Spider-Man Live Action (1 Viewer)

[Randy*S]

I love the theme. I like it better than anything that Danny Elfman could "rearrange".
I'm not a fan of Elfman.
Was it Mike Post who coimposed the theme? I'll have to check one of these days.
Just remembered that Madeline Stowe was a guest star.
My favorite ladies from this series are Joanna Cameron (Deadly Dust) and Lisa Eilbacher (pilot). Boy, L.E. was really cute!!
And Joanna was well, WOW WEEE!!
Lynda Carter/Erin Grey/Joanna Cameron are still tops with me today.

 

[Eric Paddon]

That depends which theme you mean. I liked the first theme that was composed by Stu Phillips and didn't like the second theme (the one with the saxophone solo. I can't remember who did that one).

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Actually, there were three Spider-Man themes:

* pilot: Johnnie Spence
* first series: Stu Phillips (the episodes with Michael Pataki)
* second series: Dana Kaproff (the episodes with Ellen Bry)

I agree, the lush Phillips theme is the best. As far as the incidental music, I must admit, though, that the 'action' music cue on the Kaproff episodes (I think all Spidey fans know the one!) stuck in my mind since the original airings!

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Since we're talking about theme music, I have a question.

Where does the "Spiderman, Spiderman, Does whatever a spider can" music, so prominent in the movies, come from?

 

[Citizen87645]

I thought that theme came from the 1967 animated series.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Thanks.

 

[Phil_L]

Has anyone heard any word on this? Would love to see it come to DVD.

 

[JoSAN]

I think the main problem with this series is not so much the level of special FX (which were okay for the day) as it was that they leached out most of the vital elements of the character of Spider-Man that appear in the comics (and now in the new movies).

The biggest problem is that Uncle Ben, his death and the "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" Spider-mantra were left out completely. That is the heart and soul of Spider-Man's motivation.

Combined with the shameful lack of colorful, super-powered villains, TPTB succeeded in reducing Spider-Man to a typical 1970s 1-hour cop show.

I would still buy this show on DVD, since there were only 13 episodes made and you could get the complete series in one convenient set.

I'd also probably get the Dr. Strange pilot. But I'd pass on the two Captain America movies. The were just awful. Steve Rogers' son? Please. And what's with the Six Million Dollar Man soundFX and powers?

 

[Randy*S]

I still want this series too, any updates?

I can't get into the movies, too much Raimi humor.
And what's with the rubberized suit, mirrored eyes and no web shooters.
Peter is a poor student and made his own stuff!
I'm not a big Sam Raimi fan. Glad bloody Bryan Singer did'nt get the job.

 

[AndrewWickliffe]

I asked Rhino, years ago, about this one (they released the VHSes).

They didn't have the rights, so I imagine Marvel's sitting on it.

 

[JoSAN]

I think Raimi did a good job for the most part. (And I'm glad Singer got nowhere near Spider-Man! )

 

[Greg_S_H]

I think the main reason for the webshooter change is to make Peter more like us. If we were bitten by a radioactive spider, we might get the powers Peter got, but we wouldn't be able to swing around. We don't have Reed Richards-level smarts like Peter does, and we couldn't come up with web fluid or spider tracers. Like you, I prefer sticking (no pun intended) to the source material as much as possible, but I discovered I could live with that particular change.

Besides, Stan thought of companies like 3M. Early on, he had Spidey try to sell the web fluid, but they weren't interested when they found out it dissolved. In real life, they would have hired him on the spot and tried to find a way to make it permanent, but the issue was addressed to my satisfaction. I am sure you know about that already, though.

I'm also not fond of some of Raimi's humor. I think he overdoes the "woe is me" stuff in SM2. However, like you, I'm glad Singer didn't get the Spidey job.

 

[Randy*S]

The main problem I have with the movie suit is it is too shiny and perfect for a home sewing machine.

The webshooters added to the peril aspect "Out of web fluid, not now!" and Peter is a bookworm/science geek of course he's not going to be like us.
Buying chemials/supplies for making more web fluid and tracers also gave Peter another, more interesting reason for him to work and sell his photos to ol' JJJ other than just paying rent and taking care of aunt May.

As for Raimi the thing that bugs me is everything seems funny to him so he adds too much humor and not enough drama! Spidey is a wise-cracker not Shecky Green! I mean when Peter lost his powers in SM2 they played "Rain Drops Falling On My Head" it was just silly.
Raimi always seems to cheapen everything somehow.
Danny Elfman's music doesn't help.

 

[James@R]

Yeah, I always found that ironic, considering Raimi's '3M' explanation.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I thought that was bold and risky. I thought I'd somehow been teleported to a theater playing an art film.

 

[David Deeb]

I guess you liked the rest of the film then, if that's your main problem. These were great films. I can't imagine focusing on a thought that the costume didn't look home made enough dampen my enjoyment of them.

 

[Scott Ruhl]

I really hope they release the 70's Live Action series someday. Put me done as another person that doesn't dig the new movies. From the lack of web shooters to Spidey not making any wise cracks to the general "look" of the film everything underwhelms me. The 70's series seems like it has more heart, whereas the movie comes of very cold to me and Spider-man shouldn't feel cold.

I also really hope the 80's Spider-man solo cartoon and "His Amazing Friends" comes out some day. I think these are the best adaptions of these characters into film and are my holy grail of dvd releases. I know I'm not the only one.

 

[JoSAN]

Me, too, Scott. They really should release this as a set. I don't think there were many made. The series just before this (1970s?) was pretty good too.

Back to the topic at hand... When will the live-action TV show be released!?!

 

[Bryan Krantz]

I would like to see these Spider-man shows out on DVD as well. The live action not as much, but Spider-man and his Amazing Friends and the little seen 70s spider-man animated would definitely be of interest. I always felt that the live action show was too bland. People complain about the spiderman costume in the movie. How about suspension of disbelief in the live action tv show when Spidey is the ONLY one wearing a garish costume? The Hulk show worked better with its Fugitive riff, but Marvel's stuff at the time was too over-written to make it less "comic-booky". If you don't want a comic book subject matter why make it in the first place?

 

[Randy*S]

That's what I was trying to say. It seems like a darn soap opera.

But, what I would is this series with interviews with Nicholas Hammond and Joanna "ISIS" Cameron, I met her at a local con and she's a very sweet lady.