The Amazing Spider-Man

It couldn't be the hit show that The Incredible Hulk show was. But it did allright in spots. At least it wasn't boring like The Bionic Woman. It may have had a few badly written episodes. And some revealing mistakes. But the acting was pretty good at times. And the wall crawling scenes were terrific also. It may not have been the best superhero show. But it was not the worst. Nicholas Hammond was a lot older then the comic book Peter Parker. But he was still good in the role. I hope when the Spider Man movie comes out, that fans will rediscover this series.

Just reading why this show got canceled makes me rather steamed. This was a favorite of mine as a kid and I always watched it when it came on no matter how many times I saw the episode. Sure the effects were not great, but they were also not horrible either. They did a fairly good job with the costume and it had the nice 70's vibe to it that is always enjoyable to see and hear as the music was also very 70's. It did not really have any villains from the comics, but then most comic book live show adaptations had none to very few actual super villains from the comics. Spidey's powers were a bit different here too, he had his Spidey sense and he could climb walls, but he was not nearly as strong as the Spider-man of the comics. He was super strong though as I do remember an episode where he broke into a room by breaking the door knob off, he just was not the car hurler that the one from the comic book can be. The show was set in Los Angelos so there were not as many buildings to swing from, but they did okay with the web. It is nice that this show actually has the web shooters and not organic shooters of the movie. I love the movies, but part of me wishes they would start over and do the more smarty pants Spidey that has the mechanical web shooters. This show had a good star as Peter Parker and he was okay as Spider-man, it is nice to see a Spidey who does not basically live in the slums like he does in the movies. Neither this show nor the movie though has a Spider-man that is quick with the insult like the one in the comic. Still, this show was fun without being as corny as the Batman show.

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...

Does anyone know the status of a potential DVD release of Spiderman with Nicholas Hammond. It seems like everyone has forgotten about this series. Granted the F/X were not like they are now and it was played as camp. I know that a lot of Spiderman fans think of this series as a bad stepchild. I disagree, just part of the Spiderman legacy. I wish that whoever has the rights to release this on DVD will do this. I hope it is not another rights issue like the Superboy series. While we are at it. Sam Raimi if you are out there, contact Nicholas for a cameo in Spiderman 3. To some of us who grew up with Nicholas as Spiderman, it would be a treat. Bring Spidey back.

i also loved the spiderman tv series/movies from the 70's. i had a mean crush on nicholas hammond.