"The Amazing Spider-Man" (1978) TV series 1978-1979

Directors:

Tom Blank
Cliff Bole

Writers:

Alvin Boretz (writer)
Steve Ditko (characters)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | unknown

Release Date:

5 April 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Crime

Plot:

With the powers given by the bite of a radioactive spider, a young man fights crime as a wall-crawling superhero.

Plot Keywords:

Laboratory Accident | Spider-Man | Superhero | Spider Sense | Clairvoyance

Cast

Nicholas Hammond	...	Peter Parker / ... (13 episodes, 1978-1979)
Robert F. Simon	...	J. Jonah Jameson (12 episodes, 1978-1979)
Ellen Bry	...	Julie Masters (12 episodes, 1978-1979)
Chip Fields	...	Rita Conway (12 episodes, 1978-1979)

Also Known As:

Spiderman

Runtime:

60 min (15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Charles Fries Productions

Trivia:

Stan Lee (Spiderman's comic book 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."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in VH-1 Where Are They Now: Superheros (2003) (TV)

Guilty Pleasure...

Yes, it's campy. Yes, the acting wasn't very good and the scripts were dull. Yes, the special effects are *very* dated.

It doesn't matter. "Amazing Spider-Man" is one of those time capsules that perfectly captures late 1970s action TV. It was funky, it was campy, it was cheesy, and it was great.

Sure, it could have been better. Given time, the series could have hit its groove and easily been as good as the other Marvel TV series of the day, "The Incredible Hulk." Legend has it this show was cancelled because of low ratings, but I heard CBS both wouldn't commit to a consistent timeslot, and they didn't want to be known as the Superhero Network (they had "Hulk," "Wonder Woman," and showed the hideous "Captain America" and "Dr. Strange" movies). They could have had a real winner...