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

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 | Marvel Comics

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:

Netherlands:6 (2009) (DVD) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | USA:TV-Y7 | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Krantz Films

Trivia:

The Human Fly Twins ("The Spider and the Fly" and "Trick or Treachery") are named "Stan" and "Lee".

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:

Radiation Specialist: [The Specialist has discovered Spidey standing outside the reactor's dome] He's here. And now....
[hits the external power override]
Spider-Man: [standing outside the reactor's dome] Something's going on - my Spider-sense is tingling! I don't like this!
[reappears inside the dome]
Radiation Specialist: [turns around to face Spidey, who is clinging to the dome] Welcome, Spider-Man!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Men Without Jobs (2004)

Soundtrack:

Spider-Man

Probably the most fondly remembered cartoon series of my childhood.

The wisecracking web-slinger was part of my TV viewing experience for many years; even though I was born after the series went off the air, it has been in syndication for so long that I was able to catch all the episodes years later.

Spider-Man was a cool superhero because he wasn't as, well, infallible as other superhero characters. He was a wise guy and his alter ego, Peter Parker, was constantly beset with personal problems.

I agree with what another reviewer once said: if the second and third seasons had been more like the first season, it might be easier to dismiss it. But then animation legend Ralph Bakshi took over and the writers started with all sorts of weird science-fiction, fantasy, and horror type plots, goofy monsters, and achingly off-the-wall acid trip backgrounds.

It seems to me to be too easy to write off the makers of the show as being monumentally lazy. Sure, they recycled scenes, characters, and in some cases entire episodes too much, but that could have been simply indicative of too small a budget and too little time to develop new shows.

I used to think that it was 'Rocket Robin Hood' that ripped off the 'Spider-Man' episodes, and only learned in recent years that it was the other way around.

Whether watching one of the villains from the comic book, or one of the more out-there villains from the second and third seasons of the series, they were most often very colorful and had interesting gimmicks. I always enjoyed the Vulture a lot because his ego was so immense; he thought that because he had the ability to fly that he was virtually impossible to defeat. I just got a real kick out of that.

People with different sensibilities can gripe all they want about inferior animation, lazy staff, and variations from comic book to series, but for people like me this was a silly but harmless and entertaining diversion to spice up our childhood TV schedules.

7/10