Classic Spider-Man animated series: Recommended?

[ThePeterNetwork]

Ever since returning from a vacation from Universal, I've been on such a Spider-Man kick like nothing else, so I'm wondering if the classic 1966 Spider-Man animated series is worth buying on DVD. I vaguely remember catching this in reruns when I was a kid, and while I don't have any lasting remnants of this, I might like to revisit this piece of art to feed my fanboy needs.

The only caveats I have are recycled animation, poor story concepts, and the ever-looming bigotry of J. Jonah Jameson. Don't get me wrong. I can understand the limitations of 60's action cartoons, but I hope to see Spidey bashing bad guys instead of getting bashed by the irate news editor. I don't want to throw my size 10-1/2 Rockports at my TV screen everytime Jameson rants about how Spider-Man is the living embodiment of evil and should be castrated and dismembered with a rusty chainsaw, and his remains burned to ashes so future generations won't have to put up with his acts of heroism and virtue.

"But Peter," I can already hear you say, "having a character like Jameson on Spidey's case is central to Spidey's character because it illustrates how a super hero deals with everyday life in his civilian identity." I understand this. I just don't like how bad things happen to the right people. :sad:

But I'm going OT with this. My point: Spider-Man '66 series: Hit or Miss?

[Arsenal]

Personal opinion, miss. The first season had its fun moments, but the latter seasons were pedestrian.

Spidey fights a green villain. Spidey wins. End credits.

The writing earns a shoulder shrug and the animation was notoriously cheap. (I'm not blaming anyone for that. It was the 60s.)

But unless your inner fanboy is starving, I'd say your money could be better spent elsewhere.

[Wonderwall]

Its mostly miss for me too. I enjoy catching it on Saturday mornings and in french no less but only the first batch are both fun and hilarious for the ( mostly ) right reasons. The episodes after are really bad and funny for the wrong reasons. Sometimes the later episodes arent funny at all. So if you enjoy that stuff pick it up, other than that just stew in anger as the 67 Spider Man collection is the only box set of Spidey Animated.

[Webhead40]

I think your answer to this purchase starts with your own personal experience and how you came to know Spider-man. If you grew up with this series during it's original run, as I did, there is no animated feature that comes even remotely close to capturing the spirit of Spider-man as this did. No other animated feature has ever been closer to an accurate portrayal of J Jonah Jameson than this one. Much of what he says would not even be allowed into today's PC world and the voice characterizations are top notch.

Many good points have been written through the years about season one, but what most people overlook, even those who can't even give the first season a favorable grade, is that Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. were both story and art consultants during this period. If your familiar with they're writing/drawing style, this cartoon series is very, very close to that flavor and some episodes borrowed word for word from actual issues, including the title! Also for those who say only season one is rewarding, remember, season one covers almost all three of a six disc set, so it's highly unlikely you'll find much remorse in your purchase if your half way into this box set before you find something to be critical about.

A few other points to mention. First, let's talk about the Green Goblin. It's easy to spot the children in this crowd of critics when they complain about the "old-fashion" vocals and lack of true character development when it comes to the Goblin. Most are not old enough to know that when this series came out, the most popular stories about the Goblin had not even been written yet, so to suggest Parker and Osbourn should be at odds and Gwen Stacy should be heading off the George Washington bridge is ludicrous.

Second, where else do you find a more memorable soundtrack to any animated feature? This not only had an original and catchy theme song which has stood the test of time for almost 40 years but you also had themes for JJ, Betty Brant, and Peter Parker, just to get started. The myth that this series only used generic tunes from the studio library is not accurate. All of season one was made specifically for the show and it was not until Ralph Bakshi arrived that some of the episodes began borrowing from other libraries. But even then, the custom-made themes are still used with regularity throughout.

I know it's popular to criticise the animation, but if we have to go there, I'm still waiting for any animated feature to beat the very simple shot of our classic '67 stretching out and swinging around a flag pole. To this day, no studio has touched that moment in this series. For it's simplicity, the animation was actually quite good and very enjoyable to watch. At least we didn't have animation overkill as in the 90's series did when Spidey was as big as the Hulk and moved unconvincingly as a result. Who cares if the '67 Spidey lacked web's on his chest? At least the animation was smooth when he crawled up the wall and no where do you have more entertaining or classic shots of him swinging...and yes, he swings quite a bit in this series.

At the end of the day, you can find fault in any series, but where else do you get the original perspective of Stan Lee and John Romita Sr in the 60's? No where else than here. It's one of Spider-man's greatest moments in his celebrated history, because no one had ever seen Spidey move or shoot a web until this series came out. And, for the diehard critics, it was a huge success. Back in the 60's Saturday morning programming was as valuable to advertisers as prime time specials are today, so it wasn't pasted together to be sub-standard product. Yes you can criticize it's simplicity but remember if you were a kid in the 60's this was the greatest event of 1967. Every afternoon you got to come home from school and go swinging with your favorite Webhead, in color! It was awesome and if you close your eyes and imagine with me, you'll go racing out that door and pick it up right away! No Spider-man collection will ever be complete until you have the record of his first appearance on film!

[Chris Wood]

I think it depends whether the series holds any nostalgia value for you. If not you can safely skip it. As for myself I'd love to pick up a "best of" disc, but am not yet sold on the idea of buying the entire collection.

[ThePeterNetwork]

So you think I should wait until the "geniuses" at Marvel decide to release the 1980's Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends series on DVD then? That's the version of Spider-Man I'm most familiar with.

[Arsenal]

So you think I should wait until the "geniuses" at Marvel decide to release the 1980's Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends series on DVD then?

Actually Disney owns the rights to Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends right now, so those are the "geniuses" you are waiting for. Disney and Marvel are at an impasse as neither want to share the rights, so no release date is imminent.

[Chris Wood]

So you think I should wait until the "geniuses" at Marvel decide to release the 1980's Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends series on DVD then? That's the version of Spider-Man I'm most familiar with.

I would definitely pick that up.

[Spider-Man]

I'd recommend catching the early episodes and just sticking to those. Any charm the 1967 show had disappeared early in the run so if you can get a nice episode listing and catch the first half or so of the series then I would actually recommend you check them out. It's a fun trip that is entertaining for the most part.

[Webhead40]

"Amazing Friends" was enjoyable to watch from an animation perspective, but the vocal performances were horrid, which ultimately tanked the series for me. I think the 80's were not especially good for any animated product, because kids were moving away from comics and getting into the video age of music and cable television (which did not start out as kids see it today).

The comic industry was loosing it's older readers, so creating a new animated feature meant aiming for a much younger audience from every aspect. You have to remember, the Smurfs were the hot-ticket item during this time, so most competing animation was stylized to attract that same audience. Does anyone remember the animated show featuring the Thing around this same time? Oh God. During good times, he was just good ole' Ben Grimm, but when trouble approached he proclaimed, "Thing ring, do your thing!" A magical ring would turn him into the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing and we're off and running. Pretty bad sounding isn't it? It was, trust me. That was the mentality behind just about every Marvel premise out there and "Friends" was no exception.

Having Parker transform his bedroom at Aunt May's house into a superhero headquarters with one twist of the finger was really stretching the laws of creative license and it became even more ludicrous when all three members would leave through his window. If May couldn't hear the hydraulics in Parker's room, I sure don't think she could avoid the ice or heat trail left by our less-than-discreet heroes. Spider-man might have fought villians with incredible abilities in the '67 series, but by the time "Friends" rolled into town, not much was required to dumbfound the inhabitants of New York or it's neighboring communities.

[veemonjosh]

Actually Disney owns the rights to Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends right now, so those are the "geniuses" you are waiting for. Disney and Marvel are at an impasse as neither want to share the rights, so no release date is imminent.

So, I guess Disney only has release rights and not airing rights for Amazing Friends?

[Hypestyle]

i'd say it's worth picking up, though there are no extras on the discs; no interviews, retrospectives, etc.. i'm still looking for a CD compilation of all the music..

[Chris Wood]

"Amazing Friends" was enjoyable to watch from an animation perspective, but the vocal performances were horrid, which ultimately tanked the series for me. I think the 80's were not especially good for any animated product, because kids were moving away from comics and getting into the video age of music and cable television (which did not start out as kids see it today).

The comic industry was loosing it's older readers, so creating a new animated feature meant aiming for a much younger audience from every aspect. You have to remember, the Smurfs were the hot-ticket item during this time, so most competing animation was stylized to attract that same audience. Does anyone remember the animated show featuring the Thing around this same time? Oh God. During good times, he was just good ole' Ben Grimm, but when trouble approached he proclaimed, "Thing ring, do your thing!" A magical ring would turn him into the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing and we're off and running. Pretty bad sounding isn't it? It was, trust me. That was the mentality behind just about every Marvel premise out there and "Friends" was no exception.

Having Parker transform his bedroom at Aunt May's house into a superhero headquarters with one twist of the finger was really stretching the laws of creative license and it became even more ludicrous when all three members would leave through his window. If May couldn't hear the hydraulics in Parker's room, I sure don't think she could avoid the ice or heat trail left by our less-than-discreet heroes. Spider-man might have fought villians with incredible abilities in the '67 series, but by the time "Friends" rolled into town, not much was required to dumbfound the inhabitants of New York or it's neighboring communities.

I can't disagree more. Always loved that show, apart from the stupid dog. Dan Gilvezan will always be Spiderman to me.

[Spider-Man]

i'd say it's worth picking up, though there are no extras on the discs; no interviews, retrospectives, etc.. i'm still looking for a CD compilation of all the music..
If you're looking to buy the DVD box set of rht entire 1967 Spider-Man series then I'd wait until the price drops to a comfortable level or until you can get it second hand. I'm a big Spider-Man fan myself but the high price tag on this set has kept me away. I'm still waiting for the price to shrink before purchasing it.

[Helena Wayne]

I can't disagree more. Always loved that show, apart from the stupid dog. Dan Gilvezan will always be Spiderman to me.

Which is what Webhead was getting at. I think people's preferences have more to do with when they were first exposed to the hero as imposed to which had more quality. Me, I was born in 1973 and my first exposure to Spidey was via the '67 show, but I also remember fondly those Saturday mornings, after Superfriends (which many fans of Justice League criticize by the way), when Spidey, Firestar & Ice Man would all encounter strange villains while Peter duked it out (at least verbally) with Flash Thompson.

The show wasn't as good to me as the '67 show, but again, I lived and breathed the '67 show 5 days a week in syndication, so for me that show was the be all, end all. Besides, how can a show that's aired once a week compete with the other that's aired 5 days a week? Of course, the '67 show became my default imprint as the definitive Spidey show. As a kid, I noticed subtle differences between the shows, but when you're that young, you note differences not as improvements but merely as differences and what's changed (more often than not) isn't what's good. I think that perspective is carried with us into adulthood and when we reflect back, it's not only the show we fondly remember but that point in our lives.

There are a ton of shows that I swear were the bomb back in the day, and then, upon viewing them today, I'm forced to sometimes wonder what I ever saw in them. Sometimes our memories of the show makes us think the show was better than it actually was.

Me, I bought the '67 collection and I wouldn't part with it for the world. I also bought my niece and nephew a copy and, while not as enchanted with the show as I was when I was their age, they certainly are young enough to appreciate it without any biases or prejudices. There's an aspect of the show that's just plain fun and that comes through regardless of what year the show is being viewed. I think every child should have this in their collection, if only as a demonstration that sometimes simple things can be enjoyable.

For the record, I also have the first season of that Spider-Man series that MTV aired a couple of years ago, so it's not like I'm stuck with a bias that 'only the past stuff has merit'. (By the way, was there or will there be a Season 2?) And if the Amazing Friends collection were to see release, I'd be all over it in a second. But please, don't discount the '67 collection for simply being a product of its time. It doesn't compare with today's shows, granted, but it's not meant to. And, dare I say it, that's part of the show's charm. In many ways the show is a bit innocent and it's that innocence that makes some of today's stuff not being able to compare with the '67 show. Go figure...


Ed

[Caswin]

I think the 80's were not especially good for any animated product, because kids were moving away from comics and getting into the video age of music and cable television (which did not start out as kids see it today).Hey, Thundercats was pretty good...

[Helena Wayne]

Hey, Thundercats was pretty good...

As was He-Man and, especially for me, She-Ra (I always thought she had the cooler villains and the fact that her entire planet was at war with the Horde upped the ante in intensity).

Ed

[Chris Wood]

But please, don't discount the '67 collection for simply being a product of its time. It doesn't compare with today's shows, granted, but it's not meant to. And, dare I say it, that's part of the show's charm. In many ways the show is a bit innocent and it's that innocence that makes some of today's stuff not being able to compare with the '67 show. Go figure...

Ed

I don't have a problem with it being a product of its time. I like the jazzy music and most of the art design (at least in the first season). But the relentless use of recycled footage makes it compare poorly with contemporaries like Johnny Quest.

[Tintin]

Well. I watched regularly the classic Spider-Man series each saturdays and i can say the early firsts was good but i considered the last ones very lame with some recycled plots, horrible designs and no great vilains. I understand why the 1990's and 2000's Spider-Man series was more superior than the classic show.

I noticed too that the season 3 was look unrestored. I was wrong?

[Stu]

Well. I watched regularly the classic Spider-Man series each saturdays and i can say the early firsts was good but i considered the last ones very lame with some recycled plots, horrible designs and no great vilains. I understand why the 1990's and 2000's Spider-Man series was more superior than the classic show.

I noticed too that the season 3 was look unrestored. I was wrong?

Some of them don't appear to be. It's more than likely that the original prints were simply unrestoreable - the show is 40 years old. It is amazing to see the difference in quality after the restoration though. Watching the episodes on the Spider-Man: The Animated Series DVDs and then watching the episodes from the sets is a real eye opener.

[Tintin]

Some of them don't appear to be. It's more than likely that the original prints were simply unrestoreable - the show is 40 years old. It is amazing to see the difference in quality after the restoration though. Watching the episodes on the Spider-Man: The Animated Series DVDs and then watching the episodes from the sets is a real eye opener.

Ooh. I see and i know the show is made since 40 years. Thanks! :)