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The Amazing Spider-Man (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Amazing Spider-Man is the first live-action TV series based on the popular comic book The Amazing Spider-Man
, not counting his appearances on the educational The Electric Company
series, and was shown in the USA
between 1977
-1979
. It consisted of 13 episodes, which included a pilot movie in the fall of 1977; five one-hour episodes in the spring of 1978; six one hour episodes aired in the fall of 1978 and winter of 1979; and then a final two-hour episode in the summer of 1979. None of the episodes are available on DVD
, but almost all of them have been released on VHS
. Despite the series being set in New York City
, it was mostly filmed in Los Angeles
.
and subsequently replaced with Robert F. Simon
for the weekly series.
At the time The Amazing Spider-Man played on the CBS
television network, it was with other live action television series or movies based on the comic book characters. 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 the "superhero network" and fans were highly critical of the series for the changes made to the comic book storyline and the lack of any real "supervillains".
To add insult to injury, Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee
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" - a controversial statement given his credit as script consultant on each episode.
Despite criticism of the series as far removed from the source material, the show has so far featured the only live-action appearance of Peter Parker's spider-tracer tracking devices, which are prominently featured in several episodes throughout the series.
As previously mentioned, contrary to popular belief, The Amazing Spider-Man was not canceled because of low ratings. During its first season, "The Amazing Spider-Man" was a top 20 show, coming in 19th for the season. In fact, the series performed well in the ratings, but the series was expensive to produce and the CBS executives wanted to shed the network's image as "The Superhero Network," so they canceled the show, in addition to Wonder Woman. However, The Incredible Hulk remained at the network until 1982, with budget cuts, due to it having a broad demographic appeal.
This was part of a plan to have several television movies featuring the Incredible Hulk and various Marvel Comics
characters (three had already been aired, the first
with Thor, the second
with Daredevil, while the announced She-Hulk
did not appear in the third
).
Reportedly, this attempt finally fell through when Bill Bixby
died of cancer in 1993. A second attempt would have been an entirely new series that died in preproduction because the networks wanted to make Spider-Man into a mutant.
and Aunt May
. Joe "Robbie" Robertson (played by Hilly Hicks
) also appeared but only in the pilot
. A different actress played Aunt May
each time she appeared.
In both these incarnations, J. Jonah Jameson's abrasive, flamboyant personality was toned down and the character was portrayed as a more avuncular figure.
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
, not counting his appearances on the educational The Electric Company
The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
series, and was shown in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
between 1977
1977 in television
The year 1977 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1977.For the American TV schedule, see: 1977-78 American network television schedule.-Events:...
-1979
1979 in television
The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. It consisted of 13 episodes, which included a pilot movie in the fall of 1977; five one-hour episodes in the spring of 1978; six one hour episodes aired in the fall of 1978 and winter of 1979; and then a final two-hour episode in the summer of 1979. None of the episodes are available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, but almost all of them have been released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
. Despite the series being set in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, it was mostly filmed in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Series run on CBS and criticism
The series first aired as a two-hour film known simply as "Spider-Man". In it, University student Peter Parker gains super powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider and uses his new super powers to get a job at the Daily Bugle and stop a con man who is using mind control. It is noted that in the pilot J. Jonah Jameson was played by actor David WhiteDavid White (actor)
David White was an American stage, film and television actor best known for playing Darrin's boss Larry Tate in the 1964-72 sitcom Bewitched.-Early life:...
and subsequently replaced with Robert F. Simon
Robert F. Simon
Robert F. Simon was an American character actor, often portraying military or authority figure roles. Though his face was recognized by audiences, he was mostly unknown by name...
for the weekly series.
At the time The Amazing Spider-Man played on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
television network, it was with other live action television series or movies based on the comic book characters. Including The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman (TV series)
Wonder Woman is an American television series based on the DC Comics comic book superhero of the same name. Starring Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, the show originally aired from 1975 to 1979....
, Captain America and Doctor Strange
Dr. Strange (1978 film)
Dr. Strange is a made-for-TV movie based on the Marvel Comics fictional character Dr. Strange, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. It was both directed and written by Philip DeGuere...
.
The Amazing Spider-Man series had solid ratings throughout its run, but CBS was leery about being labeled the "superhero network" and fans were highly critical of the series for the changes made to the comic book storyline and the lack of any real "supervillains".
To add insult to injury, Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
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" - a controversial statement given his credit as script consultant on each episode.
Despite criticism of the series as far removed from the source material, the show has so far featured the only live-action appearance of Peter Parker's spider-tracer tracking devices, which are prominently featured in several episodes throughout the series.
As previously mentioned, contrary to popular belief, The Amazing Spider-Man was not canceled because of low ratings. During its first season, "The Amazing Spider-Man" was a top 20 show, coming in 19th for the season. In fact, the series performed well in the ratings, but the series was expensive to produce and the CBS executives wanted to shed the network's image as "The Superhero Network," so they canceled the show, in addition to Wonder Woman. However, The Incredible Hulk remained at the network until 1982, with budget cuts, due to it having a broad demographic appeal.
Revival attempts
In the mid-1980s and early 1990s, two attempts were reportedly made to recreate an Amazing Spider-Man live-action television series. The first one would have had the original cast team-up with the cast from The Incredible Hulk television series.This was part of a plan to have several television movies featuring the Incredible Hulk and various Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
characters (three had already been aired, the first
The Incredible Hulk Returns
The Incredible Hulk Returns is a 1988 TV movie loosely based on the Marvel comic books that serves as a continuation of the popular television series. In it, Dr. David Banner has nearly cured himself from being the Hulk...
with Thor, the second
The Trial of the Incredible Hulk
The Trial of the Incredible Hulk is a 1989 TV movie sequel to the 1970s Incredible Hulk television series, featuring both the Hulk and fellow Marvel Comics character Daredevil, who team up to defeat Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin...
with Daredevil, while the announced She-Hulk
She-Hulk
She-Hulk is a Marvel Comics superheroine. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she first appeared in Savage She-Hulk #1 ....
did not appear in the third
The Death of the Incredible Hulk
The Death of the Incredible Hulk is a 1990 made-for-television film, the last of three revival TV movies from the 1977–1982 television show The Incredible Hulk. Bill Bixby reprises his role as Dr. David Bruce Banner and Lou Ferrigno returns to play the Hulk...
).
Reportedly, this attempt finally fell through when Bill Bixby
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...
died of cancer in 1993. A second attempt would have been an entirely new series that died in preproduction because the networks wanted to make Spider-Man into a mutant.
Cast and crew
The only characters besides Peter Parker to regularly appear in both the television series and comics were J. Jonah JamesonJ. Jonah Jameson
John Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
and Aunt May
Aunt May
May Reilly Parker-Jameson, commonly known as Aunt May, is a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared as May Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15...
. Joe "Robbie" Robertson (played by Hilly Hicks
Hilly Hicks
Hilly Gene Hicks is an American character actor, born May 4, 1950 in Los Angeles, California.-Biography:The role for which Hicks is perhaps best known is Lewis Moore in the TV mini-series Roots...
) also appeared but only in the pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
. A different actress played Aunt May
Aunt May
May Reilly Parker-Jameson, commonly known as Aunt May, is a supporting character in Marvel Comics' Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared as May Parker in Amazing Fantasy #15...
each time she appeared.
In both these incarnations, J. Jonah Jameson's abrasive, flamboyant personality was toned down and the character was portrayed as a more avuncular figure.
Regular cast
- Nicholas HammondNicholas HammondNicholas Hammond is an American actor best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music, and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man on the CBS television series The Amazing Spider-Man...
as Peter ParkerSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
/Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15... - David WhiteDavid White (actor)David White was an American stage, film and television actor best known for playing Darrin's boss Larry Tate in the 1964-72 sitcom Bewitched.-Early life:...
as J. Jonah JamesonJ. Jonah JamesonJohn Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
(pilot) - Robert F. SimonRobert F. SimonRobert F. Simon was an American character actor, often portraying military or authority figure roles. Though his face was recognized by audiences, he was mostly unknown by name...
as J. Jonah JamesonJ. Jonah JamesonJohn Jonah Jameson Junior is a supporting character of Spider-Man in the .Jameson is usually the publisher or editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York newspaper and now serves as the mayor of New York City...
(series) - Chip FieldsChip FieldsLaverne "Chip" Fields, who is sometimes credited as Chip Hurd or Chip Fields-Hurd, is an American singer, actress, television director, consultant, and dialogue coach, who has appeared in popular films, television shows, and Broadway theatre...
as Rita Conway - Michael PatakiMichael PatakiMichael Pataki was an American character actor.-Early life:Pataki born in Youngstown, Ohio. He attended the University of Southern California with a double major in Political Science and Drama...
as Capt. Barbera (pilot and first season only) - Ellen BryEllen BryEllen Bry is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of nurse-turned-vigilante "Shirley Daniels" on the hospital drama St. Elsewhere...
as Julie Masters (second season only)
Directors
- Tom Blank
- Cliff BoleCliff BoleCliff Bole is a director of a number of American and Canadian television programs. He has directed episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man, Charlie's Angels, V: The Series, Baywatch, The X-Files, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager among others...
- Michael Caffey
- Dennis Donnelly
- Tony Ganz
- Fernando LamasFernando LamasFernando Álvaro Lamas was an Argentine-born actor and director, and the father of actor Lorenzo Lamas.-Early life and career:...
- Joseph Manduke
- Don McDougall
- Ron Satlof
- Larry Stewar
- Matt Charette
Season 1
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Season 2
| Ep | № | Title | Directed by: | Written by: | Original airdate |
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