Original cartoon series based on the web-slinging Marvel comic book character, Peter Parker, who, after being bit by a radioactive spider, assumes extraordinary powers.Original cartoon series based on the web-slinging Marvel comic book character, Peter Parker, who, after being bit by a radioactive spider, assumes extraordinary powers.Original cartoon series based on the web-slinging Marvel comic book character, Peter Parker, who, after being bit by a radioactive spider, assumes extraordinary powers.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe theme song for this show was composed by Paul Francis Webster and Bob Harris. The theme song was recorded at RCA Studios in Toronto (where the cartoon was also produced) featuring 12 CBC vocalists (members of the Billy Van Singers, and Laurie Bower Singers groups) who added to the musical backing track supplied by RCA Studios, New York. The singers were paid only for the session and have had no residuals from its use since then. The song became as synonymous with Spider-Man as his red and blue costume.
- GoofsDue to the low quality animation, Spider-Man can be regularly seen swinging off webs that appear to be connected to nothing but the sky. This mistake has been the subject of a fair few memes.
- Quotes
[theme song]
Chorus: Spider-Man, Spider-Man, / Does whatever a spider can / Spins a web, any size / Catches thieves just like flies / Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man! / Is he strong? Listen, bud, / He's got radioactive blood / Can he swing from a thread? / Take a look overhead! / Hey there! There goes the Spider-Man! / In the chill of the night, at the scene of the crime, / like a streak of light, he arrives just in time! / Spider-Man, Spider-Man, / Friendly neighborhood Spider-Man / Wealth and fame, he's ignored / Action is his reward! / To him, Life is a great big bang-up / Wherever there's a hang-up/ You'll find the Spider-Man!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Muppet Babies: Comic Capers (1989)
Some of the episodes weren't digitally remastered, as most seem to have been, but heck, when I compare them to the VHS tapes I used to purchase at comic book shows where the tapes were recorded from UHF stations yielding poor reception, I won't complain. I'm just glad they're here. For the price, it's plenty of bang for the buck.
As for the episodes, Ralph Bakshi took over as producer midway through the run of the original episodes (his cartoons can be found about midway through the third DVD). Reading through postings on the net, people have said that Bakshi took over and operations moved from Canada to the US when it was cheaper then to produce the animation in the states... and some staff cutting was done while the episodes were still cranked out at a good pace. Hence, people claim, a good bit of regurgitation of characters and plot lines increased. FYI, the Canadian episodes had Spidey webbing in clear skies, while the Bakshi episodes introduced eerie, watercolored skies.
I'm a visual guy, and love the vibrant tones. Plus, it seems as though the music picked up a lot with the change. I just "dig" the way the music sounded. You can even hear a musician yelp every now and then in some jam sessions. So, I can't go Bakshi bashing. Usually, it's the networks that trim budgets, and Bakshi, I feel, had to make due. He did the best he could, I think, and I bet that if the budget had been fat, Bakshi would have had the animators take time and add depth and detail.