"Spider-Man" (1967) TV series 1967-1970

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Creators:

Steve Ditko
Stan Lee

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

9 September 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family

Plot:

A teenage boy with the powers of a spider fights crime as the Webslinging Wonder.

Plot Keywords:

Spider-Man | Spider | Hero | Web | Television

Cast

Paul Soles	...	Spider-Man / ... (77 episodes, 1967-1970)
Peg Dixon	...	Betty Brant / ... (77 episodes, 1967-1970)
Paul Kligman	...	J. Jonah Jameson / ... (76 episodes, 1967-1970)
Bernard Cowan	...	Police officer / ... (72 episodes, 1967-1970)

Also Known As:

"Spiderman" (USA) (alternative spelling)
"The Amazing Spider-Man" (UK) (video box title)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | USA:TV-Y7 | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Famous Studios

Trivia:

Two episodes of the series ("Phantom from the Depths of Time" and "Revolt in the Fifth Dimension") heavily recycle animation from episodes "From Menace to Menace" and "Dimentia Five" of the earlier series "Rocket Robin Hood" (1966) by simply substituting Spider-Man for Rocket Robin Hood on the animated cels.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the opening title sequence of the show, Spider-Man is shown, "in the chill of night", looking out of a window at a jewelry store. The store's sign displays the words "FINE JEWLERY". When Spider-Man swings down and kicks the door open, the sign has become "FINE JEWELRY".

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Spider-Man: Wallopin' websnappers!

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The Fairly OddParents: The Big Superhero Wish! (#4.1)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

Spider-Man

Bakshi is Better (IMHO)

I grew up watching this series in the early 1970s, and I'm happy that someone finally placed them onto DVDs. The set of 6 discs is rather deep, with all the episodes filling the DVDs. It's rather thin on extras. But there are what, 3 hours per disc? And the episodes are in chronological order, from the first to the final episode.

Some of the episodes weren't digitally remastered, as most seem to have been, but heck, when I compare them to the VHS tapes I used to purchase at comic book shows where the tapes were recorded from UHF stations yielding poor reception, I won't complain. I'm just glad they're here. For the price, it's plenty of bang for the buck.

As for the episodes, Ralph Bakshi took over as producer midway through the run of the original episodes (his cartoons can be found about midway through the third DVD). Reading through postings on the net, people have said that Bakshi took over and operations moved from Canada to the US when it was cheaper then to produce the animation in the states... and some staff cutting was done while the episodes were still cranked out at a good pace. Hence, people claim, a good bit of regurgitation of characters and plot lines increased. FYI, the Canadian episodes had Spidey webbing in clear skies, while the Bakshi episodes introduced eerie, watercolored skies.

I'm a visual guy, and love the vibrant tones. Plus, it seems as though the music picked up a lot with the change. I just "dig" the way the music sounded. You can even hear a musician yelp every now and then in some jam sessions. So, I can't go Bakshi bashing. Usually, it's the networks that trim budgets, and Bakshi, I feel, had to make due. He did the best he could, I think, and I bet that if the budget had been fat, Bakshi would have had the animators take time and add depth and detail.