The Amazing Spider-Man

Yes, it's campy. Yes, the acting wasn't very good and the scripts were dull. Yes, the special effects are *very* dated.

It doesn't matter. "Amazing Spider-Man" is one of those time capsules that perfectly captures late 1970s action TV. It was funky, it was campy, it was cheesy, and it was great.

Sure, it could have been better. Given time, the series could have hit its groove and easily been as good as the other Marvel TV series of the day, "The Incredible Hulk." Legend has it this show was cancelled because of low ratings, but I heard CBS both wouldn't commit to a consistent timeslot, and they didn't want to be known as the Superhero Network (they had "Hulk," "Wonder Woman," and showed the hideous "Captain America" and "Dr. Strange" movies). They could have had a real winner...

i can remember when i first watched it. i thought wow, the real spider man. of course i was like 5 years old, but the wonderment that i felt at watching a real person in a spider man costume stopping the bad guys with his spider powers...i would love to see it again. but, since Stan lee and the majority of people didn't like it, we'll probably never see a DVD release of it. I wish i knew a way to find them on VHS or meg...anything. i'd love to watch them again. Stan, for peter's sake, some of us enjoyed the old series, let us have them again. And for future reference, Stan, if you need any help with casting future releases of Marvel movies, let me know.

For starters, I think this show was great fun and had great storylines but not many people seem to like it.

I guess whether you like it depends on your age. If you're a young kid who's been brought up on a diet of CGI and all those amazing special effects then it probably doesn't appeal to you. But I think it was fun.

The stories were great. In one two part episode Spider-Man battles an evil villain by the name of Mr White who has stolen an atomic bomb which he plans to detonate. There's plenty of fun as Spidey battles dangerous henchmen and performs some unbelievable stunts. Another great episode featured Spidey in Hong Kong but my favourite episode was where Spidey investigated a bogus haunting.

Nicholas Hammond was good as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and he played the part of man with huge responsibilities on his shoulders very well. The late Robert F. Simon played the grumpy but good hearted Jonah Jameson and did a good job.

There were no super villains in the shows which I think was a good thing. The Incredible Hulk series of the 1970's didn't feature super villains either. Spidey got involved in real situations with believable people and in a superhero TV series I think that is much better than having a super powered villain every week.

All in all, highly recommended. There's some good stunts in the series too. Whilst I am quite sure this series will pale in comparison to the new Spidey film due to hit UK cinemas in June 2002 I would have no problem in recommending it to superhero fans.

For me, it was the first Spiderman. And that does it, like many childhood impressions, the best. Sure, after decades, it has the mark of its period and that is fair to be. But the seduction remains. It could be defined as nostalgia but it works. Because Nicholas Hammond gives a nice performance, because the special effects are naive, because CGI is unborn and the script is so easy than it becomes a delight after a hard work day. And, sure, because zou are part, in same measure, from serie. For memories. And for inner child.

Does anyone know the status of a potential DVD release of Spiderman with Nicholas Hammond. It seems like everyone has forgotten about this series. Granted the F/X were not like they are now and it was played as camp. I know that a lot of Spiderman fans think of this series as a bad stepchild. I disagree, just part of the Spiderman legacy. I wish that whoever has the rights to release this on DVD will do this. I hope it is not another rights issue like the Superboy series. While we are at it. Sam Raimi if you are out there, contact Nicholas for a cameo in Spiderman 3. To some of us who grew up with Nicholas as Spiderman, it would be a treat. Bring Spidey back.