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| This was part of a plan to have several television movies featuring the Incredible Hulk and other various ] characters as well with 3 superhero shows that had already been aired; the ] with ], the ] with ], while the supposedly announced ] unfortunately did not even appear in the ]. | This was part of a plan to have several television movies featuring the Incredible Hulk and other various ] characters as well with 3 superhero shows that had already been aired; the ] with ], the ] with ], while the supposedly announced ] unfortunately did not even appear in the ]. | ||
| Reportedly, this first attempt finally fell through when ] had died of cancer in 1993. A second attempt would have been an entirely new series that had also been subsequently shelved in preproduction because the networks had then thought of and wanted to make Spider-Man into a Man-Spider mutant.{{Fact|date=August 2009}} | Reportedly, this first attempt finally fell through when ] had died of cancer in 1993. A second attempt would have been an entirely new series that had also been subsequently shelved in preproduction because the networks had then thought of and wanted to make Spider-Man into a freaking Man-Spider mutant.{{Fact|date=August 2009}} | ||
| ==Cast and Crew== | ==Cast and Crew== | ||
Revision as of 03:54, 20 October 2019
This article is about the 1976-1977 live-action TV series. For the Marvel comic book series, see The Amazing Spider-Man. 1976 TV series or program| The Amazing Spider-Man | |
|---|---|
 The Amazing Spider-Man Title and Opening Sequence | |
| Created by | Comic Book: Stan Lee Steve Ditko Writers: Alvin Boretz Robert Janes Michael Michaelian Stan Lee Steve Ditko |
| Starring | Nicholas Hammond Michael Pataki Robert F. Simon Ellen Bry Chip Fields Irene Tedrow |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 1 hour |
| Production company | Charles Fries Productions in association with Dan Goodman Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | 1976 – 1977 |
The Amazing Spider-Man was a short-lived live-action TV series which was based loosely on the popular Marvel comic book superhero The Amazing Spider-Man, which was originally aired in the USA from 1976-1977. To date, the entire series ran for about 14 episodes. Despite being produced by Columbia Pictures Television (and the modern Spider-Man movies being produced by Columbia Pictures), none of the episodes have ever been released on DVD and are currently not available on DVD as of today, while although, almost all of them have been released on VHS which are now out of print. The series supposedly took place entirely in New York City, although, it was actually filmed in Los Angeles.
Series Run on CBS and Criticism
The series first aired as a 2-hour pilot episode film known simply as "Spider-Man". In the series' pilot episode, University student Peter Parker gains spectacular super powers after having been bitten by a radioactive spider and uses his newfound super spider powers to get a job at the Daily Bugle and try to stop a con man who is using some mind control technique. It is also noted that in the pilot, J. Jonah Jameson was played by actor David White and subsequently replaced with Robert F. Simon for the rest of the entire weekly series run.
At the time, The Amazing Spider-Man aired on the CBS television network, it was along with other live-action television series oand movies based on several popular comic book superheroes including The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman, Captain America and Doctor Strange.
The Amazing Spider-Man series had solid ratings throughout its run, but CBS was leery about being labeled as the "The Superhero Network" and many Spider-Man fans were also rather highly critical of the series for the changes made to the comic book storyline and the lack of any real "supervillains".
Also, to add insult to injury, Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee was very disappointed and unhappy as he disliked the show and was even very vocal about his dissatisfaction with it. He had once said in an interview that he had felt that the series was rather "too juvenile" - a controversial statement given that his credit was as a script consultant on each episode of the show. According to him, the short-lived TV series was a one-dimensional show, although he has also stated that the production staff had done a very pretty well done job on a technical level.
Although, despite some initial criticism of the series as far removed from the original source material, the show has thus so far featured the only live-action appearance of Peter Parker's handy-dandy Spider Tracer tracking devices to date, which were prominently featured in several episodes throughout in the short-lived TV series' run.
As previously mentioned, and while with contrary to popular belief, The Amazing Spider-Man was ultimately cancelled not rather because of having poor or low ratings. In fact, the series performed fairly and solidly well in the ratings, but TV politics were also believed to have played a role in the show's cancellation as CBS executives apparently wanted to shed the network's image as to being labeled as "The Superhero Network," so they cancelled the show, along with Wonder Woman that followed short just after 2 years on later. However, The Incredible Hulk remained at the network until 1982, albeit with some significant budget cuts.
Revival Attempts
In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, 2 revival attempts of the series were reportedly made to recreate a new Amazing Spider-Man live-action television series. The first one would have had the original cast members of the series team up with the other cast from The Incredible Hulk live-action television series as a joint crossover special.
This was part of a plan to have several television movies featuring the Incredible Hulk and other various Marvel Comics characters as well with 3 superhero shows that had already been aired; the first with Thor, the second with Dare Devil, while the supposedly announced She Hulk unfortunately did not even appear in the third.
Reportedly, this first attempt finally fell through when Bill Bixby had died of cancer in 1993. A second attempt would have been an entirely new series that had also been subsequently shelved in preproduction because the networks had then thought of and wanted to make Spider-Man into a freaking Man-Spider mutant.
Cast and Crew
The only characters besides Peter Parker to regularly appear in both the television series and in the comics were J. Jonah Jameson and Aunt May. Joe "Robbie" Robertson (played by Hilly Hicks) also appeared but only in the pilot.
In both these incarnations, J. Jonah Jameson's abrasive, flamboyant personality was toned down and the character was portrayed as a little more avuncular figure.
Regular Cast
- Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker/Spider-Man
- David White as J. Jonah Jameson (pilot)
- Robert F. Simon as J. Jonah Jameson (series)
- Chip Fields as Rita Conway
- Michael Pataki as Captain Barbera (pilot and first season only)
- Ellen Bry as Julie Masters (second season only)
Directors
- Tom Blank
- Cliff Bole
- Michael Caffey
- Dennis Donnelly
- Tony Ganz
- Fernando Lamas
- Joseph Manduke
- Don McDougall
- Ron Satlof
- Larry Stewar
- Matt Charette
Episode Guide
Season 1
| Episode No. | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Amazing Spider-Man | April 19, 1976 |
| University student Peter Parker is accidentally bitten by a radioactive spider and finds that he has gained the proportionate powers of a super spider including its proportionate super strength and agility as well as its wall-crawling and web-spinning abilities, and thus then decides to use his newfound super powers to stop a new age guru that is turning law abiding citizens into criminals through mind control. This pilot TV movie was released theatrically overseas which saw VHS releases in the 1980s by CBS/Fox Home Video (and then later on, reissued on with its Playhouse Video label) and in the 1990s by Rhino Home Video. A CED video disc version (CBS/Fox) and a Laser Disc version were also released. All versions are now out of print. | ||
| 2 & 3 | The Deadly Dust Parts 1 & 2 | April 26, 1976 (part 1) May 3, 1976 (part 2) |
| Upset that their professor has brought a small amount of plutonium onto campus in order to give a class demonstration, 3 University students decide to steal the plutonium and build a bomb in order to illustrate the dangers of nuclear power. However, the international businessmen and arms dealer named Mr. White has his henchmen steal the plutonium so that he can detonate it in Los Angeles, California where President Jimmy Carter will be giving a campaign speech. "The Deadly Dust" saw video release as a "movie version" in the 1980s by CBS/Fox/Playhouse and then in the late 1990s by Rhino Home Video. Also released theatrically and on video tape in Europe under the title "Spider-Man Strikes Back". Both versions are currently out of print. | ||
| 4 | The Curse of Rava | May 10, 1976 |
| Members of a religious cult, led by the telekinetic Mandak, plan to steal a Rava religious icon from a museum and in the process frame Mr. Jameson for attempted murder. "The Curse of Rava" was spliced together with "Con Caper" to form "Con Caper & The Curse of Rava" which was then on released and was available on VHS from Prism Home Video in the mid 80s and from Rhino Home Video in the late 90s. Both versions are now out of print. | ||
| 5 | Night of The Clones | May 17, 1976 |
| A scientific convention is being held in New York City and a controversial American scientist has figured out a way to experiment with cloning frogs and then subsequently clone human beings, only to have his own evil clone twin escape, and thus clone an evil Spider-Man. "Night of the Clones", and the episode following it, "Escort to Danger" were spliced together to make "Night of the Clones & Escort to Danger" which was then on released and was available on VHS from Prism Home Video in the mid 1980s and then from Rhino Home Video in the late 1990s. Both versions are now out of print. | ||
| 6 | Escort To Danger | May 24, 1976 |
| While visiting New York City, the daughter of a recently elected pro-democracy Latin American President is kidnapped by those people who are seeking out a return of a fascist dictatorship. "Escort to Danger", and the episode before it, "Night of the Clones" were spliced together to make "Night of the Clones & Escort to Danger" which was then on released and was available on VHS from Prism Home Video in the mid 1980s and then from Rhino Home Video in the late 1990s. Both versions are now out of print. | ||
Season 2
| Episode No. | Episode Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | The Captive Tower | September 5, 1976 |
| Thieves steal about 10 million dollars from a new high-tech security building and uses its computers to trap the people inside. The plot of this episode is similar to the film Die Hard. Since there were no other hour-long episodes of the series with which to combine it with into a 2-hour movie, this episode was the most rarely seen of the series, and the only reruns which was being aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s. For some and the same reason, this is also the only episode of the series that never occurred on any VHS release to date. | ||
| 8 | A Matter of State | September 12, 1976 |
| NATO defense plans are stolen and held for ransom by terrorists. Julia Masters accidentally gets a photograph of the ringleader of the gang and now Spider-Man has to protect Masters, while also trying to get the defense plans back. This episode has been released on VHS as "Photo Finish & A Matter of State" by Rhino Home Video, but is now out of print. | ||
| 9 | The Con Caper | November 25, 1976 |
| An imprisoned politician is released and poses as a reformed humanitarian dedicated to prison reform in order to stage a break out of some prisoners and steal about and over a hundred million dollars. This episode has been released on VHS by Prism Home Video during in the mid 1980s and by Rhino Home Video during in the late 1990s as "The Con Caper & Curse of Rava". Both versions are now out of print. | ||
| 10 | The Kirkwood Haunting | December 30, 1976 |
| Peter Parker is sent to the estate (complete with its own zoo) of a wealthy widow and longtime family friend of Mr. Jameson. The widow claims that she is being visited by the ghost of her dead husband and he is telling her to donate all her money to the group of men that are acting as objective investigators of paranormal phenomenon. This episode has been released on VHS by Rhino Home Video spliced together to make "Wolfpack & The Kirkwood Haunting", but is now out of print. | ||
| 11 | Photo Finish | February 7, 1977 |
| While doing a story on a rare coin collection, the coins are stolen in a robbery with one of the thieves wearing a wig and muffling his voice to appear to be the coin collector's bitter ex-wife. The photo that Parker has of the cross-dressing thief will falsely frame the ex-wife and Parker is willing to go to jail in order to protect the innocent and break out of jail as Spider-Man to bring the thieves to justice. This episode has been released on VHS as "Photo Finish & A Matter of State" by Rhino Home Video and was previously released by itself in its original one-hour format on a LP-speed cassette by low-budget label Star Maker Home Video. Both versions are currently out of print. | ||
| 12 | Wolfpack | February 21, 1977 |
| When a greedy Sorgenson Chemical representative learns that University students have developed a mind control gas, he uses the gas to take control of the students and even some soldiers to commit various crimes. This episode has been released on VHS by Rhino Home Video as "Wolfpack & The Kirkwood Haunting", but is now out of print. | ||
| 13 & 14 | The Chinese Web | July 6, 1977 |
| This final episode (a 2-hour special) has an old college friend of Mr. Jameson fleeing China, from where he is the Minister of Industrial Development, to live in with his Chinese-American daughter because the Chinese government has falsely accused and charged him with being a spy during World War II. While Peter Parker tries to prove the man's innocence, he must contend with the henchmen of a British-Hong Kong businessman who will do anything in order to get a new Minster of Industrial Development that will ensure that his firm gets a lucrative business contract with China. This 2-part series finale has plenty of action footage, which also includes a new female love interest (played by Rosalind Chao), extensive footage of Hong Kong and even exposition on its history and traditional religious beliefs. This movie-length episode has been released in its full version (theatrically released overseas as "Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge") by Fox Home Video during in the early 1980s and by Rhino Home Video during in the late 1990s. | ||
References
- Marvel Animation Age: "The Incredible Hulk In Animation - A Retrospective" (Part One)
- The Incredible Hulk TV Series Page, FAQ , item #13.
External Links
- The Amazing Spider-Man at IMDb
- Template:Tv.com show
- 2004 IGN Article on Spider-Man on Television
- An interview from 2002 with Nicholas Hammond about the first Spider-Man movie starring Tobey Maguire
- Webpage dedicated to the television series
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