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The Spectacular Spider-Man (TV series)

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The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Intertitle of Spectacular Spiderman‎
The opening logo of Season One.
Created byStan Lee and Steve Ditko
Developed for Television by Victor Cook and Greg Weisman
StarringJosh Keaton
Lacey Chabert
Vanessa Marshall
Deborah Strang
Daran Norris
Benjamin Diskin
Alanna Ubach
Phil LaMarr
Country of originUSA
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time22 minutes
Original release
NetworkThe CW (Kids WB!) March 8, 2008 - May 17, 2008
The CW (The CW4Kids) May 31, 2008 - February 7, 2009
ReleaseMarch 8, 2008 –
present

Template:Infobox TV ratings

The Spectacular Spider-Man (entitled The Spectacular Spider-Man Animated Series) is an American animated series based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man developed for television by Victor Cook and Greg Weisman. It premièred on March 8, 2008[1] during the Kids' WB! programming block of The CW. It is currently airing on the Kids' WB! successor, The CW4Kids. In March 2009, The Spectacular Spider-Man will move to Disney XD. The series made its Canadian première on Teletoon on Sunday September 7, 2008 at 10:30am. The UK première was on Saturday 3rd January 2009 with a new episode every Saturday and Sunday on NickToons.

Premise

The Spectacular Spider-Man is the latest in the line of Spider-Man animated series, which include The Amazing Spider-Man (1967–1969), Spider-Man (1981-1982), Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends (1981–1983), Spider-Man The Animated Series (1994–1998), Spider-Man Unlimited (1999) and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (2003). The series is based on the original Spider-Man comics created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko but references many other Spider-Man sources, such as the film trilogy and the "Ultimate Spider-Man" comics.[2]

Peter Parker starts off as a high school teenager, with the new show having aspects of teenage angst in a modern world with modern social tools such as cell phones/text messaging along with pseudo-science to create the various super-villains. The program's tone is a combination of cartoon action, drama and comedy. In early episodes, Peter Parker begins rethinking his identity as Spider-Man and takes a dark tone at moments, but quickly switches back to light hearted high school comedy and awkward situations.

Each season of the series is set during a semester of Peter's high school year with Season One running from September to Thanksgiving and Season Two from December to March.[3]

Greg Weisman has stated the context of the series is a 1962 version of the Marvel Universe translated into today.[4] Consequently any possible cameos by other Marvel characters are limited to those that were around at that time e.g. the Fantastic Four.

Plot

Main article: List of Spectacular Spider-Man episodes

Season 1

The first season features Peter Parker as a high school junior having only in recent months acquired his powers and alias as Spider-Man. He's best friends with Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn and during the season he also gets his first job at the Daily Bugle run by J. Jonah Jameson and meets Mary Jane Watson. He faces revamped members of Spider-Man's rogues' gallery for the first time including Vulture, Hammerhead, Enforcers (consisting of Montana, Ox and Fancy Dan), Electro, Lizard, Sandman, Rhino, Doctor Octopus, Black Cat and Chameleon. Quentin Beck and Phineas Mason appear as Chameleon's associates.

A revamped Tombstone appears to serve as a villain of the series orchestrating crime in the New York City and the creation of some of the villains to distract Spider-Man from that crime with the help of Norman Osborn. Montana becomes this series version of Shocker while Harry Osborn becomes a red-herring version of Green Goblin upon drinking the Globulin Green formula. The Sinister Six is also born for the first time in episode 11 consisting of Vulture, Electro, Shocker, Sandman, Rhino, and Doctor Octopus. Spider-Man's symbiote black suit also makes an appearance; eventually leading to Eddie Brock's transformation into Venom.

Season 2

Following their confrontation in Season 1's finale, Peter starts the second season searching for Eddie Brock, but one of the main plot lines will be a gang war. [5]

New characters that are introduced in the second season include Master Planner,[6] Molten Man,[7] Roderick Kingsley,[8] Kraven the Hunter,[9] Calypso, Silver Sable,[10] Ricochet, Silvermane, Miles Warren,[11] Cletus Kasady, and Morris Bench. There will also be the return of first season characters including Green Goblin,[8] Doctor Octopus, Black Cat, Chameleon, Vulture, Sandman, Rhino, Electro, Venom, Tombstone and Hammerhead.[7] Chameleon's associates Quentin Beck and Phineas Mason will also return but in a different form, as Mysterio and the Tinkerer respectively.[3] Mysterio and Kraven replace Doctor Octopus and Shocker as members of the Sinister Six.

This season made its Canadian debut on Teletoon on January 11, 2009 at 10:30am EST/PST.

Marvel Animation Age has the exclusive episode descriptions for the second season[11] indicating that Shocker and Ox are returning from Season 1.

Disney XD will soon pick up The Spectacular Spider-Man.[12]

Season 3

According to Greg Weisman, Spider-Man villains Hobgoblin and Scorpion have been pencilled in for the yet to be commissioned third season.[13]

Characters

Main article: List of Spectacular Spider-Man characters

Production

The Spectacular Spider-Man was announced by Kids' WB Senior Vice President and General Manager Betsy McGowen and Sony Pictures Television Co-President Zack Van Amburg in March 2007. The series is produced by Culver Entertainment. It premiered on March 8, 2008 on Kids' WB on The CW, one week after it was originally scheduled to premiere. It will continue airing on the new Disney XD channel in March 2009.

The series is developed for television by supervising producers Victor Cook and Greg Weisman; Victor Cook is the series supervising director and Greg Weisman is the series story editor. The lead character designer for the series is Sean Galloway.

The art style of the series is more simplified than in previous incarnations, although the characters do maintain their iconic elements, this was done to ensure the Spider-Man would move as he should and replicate the fluidity from Sam Raimi's movie incarnation.[14]

According to writer Greg Weisman the timeline of the original Spider-Man story-arcs, which the series is based on, was condensed in order to move the series forward and include such classic and important characters such as Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, and Harry Osborn.

The series is structured into multiple small loose "arcs" for DVD releases; the first season consists of four such arcs, beginning with a three-episode arc that introduces Dr. Connors and his experimentations with Lizard DNA and Peter's time with Empire State University before he joins the Daily Bugle, the second three-episode story centred on Norman Osborn's experiments and the villains they create for the Big Man, the third three-episode arc follows the mysterious Green Goblin and Harry Osborn's use of "Globulin Green" formula and a final four-part adventure featuring Spider-Man's symbiote costume. The second season includes the four-episode Master Planner arc, three-episode Venom arc, three-episode Gang War arc, and another three-episode Green Goblin arc.

The show's creators are striving to reach 65 episodes.[15]

The main theme song is performed by The Tender Box.[16] The series main title sequence directed by Victor Cook

Hasbro released a toy line of action figures in March 2008.[17]

Reception

In January 2009, IGN named Spectacular Spider-Man the 30th in the Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows.

Home video

The first DVD for the show is titled "Attack of the Lizard", and includes the first three episodes edited together to form a stand-alone story. The DVD was released on September 9, 2008[18].

The second and third DVDs of the series will be titled "Rise of the Supervillains!" and "The Goblin Strikes!" and the Region 1 release will be on the March 17th.[19]

Aside from DVDs for each story arc there has been mention of a season boxset.[9]

Crew

Members of the crew at 2007 ComicCon. Greg Weisman far left with Victor Cook to his right. Photo: Comiquero.com
  • Greg Weisman - Supervising Producer/Story Editor/Writer
  • Victor Cook - Supervising Producer/Supervising Director
  • Wade Wisninski-Associate Producer
  • Dave Bullock-Director (four episodes)
  • Kevin Altieri- Director (four episodes)
  • John Diaz - Production Manager
  • Kevin Hopps - Writer
  • Matt Wayne - Writer
  • Andrew Robinson - Writer
  • Randy Jandt - Script Coordinator/Writer's Apprentice/Writer
  • Jennifer Coyle - Director (six episodes)
  • Sean Galloway - Lead Character Designer/ Character Supervisor
  • Jaime Thomason - Voice Director
  • Meagan Healy - Production Art Supervisor
  • Brian G. Smith - Production Art Supervisor
  • Ben Maloney - Production Assistant
  • Sherrian Felix - Production Coordinator
  • Jennifer L. Anderson - Post Production Assistant
  • Diane A Crea - Producer
  • Eric Vesbit - Associate Producer
  • Sean Herbert - Animation Clerk

References

  1. ^ Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: January 30, 2008
  2. ^ Interview with Greg Weisman (Part 1) by Sean Elliott: March 7, 2008
  3. ^ a b Interview with Greg Weisman (Page 3) by Eric Goldman: June 27, 2008
  4. ^ Interview with Greg Weisman by Alan Kistler: Aug 19, 2008
  5. ^ Interview with Greg Weisman (Page 4) by Eric Goldman: June 27, 2008
  6. ^ Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: July 25, 2008
  7. ^ a b Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: June 13, 2008
  8. ^ a b Interview with Greg Weisman (Page 5) by Eric Goldman: June 27, 2008
  9. ^ a b Interview with Greg Weisman (Page 6) by Eric Goldman: June 27, 2008
  10. ^ Ask Greg (Weisman): June 11, 2008
  11. ^ a b Marvel Animation Age by James Harvey: December 19, 2008
  12. ^ Marvel Animation Age by James Harvey: December 11, 2008
  13. ^ Ask Greg (Weisman): June 19, 2008
  14. ^ Interview with Victor Cook (Part 1) by By Sean Elliott April 4, 2008
  15. ^ Ask Greg (Weisman): May 03, 2008
  16. ^ Ask Greg (Weisman): March 09, 2008
  17. ^ Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter: December 2, 2007
  18. ^ DVD news: TSSM - Attack of the Lizard by David Lambert: June 28, 2008
  19. ^ TVshowsonDVD.com by David Lambert: January 12, 2009

External links

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