Dread
TMNT 1984-2009
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I tried looking for a past topic on this, and found this thread:
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=282808&page=2
On page 5, circa October 2007. If a mod wants to merge, feel free. Anyway, my opinion was going to be more than "Nicholas Hammond is a bad-ass".
Anyway, a bit of a prologue. Naturally, when this series was on the air, I wasn't even born. The last episode aired on CBS in 1979 and even if some stations reaired some episodes now and then, you'd have to be in your mid 30's at least to recall seeing it on TV. I first came across it when I was about 9 or 10 walking into one of those Mom & Pop Video Shops that seemed to be all over the place in the late 80's - early 90's (which were by and large put out of business en masse by the advent of DVD's, which rendered their inventories moot and outdated). I found one dusty copy of an 80's VHS release of two episodes from this series. At the time, I had no idea it existed and the idea of a live action Spidey was wild. It would be another couple of years until the 90's cartoon had it's sneak peek and I recall manipulating my mom into getting a membership at that parlor just so we could rent it. I recall I wasn't especially dazzled by it, but it was still a novelty, a live action Spider-Man show. Sure, there was that one "Register to Vote" ad that a live action Spidey actor had in some 90's generation Marvel Animation videos (that had 80's cartoon episodes on them, such as the VHS for the PRYDE OF THE X-MEN pilot), but this was a SHOW. I recall that Spidey's costume looked better on the box art than in the show, but it was good enough for me at the time. It was the VHS that had the episodes "NIGHT OF THE CLONES" & "ESCORT TO DANGER".
Over the years after that, if I happened to come across an episode of the show in my travels, I would try to see it. One of my friends in high school happened to have the original 1977 pilot (titled simply "AMAZING SPIDER-MAN") and we watched it over an afternoon. As teenagers, naturally it was easier to point out the cornball bits and laugh at it. Still, there was a curiosity. A local BLOCKBUSTER happened to have an old tape of the series finale, "THE CHINESE WEB", which I rented twice during the 90's before it, like many BLOCKBUSTERS, was purged from inventory in the wake of DVD's. I wonder if all those shops realized they got rid of some rare VHS' that had content that's to date never been converted to DVD, and people on eBay sometimes pay good money for 'em, even used. Oh, well.
I happened upon "THE CON CAPER" on YouTube in college, but years later I was determined that I probably liked the series enough to buy it via bootleg (as well as research it online). Going with economics, I found the cheapest seller on the Internet and got them mailed in from Canada. I've spent the last 2 weeks or so watching the episodes and figured it was time to share my thoughts, somewhere. There are people who enjoy the series for nostalgia or campy charm and others who absolutely loathe it, especially in the wake of 3 blockbuster CGI movies from Sony starring a more definitive wall-crawler. At least I am old enough to realize that before 2002, these crusty oldies with Nicholas Hammond in the title role were your only option for live action Spidey for a good 23-25 years.
The pilot aired on CBS in April 1977; despite being horribly cheesy (even by the show's standards) and the origin having some kinks, it got solid ratings at the time, causing CBS to commission more episodes. However, with INCREDIBLE HULK and WONDER WOMAN airing at the same time every week (as well as TV movies for DOCTOR STRANGE and two for CAPTAIN AMERICA, which were all horrible), CBS execs feared being pigeon-holed as "the superhero network" and so never gave the green-light for a full episode count. They commissioned 6 episodes for the rest of the first season, which aired from April - May 1978. Every major character from the pilot was recast aside for Nicholas Hammond's Peter Parker, and Micheal Pataki's "Captain Barbera" character (who the producers allegedly hated). J. Jonah Jameson was played by Robert F. Simon and while Robbie Robertson appeared in the pilot, he was replaced by a made up character named Rita Conway, played by Chip Fields. It is interesting to note that she may as well have been named Gloria Grant, who was a new character in ASM circa 1975, but apparently the producers didn't care enough, or didn't know, about her.
The show consistently got Top 20 ratings for it's time-slot, but appealed to younger viewers than INCREDIBLE HULK and was critically panned, even by Stan Lee himself. Again, CBS cared enough to commission more episodes, but not enough to order a lot of them or set up a consistent schedule; they would air sporatically at different times, I hear, to leech viewers from other shows. From August 1978 to July 1979, the Second (and last) season of 7 episodes aired. Pataki's "Capt. Barbera" character was dropped from the cast and instead of a revolving door of leading ladies every week, the character of Julia Masters (played by Ellen Bry) was inserted as a rival for Peter in the newspaper biz as well as potential love interest. Although, I must say, Peter & Rita did flirt once or twice on-screen. The second season also focused less on enemies with bizarre powers and more on "human level" crooks armed with normal weapons or martial arts (the first season had clones, telekenetics and super-strong Bond-henchmen goons, for comparison). The stories were a little better overall, even if Spider-Man himself seemed limited by technology and plot holes.
It also goes without saying that a lot of "cool clips" of stuntwork from this show that appear online with Spidey in costume aren't actually of Nicholas Hammond, but of stuntman Fred Waugh. Hammond was afraid of heights and nearly every scene where Spider-Man had to fight, jump, climb, or swing was done by Mr. Waugh, who also has a long stunt career in films.
(If you want to know where I got a lot of this info, I got it from Wikipedia and this excellent fansite: http://homepage.mac.com/markrathwell/Spidey/ ).
So, after all this basic information, the question is; how is the series?
Considering my sometimes harsh criticism of cartoons and comic books sometimes, it may either be shocking or heartening to learn that I...kind of liked this series. Don't get me wrong; it is hardly A-List TV quality and any enjoyment is on a pure kitsch, cult appeal. The biggest problem, aside for the shoestring budget (even for the late 70's), was the fact that there is zero mention of Uncle Ben in this series. Aunt May only shows up twice (played by two different actresses) and Peter is already well into grad school when he is bitten by the radioactive spider and becomes a superhero. Without the tragedy of Ben Parker, it makes him come off as fairly generic, good for goodness' sake. It also is convenient for 1977 New York, which was under a crime wave headed by Mr. Byron and his computer-chip enslaved stooges (circa the pilot); not only does Mr. Byron have two mobster allies, but a small squad of samurai with bamboo sticks to guard his lair. Yeeeaaah. Jameson is more of a crusty old man than the figure from the comics (or from the movies; J.K. Simmons is incredible), and none of the villains or supporting cast from the comics show up; in one episode there is a mention of a "Mr. Conners", but it is likely more of a coincidence than a nod to fans. Having seen this series, I am probably grateful that none of the "official" villains from the comics showed up, because they wouldn't have been done well. It is easier to laugh at cheesy villains when they aren't botched jobs of figures you know.
In fact, the only possible allusion to then-timely comics was the Season 1 episode, "NIGHT OF THE CLONES", in which a scientist named Dr. Moon clones himself, and his evil clone makes a wicked clone of Spider-Man. That was circa 1978, and the original Clone Saga storyline from ASM saw print around 1975; so the notion of Spider-Clones was actually timely if you were a comic reader back then. Granted, "evil clones" of a hero is fairly standard fare.
The special effects are also rather cheap; while careful camera work keeps you from seeing the lines holding up the stuntman for wall-crawling scenes, you can obviously see he is barely touching the wall. Some falling or especially web-net action are unintentionally hilarious; I was reminded of the "A tiny net is a death sentence!" gag from KUNG POW: ENTER THE FIST.
Still, if you take this series 100% seriously, then these things will drive you crazy. I didn't, and if you don't, in a way it adds to the fun. James Rolfe, better known online as the ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD, once opined on a video review that sometimes "low budget films" with cheesy effects you can "see through" can sometimes draw an audience in in an odd way. With this, I kind of agree.
But there are some good bits. Nicholas Hammond honestly tries his best with his material as Peter Parker, and while he doesn't have Ben's death to deal with and sometimes comes off as a womanizer in Season 1 with the parade of leading ladies (and some would mention being "too good looking" to play a dweeb), he gives an earnest performance. His Parker is still clumsy and often very "goody goody", missing obvious female passes and whatnot. There are some moments where Parker has angst about his powers or situation, especially in the "DEADLY DUST" 2-parter from season 1 and "THE CHINESE WEB" from the series finale that show that Hammond had some chops when he was given dramatic material. FYI, if you thought the line, "This is my gift, this is my curse" was awesome in SPIDER-MAN circa 2002, well, Hammond had a similar line in 1978:
"People think it would be wonderful to have Spider-Man's powers. Let me tell you, I'm not so sure if it's a blessing or a curse."
It also is worth noting that this is the only live action Spidey show that had mechanical web-shooters as well as Spider-Tracers, which are used fairly often.
While Parker doesn't always come into the same dilemmas that we all know and love in Spider-stories, it does come up; he often has to leave a dangerous situation to become Spider-Man, and occasionally gets a rep as a coward or fop as a result. Still, sometimes one gets the feeling that New Yorkers in the 70's were as dumb as people in Metropolis for not figuring out who Spider-Man was. Sometimes Spidey would even continue a conversation he'd had with a lady as Parker, and no one'd notice!
Robert F. Simon's J.J. is hardly J.K. Simmons, but both he and Chip Field's Rita get in some good lines now and then. When Ellen Bry's character comes in, it provides a more stable romantic interest (and some good exchanges with Hammond on her own), even if "Julia Masters" may as well be named Lois Lane. She is almost the same character; aggressive reporter, rival to the hero professionally, never listens when you tell her to "stay away, this is too dangerous" and thus has to be saved by the hero every other episode from criminals and even bears (!), and there is more tension than anything "deliberate" in terms of relationships. Spider-Man does reveal his identity to a woman by the end of the series, but it isn't Julia, and that feels a bit cheap.
There are some genuinely suspenseful episodes and even some surprising moments, but too few of them are taken to their fullest conclusions (such as in "PHOTO FINISH", when Spider-Man's mask is torn during a fight and the crook of the week now suspects he is Peter Parker), which keeps the series in campy cult territory. Spider-Man's power levels also flux sometimes; while he is strong enough to bend steel bars or car parts (or sometimes overpower men twice his size), Spidey rarely KO's anyone with a single blow or even multiple blows. Spider-Man is incapable of dodging bullets, but appears to be able to recover from wounds, even gunshots, within a few scenes. Peter's "Spider-Sense" is more of a plot convenient ESP that alerts him to when someone nearby, usually a woman he is with, is in danger (and the eye-glow effects make him look possessed, which I also found hilarious). The webbing looks like jump rope; and while Peter isn't a martial artist, he employs some sort of weird combat style as Spider-Man. Spidey always had unique moves, but, well, if you were spoiled by SPIDER-MAN 2's brawls, you may not be able to take these. I actually enjoyed some of the stunt-work. Some of them, considering these were all live actors, were a bit death-defying (such as one rare "web-swing" from one rooftop to another in the pilot).
Footage from the pilot is repeated way too often, though.
And any mention of the series isn't complete without bringing up the music. The tunes, from the opening themes to the scores throughout, are classic 70's and while they sometimes sound like bad porno's, it also helps keep the cheese level if you like that sort of thing. Oh yeah, Spidey was funkalicious. Shaft would have fit right in.
Here are the episode lists:
Season 1 (1977-1978)
1). "AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" (pilot)
2). "THE DEADLY DUST" Part 1
3). "THE DEADLY DUST" Part 2
4). "THE CURSE OF RAVA"
5). "NIGHT OF THE CLONES"
6). "ESCORT TO DANGER"
Season 2 (1978-1979)
7). "THE CAPTIVE TOWER" (the only episode never released on VHS in the 80's or 90's, with a plot amazingly similar to DIE HARD, which it predated)
8). "A MATTER OF STATE"
9). "CON CAPER"
10). "THE KIRKWOOD HAUNTING"
11). "PHOTO FINISH"
12). "WOLF-PACK"
13). "THE CHINESE WEB" (Parts 1 & 2)
Any decent comic con will have someone selling this series on bootleg, especially since this series was reaired in the 90's on USA Today, The Sci-Fi Channel, and TNT.
If you're looking for Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire pathos, this isn't for you. But if you can sit back, keep your expectations light and your mood fun, this series, despite the cornball stuff, has a charm to it. I will say Season 2 was better overall, although Season 1 had a few more memorable (if cornier) villains. "THE DEADLY DUST" 's Mr. White was essentially a Bond villain, complete with white pimp suit, a mountain-top pad full of bikini babes, and two Enforcer-like henchmen. He was my favorite rogue. There are plenty of moments that are "so bad, they're awesome", but also some genuinely interesting moments and some decent stunts.
The series also has some cameos from Madeline Stowe, Ted Danson, Morgan Fairchild, Andrew Robinson (Scorpio from DIRTY HARRY), Gavin O'Herlihy (SUPERMAN III, DEATH WISH III), and Rosalind Chao (STAR TREK: TNG & STAR TREK: DS9).
Granted, maybe it is easier to chuckle at this now that we truly have a great Spidey TV show on all levels in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN.
http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=282808&page=2
On page 5, circa October 2007. If a mod wants to merge, feel free. Anyway, my opinion was going to be more than "Nicholas Hammond is a bad-ass".
Anyway, a bit of a prologue. Naturally, when this series was on the air, I wasn't even born. The last episode aired on CBS in 1979 and even if some stations reaired some episodes now and then, you'd have to be in your mid 30's at least to recall seeing it on TV. I first came across it when I was about 9 or 10 walking into one of those Mom & Pop Video Shops that seemed to be all over the place in the late 80's - early 90's (which were by and large put out of business en masse by the advent of DVD's, which rendered their inventories moot and outdated). I found one dusty copy of an 80's VHS release of two episodes from this series. At the time, I had no idea it existed and the idea of a live action Spidey was wild. It would be another couple of years until the 90's cartoon had it's sneak peek and I recall manipulating my mom into getting a membership at that parlor just so we could rent it. I recall I wasn't especially dazzled by it, but it was still a novelty, a live action Spider-Man show. Sure, there was that one "Register to Vote" ad that a live action Spidey actor had in some 90's generation Marvel Animation videos (that had 80's cartoon episodes on them, such as the VHS for the PRYDE OF THE X-MEN pilot), but this was a SHOW. I recall that Spidey's costume looked better on the box art than in the show, but it was good enough for me at the time. It was the VHS that had the episodes "NIGHT OF THE CLONES" & "ESCORT TO DANGER".
Over the years after that, if I happened to come across an episode of the show in my travels, I would try to see it. One of my friends in high school happened to have the original 1977 pilot (titled simply "AMAZING SPIDER-MAN") and we watched it over an afternoon. As teenagers, naturally it was easier to point out the cornball bits and laugh at it. Still, there was a curiosity. A local BLOCKBUSTER happened to have an old tape of the series finale, "THE CHINESE WEB", which I rented twice during the 90's before it, like many BLOCKBUSTERS, was purged from inventory in the wake of DVD's. I wonder if all those shops realized they got rid of some rare VHS' that had content that's to date never been converted to DVD, and people on eBay sometimes pay good money for 'em, even used. Oh, well.
I happened upon "THE CON CAPER" on YouTube in college, but years later I was determined that I probably liked the series enough to buy it via bootleg (as well as research it online). Going with economics, I found the cheapest seller on the Internet and got them mailed in from Canada. I've spent the last 2 weeks or so watching the episodes and figured it was time to share my thoughts, somewhere. There are people who enjoy the series for nostalgia or campy charm and others who absolutely loathe it, especially in the wake of 3 blockbuster CGI movies from Sony starring a more definitive wall-crawler. At least I am old enough to realize that before 2002, these crusty oldies with Nicholas Hammond in the title role were your only option for live action Spidey for a good 23-25 years.
The pilot aired on CBS in April 1977; despite being horribly cheesy (even by the show's standards) and the origin having some kinks, it got solid ratings at the time, causing CBS to commission more episodes. However, with INCREDIBLE HULK and WONDER WOMAN airing at the same time every week (as well as TV movies for DOCTOR STRANGE and two for CAPTAIN AMERICA, which were all horrible), CBS execs feared being pigeon-holed as "the superhero network" and so never gave the green-light for a full episode count. They commissioned 6 episodes for the rest of the first season, which aired from April - May 1978. Every major character from the pilot was recast aside for Nicholas Hammond's Peter Parker, and Micheal Pataki's "Captain Barbera" character (who the producers allegedly hated). J. Jonah Jameson was played by Robert F. Simon and while Robbie Robertson appeared in the pilot, he was replaced by a made up character named Rita Conway, played by Chip Fields. It is interesting to note that she may as well have been named Gloria Grant, who was a new character in ASM circa 1975, but apparently the producers didn't care enough, or didn't know, about her.
The show consistently got Top 20 ratings for it's time-slot, but appealed to younger viewers than INCREDIBLE HULK and was critically panned, even by Stan Lee himself. Again, CBS cared enough to commission more episodes, but not enough to order a lot of them or set up a consistent schedule; they would air sporatically at different times, I hear, to leech viewers from other shows. From August 1978 to July 1979, the Second (and last) season of 7 episodes aired. Pataki's "Capt. Barbera" character was dropped from the cast and instead of a revolving door of leading ladies every week, the character of Julia Masters (played by Ellen Bry) was inserted as a rival for Peter in the newspaper biz as well as potential love interest. Although, I must say, Peter & Rita did flirt once or twice on-screen. The second season also focused less on enemies with bizarre powers and more on "human level" crooks armed with normal weapons or martial arts (the first season had clones, telekenetics and super-strong Bond-henchmen goons, for comparison). The stories were a little better overall, even if Spider-Man himself seemed limited by technology and plot holes.
It also goes without saying that a lot of "cool clips" of stuntwork from this show that appear online with Spidey in costume aren't actually of Nicholas Hammond, but of stuntman Fred Waugh. Hammond was afraid of heights and nearly every scene where Spider-Man had to fight, jump, climb, or swing was done by Mr. Waugh, who also has a long stunt career in films.
(If you want to know where I got a lot of this info, I got it from Wikipedia and this excellent fansite: http://homepage.mac.com/markrathwell/Spidey/ ).
So, after all this basic information, the question is; how is the series?
Considering my sometimes harsh criticism of cartoons and comic books sometimes, it may either be shocking or heartening to learn that I...kind of liked this series. Don't get me wrong; it is hardly A-List TV quality and any enjoyment is on a pure kitsch, cult appeal. The biggest problem, aside for the shoestring budget (even for the late 70's), was the fact that there is zero mention of Uncle Ben in this series. Aunt May only shows up twice (played by two different actresses) and Peter is already well into grad school when he is bitten by the radioactive spider and becomes a superhero. Without the tragedy of Ben Parker, it makes him come off as fairly generic, good for goodness' sake. It also is convenient for 1977 New York, which was under a crime wave headed by Mr. Byron and his computer-chip enslaved stooges (circa the pilot); not only does Mr. Byron have two mobster allies, but a small squad of samurai with bamboo sticks to guard his lair. Yeeeaaah. Jameson is more of a crusty old man than the figure from the comics (or from the movies; J.K. Simmons is incredible), and none of the villains or supporting cast from the comics show up; in one episode there is a mention of a "Mr. Conners", but it is likely more of a coincidence than a nod to fans. Having seen this series, I am probably grateful that none of the "official" villains from the comics showed up, because they wouldn't have been done well. It is easier to laugh at cheesy villains when they aren't botched jobs of figures you know.
In fact, the only possible allusion to then-timely comics was the Season 1 episode, "NIGHT OF THE CLONES", in which a scientist named Dr. Moon clones himself, and his evil clone makes a wicked clone of Spider-Man. That was circa 1978, and the original Clone Saga storyline from ASM saw print around 1975; so the notion of Spider-Clones was actually timely if you were a comic reader back then. Granted, "evil clones" of a hero is fairly standard fare.
The special effects are also rather cheap; while careful camera work keeps you from seeing the lines holding up the stuntman for wall-crawling scenes, you can obviously see he is barely touching the wall. Some falling or especially web-net action are unintentionally hilarious; I was reminded of the "A tiny net is a death sentence!" gag from KUNG POW: ENTER THE FIST.
Still, if you take this series 100% seriously, then these things will drive you crazy. I didn't, and if you don't, in a way it adds to the fun. James Rolfe, better known online as the ANGRY VIDEO GAME NERD, once opined on a video review that sometimes "low budget films" with cheesy effects you can "see through" can sometimes draw an audience in in an odd way. With this, I kind of agree.
But there are some good bits. Nicholas Hammond honestly tries his best with his material as Peter Parker, and while he doesn't have Ben's death to deal with and sometimes comes off as a womanizer in Season 1 with the parade of leading ladies (and some would mention being "too good looking" to play a dweeb), he gives an earnest performance. His Parker is still clumsy and often very "goody goody", missing obvious female passes and whatnot. There are some moments where Parker has angst about his powers or situation, especially in the "DEADLY DUST" 2-parter from season 1 and "THE CHINESE WEB" from the series finale that show that Hammond had some chops when he was given dramatic material. FYI, if you thought the line, "This is my gift, this is my curse" was awesome in SPIDER-MAN circa 2002, well, Hammond had a similar line in 1978:
"People think it would be wonderful to have Spider-Man's powers. Let me tell you, I'm not so sure if it's a blessing or a curse."
It also is worth noting that this is the only live action Spidey show that had mechanical web-shooters as well as Spider-Tracers, which are used fairly often.
While Parker doesn't always come into the same dilemmas that we all know and love in Spider-stories, it does come up; he often has to leave a dangerous situation to become Spider-Man, and occasionally gets a rep as a coward or fop as a result. Still, sometimes one gets the feeling that New Yorkers in the 70's were as dumb as people in Metropolis for not figuring out who Spider-Man was. Sometimes Spidey would even continue a conversation he'd had with a lady as Parker, and no one'd notice!
Robert F. Simon's J.J. is hardly J.K. Simmons, but both he and Chip Field's Rita get in some good lines now and then. When Ellen Bry's character comes in, it provides a more stable romantic interest (and some good exchanges with Hammond on her own), even if "Julia Masters" may as well be named Lois Lane. She is almost the same character; aggressive reporter, rival to the hero professionally, never listens when you tell her to "stay away, this is too dangerous" and thus has to be saved by the hero every other episode from criminals and even bears (!), and there is more tension than anything "deliberate" in terms of relationships. Spider-Man does reveal his identity to a woman by the end of the series, but it isn't Julia, and that feels a bit cheap.
There are some genuinely suspenseful episodes and even some surprising moments, but too few of them are taken to their fullest conclusions (such as in "PHOTO FINISH", when Spider-Man's mask is torn during a fight and the crook of the week now suspects he is Peter Parker), which keeps the series in campy cult territory. Spider-Man's power levels also flux sometimes; while he is strong enough to bend steel bars or car parts (or sometimes overpower men twice his size), Spidey rarely KO's anyone with a single blow or even multiple blows. Spider-Man is incapable of dodging bullets, but appears to be able to recover from wounds, even gunshots, within a few scenes. Peter's "Spider-Sense" is more of a plot convenient ESP that alerts him to when someone nearby, usually a woman he is with, is in danger (and the eye-glow effects make him look possessed, which I also found hilarious). The webbing looks like jump rope; and while Peter isn't a martial artist, he employs some sort of weird combat style as Spider-Man. Spidey always had unique moves, but, well, if you were spoiled by SPIDER-MAN 2's brawls, you may not be able to take these. I actually enjoyed some of the stunt-work. Some of them, considering these were all live actors, were a bit death-defying (such as one rare "web-swing" from one rooftop to another in the pilot).
Footage from the pilot is repeated way too often, though.
And any mention of the series isn't complete without bringing up the music. The tunes, from the opening themes to the scores throughout, are classic 70's and while they sometimes sound like bad porno's, it also helps keep the cheese level if you like that sort of thing. Oh yeah, Spidey was funkalicious. Shaft would have fit right in.
Here are the episode lists:
Season 1 (1977-1978)
1). "AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" (pilot)
2). "THE DEADLY DUST" Part 1
3). "THE DEADLY DUST" Part 2
4). "THE CURSE OF RAVA"
5). "NIGHT OF THE CLONES"
6). "ESCORT TO DANGER"
Season 2 (1978-1979)
7). "THE CAPTIVE TOWER" (the only episode never released on VHS in the 80's or 90's, with a plot amazingly similar to DIE HARD, which it predated)
8). "A MATTER OF STATE"
9). "CON CAPER"
10). "THE KIRKWOOD HAUNTING"
11). "PHOTO FINISH"
12). "WOLF-PACK"
13). "THE CHINESE WEB" (Parts 1 & 2)
Any decent comic con will have someone selling this series on bootleg, especially since this series was reaired in the 90's on USA Today, The Sci-Fi Channel, and TNT.
If you're looking for Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire pathos, this isn't for you. But if you can sit back, keep your expectations light and your mood fun, this series, despite the cornball stuff, has a charm to it. I will say Season 2 was better overall, although Season 1 had a few more memorable (if cornier) villains. "THE DEADLY DUST" 's Mr. White was essentially a Bond villain, complete with white pimp suit, a mountain-top pad full of bikini babes, and two Enforcer-like henchmen. He was my favorite rogue. There are plenty of moments that are "so bad, they're awesome", but also some genuinely interesting moments and some decent stunts.
The series also has some cameos from Madeline Stowe, Ted Danson, Morgan Fairchild, Andrew Robinson (Scorpio from DIRTY HARRY), Gavin O'Herlihy (SUPERMAN III, DEATH WISH III), and Rosalind Chao (STAR TREK: TNG & STAR TREK: DS9).
Granted, maybe it is easier to chuckle at this now that we truly have a great Spidey TV show on all levels in SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN.
