The Amazing Spider-Man (1977) (TV)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

E.W. Swackhamer

Writers:

Alvin Boretz (writer)
Steve Ditko (characters)

Release Date:

14 September 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

For the first time on the screen... the world's favourite adventure super-hero comes _alive_

Plot:

When an extortionist threatens to force a multi-suicide unless a huge ransom is paid, only Peter Parker can stop him with his new powers as Spider-Man.

Plot Keywords:

Based On Comic Book | TV Series Pilot | TV Pilot | Based On Comic | Marvel Comics

Cast

Nicholas Hammond	...	Spider-Man / Peter Parker
David White	...	J. Jonah Jameson
Michael Pataki	...	Captain Barbera
Hilly Hicks	...	Joe 'Robbie' Robertson
Lisa Eilbacher	...	Judy Tyler
Dick Balduzzi	...	Delivery Man
Jeff Donnell	...	Aunt May Parker
Robert Hastings	...	Monahan
Barry Cutler	...	Purse Snatcher
Ivor Francis	...	Professor Noah Tyler
Thayer David	...	Edward Byron
Norman Rice
Len Lesser
Ivan Bonar
Carmelita Pope

Also Known As:

Spider-Man

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:6 | UK:U

Company:

Charles Fries Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: Spider-Man faces forward to shoot webbing onto three staff-wielding warriors lying on the floor close together. Seconds before that, the warriors had been knocked down by Spider-Man apart from each other, with only one lying completely in front of him.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: No Place Like Home (#5.5)" (2000)

A Bold but often Unintentionally Hilarious effort

You have to give the producers and actors of this show some praise for at least TRYING to do a live action Spider-Man. As unintentionally funny as this pilot movie and the series that followed could be, I was always glad that someone actually attempted something with Spider-Man like this. The problem here is that this show had a limited TV budget, and of course it was made in the 1970s where the technology was very primitive. So the creators of this movie were just way in over their heads here with what they were trying to do. It worked in the 70s for the Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman where only simple stunts are needed, but doing Spider-Man requires a large budget and adequate technology. They didn't have the money or time to build sets on this show, so they actually used real New York buildings and real people!! It was outrageous and it did expose the silliness of the Spider-Man character. When you watch this show and see Spider-Man climbing up a REAL skyscraper 50 ft off the ground or dangling from a REAL helicopter, you realize that in no way can anyone EVER be Spider-Man, even if they did have the proportional powers of a spider.

The origins of Spider-Man from the comics are simply ignored here, and many characters are omitted. Peter Parker does get bitten by a radioactive spider, but as an over 25 year old graduate student in college, not a high school kid as he is supposed to be. There is no Uncle Ben, no wrestling arena, and no murdering thief. Aunt May is here, but in a brief cameo. Betty Brandt is not here, but there is a cute African American secretary in her place by the name of Rita. J. Jonah Jameson is there along with Robbie, but a needlessly grumpy police detective always hangs around. Nicholas Hammond at first glance is not the ideal Peter Parker, for one thing he just looks too old. Peter Parker was about 15-23 in the comics. Even though Hammond was in his 20s like the current Spider-Man Tobey Maguire is, Hammond just looked like he was about 35 or 36. Maguire was 25 when he was first cast as Peter/Spidey, but at least he looked like he was still a kid. Hammond in no way looked like he was 16. Hammond also came across as way too worldly and experienced compared to the way Pete should be. He just seemed like he knew a lot about life compared to the Tobey Maguire version or the comic book Peter Parker. And Hammond's Peter Parker acted far too mature to the way Peter traditionally is. You can tell that Hammond's Peter Parker has been around the block multiple times.

Now the great thing about Nicholas Hammond is that he DOES GROW ON YOU. So if you go beyond this pilot movie and watch the TV series, after a while you start to realize that Hammond does have many Peter Parker qualities;---he has a "nice guy" type of charm and decency to him, he's also thin, not too muscular, and he's a regular looking guy that is not super studly or anything like that. In the end I think Nicholas Hammond is a fine and worthy addition to the Spider-Man legacy, and it seems like the creators of the 90s animated series paid tribute to Hammond by drawing Peter Parker in his image. Since there is no Uncle Ben or thief in this movie, Peter Parker has no real incentive to be Spider-Man. He just makes a costume and does. Spidey only has one webshooter in this movie, it's on the outside of his costume and it shoots out some kind of string or net about 10 ft.

This show debuted in the 70s before my time, but as a kid growing up in the 80s, I would catch this 70s Spider-Man show every once in a while. And back then it was a real treat to see this, even though it looked so mental. Again it was great JUST HAVING a live action Spider-Man. Any kind of live action Spider-Man. Peter Parker/Spider-Man's powers are considerably toned down on this show. He does have some kind of weird super strength that comes and goes, but in no way does he ever come across like he could bench press 10 tons like the comic book Spidey can. Spider-Man did climb up walls, but it looked odd the way he did it in this movie. And he never webslinged across New York on this show, the most Spidey webslinged here was about 4 ft from one ledge to another. This movie and the series that followed for 1 year was without question pretty freakin' stupid, but you have to give them some credit for trying.