imaad-shahrukh
The only good thing about this series is that it is mature and tries to reach the level of Batman TAS. But it is not good as it looks. The series sets off after the first movie and therefore, the plot is hard to get. To add insult to injury, episodes were aired out of order, making the story harder to get. The series itself is full of clichés. Aunt May, who is one of Spiderman's closest allies is absent. J Jonah Jameson does not have a proper role and neither does he show his hate towards Spiderman. The shows other supporting characters are bland. Mary Jane is just there and Harry Osborn is constantly showing his hate towards Spiderman in every episode. Worst is, we have hardly any proper Spiderman villain. Green Goblin, Dr Octopus and major Spidey foes are absent. The only classic villains here are Electro, Kingpin, Lizard, Kraven the Hunter and Silver Sable. None of them are at all likable in this series. Kingpin is race-lifted to an Afro-American an instead of saying that his body is more muscle than fat, he is too much into fast food. A big clichéd stereotype. Electro is an emo and a weak excuse for a tragic villain. The series' villains come closer to using racial stereotypes of Russians. Silver Sable, who came from the fictional country of Symkaria in the comics is now Russian are more sadistic. The original villains that the show had are totally not likable and very sadistic. Pterodax, who appears as a replacement for the Vulture, is a total stereotype of Soviet Russians. Shikata is a total stereotype of ninjas and a rip-off of Talia al Ghul. The Gaines twins are the only thing that connects the series to the rest of the Marvel Universe as the twins are mutants. And yet they have to be clichéd sadistic villains. Way to ruin a good attempt and make it like Beware the Batman.
interslicery
Spidey on TV has always suffered from being intended for children, and blatant cases of cheesiness, and that was a part of the appeal of it. Recently however, they've come out with a new Spider formula: more mature, having characters die on screen, insanity, and dealing with a broad range of new subject matter like sex, violence, drug abuse, and murder. This show is Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (or MTV Spider-Man). Being done in full cell shading animation, it loosely follows up on the events of the first Spider-Man movie, following Peter Parkers life as he tries to deal with college, women, life, and his responsibility of being Spider-Man. The 13 eps. series flows in a somewhat sequestered format, with each eps being cut off from the others, aside from a few exceptions (a new love interest being introduced halfway through, and the 2-part series finale), which takes away from the feel that you're watching Pete's life go on, since his actions in one eps don't necessarily reflect in any of the others. But overall it works to establish the villains which show up in every eps.As said, there is a villain appearance in each eps, ranging from a college girl obsessed with Spider-Man, to Russian terrorists, to telepathic twins. Of course some of your old favorites make an appearance such as Kingpin, The Lizard, and Electro to name a few, though not all of them are handled appropriately. For example, Kingpin, who's basically the nexus with which all crime in New York revolves around, comes off as no more dangerous than a somewhat successful crime boss. While others, such as Electro and The Lizard, are almost epic in their presentation. Both of which will tempt a tear to be released if not making you cry openly.The voice acting is decent, with Spidey sounding appropriate and having a good hint of silly sarcasm to his voice, but the problem is he doesn't really change it. In some serious scenes, it just doesn't sound much different than when he's taunting a villain, only in a slightly lower tone. The real shining voicework comes from the one-shot villains. Particularly from Rob Zombie as Dr. Kurt Conners and Kathy Griffin as Roxanne (a telepathic twin). Both giving amazing performances and convey their characters marvelously. Especially Kathy Griffin, who doesn't seem like she would be the type to play a psychotic killer at all, but her voice fits amazingly well. One special note I'd like to make is about Ethan Embry who plays Max Dillon/Electro. While his performance isn't really anything special in the first half of his eps, once he becomes Electro his quality skyrockets. With 2 lines being given by him that are the 2 most memorable, and emotionally stirring in the entire series:No one is innocent!! NO ONE!! - Spidey: I know.. what it's like!! Electro: No.. you.. don't!!It's not the lines themselves, but the way that they are said that just rips your heart out. The second line never fails to make me close my eyes and turn away slightly at his pain no matter how many times I see it. It's just that well delivered. You need to listen to it in order to understand what I mean, words can't explain it.Overall, this is a well made Spider-man series with a more mature twist than what we're expecting to see from a spidey series. Though not without it's flaws (reuse of 3-4 people designs as extras continuously, repetition of Spidey's catch phrase "seriously.. ow!", etc.) it's definitely a worthy addition to the Spidey franchise, and is definitely worth a look if you're at all interested in your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man.
Shawn Watson
Truly the BEST ever incarnation of Spiderman and the best animated show EVER!!! Compared to previous animated Spidey's this was bold move, taking it in new, more mature and realistic directions. The 60's and 90's shows seem tame and childish in comparison.Taking place after the Spider-Man movie this show revolves around the college adventures of Peter, Mary-Jane and Harry who have much better chemistry, character and dialogue than the movie ever offered. Each episode provides more drama and development and creativity. The stories are very imaginative and are obviously written by people who are passionate about Spiderman rather than a studio hashing a product together.
The computer animation is superb and resembles The Ultimate Spiderman comic book (my fave) more than anything. And I know Mary-Jane is only a CGI character but she is so beautiful, and she's voiced by the equally gorgeous Lisa Loeb. Neil Patrick Harris is the voice of Peter Parker and even in this performance he is a hundred times better than Tobey Maguire.
The show also offers some new, interesting characters like Indy, Cheyenne and Silver Sable and gives us alternate takes on Electro and Kraven. Though I was curious as to why Aunt May was not involved.There is plenty of action and excitement to be had in every episode, all backed up to great music, MAN IS THAT THEME TUNE AWESOME! Where is the soundtrack CD?The show could not have asked for a better DVD presentation. Not only do we get an absolutely stunning 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation but a thumpingly good, totally engaging DTS 5.1 soundtrack too. Each episode is a 22-minute movie that is far superior to anything the live-action effort was. There are also an abundance of extras on this 2-disc set, some interesting, some not. But a seriously good package for a great show. You must buy! Fan or no fan of Spidey this DVD is too good to be without.
