Along with "Wonder Woman" and "The Incredible Hulk," "The Amazing Spider-Man" was the only other live-action superhero TV series to make a splash during the 1970s. It's really pointless to describe the plot since if you know the Marvel Comics comic book series that inspired Spider-Man, then you already know the story, with Nicholas Hammond as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. This series always had great death-defying stunts, which were great for the time it was made, when everything had to be done using live, flesh & blood human beings and not a computer. Many other iterations of Spider-Man would follow in the later decades after "The Amazing Spider-Man's" debut on television, most notably three animated series and two live-action movie series. Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" movie series - with Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man - was my favorite incarnation of the character ever, with "Spider-Man 2" (2004) as my favorite superhero movie and my #2 favorite movie of all time. Spider-Man is my all-time favorite superhero. This show was just another reason why.10/10

I absolutely love "The Amazing Spider-Man"! It holds a very special place in my heart, as it was through this very series I was first introduced to one of the most famous and beloved comic book characters of all-time, Spider-Man.Nicholas Hammond, who played Friedrich von Trapp in "The Sound of Music", portrays Peter Parker/Spider-Man to absolute perfection. Hammond is smart, funny, and everything the character of Peter Parker should be and that Tobey Maguire wasn't. Unlike Maguire, Hammond actually has charisma and charm.Fred Waugh, the stunt coordinator, also took on the role of Spider-Man when some of the more dangerous stunts were performed. His work is still awe-inspiring. Some highlights include Waugh's scaling of the Empire State Building, hanging from a helicopter high above the city streets, web slinging from one building to another, etc. I enjoy watching real stunts performed by real people not CGI. CGI is too easy to spot, and it really takes away from the enjoyment of an action sequence. Give me a real guy in a real Spider-Man suit any day! The supporting cast is strong with Robert F. Simon, Chip Fields, Michael Pataki and Ellen Bry all well-suited for their roles. Simon's take on J. Jonah Jameson, the publisher of the Daily Bugle, finds that perfect balance between Jameson's trademark grumpiness and enough likability to explain why anyone would keep working for him. Chip Fields is a delight as Peter's occasional sidekick, the tough-talking but sensitive Rita Conway. Rita is Jameson's assistant, and while not in the original comics, her sassiness and playful personality make for a welcome addition to the Spider-Man mythos. Michael Pataki, the late great character actor, played the irascible Captain Barbera, a New York City cop who was often suspicious of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. His character appeared only in the first season. Ellen Bry played Julie Masters, an attractive young woman who was both a friend/love interest and rival of Peter Parker. She, too, worked as a newspaper photographer but not for the Bugle. Julie's desire to always get her story led her to get in over her head on more than one occasion. Her character appeared only in the second season.While the series changed the origin story of Spider-Man, most notably with its removal of the murder of Uncle Ben, a satisfying alternative that was more friendly for 1970s television and for any children who would be watching was filmed in its stead. Aside from that, the series was quite faithful to the source material. Spidey's powers were generally the same: he had superhuman strength, the ability to cling to walls, leap high in the air, a super sense of a balance and a "spider-sense" to warn him of danger. Spidey's gadgets including his web-shooters, utility belt and "spider-tracers" also played an important role in the show. To date, "The Amazing Spider-Man" provides the only live-action depiction of the aforementioned spider-tracer tracking devices, and are featured prominently in several episodes of the series.I can't say enough good things about this show, I absolutely love it! I give it a ten out of ten! I definitely recommend checking it out. The series hasn't been officially released on DVD yet, but nearly all episodes have been released on VHS. You can find "homemade" DVDs on many online auction websites, you just have to look around for 'em.It has been recently announced that unknown actor Andrew Garfield will be taking on the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in a new reboot of the Spider-Man franchise scheduled for release in 2012. All I can say about that is there's no way he'll be able to top what Nicholas Hammond's already done. Hammond was, is and always will be the best Peter Parker in my book. Thank you, Mr. Hammond, for introducing me to Spider-Man and for providing me with many fond memories of watching your show while dressed up in my own Spider-Man costume, pretending to fight crime while on my own make-believe adventures.

Just reading why this show got canceled makes me rather steamed. This was a favorite of mine as a kid and I always watched it when it came on no matter how many times I saw the episode. Sure the effects were not great, but they were also not horrible either. They did a fairly good job with the costume and it had the nice 70's vibe to it that is always enjoyable to see and hear as the music was also very 70's. It did not really have any villains from the comics, but then most comic book live show adaptations had none to very few actual super villains from the comics. Spidey's powers were a bit different here too, he had his Spidey sense and he could climb walls, but he was not nearly as strong as the Spider-man of the comics. He was super strong though as I do remember an episode where he broke into a room by breaking the door knob off, he just was not the car hurler that the one from the comic book can be. The show was set in Los Angelos so there were not as many buildings to swing from, but they did okay with the web. It is nice that this show actually has the web shooters and not organic shooters of the movie. I love the movies, but part of me wishes they would start over and do the more smarty pants Spidey that has the mechanical web shooters. This show had a good star as Peter Parker and he was okay as Spider-man, it is nice to see a Spidey who does not basically live in the slums like he does in the movies. Neither this show nor the movie though has a Spider-man that is quick with the insult like the one in the comic. Still, this show was fun without being as corny as the Batman show.

Does anyone know the status of a potential DVD release of Spiderman with Nicholas Hammond. It seems like everyone has forgotten about this series. Granted the F/X were not like they are now and it was played as camp. I know that a lot of Spiderman fans think of this series as a bad stepchild. I disagree, just part of the Spiderman legacy. I wish that whoever has the rights to release this on DVD will do this. I hope it is not another rights issue like the Superboy series. While we are at it. Sam Raimi if you are out there, contact Nicholas for a cameo in Spiderman 3. To some of us who grew up with Nicholas as Spiderman, it would be a treat. Bring Spidey back.