The Amazing Spider-Man

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...

I have caught this show in reruns on SCI-FI before, and I have to say I enjoyed it. Okay, so maybe the special effects aren't the best in the world, but it was still a fun series. Spider-Man has always been one of my favorite superheroes and I really enjoyed watching him fight crime in this series. I wish they could have brought in more of the supervillians for him to fight though. But it was still a fun series to watch.

For me, it was the first Spiderman. And that does it, like many childhood impressions, the best. Sure, after decades, it has the mark of its period and that is fair to be. But the seduction remains. It could be defined as nostalgia but it works. Because Nicholas Hammond gives a nice performance, because the special effects are naive, because CGI is unborn and the script is so easy than it becomes a delight after a hard work day. And, sure, because zou are part, in same measure, from serie. For memories. And for inner child.

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.

The show wasn't all that bad. Despite revealing mistakes, weak acting and, story lines. It did all right in spots. Some of my favorite episodes were The Curse of Rava, A Matter of State, Photo Finish, and The Chinese Web. But Spider-Man couldn't be the hit that The Incredible Hulk was. Although it could have lasted one more season. Nicholas Hammond seems a lot older and mature, then the comic book Peter Parker. But he was good in the role. I hope when The Spider-Man movie comes out in May. That fans will rediscover this series.