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 Review and Media By Stu
Episode #1 - The Power Of Dr. Octopus Review: This show has always been a favourite of mine, as it practically introduced me to Spider-Man, and it’s one of my earliest memories of the character. I remember looking for videos of the show every time I went to the stores as a little kid, and this was my favourite version of Spidey up until the time the new series aired in the mid 1990’s. Looking back on it now, it’s a very odd show. Things you don’t notice much as a child scream at you here. The cheesy dialogue, the incredibly hammy villains, and of course, the ridiculously cheap budget. Yes, a good 30% of every single episode is stock footage, but the fact is, it really is part of the show’s charm. If you’re looking for intelligent stories, characters who actually develop and a strong resemblance to the Spider-Man of today, you’re simply looking in the wrong place. This is a silly, goofy and plain ludicrous cheesy show, but… it’s a good silly, goofy and plain ludicrous cheesy show. The opening episode, spilt into two stories is a fine example. The first is your typical Spider-Man vs. Supervillian episode, in this case it’s long time Spidey foe, Dr. Octopus. There’s no origin sequence for either character, no explanation as to why Octavious is evil, but 5 minutes into the episode, you’ll see why it’s clearly not needed. This episode is actually one of the funnier episodes, due to Spidey’s seemingly endless array of one-liners directly at poor ol’ Otto Octavious. Spidey is no doubt at his best with the funny stuff here, but he doesn’t appear to be that good at the whole superhero thing, he gets captured twice in 10 minutes! This episode also introduces one of the main cheese factors that is shown in practically every episode. Spider-Man’s webbing can do anything in this show. He can picks locks, act as a bomb shield, crate a fan powerful enough to act as a raft, and my favourite, creates a sword strong enough to oppose steal. One of the main plot points taken from the comics is that Peter works at The Daily Bugle, for his ill-tempered boss, J. Jonah Jameson, along with his long-suffering secretary, and Peter’s love interest, Betty Brant. He has some classic lines here, especially when he learns just where Peter have been for the whole episode. JAMESON: Now tell me exactly what happened! BETTY: Well, Spider-Man… JAMESON: Enough! Enough! I don’t wanna hear another word! Jameson was comedy gold throughout the show, a perfect translation from the comic. The Power Of Dr. Octopus serves as a good introduction to the show, delivering throughout. Screenshots: 
 
 
 
 
 
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