In 1977, the American channel CBS started a series based on Spider-Man. Rather, he decides to shoot the pilot and wait to see how it’s received before financing the next few episodes. The result is the soberly titled Spider-Man TV movie, which will be released in French cinemas under the title L’Homme-Spider.
The story takes on a familiar canvas: Peter Parker (Nicholas Hammond), a photographer Daily Bugle, gets bitten by a radioactive spider and discovers superpowers. He will become the superhero Spider-Man and fight a certain guru who hypnotizes his victims into suicide. He can stop this murder if New York City offers him $50 million.
John Jonah Jameson (David White, seen in Beloved Witch) and Nicholas Hammond (The Sound of Music)
Obviously, from the current looks and reviews, this TV movie doesn’t seem to have a chance, but that’s because the budget is spent on the effects of Spider-Man climbing walls. Thanks to this, the stunts are effective, but the scenes struggle to convince or give visual identity to a feature film that does what it can with what it has. We also note the total involvement of the supporting cast, who seriously play the dialogues that generally hold.
This pilot aired on September 14, 1977 and was very well received by younger viewers, but less so by the 18-49 age group preferred by advertisers. Because of this semi-success, CBS will indeed order the series, but will be limited to a few episodes. Therefore, the series begins on April 5, 1978 with 5 episodes until May 3.
An expensive waterfall
John Jonah Jameson is not as unpleasant as he was in the comics, and because of his presence in the TV series, David White, who played him in the TV movie, had to give way to Robert F. Simon, a TV veteran and also my boss. Favorite witch.
The series’ storylines are based on Spider-Man and pit him against relatively classic villains not drawn from Marvel’s catalog. And if Stan Lee willingly sold the Spider-Man rights to producer Daniel R. According to Goodman, the two men disagree on the series’ narrative direction.
Peter Parker’s bite
Season 2 is scheduled to begin in the fall of 1978, and producer Lionel Siegel (The 3 Billion Dollar Man) arrives to make the show more suitable for an adult audience. Romance is added with the introduction of Julie Masters’ (Ellen Bray) character, and the storylines are no longer about plutonium, but drug dealing and espionage. Another change, broadcasting has completely exploded.
After two episodes in September 78, six more aired on 25 November (E03), 30 December (E04), 7 and 21 February 1979 (E05 and 06) and 6 July (E07 and 08). Note that episodes of the Spider-Man series will be edited and made into feature films for the international market. It’s Spider-Man’s Riposte (S01E02 and 03, 1978), then Spider-Man Challenges the Dragon (S02E07 and 08, 1979).
CBS then canceled the series because it didn’t want to become a superhero channel. It should be said that it already had a TV series about the Hulk, a pilot for Doctor Strange (reviewed here soon), and two TV movies about Captain America (which already have a dedicated article). A connected universe that may have ended too soon and could have acted – all things considered – as a precursor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Source: allocine
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
