-to-earth plots; and toning down Spider-Man's powers slightly to make him more accessible. The second season of seven episodes was to air sporadically through the 1978-79 TV season. The show was officially cancelled after that. Reportedly, one of the problems was that CBS was cautious about being labeled the "superhero network", as it was airing other comic book content including The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Captain America and Doctor Strange. Another problem was that in spite of the show's popularity, fans were highly critical of the series for the changes made to the comic book storyline and the lack of any real "supervillains" so as you can see, trolls & naysayers have been around for quite some time now, haven't they?
In addition, Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee disliked the show, and was vocal about his dissatisfaction with it; he once said in an interview that he felt the series was "too juvenile" - a controversial statement given his credit as script consultant on each episode.
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| It's kinda hot in here. |
Season 3?
In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, two attempts were reportedly made to recreate an Amazing Spider-Man live-action television series. The first one would have had the original cast team-up with the cast from The Incredible Hulk television series.
This was part of a plan to have several television movies featuring the Incredible Hulk and various Marvel Comics characters (three had already been aired, the first with Thor, the second with Daredevil, while the announced She-Hulk did not appear in the third).
Reportedly, this attempt finally fell through when Bill Bixby died of cancer in 1993. A second attempt would have been an entirely new series that never got beyond pre production stage, because the networks wanted to make Spider-Man into a mutant due to the X-Men's cartoon rising popularity.
Funky Spider-man
Another cool and sometimes forgotten aspect of the series was its amazing 70's style music. Stu Philips, Dana Kaproff & Johnnie Spence had the job of delivering a catchy soundtrack which mixed funk, disco & more classic compositions to deliver an up to date (for those days anyways) vibe. Unfortunately, like most of the series, the music was also never released officially although there were some bootleg vinyl around from which you can find some MP3 rips around.
Want more? OK, in order to satisfy that Spider sense of my fellow connoisseur readers I'll add some behind the series trivia:
The Superhero Network.
Contrary to popular belief, "Spider-Man" was not canceled because of low ratings. In fact, the series performed well in the ratings, but TV politics were believed to have played a role in the cancellation; CBS executives apparently wanted to shed the network's image as "The Superhero Network," so they canceled the show, in addition to "Wonder Woman." (However, "The Incredible Hulk" remained at the network until 1982.)
Realistic Spider-Man.
In an attempt to keep the show rooted in reality, they decided for better or worse have Spider-Man take on "real-life" criminals instead of the super villains from the comics.
Spider-Man, the crossover movie!
In an interview with SFX Magazine in 2002, Nicholas Hammond said he was going to reprise the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in a TV movie that would have paired Spider-Man with The Incredible Hulk. The telefilm would have been distributed by Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures for a spring 1984 air date, with Hammond also serving as a co-writer alongside Ron Satlof and Stan Lee. Bill Bixby would reprise his role of Dr. David Bruce Banner, as well as serve as the telefilm's director, and Lou Ferrigno would reprise his role of The Incredible Hulk. Despite getting most of the crew members from both the "Spider-Man" and "Hulk" TV series involved and creating the new black "alien" costume from the comics for Hammond's Spider-Man to wear, Universal canceled the project before filming began due to budgetary reasons.
Peter Parker is no campy character.
CBS wanted to land Nicholas Hammond to play Peter Parker after seeing him perform in an English play at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Hammond accepted the role and told them he wanted to do a realistic portrayal of the character. He did not want it to be set up as a comedy like the 60's Batman TV show.
Don't forget the Spider Tracers!
This is the only live-action depiction of Spider-Man's spider-tracers, a small electronic tracking device that is installed in a casing that resembles a spider.
Excelsior's refusal.
Stan Lee, Spider-Man's co-creator, disliked the show and was vocal about his dissatisfaction with it; he once said in an interview that he felt the series was "too juvenile."
Comic book Universe Characters.
Aside from Peter/Spiderman, J Jonah Jameson is the only character from the comic book series to appear regularly on the show. Aunt May and Joe Robbie Robertson both appeared in the pilot. Aunt May also appeared in one regular episode, played by a different actress. It would appear that Rita is based on Glory Grant from the Spiderman comics, and Captain Barbera based on Captain Stacey.
Bipolar personality.
Unlike the comics, J. Jonah Jameson's abrasive, flamboyant personality was toned down. The character was portrayed as more avuncular and actually liked Spider-Man. In the comics J. Jonah Jameson hates Spider-Man with a passion and carries out a smear campaign that, at least temporarily, turned much of the gullible in the city against the hero.
With great powers...
In the comics, Peter Parker was a high school student who got bitten by a radioactive spider and selfishly used his powers until his lack of responsibility caused his Uncle Ben's demise. In the show, Peter is a grad student when the spider bites him and learns responsibility despite not having Uncle Ben (or Uncle Ben's untimely demise) to point him in the right direction.
An Episode a Week.
An entire episode had to be shot within seven days. In an effort to save time when Nicholas Hammond shot the Peter Parker scenes with the first until while the second unit was out with Freddy Waugh shooting the Spider-Man stunt scenes since 85% of the scenes featured Peter Parker and only 15% featured Spider-Man.
Whatever happened to MJ, Betty & Gwen?
The TV series jettisoned Spidey's comics girl friends Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy to have him romance a reporter named Julie Masters.
Not the first time.
The series was not technically Spider-Man's first regular live-action depiction, as the character was featured in a popular segment on the PBS Children's Show The Electric Company. This would be the first time a live action Spider-Man spoke vocally, and was seen as Peter Parker. The series was the first to incorporate other live action elements from the comics as well.
Coppers Friend.
In the comics, Spider-Man had an uneasy relationship with the police, but on the show he had a somewhat amiable friendship with gruff cop Captain Barbera.
Spider Gadgets.
Spider-Man's web shooters and belt are on the outside of his costume in this series, unlike in the comics where they are concealed within his costume. This was later adapted to the comics when a character named Ben Riley (who was also Peter Parker's clone) used improved web shooters and kept his belt on the outside of his costume as the Scarlet-Spider. However, Riley concealed the belt during his brief stint as the new Spider-Man.
Official Release.
During the early 80's, episodes were paired off and edited together to be sold into syndication as TV movies, some featuring added footage to bridge the gap between stories. The TV movie versions were subsequently released on home video (though never on DVD). Due to the uneven number of one hour episodes, Deadly Tower was the episode not paired with another, and the only not to be released on home video.
The Superhero Network.
Contrary to popular belief, "Spider-Man" was not canceled because of low ratings. In fact, the series performed well in the ratings, but TV politics were believed to have played a role in the cancellation; CBS executives apparently wanted to shed the network's image as "The Superhero Network," so they canceled the show, in addition to "Wonder Woman." (However, "The Incredible Hulk" remained at the network until 1982.)
Realistic Spider-Man.
In an attempt to keep the show rooted in reality, they decided for better or worse have Spider-Man take on "real-life" criminals instead of the super villains from the comics.
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| This is a real Stunt man Sr. |
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| CGI is for pussies. |
In an interview with SFX Magazine in 2002, Nicholas Hammond said he was going to reprise the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in a TV movie that would have paired Spider-Man with The Incredible Hulk. The telefilm would have been distributed by Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures for a spring 1984 air date, with Hammond also serving as a co-writer alongside Ron Satlof and Stan Lee. Bill Bixby would reprise his role of Dr. David Bruce Banner, as well as serve as the telefilm's director, and Lou Ferrigno would reprise his role of The Incredible Hulk. Despite getting most of the crew members from both the "Spider-Man" and "Hulk" TV series involved and creating the new black "alien" costume from the comics for Hammond's Spider-Man to wear, Universal canceled the project before filming began due to budgetary reasons.
Peter Parker is no campy character.
CBS wanted to land Nicholas Hammond to play Peter Parker after seeing him perform in an English play at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Hammond accepted the role and told them he wanted to do a realistic portrayal of the character. He did not want it to be set up as a comedy like the 60's Batman TV show.
Don't forget the Spider Tracers!
This is the only live-action depiction of Spider-Man's spider-tracers, a small electronic tracking device that is installed in a casing that resembles a spider.
Excelsior's refusal.
Stan Lee, Spider-Man's co-creator, disliked the show and was vocal about his dissatisfaction with it; he once said in an interview that he felt the series was "too juvenile."
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| Live stunts! |
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| Not scared of heights. |
Aside from Peter/Spiderman, J Jonah Jameson is the only character from the comic book series to appear regularly on the show. Aunt May and Joe Robbie Robertson both appeared in the pilot. Aunt May also appeared in one regular episode, played by a different actress. It would appear that Rita is based on Glory Grant from the Spiderman comics, and Captain Barbera based on Captain Stacey.
Bipolar personality.
Unlike the comics, J. Jonah Jameson's abrasive, flamboyant personality was toned down. The character was portrayed as more avuncular and actually liked Spider-Man. In the comics J. Jonah Jameson hates Spider-Man with a passion and carries out a smear campaign that, at least temporarily, turned much of the gullible in the city against the hero.
With great powers...
In the comics, Peter Parker was a high school student who got bitten by a radioactive spider and selfishly used his powers until his lack of responsibility caused his Uncle Ben's demise. In the show, Peter is a grad student when the spider bites him and learns responsibility despite not having Uncle Ben (or Uncle Ben's untimely demise) to point him in the right direction.
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| Peter Parker's colleagues. |
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| The Spider suit. |
An entire episode had to be shot within seven days. In an effort to save time when Nicholas Hammond shot the Peter Parker scenes with the first until while the second unit was out with Freddy Waugh shooting the Spider-Man stunt scenes since 85% of the scenes featured Peter Parker and only 15% featured Spider-Man.
Whatever happened to MJ, Betty & Gwen?
The TV series jettisoned Spidey's comics girl friends Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant and Gwen Stacy to have him romance a reporter named Julie Masters.
Not the first time.
The series was not technically Spider-Man's first regular live-action depiction, as the character was featured in a popular segment on the PBS Children's Show The Electric Company. This would be the first time a live action Spider-Man spoke vocally, and was seen as Peter Parker. The series was the first to incorporate other live action elements from the comics as well.
Coppers Friend.
In the comics, Spider-Man had an uneasy relationship with the police, but on the show he had a somewhat amiable friendship with gruff cop Captain Barbera.
Spider Gadgets.
Spider-Man's web shooters and belt are on the outside of his costume in this series, unlike in the comics where they are concealed within his costume. This was later adapted to the comics when a character named Ben Riley (who was also Peter Parker's clone) used improved web shooters and kept his belt on the outside of his costume as the Scarlet-Spider. However, Riley concealed the belt during his brief stint as the new Spider-Man.
Official Release.
During the early 80's, episodes were paired off and edited together to be sold into syndication as TV movies, some featuring added footage to bridge the gap between stories. The TV movie versions were subsequently released on home video (though never on DVD). Due to the uneven number of one hour episodes, Deadly Tower was the episode not paired with another, and the only not to be released on home video.
All in all, The Amazing Spider-Man is certified action and guaranteed entertainment in 60 minutes. What are you waiting for? go watch it now!
Still want more on Your friendly neighbor? Well, wait no more and join The Amazing Spider-man (1977 Live Action) Appreciation Society Facebook page for updates, news, friendship and a lot more!
Still want more on Your friendly neighbor? Well, wait no more and join The Amazing Spider-man (1977 Live Action) Appreciation Society Facebook page for updates, news, friendship and a lot more!
Now let's finish today's review with our video section featuring the series opening and few cool clips:
2 comments:
AWESOME !!!! :)
Thanks Stevie! I just realized your name reminds me of Stev McQueen! haha! cheers buddy!
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