Friendly Neighborhood MTV Program
After numerous delays, MTV has finally unveiled its animated take on the world's favorite web-swinger. While there is a well-established tradition of converting comic book super-heroes into Saturday morning cartoons, MTV has forgone this idea, favoring instead a Friday night fare geared toward adults. The result is quite possibly the most innovative, successfully recreated comic book hero ever seen on the small screen.

The world has seen Spider-man take on numerous different incarnations (i.e. Spider-Man vs. kung fu guys in his live-action TV show, Spider-Man vs. illiteracy on The Electric Company, Spider-Man vs. teeth in cereal, etc.) However, MTV has taken Spidey in directions even the most ardent Spider-Man follower has never seen. Not only is the computer-enhanced animation unique, but the stories are Spider-Man for the BV90210 generation. In the first four episodes, we've seen Mary Jane make-out with both Peter Parker and Spider-Man, Harry Osborne's gotten laid, and about a dozen lowly henchmen have been slaughtered by other baddies. Despite this relatively risque behavior in a cartoon starring Spider-Man, it is clear that the writers truly 'get' Spider-Man; and, maybe that's because Spidey is not the real star of the show, Peter Parker is. The writers have commendably integrated all of the insecurities and tribulations that made the Spider-Man comic such a success in the first place.

I don't want no 30 minute show...
All this, however, leads to the biggest problem of the show. At 30 minutes, the action scenes can feel a bit rushed to make sure there's enough room for the plot and character development. One can only assume that we'll start seeing 2-part (or longer) episodes to allow the writers to fit in all the intricacies that Spider-Man fans have been able to obtain from the comic books.

As for the afore mentioned computer animation, action scenes that looked slightly cartoony in the blockbuster Spider-Man movie, are now rendered in a realistic and spectacular fashion. Spidey swings, leaps, flips and crawls with a flawless grace that the best Spider-Man comic book artists have always strived for. The use of aerial cinematography is an element that the director relies heavily upon, and this technique proves to be quite a visual treat for the audience. Sure it may be superfluous eye candy, but the animation is so tightly tied to the story and action, it's hard to blame blame the director for wanting a few over-the-top scenes to show off web-head's agility and death-defying air stunts. Furthermore, even the conversation-heavy scenes with no action are still beautiful to watch. The character movement is so realistic that it's almost eerie.

Bold, Rewarding Taste!
MTV's Spider-Man is a bold and rewarding experiment in animation, that is sure to please any Spidey fans who are looking for more than mere fight-scenes. Spider-Man airs from 10:00 to 11:00 (2 episodes) every Friday night.

On the web: Spider-Man @ MTV