It's here! The original classic Spider-Man cartoon series that started it all! Six discs! Fifty-two episodes (In Color)! All three seasons, together in one complete boxset collection! 

As you can tell, I'm a bit excited.

For most of us who grew up watching this entertaining TV show, either during its original airing from 1967 to 1970, or later in syndication, it left an indelible mark. Remember, this was the very first time Spider-Man had ever been made into a cartoon, so seeing him animated, swinging from building to building instead of just simple freeze-frame shots from a comic strip, was a really big deal. Throw in that memorable late 60's theme song ("Spider-Man! Spider-Man! Does Whatever A Spider Can!") and original musical score by composers Ray Ellis and Bob Harris, and you're all set for a terrific trip down memory lane.

In my opinion, the first season of episodes by Krantz animation (20 shows, 38 individual stories), are still the most remembered and cherished of the series, with Spidey taking on famous villains like the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Electro, the Vulture, etc. This is classic Spider-Man stuff. 

Meanwhile, seasons 2 & 3, which were executive produced, directed, and story supervised by Ralph Bakshi (The Lord of The Rings [1978], Wizards), are a mixed bag of strange, trippy imagery, with some plot points in them that just make you scratch your head in bewilderment. Of course, I'm sure plenty of people have a great fondness for the Bakshi seasons, which were a little more adult-oriented. There are some wonderful gems from those seasons to be sure. Besides the "Origin of Spider-Man"  (the first episode of Season 2 and #21 overall),which is definitely a standout, other highlights by Bakshi include, "Home" (#34), a story about a woman who also has spider powers (it's not Spider-Woman), "Criminals In The Clouds" (#24) which involves the kidnapping of a high school student by the villainous Sky Master, and "The Madness of Mysterio" (#48), a rare originalSeason 3 episode involving the famous villain with a completely different design (here he has green skin). And speaking of green skin, what was Bakshi's fetish with green-skinned villains, anyway? Just about all of them were green with a few exceptions. And the irony is that he never once used The Green Goblin in any of his episodes.

Most of the third and final season of the series was just a rehash of earlier episodes, remixed and re-dubbed to seem like new episodes due to unfortunate budget cuts. Bakshi did what he could with what little money he had, and pulled off some inventive tricks, like taking the mad scientist from the Season 2 episode "Swing City" (#23) and turning him into an Atlantean for the Season 3 episode, "Up From Nowhere" (#46), giving him different ears to look like a fish. Bakshi would do yet another episode with the mad scientist, "Specialists And Slaves" (#50), this time with him back to his normal self. You'd think the scientist would learn to stop shooting at Spider-Man while the web slinger is standing in front of that control panel, but nooooo.

Seriously, these episodes are still great fun nonetheless. Great nostalgic value. Obviously if you love this series, you'll pick up this boxset regardless of it's flaws.

Disc Presentation
For a show made back in the late 60s and early 70s, the picture and sound quality for these cartoons is most impressive. There is some noticeable dust and debris throughout, but the colors are rich, bright and clear, with a nice look on practically each and every frame. 

However, not every episode was properly handled. Episodes #40 ("The Winged Thing" & "Connor's Reptiles"), #42 ("Sky Harbor" & The Big Brainwasher"), #43 ("The Vanishing Doctor Vespasian" & "The Scourge Of The Scarf"), #46 ("Up From Nowhere") & #52 ("Trip To Tomorrow") all look terrible. It appears as if the original 1.33:1 image has been overly magnified, cutting off the top, bottom, and left and right hand sides of the picture screen.  Very blurry and grainy too, with muddled audio that sounds really bad. A complete shock, especially when you compare them to the other episodes. Episode #52 actually starts out just fine, until the "Flying Dutchman" segment of the episode comes on.  Then it reverts back to being blurry and grainy. It would seem that perhaps this boxset was rushed by Buena Vista in order to be distributed to the public on the same week that the Spider-man 2 theatrical film was released. There's even a misprint on the lyrics to the theme song in the booklet that comes with the set.  Just shoddy workmanship, in my opinion. 

Disc Extras
Except for a few trailers for other Buena Vista products shown on Disc 1, there are no special features included.  Many fans have been disappointed that the "Next Week" promos at the end of each episode were not restored, except for one episode. "Phantom From The Depths Of Time" (#28) does include the promo at the end, as well as a shot of Spider-Man crawling down a web in the middle of the episode. But what's humorous is that the promo is for "Revolt In The Fifth Dimension" (#49) -- and that's not the next episode.  It's not even on the same disc! Another subtle highlight are the character drawings used for the cover art on the DVDs of several bad guys, Spidey, and J. Jonah Jameson. I like the fact that there's at least one episode on each disc where the particular character on the cover is featured.  A nice touch.

The Bottom Line
This classic series, in my opinion, is still the best animated incarnation of Spider-Man to date.  All others pale in comparison. Despite the video and audio flaws on five episodes and the lack of extras, I still enjoy this boxset and am happy that the show has finally been released on DVD. If you're a fan of this series or Spider-Man in general, pick it up. For the most part, this release is the best this show has looked since ... well, ever! Keep swinging, Spidey!